After spending a little more than 7 months exploring Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, it was time to head south to Malaysia. We spent nearly 2 months in Malaysia and stayed in all types of accommodation, hotels, hostels, apartments, and homes. We were also scoping this area out as a potential long-term residence, in the future. This was the last couple of months in our Southeast Asia tour, so we were a bit tired of moving fast and were looking for a few options to help slow us down. We also spent 2 nights in Singapore, which we will include at the end.
Flashback to 2015:
We like to let you know where we stayed and what we thought of our accommodation. We took some unique options to help keep costs down as well as help us to move at a slower pace. While we found Malaysia to be a bit more expensive than the other countries we visited, we still found some great deals. We only share the price as a guide for you, as it would obviously change based on the season, number of people, or special offers at the time. We always like to find the deals and sometimes, the deal isn’t such a good thing after all.
No Cost Accommodation Options:
In this particular post you will see we have some accommodation in exchange for services. This is often a treat for us, but it also comes with plenty of work. When we do a review, we like to ensure we give our honest opinion and make sure we use the services and facilities we are going to review. Not to mention taking photos and actually writing about it. Often times we will review a property on our own as well when it is not part of an exchange. We will then include a link to our TripAdvisor review.
During our time in Malaysia, we also had nearly a 3 week housesit in Kuala Lumpur. This really helped on costs as we had a free place to stay, in exchange for taking care of some wonderful pets and the family home. If you would like to learn more about housesitting world-wide, just click here and we will explain it in more detail.
56 Nights Of Accommodation In Malaysia With Kids
We spent a total of 56 nights exploring various parts Malaysia, including Penang, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru. We also spent 2 nights in Singapore, which we will include here as well. We planned to spend more time in Singapore, but it was so expensive. We opted to stay longer just across the bridge in Malaysia. Feel free to ask questions if you like. Please note all prices are in US Dollars. The exchange rate at the time was $1 USD to 3.6 RM (Malaysian Ringet) – March/April 2015
Penang Accommodation for 16 nights
Things to do in Penang with Kids
- Name – Golden Sands Resort and Spa Penang Check Rates & Availability
- # Nights / Rooms – 2 nights, 2 rooms (1 king and 2 double beds), with AC and private bath
- Cost – The rooms were provided to us as part of our work with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. Check out our full review here. Breakfast was included for 4 people. Really good wifi.
- Thoughts – The Golden Sands Resort and Spa are in and ideal location in the Batu Ferringhi area of Penang Island. It is about an hour from the airport, so we rented a car and enjoyed the freedom. There is a great nature park not too far away and the beaches are nice. Beware of the touts along the beach, as they can be a bit aggressive.
- Name – Airbnb Apartment at Miami Green Condos Check rates & availability
- # Nights / Rooms – 14 nights, in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath high-rise condo (3 double beds), with AC, internet, pool, parking and terrace. It was just a 5 minute walk up the hill from the beach. A bit remote from shops, but nice and quiet area.
- Cost – The condo was a great deal at $28 per night! Yes, that is not a typo. This was self catering, so we could cook on our own.
- Thoughts – This was our first Airbnb experience and it was a bit odd. I’d love to hear about your experiences with Airbnb. The Miami Green Complex was very nice and secure. The actual condo we rented was different from the fully furnished one we saw on Airbnb. The owner had listed his own apartment for rent and it was a true bachelor pad. He said it was sparsely furnished and it was! The mattresses were on the floor, the living room had one love seat and a coffee table. The kitchen had a wok, a pot and a few dishes. Let’s just say it was difficult to make all of this work for us. Oh and apparently the internet had a limit for the month, which we apparently maxed out on the first night. We ended up having to use the free wifi at the pool and we made do with the cooking supplies. It was a great deal on the price, but not sure it was worth just getting by. We also found out that it is in the condo bylaws there is to be no subletting. So we had to sneak around to use the pool and security was asking us all kinds of questions. It was a bit uncomfortable, as it felt like we were always being watched. The owner said that we should just say we were his guests and that he was “out”. We really looked forward to leaving. That said, we did have a wonderful view from the terrace and really enjoyed the huge pool. Perhaps a different condo in the complex would have been better and there were many available on Airbnb. Wifi at the pool was great too.
Langkawi Accommodation for 6 nights
Things to do in Langkawi with kids!
- Name – Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa Check rates and availability
- # Nights / Rooms – 3 nights, 2 rooms (1 king and 2 double beds), with AC and private bath
- Cost – The rooms were provided to us in exchange for our work with Naturally Langkawi (Langkawi Tourism). We provided a review of the property and activities. Check out our full review here. Breakfast was included for 4 people.
- Thoughts – The Meritus Pelangi was in an ideal location on the beach. It is about 10 minutes from the airport and plenty of shops and restaurants within walking distance. We loved the pools and the water splash area. The spa was also a complete delight! The staff was wonderful and this hotel was very comfortable for us. This was one of the best resorts in Malaysia!
- Name – Berjaya Beach Resort & Spa Check rates and availability
- # Nights / Rooms – 3 nights, 1 rooms (1 king, 1 roll-away bed and 1 sofa bed), with AC and private bath
- Cost – The room was provided to us in exchange for our work with Naturally Langkawi (Langkawi Tourism). We provided a review of the property and activities. Check out our full review here. Breakfast was included for 4 people.
- Thoughts – The Berjaya was in a remote location with both the rainforest and the beach. It is about 30 minutes from the airport. The off-property shops/restaurants were not really within walking distance. There were several choices on property. We loved the pool and beach area. Since it is part of the rainforest, monkeys were all around as well. The staff was wonderful to us. This was one of the best resorts in Malaysia!
Kuala Lumpur Accommodation for 23 nights
Things to do in Kuala Lumpur with kids!
- Name – A BEST Seri Bukit Ceylon Serviced Residence Check rates and availability
- # Nights / Rooms – 3 nights, in a 1 bedroom, 1 bath high-rise condo (1 king, 1 roll away bed and 1 sofa bed), with AC, internet, pool. It was just a 10 minute walk to the main shopping area and public transportation.
- Cost – The condo was $67 per night. This was self-catering, so we could cook on our own.
- Thoughts – This was a nice place for us to stay and have a bit of down time. We had a view of the KL Petronas Twin Towers and they were gorgeous at night. The accommodation was good, but nothing fancy. It was a good location and met our needs.
- Name – House Sit via Trusted Housesitters – Learn more about housesitting, as well as membership rates. You can browse available housesits for free!
- # Nights / Rooms – 20 nights, in a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, suburb home with plenty of beds for us all! This included internet, a pool, a dog, cat and koi fish. The owners also provided us with a car to use. Staff came during our stay, a pool guy, gardener and a house keeper came 3 times a week for 3 hours! Not all housesits are like this one, but it was great.
- Cost – The home was free in exchange for our care of their pets and home.
- Thoughts – This was a wonderful experience and we just fell in love with the family too. They had us arrive and depart with a day overlap of their travel plans. We were welcomed with the neighbors all over for a drink and then provided a tour of the local area. We of course fell in love with the pets, who wouldn’t? The home was lovely and it was great for us to just stop and rest for a while. We had grand plans of exploring the area and the furthest we made it was to a local mall, to get our son a new pair of prescription glasses. It was a good location and met our needs.
Johor Bahru Accommodation for 11 nights
Things to do in Johor Bahru with kids!
- Name – Warm Blanket Hostel Check rates and availability
- # Nights / Rooms – 6 nights, 2 rooms (1 queen and 1 set of bunk beds), with AC, wifi and shared bath
- Cost – The total for both rooms was $23 per night.
- Thoughts – This was a typical hostel, excluding having a common area. The walls were very thin, but luckily for us there weren’t many people staying at the time. The staff was very nice and it met our needs for our visit to Legoland! The accommodation was good, but nothing fancy. It was about a 20 minute walk to Aeon shopping center and there were several local restaurants outside of the hostel. Please read our full review on TripAdvisor.
- Name – Grand Blue Wave Hotel Johor Bahru Check rates and availability
- # Nights / Rooms – 5 nights, in a 1 bedroom, 1 bath high-rise condo/hotel (1 king, 1 roll away bed and 1 sofa bed), with AC, internet, pool. It was just a 5 minute walk to the main shopping area and public transportation.
- Cost – The condo was $52 per night. This was self-catering, but we couldn’t do much cooking.
- Thoughts – This was a nice place for us to stay, but it was really lacking as an apartment or self catering option. Please feel free to read our full review on TripAdvisor. The accommodation was good, the views were great, but nothing fancy. The location was great, as it was near the city center, public transportation and the border crossing into Singapore. There were 2 large shopping centers within a 5-10 minute walk from the apartment. Breakfast was included, but only for 2 people. It was an additional $15+ per person for breakfast, so we only 2 of us went each day. The others enjoyed the food we had in the apartment. This wasn’t really a problem, as our son often slept through the breakfast window anyway.
Singapore Accommodation for 2 nights
48 Hours – Things to do in Singapore with kids!
- Name – Traveller@SG Hostel Check rates and availability
- # Nights / Rooms – 2 nights, 1 private room (3 sets of bunk beds), with AC, wifi and shared bath
- Cost – The total for “private room”, with 6 bunks, was $84 US per night. The price was for 4 bunks, but this was the only private room they had for us.)
- Thoughts – This was a typical hostel, and had wonderful common areas. It is located just a 5 minute walk from the Lavender MRT station, so it’s very well located. A light breakfast is included (toast and coffee) and you may use the kitchen on your own as well. The staff was very nice and it met our needs for our visit to Universal Studios and the SEA Aquarium! The accommodation was good, but nothing fancy. So let me tell you a little about our private room! We had 3 bunk beds, so a total of 6 bunks with lockers. This worked out well to use a bed as a luggage area and another to hold our snacks. Now for the fun part…You enter into a room with 6 beds (3 bunk beds). This room is off of the hall and then through another door into our private room. While we were the only people in our interior room, we did need to walk through another room to enter and exit. Let’s just say it was very awkward for those middle of the night tinkles. They had a great common area and it was quiet while we were there. It was very close to several restaurants and about 5 minutes walk to the Lavendar MRT station. Please read our full review on TripAdvisor.
Okay so there you have it! We have shared our Malayasia hotels, apartments, housesits and hostels.
If you would like to know about our Southeast Asia Hotels and Accommodation Choices, just click on an image below.
Let us know what you think. Do you have a favorite hotel in Malaysia or Singapore you wanted to share with us?
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