Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang

Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang is a local hotel in Taman Mesra Gua Musang, near to Gua Musang Railway Station. As usual on train trips, I search for hotels by proximity to railway stations, especially with short layovers. With the room rate I got along with the facilities provided, Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang is potentially one of the best hotel deals I’ve gotten in Malaysia in terms of value.

Operations at Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang are modern with a fully contactless booking and stay process.

Booking Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang

I booked my Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang stay on WhatsApp.

Yes, you read that right.

After discussing with the owner (?) on my preferred Budget Twin Room, payment of RM49 was made via Touch ‘n Go eWallet. A reasonable room rate.

Check-in

I “checked-in” a night before, with the door password details sent to me.

Do note that the inside of Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang has a non-smoking policy, which incurs a RM200 penalty.

Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang is located about 10 minutes away (750m) from Gua Musang Railway Station, and perfectly walkable.

Along the walk, after the Shuttle Timuran 57dn ride from Tumpat, I stopped by KFC Gua Musang for some fried chicken for dinner.

This is also a landmark on the walk – cross the road to KFC Gua Musang and turn left even if you’re not eating anything.

From the shop lots, enter the lane after Maybank.

Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang is the bungalow ahead.

Arrival at Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang

It was a refreshing change when arriving at Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang as it felt like I was entering someone’s home rather than a hotel.

Scan the MySejahtera QR code and take your temperature before entering.

I keyed in the passcode on the door to enter as provided in the check-in WhatsApp message.

Shoes are left on the rack behind the main door. House slippers are provided if you prefer those to being barefoot.

Signs point to the various rooms when walking in from the main entrance.

There is a communal living area with seats and a TV.

My Room B was just behind the wall of signs. The room key is is provided on the door knob.

Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang Budget Twin Room

My Budget Twin Room was nice and inviting for a simple night’s stay in Gua Musang. The Budget Twin Room comes with air-conditioning and a ceiling fan, allowing the room to be cooled very quickly.

Each single bed comes with a pillow and blanket. A bath towel is provided, folded on top of the blanket.

A desk and chair is provided in between the twin beds. This allows for convenient storage of small items and for charging mobile devices.

A convenient integrated universal and 2 USB power socket is provided on one side of the desk, offering easy access from the bed.

For the other bed, the universal power socket is used for powering the air-conditioner, so that’s out of use, but the 2 USB power sockets are available for use which is fine as that was all I needed.

An open clothes rack with a prayer mat is provided in the Budget Twin Room.

Shared Toilet

The Budget Twin Room does not have an attached toilet. The shared toilet is located outside of the room after the kitchen.

The shared toilet is very spacious, with 2-in-1 soap provided by the shower.

Kitchen

A water dispenser with hot and cold water is available in the kitchen to fill up your own water bottles. Cups are also provided by the sink.

Simple coffee and tea are also provided for free.

Drink sachets and instant noodles are chargeable with payment to be made in the trust box provided.

Free Printing

Printing services are also provided for free. A Chromebook is provided beside the printer. Connecting to the WiFi was a bit of an issue, but if you have your own thumbdrive, it would work.

Free Laundry

And perhaps the most surprising thing that Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang offers is free laundry.

A washer and dryer along with plenty of laundry detergent is provided in the laundry room for free, with plenty of laundry baskets to cater to multiple guest usage at any one time.

That’s amazing.

While I was already prepared to use my clothes sparingly, maximising their use throughout the day, I ended up with excess clean clothes by the end of Revenge Travel Semenanjung thanks to Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang renewing the use of my clothes that I used for this southern and eastern sector trip.

Unstaffed

My stay at Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang was expected to be simple, with no staff attending physically to guests.

However, there was 1 staff to greet me in the morning.

Meet Snowball.

Snowball was smartly patrolling the living room area like a bellboy. Indeed, he’s a boy, and he has a bell on his collar.

And just like a 5-star hotel staff, Snowball smiles for a photo when requested. I think he gets photos taken by strangers every day to know when to pose when a strange device is aimed at his face.

Check-out

Once ready for check-out, I wanted to return the room key to the only staff I know – Snowball.

But Snowball was busy taking a bath.

So I just left the key back in the door knob just as how I found it the night before.

A thank you WhatsApp message was later sent to me about an hour after leaving Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang, while I was on board Shuttle Timuran 53dn.

Conclusion

Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang is great with its proximity to Gua Musang Railway Station and KFC Gua Musang, along with a comfortable budget room and big shared toilet. RM49 is a great price for 2 people to stay for a night. Staying in a bungalow was also certainly refreshing, as despite being in a budget room with shared toilet, the living room and kitchen had a modern homestay feel to it.

If I were to change trains overnight in Gua Musang again, I’ll definitely be back at Rihla Hotel Dataran Tengah Gua Musang.

And hopefully, Snowball will be there to welcome me back.

I wonder if he operates the WhatsApp line.