Reviews of Baan Talay Homestay

02 January 2012 Isabel would recommend this property

Liked: Amazing staff, very friendly and helpful, very relaxing atmosphere, this is very our holiday really began...

Disliked: Isabel left no negative feedback.

06 November 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: The owner was a super guy. We arrived really late from thialand and didn't have any local currency and he didn't rush us to pay for the room and even lent us some money to get food and such for the evening till we could find a bank. It is a 5 min walk to the beach. Free tea and coffee all day and free breakfast were nice. They have a house cat and she just had like 5 little kittens running around, sooo cute. They also had a tv room and movies you could borrow

Disliked: It is a ways out of town but easy enough to take a bus in.

12 September 2011

Liked: If you want the real Malaysian Experience, this is the place to go to because it definitely has the air of a developing nation. It also has reasonably fast wifi for Malaysia (350kb/s) and spacious rooms and beds. It's close to a a food hawker court and a Tescoes shopping centre.

Disliked: Well the first thing that was very disappointing was the cleanliness of the rooms. The linens were admittedly washed, although stained, but apart from that everything else was dirty. In Malaysian homes you take of your shoes/sandals before going inside to keep the floor clean, and even though this was the case here I frankly did not see the point because the floor had a covering of dirt, dust and sand. The carpets in the room were dirty, the television set was dirty - I'm just 19 and I'm not a particularly clean person but apart from the bed almost no attempt seemed to have been made to get the room up to the standard I anticipated. The worst thing for me were the insects, the Air Conditioning unit (which you must pay extra for) is poorly installed with holes in the walls leaving the room exposed to various mosquitoes. Due to the poor installation of the socket circuitry I felt like I was risking my life at times, just to turn the socket off. There was also a serious ant problem, on the first night I awoke to ants crawling up and down my body. Now I'm not a squeamish person, but I often read reviews where people point out the most minute flaws and I sit there thinking 'come on, what do you expect?' - and although I usually find Hostel Bookers to have accurate information and reviews, I found in this instance it wasn't the case. Due to the poor structural composition and the uncleanliness, ants were rife in my room and on the bed. I awoke one morning to see a dozen dead ants and realized I must have crushed them with my face at some point during the night. Seeing as I did not want to pay for AC I had to use the fan, not a ceiling fan but a stand fan. It was too far away to be of any great help, and the limited cord length and limited socket use meant I could not position it closer to myself. There was also the fact that the bed blankets were very thick meaning that you could either not wear the blankets and still be too warm and expose yourself to the mosquitoes - or you could put on the blankets and be devastatingly hot and protect yourself... or you could just cave in and pay extra for the AC (seems suspicious). Ants and mosquitoes weren't the only insect problem, I awoke to a bite on my ankle, and thinking it was another mosquito I turned on my light to expect the damage. I found either a centipede/millepede (I do not know which) taking a carefree bite out of my ankle. Of course by this point I had become quite efficient at ruthlessly killing insects, and simply picked it up with my fingers, crushed it and threw it to a small group of ants who took care of the carcass. If you're the type of person who complains that the showers aren't hot enough or powerful enough. Or that the television only has x number of channels. Or the receptionist didn't give you a wide enough smile then don't even bother coming to this place. I could write a long essay on these types of small issues but thought it would be best to point out the really bad parts first. As a rule of thumb, just assume the quality of everything else is poor and you're not sure to be far wrong. On the other hand if you want a more 'jungle' based 'experience' then go right ahead because they're 4 days I'll never get back. Seriously you have to be tough, this is not somewhere to relax in comfort; it's somewhere to survive in unease. Oh I also went down into the 'kitchen' at night and several rats scattered.

01 September 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Very nice staff, very helpful. Nice breakfast and great price :)

Disliked: The white balls they put in some rooms and bathrooms, it's for some humidity reason but I think they smell very bad and strong, you can feel the smell all over the place.

08 August 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Really nice owners and rooms. Bathroom was clean and fairly modern. close to beach and supermarket and hawker centre.

Disliked: Directions to get there on the bus from the jetty weren't great. Note: get off at the bus stop after the big Tesco on the right hard side.

23 July 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: the garden

Disliked: the room

21 July 2011

Liked: The location was great and the wifi was quick

Disliked: Our room was like a make shift shed. There were gaps in the panelling, the windows didn't close together and we would see sunlight through the roof in the morning - its certainly not built to keep out mosquitos. The mosquito net they provided was so disgusting that we took it down and hid it under the bed, instead we went out and bought a plug in repellent. After being in our room five nights, they offered to clean it. By this point there was soooo much sand ingrained in their carpet and so much sand blocking their plughole that we didn't think it would make much difference. If they intended on keeping the rooms clean, they should have a more regular cleaning regime. The owners never introduced themselves, we didn't know who to go to if we had a problem and overall, we did not feel at home. So i would not call this place a homestay.

09 May 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: very nice staff and close to the beach as well.

Disliked: only one bathroom and toilet shared for 3 rooms on 1st floor but clean

08 May 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Nice place to stay in the suburbs away from the bustle of Georgetown. Pretty much next to the sea and there's an outdoor pool at the hotel across the street. Good if you want to spend a few days hanging out, cooking your own food etc. Or there is a good outdoor food court very close. Staff were helpful, and keen to give us the best room for the price (which were nice and low).

Disliked: Can't say I loved the location. Lots of hotels and apartment blocks around, and aside from the food court very little atmosphere or anything going on. Bus into town is easy enough but can take a while in traffic (at least half an hour). Definitely not a homestay, more of a guesthouse really.

05 May 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: I had a very pleasant stay at Baan Talay, the staff was very friendly and as mentioned by previous guests, it feels ike a home away from home. There is not much to do around so it is perfect if you are looking for relaxation. Having said that, it is also conveniently located halfway between the tourist resort Batu Ferringhi and Georgetown city, both a bus ride away (and buses are very frequent).

Disliked: N/A

27 April 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: The house is quiet, safe and friendly as your home. Easy to travel to various tourist spots. And near the food court. Worth the price reasonable.

Disliked: no

25 April 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: The layout, atmosphere, friendly host... Lovely place ! A (very) short walk to the beach. You can hear the waves of the sea from the property itself. Felt like a home away from home. Would definitely book to stay again next time.

Disliked: There was one night whereby in the middle of the night, a cat (I think) was in the roof making quite a noise!

01 April 2011 JEONG JOO would recommend this property

Liked: I didn't enjoy everything in Penang. I rellay like this place and all the staff.

Disliked: Actually, I didn't like the location and a Fan installed at my room

26 March 2011 Fred would recommend this property

Liked: Friendliness of all staff and guests....very friendly atmosphere. Very cool air-con.

Disliked: Too many beds for size of room....Room had double bed and single bed bunk plus another single bed.

21 March 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: the staff is very friendly and helpful

Disliked: nothing

19 March 2011 phillip would recommend this property

Liked: We booked for two nights, but the owners have made such a welcoming, friendly atmosphere here that we immediately decided we'd stay for 2 weeks. We discovered that a number of guests had also done the same, so KD and Saracha must be doing something right.. It's a lovely clean home with a great breakfast, facilities and lots of places to eat nearby and good bus links. You won't want to move on!

Disliked: Nothing

03 March 2011 angelina would recommend this property

Liked: Very friendy and welcoming staff. Very close to the beach but due to jellyfish in the sea wasn't any good for swimming. Close to a Hawker centre which was great for food. Had to get buses to other places but the bus stop was close by.

Disliked: There wasn't anything i disliked.

27 January 2011 KIT U would recommend this property

Liked: Friendly staff

Disliked: Mosquito

25 January 2011

Liked: so friendly and an excellent option if you wana relax. the only point is if you wana explore the town you should take ahalf anhour bus. but its so close to the beach. its so relaxing

Disliked: N/A

08 January 2011 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: Lovely staff, lovely breakfast included, lovely room, right by the beach, playful kitten made it's home in our room

Disliked: Nothing

30 December 2010 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: It was a nice, homely place by the beach and you really do feel welcome. Breakfast in the hangout spot at the garden was very nice. And the food court down the road is just awesome. Overall, a pretty good value and experience for your money.

Disliked: As many have said, the walls are thin so everything can be pretty much be heard. Other than that, it's not too bad once you've figured out the public transport system.

18 December 2010 Customer would recommend this property

Liked: I only stayed one night. It was fairly easy to find opposite the Pasar Seni LRT station. The room was adequate, the guy on night shift was very friendly and helpful. Breakfast started at 7am (toast and cereal) which was the time I had to check out so he set breakfast out for me at 6am which was really appreciated.

Disliked: Despite promoting themselves as somewhere quiet for sleep some drunk guys on my floor were very noisy. You get that anywhere though, not the hostel's fault. Wireless internet didn't work in my room (I was located one floor down from reception so maybe too far away to get a good connection). I used the computes available at reception instead.

24 November 2010 James would recommend this property

Liked: The owner KD Was very helpful and probably one of the most friendliest owners around! Always laughing, happy to chat and willing to help at every opportunity! A bloody good bloke!!

Disliked: James left no negative feedback.

22 November 2010 Seyedmohammad would recommend this property

Liked: price and good behavior staff friendliness

Disliked: Seyedmohammad left no negative feedback.

19 November 2010

Liked: easy access to the beach, close to a bus stop

Disliked: The hostel is very difficult to find and the instructions given are awful. the bus journey from georgetown takes at least an hour. Once you manage to figure out the correct bus stop, you must negotiate the crossing of a busy dual-carriageway. the room was unclean and the bathroom small and full of bird/gecko mess. The worst part though was finding a rat in the room - which the owner just shrugged his shoulders about and did nothing about it.