Well, we were stuck in a room right next to the restaurant, thats OK lets give it a try we decided. So here are some of our observations of this flawed decision gleaned over 4 nights.
1. If you expect peace and quiet in this room forget it. We were unlucky enough to have a loud pontificating German expound on his woes to wheover would listen, morning, noon and night - this included well past 10.30pm one evening. There are no notices to respect the privacy of others by reducing noise levels in the restaurant after a certain time.
2. We stayed here 4 nights and the room wasn't cleaned once. Unusual in the extreme.
3. Mangy cats everywhere, OK I love animals but there is a limit. God knows what these creatures do to the native fauna in and around the cottages as well as their discharges. To have so many is irresponsible for the conservation of the local fauna. Frankly scary!
4. If you fancy a cigarette smoke-free breakfast/lunch and you have the misfortune of being in the company of a bunch of antisocial smokers then enjoy the delicious aroma of cigarette smoke wafting through the restaurant as you are eating. This was particularly disgusting - nowhere were there signs to respect other eaters and not smoke during meal times.
5. And yes the smell of smoke could be detected in our room - highly abnoxious. Even the staff found the policy of the owner bizarre in this respect - but apparently she is a smoker too, so take it or leave it obviously.
6. The mattress had obviously seen better days, one doesn't expect much maybe just a mattress with a bit of give!
7. The breakfast was simple but the lunch menu was excellent and Jenny the manager helpful.
8. It is a useful location if you are diving with Tioman Dive Centre which we used and is to be recommended.
All in all this experience could have been so much more pleasurable with a few tweaks to take account of everybody and not just the selfish few who smoke and make unnecessary loud noises.