Welcome to The Maya Resort. Beautiful central location on Coral Bay, the 'Sunset side' of Perhentian Kecil. Four beach-front rooms, plus eight rooms fringing tranquil, half acre garden. All en-suite and fan cooled. 'Nightlife' of Long Beach just 10 minutes walk away.
Nearby restaurants serving fresh BBQ fish plus local / western dishes. Adjacent Dive resorts with full range of PADI courses. Or there's snorkeling, boat trips, volleyball, jungle walks, reading, sunbathing...zzzz!
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Kecil has some of the best beaches and most incredible coral in the world. The island is beautiful. That said, sadly Long Beach (the main beach) is extremely packed and mainly dominated by Barbie and Ken look-a-likes. It is not yet overdevloped like Koh Phi Phi in Thailand (at least when I went there was only one concrete hotel and the rest were wooden or palm-leaf bungalows) but possibly getting that way. Anyhow, there is a beach on the opposite of the island from Long Beach called Coral Bay, which is actually even more stunning than Long Beach but the sand isn't as good because there are lost of lumps of coral in it. However, it is a nicer place to sleep as there are less bungalows there and it is generally quieter. It is just a 5-10minute walk through the trees from Long Beach, or you can get dropped off in a boat there. On eof the best places to stay there is Maya Beach chalets. If you walk through the trees to Coral Bay then turn left, they are almost at the end of the island and there is a sign up saying Maya. They are low-rise wooden bungalows and cost about £5 (GB) a night. Great value for money! They have hard-wood floors, real, sprung double beds and a shower/toilet/washbasin in the next room. The "reception" consists of two lovely guys called Yee and Jojo who are normally asleep in the hammocks outside. The only drawback is there are (were) only about two places to get food on Coral Bay, although its not far back to Long Beach, you'll need a torch at night to follow the path! Rajwali Beach resort is one of the places you can eat there, you can also sleep there too, and their restaurant is up on the hill with a breathtaking view of Coral Bay. It is so good that my photos of it look like a postcard!!!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mayafrog, Leaseholder at Maya Guesthouse
Responded 12 Oct 2006
I must assume that the date for the above review is wrong, and therefore feel I should correct a few points that have been made. I took over The Maya Resort on 15th May this year (2006). It is located in the centre of Coral Bay. Rates this year were RM40 / RM60 per night for garden view / Sea View chalets in low season, and RM60 / RM80 for high season, though a programme of improvements is planned for the next couple of years. There are currently 5 restaurants operating on Coral Bay during the Feb - October season. Rajawali Beach Resort has been closed since 2003, is under new ownership and will re-open with 80 (eighty) well-appointed A/C chalets and a large restaurant in 2007.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Okay, so when you rock up to an island like Perhenthian Kecil, you need to be aware that you're not headed to a plush beach resort - pretty much ALL of the accommodation on the little island is basic. So although this review is average, I'd still recommend Maya as one of the better options on the island (and believe me, we looked at them all!)
Maya have 2 different chalet options - garden chalets at RM 60 or beach front at RM 80. We opted for one of the four beach front ones available and those would be my recommendation if you're going to be staying there. The room itself isn't amazing so the balcony and the view make up for it.
Inside the chalet is pretty small - a bed, a dresser, a fan and an attached bathroom with cold shower. It has wooden floors which is good for brushing out the sand and a pretty big balcony with views of the beach and the jetty. You'll be able to watch an amazing sunset from your balcony. There is a back door and also a front door with additional front sliding doors so it's easy to keep the room cool by opening these and letting the sea breeze blow through the room. We had the doors open most of the time and had no trouble with bugs or mozzies - always a good idea to burn some mozzie coils though (which we did).
Downsides of the room? It could have been a little cleaner. On the surface everything was clean - the bed linen was good and the toilet of a clean enough standard but as I was tucking in my mozzie net I noticed loads of dust and cobwebs on the wooden bed frame headboard. Probably the most annoying thing was the bathroom floor which didn't run on a slope meaning the water puddled after a shower and took ages to drain away (not so nice going to the loo and having to step in puddles of cold water).
Overall though, it was decent enough and as I said it's one of the better budget accommodations on the island. We'd have happily stayed there longer but availability came up at another newer and cheaper resort we'd already stayed at so we headed back there after 4 nights at Maya.
They also run a snorkelling trip which is fantastic, but I'm going to leave a separate review for that as it deserves 5 stars!
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Date of stay: July 2012
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Take your own mozzie net if you're staying on the island - most places don't have one.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It's a decent place and cleaner than some of the other dumps on this island, but it should have a lower rating. The staff wasn't that helpful and the room we stayed in was infested with ants. Still, it could be worse...
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Date of stay: September 2010
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
After reading other trip-advisor reviews, we decided this was the place to stay in Coral Bay on Perhentian Kecil. Unfortunately, it was fully booked for the first 2 nights of our stay, so didn't get to stay here until the 3rd night, but it was worth it.
The room was 50 RM (malaysian ringget) which fitted within our budget of 50-100 RM. This got us a double room with ensuite bathroom, fan, and hot water at night (be aware that the Perhentian Islands are still relatively under-developed, so some places only have electricity from roughly 7pm through to 7am). Breakfast was not included at Maya. Of the 3 places we stayed in at Coral Bay, Maya was the nicest of the chalets, and probably the best value.
If you are expecting luxury, you are better off staying at the more 'resorty type' places on the island. These chalets (along with others like Butterfly and Senja) are just simple wooden chalets - nothing flash. They are designed for sleeping in at night, not spending all day inside - why would you anyway with the beach and snorkelling around? There is a cool little common area at Maya that you can chill out and read books etc in if you do get sick of the beach.
They do a great BBQ at night. Coral Bay is relatively quiet compared to Long Beach, so keep that in mind if you plan on partying. You can make the trek over the hill in around 15 mins, but take mosquito repellent. We didn't do the snorkelling trip with Maya, but it sounds like they all visit the same spots, so whichever operator you choose, definitely do the snorkelling trip - giant turtles, sharks, colourful fish... its great and was the highlight of our trip.
We also stayed at Butterfly Chalets and Senja Bay Resort, so check out these reviews if you like.
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Date of stay: July 2011Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It was a pleasure to stay at Maya's during my trip in the Perhentian Islands. The room was big, with bathroom inside, for just 40 RM a night ! Also the food was amazing, the best milkshake on the island ! We took a snorkeling trip twice, half a day, for only 35 RM. I recommend this place with all my heart ! The staff was very nice and treated us very good.
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Date of stay: October 2011
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DO NOT STAY IN THIS RESORT IF YOU WANNA ENJOY YOUR TRIP. Terrible service, disgusting toilet that is even worse than prison toilet, terrible bed with blood stains and holes. Sticky sandy floor, old and shabby, no electricity except 7pm to 7am. No towels, tissue, breakfast. Unreasonable price!
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Date of stay: April 2015Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This review is for the Snorkelling day trip provided by Maya, not the accommodation itself.
My girlfriend and I enjoyed the Maya snorkelling trip so much, that we re-booked and went out with them again a week later. Run by brothers Matt and Mann they make sure that you have a day to remember.
The tour costs RM35 (£7) and lasts for the whole day. Matt and Mann also take their underwater digital cameras with them and take plenty of pictures.They also take out crackers to entice the fish to follow you which makes for a great photo! We got some great photos of us with a giant turtle, some really colourful fish and even some sharks!
They take you to 6 different areas around both the big and little islands (turtle cove, turtle beach, shark point, romantic beach, the lighthouse and the fisherman village). Both times we went out we saw turtles and sharks - Matt and Mann will make sure that they find them for you and even if they're not in the exact site you've stopped at, they will take the boat elsewhere so you're guaranteed to see them.
They only charge RM10 (£2) for the disc of photographs which is great value!
We loved it. Highly recommended!
Greg & Jen, Scotland
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Date of stay: July 2012
Value
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The rooms at Maya are indeed nicer than other rooms in the price range on Coral Beach, however, even on the surface, I'm not certain that the glowing reviews here are warranted. The price is right, but the rooms weren't very clean. Please note that I am a backpacker, so I'm not one of the people on here expecting to pay next to nothing and get 5-star service/amenities. Having said that, the cleanliness is not horrible, but not great either. I've definitely stayed at much cleaner places for the same price or less.
The service is not great either. The staff were not very helpful or accommodating, as they wouldn't even hold a room for us for a few minutes without full payment in advance. I suppose the number one rating on this site have put them in high demand, so they no longer feel the need to go out of their way to be courteous to their patrons. Also, a room of this type should be equipped with a mosquito net, given that there are no screens on the windows.
The above issues though, are minor compared to the real problem: bed bugs. I have unfortunately lived through bed bugs in my home, so I can say with certainty that the bed in room #6 has bed bugs. I slept with (my own) mosquito net, and woke up with the worst bed bug bites I've ever experienced (and again, I unfortunately have a great deal of experience).
Because I have lived through them in my home, I was very polite and courteous when I explained to the owner's sister (the owner was absent) that they had a bed bug problem. She was very unapologetic, and refused to even acknowledge the problem. She simply stated that it wasn't a problem with the room, asked me to pay my bill in full, and suggested that I visit the village for some cream and medication. I cannot speak for certain about any of the other rooms, but our neighbor in the room next door also had horrible bites covering her legs.
Obviously, not all the other rooms are infested, based on the other glowing reviews here (some people also don't react to bed bug bites), so if you choose to take your chances, then all I can say to you is good luck and 'Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the.......". You know the rest. :)
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Date of stay: April 2012
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Myself and my boyfriend stayed at Maya for 10 days in August. We had been away for almost 4 weeks and this was the highlight of our trip. The island and Coral Bay were absolutely beautiful, fabulous sunsets and stunning white sandy beaches. The family that runs the guesthouse were so friendly and welcomed us as part of their family; I honestly think this is the best place to stay on the whole island and feel very lucky to have found it. Cah, the owner/manager really looked out for us and on one occasion when we got into trouble in the water when sea kayaking, he had come out to look for us in his boat. The food was also delicious, as were the nightly barbeques. The guesthouse is excellent value for what you get...a fab beachside chalet for only 90RM per night....a total bargain. I would thoroughly recommend the guesthouse to anyone travelling to Kecil and a must is to do the snorkelling trip organised by Matt, Kash's brother. On the trip, we saw beautiful fish and coral, found giant turtles and even swam with black tip reef sharks. A fantastic guesthouse, perfect location and wonderful friendly people...10 out of 10! :-)
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Date of stay: August 2009
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I don’t consider it the best in the world. Still I have a good night rest and able to wash myself in a shower. If you need a place for short stays and near the beach and dive center, this is one of the nearest place and it is also nearby the food stalls.
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Date of stay: April 2018Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
"Thought both there room options were fair value compared to other places if wanting a cheaper option choose the garden chalets 80rm or splash the cash for a Sea view for 120rm."
There are more places to choose from in the Pulau Perhentian Kecil area.
ALSO KNOWN AS
maya guesthouse hotel pulau perhentian kecil, maya beach hotel
LOCATION
MalaysiaTerengganuPerhentian IslandsPulau Perhentian Kecil
NUMBER OF ROOMS
12
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