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Reviews of The Bala's Holiday Chalet

3 out of 5
The Bala's Holiday Chalet
Lot 55, Tanah Rata, Pahang

Reviews

7.2

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 28 out of 111 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 39 out of 111 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 24 out of 111 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 11 out of 111 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 9 out of 111 reviews" "

7.0/10

Cleanliness

7.4/10

Staff & service

7.0/10

Amenities

6.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

5.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

6/10 Okay

SOHAINI

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Variable Room design but.....
The Family Suite, 1 Bedroom was switched to another room as my guests were not willing to climb the steep hill everytime. But the room given was not a Family Suite, 1 Bedroom, yet the receptionist told us, same rate only different design.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

4/10 Poor

Liudmyla

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The place have an interesting concept, however it needs to be renovated. While the room itself is nice, the bathroom is very bad and loosy - it’s doesn’t match the style and it wasn’t nice to use it. Also, the towels are very old and in bad state, it feels like the owners save money on everything. WiFi never worked. The price for staying is overrated. Same comes for the price for the restaurant and especially, breakfast - it’s very basic for 40 ringgits. On the good side, the personal was always nice and helpful. Scones are good (though, pricey and comes with the basic tea). The territory around looks nice. If management wasn’t that greedy, it would be a really perfect place to stay. Right now, it’s not. It needs improvements.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

2/10 Terrible

Dhanita

Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2023

2/10 Terrible

Eve

Traveled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
1) important thing no toilet paper 2) food no worth the price 3) pillow & bed not comfortable 4) the place take photo super nice
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Richard

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Andrew

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Cosy and remote compared to many of the larger hotels we saw in the area. Quirky (if dated) colonial time warp!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Noorrafidah

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2022

4/10 Poor

rebecca

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
很不满意，因为房间的床单，被单和枕头套都很肮脏，酒店比较旧，清洁做的很差，工作人员也不戴口罩，服务很一般，反正这体不是很满足，房间价格也不值得，只是酒店外观很好看而已
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022

6/10 Okay

Nicole

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful hotel, but dissapointing stay.
The hotel itself is very charming with a lot of history and character and well worth the visit. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and dinner at a reasonable cost during our stay. Our room and the service however were both a little disappointing. Room run down and in need of attention. i.e. - broken toilet seat, furniture covered with dead ants, cobwebs throughout room etc. No fridge or heating/cooling. Wifi virtually non-existent. Room not serviced for our 3 day stay despite this being part of advertised package. Advertised shuttle bus into town not currently operating. Not enough staff and subsequently they were all run off their feet - potentially covid related. Despite this, staff were pleasant and helpful, just sparse.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022

8/10 Good

cecilia

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Ruth

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Cameron highlands
Our stay in Cameron Highlands was fair. The traffic and road conditions getting there were difficult to say the least. Be sure to go during the week and not on a weekend as traffic will cause delays. Be prepared for windy and narrow roads. Most of the sites seemed gimmicky or required more time driving. Overall, we were disappointed.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A bit frustated
Not so happy. Room are gloomy, insuffienct light for kids to play & study. Furniture are old and some of it already damaged. No safe box provided.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021

8/10 Good

Nittha

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

Anna, Kuala Lumpur

Traveled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The ambience and english old style accommodation really attracted me to this place. The place is full of greeneries, flowers and chirping birds, secluded from the busy touristy place. I can stay all day here just chilling in the garden.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2020

8/10 Good

Jeff

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2020

8/10 Good

Sharifah

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Love this place and service. tea and scones. Like the simple and quiet surroundings. Great place to chill. Boss is friendly too.
Like this simple breakfast... Scones
Morning View.... From chalet
Nice setting... Everything so colonial style and British feel... Hahaha
History of this chalet...
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

Marie, Singapore

Traveled with partner, Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
I LOVED OUR STAY AT BALA'S! The place was surreal like out from a storybook. It was like staying at Snow White's cottage. The were LOTS OF greenery, red plaid tablecloth with yummy homemade looking breakfast (and sometimes breakfast with the famous Mr Bala, himself.) A very nice and warm man, made us feel very welcomed! He even does inspection around the house, as he is very involved with renovations and upgrades etc! Okay, so coming back to the rooms we stayed in. Interior wise we were contented with the look and feel, clean but minor cardboard defects, and a weird hot water supply where it changes if you don't know how to use it. (Trick is : to turn the knob to your desired heat, then pull the knob. Otherwise it will get suddenly ice cold!) Either than that. I LOVED THE EXPERIENCE! Lovely Tudor with a beautiful patio! Alongside with the Cameron Highlands weather! It's Perfect! 👌
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
It's a very nice place to stay; very tastefully decorated with a very friendly staff. However, there was a big minus that would make us hesitate staying there again in the future. We didn't have warm water all the time. One day we got back in from a hike and we were drenched due to the rain. It was 17 degrees outside and with no heating and no warm water in the room, that was a bit too much. They tried to fix it, but even when we had warm water for a few minutes, the water pressure was very very low.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Pleasant stay
Comfortable and quiet environment.
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

JunJun

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019

8/10 Good

Ahmad, Setapak

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
English-style surrounding elevates my holiday experience. A few drawbacks are main room lighting flicker and inconsistent hot water supply.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

TEOH

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Comfortable
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A standard well below expectations
This is a very tired hotel in need of an update. The wifi did not work and the room was damp. With so many hotels in the area, I would not stay here again.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was a different experience than staying in a normal hotel, Very antique, Boutique property - They have some rooms with stairs which is a plus for me
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The setting of this hotel was fantastic. Super gardens and great views. The room was very spacious and with a place to sit outside, one could really enjoy the setting. All very relaxing with a great feeling of colonial times. The staff were very friendly and attentive.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
The staff are very pleasant, willing to help travellers and are a valuable asset of the hotel. My main gripe is that the upkeep of the hotel lacks finesse in areas. Our room had no door on the shower, it had presumably fallen off and never been replaced, leaving exposed metal and brickwork in what could have been a lovely bathroom recently renovated. There was a reachable electricity socket WITHIN the shower! Dead flies on the (mouldy) windowsill were not removed during cleaning. A real shame. With a lick of paint the hotel’s rooms could compliment the fantastic efforts of the chef at dinner to create a little oasis.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2019

6/10 Okay

Sa, Kuala Lumpur

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The toilet is not clean, the hotel didn't provide the minimum requirements like tooth brush and tooth paste, and there is no bidet! The room is very cold and humid, some lights are not working, and some has no cabinet for clothes!! Where the price was really expensive compared with other hotels, and it doesn't include breakfast. Other than that, the staff were friendly and helpful.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice and pleasant place that offers you a very good rest and satisfaction
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Chun foong

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly staff.... Nice environment
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

MrsK, Kuala Lumpur

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Unique Hotel
Nice Hotel with beautiful decoration and view. Best teh tarik.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018
Response from joe on Nov 4, 2018
Hi, Thank You so much for your review, we appreciate it. Hope to see you again.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

4/10 Poor

Hock Leong

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Bring your own things!
Room provided is not the same as per what i booked. Room was damp and dusty, sound proof is bad, can hear outside and room beside noise. no hair dryer given and the water pressure and temperature is inconsistent! receptionist closed at night!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

4/10 Poor

Mom, KL

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice cosy place ...but not cosy service , the food was pricey and lousy ( dinner) For the price, no breakfast included which was dissapointing I thot... Sadly, Not a place for a repeat visit
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

4/10 Poor

CS, Malaysia

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Cons: - Booked 2 nights, got CONNED on the first night; booked a suite but gave us a deluxe room telling us all suites were fully booked. But we PAID for 2 nights for a Raffles Suite - Not all lights working - TV not working - Only one bottle of 500ml water for 2 guests - Poor sound proofing - Found a big cocoon of a bug in the comforter Pros: - Great responsive staff, especially the always smiling Bangladeshi male staff - Gave us complimentary continental breakfast (nothing special) for the first night’s mistake - Got the suite we booked for on second night; was much nicer - Great colonial English ambience and decor Be careful if you book this hotel, ie contact them and be very specific what you want. The owner of this hotel tends to cut corners and put out misleading or creatively worded advertising. Bala, pls be honest lah macha. Your hotel is not even called Planters Country Hotel anymore
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

4/10 Poor

Kelly, Malaysia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Expedia didn’t inform the hotel our bookings . Lucky one guest cancel their bookings and we got our room.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Saif to be famous for its Hi-Tea & Scones
Love the architectural structure of the building. It is a quaint beautiful quite little place. Parking was very limited and a bit daunting because it is on a ledge of a slope. We were worried the slope could hold the weight of all those cars. We stay at F11 Love the room but the balcony area was not washed properly. The table and was greenly moldy as well as the floor. my baby almost had a mishap stepping on the slippery area. We were surprised they put a guillotine planks as part of decoration on the front of the main building. No breakfast, Indian Food for Dinner. Left a small green bag in the room, no one from the Hotel call me back to inform us until now.

8/10 Good

Zyan , KL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I love the room ... very colonial look... so cosy and beautiful 👍👍👍
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Fadillah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018

6/10 Okay

Wendy, Sydney Australia

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disappointing accommodation in Cameron Highlands
A visit to the Cameron Highlands had been on my 'wishlist' for several years. I purposely chose this property because of its connection to colonial England. The property looks pretty from the outside and the gardens are well maintained. Our room was most disappointing. It was extremely cold, no heating was provided and the room is badly in need of refurbishment. The bathroom is antiquated and poorly maintained. We had one bland Indian tali dinner and breakfast there. Overall, an underwhelming experience.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018

6/10 Okay

Ahmad Shahrin

Liked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018

2/10 Terrible

Martine

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Poor condition
The building is so nice with the garden. But it really needs a good maintenance, especially the rooms need an upgrade! For almost 100 euro’s you don’t expect a broken shower, poor bathroom with very poor towels, very antique beds with also the bedsheets from 50 years ago. Also the empoyees are not interested in their jobs, they really don’t know what they are doing. It was a disappointment, the building so nice and it can be a great hotel! But in this curriculum I suggest to look for a other hotel to stay and come over to Planters Country for a cup of tea and a walk in the historic time.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Nice English style stay in CH
Bring my 3 kids there. A new experince since this is the first time in CH. Weather all nice. The stay is okay. The hotel is the nostalgic trip to our colonial days. The downsides : TV not working, the bathroom too dark, the single beds mattress are too hard. Other than that my wife and kids love it. Just like staying in English countryside. One more thing, pls try the scones at the cafe. Just try so you will know what is scones is.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

8/10 Good

Jocelyn, Kuala Lumpur

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Nice British Style Home
It was a very pleasant stay. Dinner was wonderful with a real wood fireplace crackling while we had a sumptuous Indian dinner. The neighbors were quite noisy, talking loudly to the wee morning in the open patio area but generally, if not for noisy guests, it was very pleasant.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2017

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Very comfortable hotel.
Services from the front desk sucks . Pls buckle up your staff. Twist and turn there . Not friendly , and not welcoming .
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

6/10 Okay

Dave, kuala lumpur

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Quiet and isolated
Room very little facilities and need a major renovation. Staff is friendly and helpful
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

6/10 Okay

Sabah

Disliked: Staff & service
INTERIOR DESIGN LIKE ENGLISH STYLE BUT SOME OF THE STAFF ARE NOT FRIENDLY. UNPLEASANT STAY
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017

6/10 Okay

Elif , Singapore

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Manage your expectations well
The images given for this hotel were different than the reality, I was disappointed. It is a colonial style old chalet and the buildings surrounding it. the place was very very damp to be honest, I took a suite, spacious but not too comfortable. The products they offer for comfort aren't what you expect from a suite, very very basic. The bathroom was one big space , no separation for shower and toilet. No aircon, I am sure I saw in their room description it was mentioned as available. The TV had 3 channels not working properly so don't count on entertainment. Breakfast was okay, you order from a-la-carte , good portions. Location was good, pretty quiet and have nice views (not full mountain view but still pleasant pink skies at sunset). It is certainly better than other small hotels based in the towns there but you'd better manage your expectations before you get there.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017