Apit Lawang Villa & Dormitory

Overbooked rooms, poor service recovery, run-down and unmaintained, dilapidated facilities, and overrun by pests and wild animals. 1. My friend and I booked Apit Lawang, with my friend due to arrive a day later. On the day she arrived, the staff realised the rooms were overbooked. They asked her to move to another accommodation that was further away from Apit Lawang, which would force her to incur additional transport costs because the dive shop we patronised was no longer within walking distance. 2. As we all wanted to stay together, we asked the staff if all of us could move to the other accommodation together, for the rest of our stay. Lo and behold, we were informed a day later that we would have to move back to Apit Lawang, as there were now rooms available. This resulted in us having to move twice, unnecessarily. When questioned, the staff got defensive and asked us to simply talk to the villa owner, when they had made the decision to allow our group of friends together. 3. Due to the multiple turnovers of customers, it seemed like the bed linen was not changed. Through a week's stay, I observed multiple turnovers of villa occupants, but did not catch sight of evidence of bedsheets being changed. The showerhead was extremely dirty and not cleaned (covered in moss), and the drainage was clogged, meaning the shower tray flooded while we were bathing. Doors were creaky, misaligned and had gaps in between, allowing any pests to enter the villa easily. 4. Lastly, pests and wild animals - rats were sighted in and around the villa. Gecko droppings were a nightly occurrence on our bed when we returned to the villa. At night, gnawing sounds were heard in the roof overhead - in the morning, leaf litter and rattan crumbles were found on the floor. Wild dogs were howling non-stop, as too cockerels crowing at all times of the day. And last but not least, so many wild birds had taken roost around the trees around the villa, that the incessant cacaphony of chirping in the morning woke us all up early. There was just no way to have a good night's sleep. 10/10 would not recommend this place, unless you want to test the limits of your patience and drive yourself to the brink of insanity, a la living in the jungle as in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.