Sarawak
These attractive cabins have a living room with couch, chairs and dining table, and three bedrooms with a total of 10 beds. Fan cooled.
Must-see hotels in Malaysia
Johor
For a fleeting view of the river try this solid budget option that offers clean but rather musty basic rooms; river views cost double.
Malaysia
This hotel is located above a KFC, with Christmas-coloured rooms that are spacious if frumpy. An acceptable crash pad for a night.
Mukut Harmony Resort & Chalets
Pulau Tioman
This place has seven simple chalets on a grassy garden plot near the jetty. Wi-fi is available near the reception area only.
Pulau Perhentian
Basic rooms with beds featuring mosquito nets in either a longhouse or individual bungalows set back from Coral Bay's beach.
Pulau Tioman
On the southern section of beach, these simple and old-but-clean bungalows have fans, mosquito nets and attached bathrooms.
Sarawak
The longhouse-style Forest Hostel is fan cooled and has an attached bathroom. Rooms sleep four in bunk beds or double beds.
Sarawak
The two cabins each sleep eight (there are two double beds in each room), and have attached bathrooms and air-con.
Mt Kinabalu & Kinabalu National Park
Clean, comfortable, 20-bed hostel (choose between four- and six-bed dorms) with fireplace and drink-making area.
Sarawak
A large family house in the village's grassy main square opposite the church. Electricity from 6pm to 11pm only.
Bawang Assan Homestay Programme
Sarawak
A homestay program at an Iban longhouse a 40-minute drive from Sibu.
Mt Kinabalu & Kinabalu National Park
Small, well-scrubbed twin rooms that share common bathrooms. There is an inviting common lounge.
Sarawak
Each rustic, two-bed room has a wood-plank floor, a private bathroom, a fridge and a fan.
Sarawak
A comfortable, homey hostel with three small rooms containing four beds. Fan cooled.
Perhentian Cabana Cafe & Campsite
Pulau Perhentian
Nylon tents under a tarp provide some of the cheapest accommodation on the island.
Gunung Mulu National Park
All 20 beds are in a clean, spacious dormitory-style room with ceiling fans.
Chinatown, Merdeka Square & Bukit Nanas
Functional, no-frills rooms with good views from atop Pudu Sentral station.
Gunung Mulu National Park
This basic wooden 'forest hostel' or large hut is divided into four dorms with sleeping platforms and mats, a kitchen (with gas for cooking and boiled…
Cherating
Crafted to look like a particularly beautiful Malaysian kampung with wooden buildings on stilts, this resort comes fully equipped with its own stretch of…
Cameron Highlands
The hotel has seen some hard knocks, judging by the prominent stains and wear and tear, but rooms (while plain) are a decent size. If you don’t need…
Sabah
A heck of a misnomer, this place has a few simple rooms varying in comfort, with fan only or air-con, some Banggi-style wooden huts and a semi-dilapidated…
Sarawak
To avoid falling prey to raiding monkeys, tents can be set up at park HQ’s fenced-in camping zone only after 6pm and must be taken down again early in the…
Malaysia
The price is right for the bland, business-style rooms at this aging hotel, five minutes' walk from Terminal 1 bus station. Nothing sparkles except the…
George Town
An old frame shop is the home of this backpackers – they've left a few empty frames and the old shop sign around just in case you didn't get the reference…
Pulau Langkawi
Green Village takes the form of several linked, low-rise villas surrounding a pool and gardenlike grounds. Rooms are small, the decor is dated and some…
George Town
For the epitome of a local experience, book one of the basic rooms in this pier-bound home in the midst of George Town’s biggest clan jetty. You'll be…
George Town
The Yeng Keng is a revamp of a 150-year-old hotel. Its latest incarnation includes rather small and overpriced rooms decked out in occasionally cheesy…
George Town
If you're OK with sacrificing atmosphere for savings and are not a light sleeper, then the starkly bare rooms at this no-frills budget hotel on a busy…
Gunung Mulu National Park
The four rooms here, housed in a wooden outbuilding near the family house, have attached bathrooms and mosquito screens. There's electricity from 6pm to…
George Town
The 24 rooms in this exceedingly plain but clean and comfortable old-fashioned hotel are all similarly equipped with TV, air-con and functional furniture…
Sarawak
This rambling place has seven guest rooms, a lovely verandah, a library-equipped lounge and endearingly tacky floor coverings. Situated 250m along a dirt…
Sarawak
These open-sided huts are as basic as they come, but the location – almost on the beach, looking out at the sea – makes a night here pretty special. The…
Pulau Pangkor
This beachfront resort has an old-school, seafront holiday vibe. There’s an inviting pool, though the simple bungalows could do with a little maintenance…
George Town
The dorms here are largely unremarkable, but the six private rooms, although cramped and not all boasting their own bathrooms, represent a bargain for…
Pulau Pangkor
Rooms are fairly ordinary (white walls, tiled floors, bathrooms in need of maintenance) but Pangkor Bayview is seconds from the beach, with activities…
