A little bit of home in Malaysia (Fathers Guest House (Cameron Highlands, Malaysia))

Member Name: sun-is-shining

Product:	Fathers Guest House (Cameron Highlands, Malaysia)
Date:	05/11/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great place to stay, friendly staff

Disadvantages: can be quite cold in rainy season

Father's is the most famous Guesthouse in the Cameron Highlands; a former British Hill Station that surprises its visitors with cold weather, lush hills full of tea plants and scones with freshly made strawberry jam - and all of this in the middle of Malaysia! And I say "middle" quite literally; it's not far away from any of the other main tourist destinations, 4hours from Kuala Lumpur, 6 hours from Penang and only 3 hours from Taman Negara. Buses from all those places will bring you to Tanah Rata which is in the middle of the Cameron Highlands. From the main bus station to the Guesthouse it is either a 5 min walk or a short taxi drive. If you come by minibus they usually bring you all the way up to Father's Guesthouse.

The Guesthouse is located on a small hill overlooking the small town centre and the market of Tanah Rata; a 5 min walk will bring you into the town centre or in the other direction in the middle of the jungle.
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The rooms

Malaysia is a rather expensive country to travel in compared to other Southeast Asian countries. Coming from Indonesia where we payed less than 2 Pound a day for a double room with ocean view directly on the shore line it was quite a shock when we looked at the accommodation prices in Malaysia. Especially the Cameron Highlands seemed to be very expensive. But well, the photos were simply stunning so we decided to go anyway and Father's seemed to be the No. 1 choice for backpackers.

There are basically two categories of rooms; some are inside the new and cozy house and the others (obviously the cheap ones) are in Nissen huts 200m away from the main complex - I'm quite sure that you can guess what our choice was.
We payed 35 RM a night for a double room with shared bathroom in one of the Nissen huts. Our room was rather small, with a big double bed, one table and one chair. It was perfectly clean but didn't look very inviting; especially the bed was quite old and basic and the thin blankets provided didn't really help against the cold creeping in through the open windows - unfortunately the windows didn't fully close and as there was no heating in the room it was a rather cold sleeping place.

The shared bathroom was in an extra hut between all the others; to reach it you had to go outside and walk there without any shelter. That was for me the biggest minus point; it is raining almost constantly in the Cameron Highlands and bringing every time you need a bathroom a umbrella with you in order not to get wet on the way there was not fun.

The bathroom consists of a row of wash basins with cold water, 3 showers with cold water and 3 showers with hot water. On my first morning I didn't want to wait for the hot shower so I tried a cold one, thinking that as in many Asian places it is not going to be so cold. I was in for quite a surprise - the water was freezing, so if you go there learn from my mistake and don't even try the cold shower! Both western and squad toilets are in the bathroom hut, all reasonably clean but you have to bring your own toilet paper.
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The common area and restaurant

Father's has several common areas for the guests; one big outside place with tables, one "cafe" which is unheated and rather uncomfortable but open 24hours and the main common room - full of comfy sofas and with big TV screens. DVDs can be borrowed and are shown in the community room - there's a few of 5RM per DVD and their collection is huge.

The room also sports 3 PCs with a incredibly good Internet connection for 3RM per hour. WiFi is available for 5RM for your whole stay.
This room is the usual meeting place in the evening and it is easy to meet some fellow travellers there - but because it's so popular it can be difficult to find a couch from time to time. Food from the restaurant is served in all community areas and is ordered from the kitchen next door.

Food in the Cameron Highlands was not very good, the town itself is full of rather uninspiring Indian and Chinese restaurants. Most are incredibly expensive and the food is definitely not as good as in other places in Malaysia. It was certainly a huge disappointment after coming from the food heaven of Penang.
The restaurant at the Guesthouse is ok, not more and not less. The dishes are Chinese stir-frys and curries with some western dishes mixed in. They fill you up but don't expect any of the delicious Malay cuisine that you can find elsewhere.
We were normally to tired to walk into town so we stayed in and had a curry with garlic bread on the side. The highlight of the menu is the butter scones with strawberry jam - they are delicious and brought back many happy memories of good old England.

No outside food and drinks are allowed in the common areas, they are especially strickt with alcohol. So if you are looking for party all night than Father's restaurant should not be your first choice.

Drinks can be bought all day long and I definitely recommend you to try the Boh strawberry tea - it helps against the humid, cold air coming in from outside.
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The service

Next to the common room is a small reception where the staff can be approached to help with your travel plans, to buy tickets and to pay your bills. I've never seen this before in any other places but here the reception was closed for lunch and dinner which can be really annoying as you cannot really use the Internet during this time or check out/in.

Staff however was almost always very friendly and knowledgeable. When I had to cancel a booked day-trip because I didn't feel well they refunded the money without any problem. You can ask them any question about travels in Malaysia and they'll do their best to help you, be it from coach tickets to places where to eat the best Nasi Lemak in town.

At Father's you can book all means of transportation but if you are on a budget then you can get the bus tickets cheaper from the bus station in town. So if you just want to go to Kuala Lumpur or Penang just walk the 5min to the bus station, it will save you up to 10RM. If, however, you are going to places that are farther away it will probably be easier to book with Father's.

The guesthouse also offers several day-trips around the Cameron Highlands. We joined the Adventure tour for 85RM per person which took the whole day. I'm not the day-trip kind of traveller but we really wanted to see the Rafflesia flower which grows only in the middle of the jungle and you need an experienced guide to go there.
Our guide Francis was simply amazing, working for a conservation organisation he knew the whole area inside out. He took us to see the Rafflesia flower in the morning, followed by a blow-pipe demonstration by the Orang Asli. After lunch we visited the Boh tea plantation with its beautiful rolling green hills and visited the Mossy Forest in the evening.
This tour was one of the best days I had on my recent trip to Asia and I cannot thank Father's enough for organising this great day!
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I cannot recommend Father's highly enough; it may seem like a typical backpacker trap from the outside but it is simply a great place to spend your time in the Cameron Highlands in. I'm planning of going back to Malaysia in a couple of years time and I'm definitely going to book a room at Father's again - although this time I'm going to spend some more money and go for a room inside the house; the Nissen huts were too cold for me.

One word of warning, Father's does not offer any laundry service. It can be quite tricky to dry your wet stuff after a day trekking in the rain; your best bet is to use a laundry service in town.

Definitely have a look at the website if you plan on going to Malaysia and if you decide to stay there try and book in advance to avoid dissapointment, Father's is very popular and fills rather quickly in High season.
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Room prices

Double room, bathroom inside, house - 80RM
Double room, bathroom outside, house - 50 55RM
Triple room, bathroom outside, house - 70RM
Double room, bathroom outside, Nissen hut - 30-40RM
Dorm bed, bathroom outside, Nissen hut - 10RM
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Service charges

1 RM for a hot tea
3-7 RM for a snack
7-15 RM for a main meal
WiFi 5RM for whole stay
Internet 3RM for 1 hour - very good connection
5RM to watch a DVD
Half-day trip - from 25RM
Day-trip - from 80RM
Towel hire - 1RM
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Website

http://fathers.cameronhighlands.com/

Summary: see review