While the kids were away, we took this opportunity to go for a short getaway in Fraser’s Hill near Raub. I have always had a soft spot for Fraser’s Hill. It’s cool, peaceful and tranquil there away from the bustle of other highland resorts such as Cameron highlands or Genting. The area is small enough to be spared from the horrors of plantation and over-development. I’ve been there a few times with friends and family. With friends it was for a hiking trip to the Pine Hill and Twin Peak trail. I stayed with my sister, mom and both our family once at the Pines resort a couple of years ago and that’s about it. We’ve never returned back to the highland resort ever since.
Usually it’s virtually impossible to get a good (read: affordable) deal during school holidays or weekends but this time after much persistence and effort I’ve managed to snag a relatively good deal at one of the hotels there. The place we stayed were called TM Resorts Fraser Hill Sri Peninjau apartment, tucked away at the highest point in Fraser’s Hill. Fraser’s Hill is only a short 2 hours drive away from home, another reason why I liked the place very much. From the clock tower in the middle of the town, I had to drive another 3 kilometres to the apartment along a winding and gradual climb up the hill.
First look, the place looked like a typical apartment housing, 4 stories high. Parking space was limited and I had to negotiate a sharp and narrow turn to the back of the apartment. Nobody was present at the reception but one guy showed up minutes later, probably back from a toilet break. To be honest the reception is nothing more than a small room not unlike the maintenance office at my flat. I filled up some forms and got our keys to a room on the 2nd floor. It’s a relatively spacious one bedroom apartment. There’s a living room and then the bedroom. As we enter, there’s a whiff of musty smell mixed with the smell of something burning in the air.
The burning smell slowly subsided but the musty smell persisted throughout our stay. The windows were ajar when we got there and I could only guess that rain water or the damp climate somehow contributed to the aroma. There were some rattan furniture and a small 21” LCD TV in the living room. No Astro or cable TV whatsoever so we had to make do with terrestrial TV hooked to the antenna. The bedroom is attached to the bathroom. Didn’t expect any bath tub or jacuzzi in there but I expected then to be clean at least which is not the case. The toilet bowl looked like it had just been cleaned after a while and the little sink is leaking. The bed sheet looks alright at first glance but upon closer inspection by the wife, she found several unsightly stains on it. We then straight away called the reception to change our bed sheet which they did but the new sheets was only slightly better than the one earlier. At least we knew from a fact that this one is washed and new.
Frankly speaking, I didn’t have high hopes for a 140 ringgit per night apartment from Expedia. The bare minimum was it should be clean and free from smell. That said, you get what you pay for and that’s exactly what happened in my case. The rest of our visit was uneventful. We took a stroll and had a little sight-seeing tour around the town centre and had coffee and hot chocolate at one of the newly opened café. Later we had dinner at the usual eateries near pine road. We had planned to go for a short hike around one of the many trails there but unfortunately almost all of them are closed until January or February I think which is a common occurrence these past few years. Our only other option was a trek to the popular Jeriau waterfall but unfortunately it started to rain later that afternoon.
Will I be coming back to Fraser Hill? Definitely but most probably somewhere else apart from that Sri Peninjau apartment. If you’re low on budget and don’t mind staying at a 1 star resort then the TM Resorts Fraser Hill Sri Peninjau apartment would be perfect for you. You can call them at this number below number for reservation or you can always book one on Expedia.com.
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