Sepilok Jungle Resort
When we arrived in Sepilok two days ago, we had a bit of a struggle to find good accommodation. The guidebooks raved about a guest house called Uncle Tan's, but it turned out that it was just a 6-bed dormitory, with no private rooms, set in the middle of nowhere (sadly concrete-rubble nowhere, rather than rainforest-nowhere). They also have a wilderness camp, set deep in the jungle, but its three hours away from the orang-utan centre, and only accessible by boat once a day. As we have decided not to take malaria tablets, we don't really want to go and sleep right in the middle of the jungle! Perhaps the guide books are raving about the 'Uncle Tans Jungle Camp', and got their places confused. So then we tried Lebuk B&B, also described as 'excellent' in the guide book, but this looked more like a bed-bug breeding farm, with three disgusting mattresses piled onto each bed. Yeuch!
Finally we found Sepilok Jungle Resort, which the guidebooks didn't mention, which is within walking distance of the rehabilitation centre. The rooms are laid out in amazing grounds, with raised walkways across the lakes leading to the restaurant. We were able to sit on our balcony, and watch the birds fly across the grounds, although we missed the early morning parade of monkeys on their way to the banana fields. Although the grounds are well managed and maintained, sadly the rest of the hotel isn't. The staff are all miserable and surly, which makes going to the open air restaurant a depressing and slow experience.
Despite its lovely surroundings, I don't think we'll want to stay here for four days until our flight back to the mainland.
Finally we found Sepilok Jungle Resort, which the guidebooks didn't mention, which is within walking distance of the rehabilitation centre. The rooms are laid out in amazing grounds, with raised walkways across the lakes leading to the restaurant. We were able to sit on our balcony, and watch the birds fly across the grounds, although we missed the early morning parade of monkeys on their way to the banana fields. Although the grounds are well managed and maintained, sadly the rest of the hotel isn't. The staff are all miserable and surly, which makes going to the open air restaurant a depressing and slow experience.Despite its lovely surroundings, I don't think we'll want to stay here for four days until our flight back to the mainland.