“I can’t believe they handle an HONEST review this way.”
As Covid-19 restrictions have eased up, many Malaysians are now taking the time to travel and explore our local sights and attractions. This has undoubtedly led to a rise in hotel bookings and stays.
This has unfortunately led to instances where customers have complained about the late check-ins of their respective hotels. On the other hand, Malaysian hoteliers have also responded back highlighting the horrendous state of rooms which have led to said late check-ins.
Recently, TikTok user @nai.journal took to her TikTok account to reveal a horrific experience that she and her friends had whilst staying at a resort hotel in Langkawi.
In her video, Ain says, “My friend posted an honest review based on our experience at this resort.”
“Immediately after, she received a call from the management of the resort threatening her to take the post down. And if she didn’t, he would tell everybody that we ordered Grab food to our rooms.”
Referring to a video earlier in which she had promoted the resort, Ain said, “When I posted that video, I wanted to share the beauty of the heritage buildings because I appreciate the culture and the history of our buildings. But what I don’t appreciate is being treated like this.”
The review in question
The review was posted on the hotel booking platform Booking.com by one of Ain’s friends, Sofia. The review started off well with Sofia commending the location and the pool of the resort.
However, things quickly went south afterwards. Sofia writes, “Our room was infested by two different kinds of insects: termites and wood caterpillars (although different, they both look like baby maggots). I understand that these are heritage buildings, so this wouldn’t have been a huge problem if they had accommodated us. However, unfortunately for us, they didn’t.”
“We paid for what was advertised: an accommodation that was both beautiful and CLEAN, but instead, we got termites crawling all over the bathroom sink wall and floor for ALL THREE NIGHTS of our stay. We had our luggage infested by wood caterpillars (imagine hundreds of insects that look like tiny baby maggots crawling in your make up bag and in the crevices of your underwear!).”
“However, as a consolation, they did verbally apologise. So if you are willing to compensate comfort for a ‘sorry’, then this place would be a fit for you,” added Sofia.
As an update to her initial review, Sofia then detailed how the hotel management had called her after seeing the review and proceeded to threaten her.
“He told me to remove/delete my review or he will respond to it and explain how we ‘behaved’. He said that we were very bad guests as we ordered outside food to be eaten at the pool. This is simply NOT true. We ordered food to be eaten INSIDE OUR ROOM, which is completely normal elsewhere.”
“Wow, I can’t believe a business handles an HONEST review this way. What a bully! I’m afraid of what else he has done to treat other paying customers. If he was comfortable doing this to me, I wonder how many other honest reviews were told to be deleted. Shame on you,” she added.
Images of the room
In a subsequent TikTok video, Ain said, “We complained on the first day and stayed for four days. He told us it was harmless and he can’t give a free night cause if another customer complained about ants what is he to do? Give them a free night too? His words, not mine.”
“We didn’t even ask for a free night. Just some sort of compensation. We are done being bullied and gaslighted by this person.”
In the video Ain highlighted how several guests have had similar complaints in the past, however, in their case, the hotel swiftly moved them to another room.
“It’s a shame because I really liked the place apart from the insects that were in my toilet. I remember complaining on the first night and they did spray the room,” she said.
She then went on to show several pictures of the insects which were all over the bathroom sink and the toilet mirror.
“It was all over the place and some of the dead insects were even on my toothbrush,” she said.
Ain stated that the staff only decided to remove the mirror on their last day.
She also shared pictures of the dead insects which ended up in her friend’s luggage. “After a long day, she came back to this and ended up cleaning her whole luggage the whole night.”
“The staff also told us that they’re not termites but ulat kayu which are harmless. I understand that but we didn’t like the fact that we had to clean up on our last night.
She said, “This is what I saw as I was brushing my teeth and in the bathroom. Except they were moving all around the frame of the mirror. He compared it to ants.”
In the comments section of the video, another customer also said that they experienced a similar situation with insects whilst staying in the same room that Ain had stayed in.
The commenter said, “Two of my friends had really bad bedbug/mite bites. We are DEFINITELY complaining.”
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Ain said, “The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth – our concerns were undermined.”
“We’re not asking for anything other than to simply exercise our rights as customers in posting an honest review, without being met with aggression and hostility. An acceptance of accountability and an apology with the promise to do better would do,” she added.
“I want resorts and hotels to do better and treat their guests fairly. The last straw was him threatening my friend. They had her personal phone number and she feared for her safety and personal well-being. That’s why we had to take measures to prevent things from escalating. I utilised my social platforms to get the word out there about the events that played out. I don’t tolerate bullies. Period.”
WORLD OF BUZZ has reached out to the hotel and is awaiting comments from them.
What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: “Don’t you feel guilty?” M’sian Hotelier Shares How Filthy Rooms Sometimes Lead To Late Check-ins
