Where to stay in the Cameron Highlands - Gerard's Place review

In recent years Malaysia has become one of the best destinations in South East Asia. It's great infrastructure, amazing landscapes, friendly people and cheap food means it's very easy to have a great time here. There's the usual list of places you must visit and on everyone's list you'll find the cool climate of the Cameron Highlands. A welcome break from Malaysia's tropical heat and a world away from Asian life elsewhere in the country. Tanah Rata is usually the town that most tourists make their base for a few days and there's a great place to stay called Gerard's Place which we had the pleasure of reviewing recently.

Gerard's Place

There are of course many guesthouses and the occasional hostel in this tourist town. It's a great place to people watch, has all the shops, banks and restaurants you could need and some great trekking trails nearby too. It's also a homely place and Gerard's place is more a home than a guesthouse. In fact to anyone else living in the Cameron Highlands you could say it actually is a home.

Gerard's Place is an apartment up on the hill right near the Heritage hotel. Just a short 7 minute walk to the centre of town and quietly out of the way. In fact you'll pass other apartment blocks of bold white and black as you reach the apartments that Gerard's Place is in.

An Apartment-stay

When we entered the apartment it was such a welcoming home and I do mean "home", not "homestay", while the owner, Gerard and his family, lives just next door, this really does become your home for a few days, more of an apartment-stay! It's immaculately decorated with ample kitchen space, lounge space with a big TV, even some great ornaments on the shelves. There's a cosy little outside area and has 8 bedrooms, some twin and some double beds. When we arrived there were already some guests relaxing in the lounge and we were shown to our bedroom, big enough for a double bed, wardrobe and small desk and chair. Towels were laid out on the bed and we even had our own balcony space, despite this being at basement level.

It really did feel like a home with everything you'd want. Flat screen TV and all the satellite channels, if staying in is your thing. Wifi which was also free, there was also a long desk in the hallway with a number of chairs and power sockets to accommodate even a full house of guests who might want to charge their phones or laptops. The kitchen also have a large refrigerator with ample drinks inside which you could purchase on via an honesty system. I always like them as makes you feel more at home when you're trusted.

Tours and travel

The owner Gerard is an accommodating and hospitable owner with a friendly family too. The apartment is filled with information on local tours such as the Rafflesia plant, trekking trails and BOH tea plantation tours. Gerard also runs a tour operator in town so sorting you out with whatever tours you're looking for is very simple. He can even arrange buses to Penang or Kuala Lumpur so your onward travel is covered too. We arranged our trip to Penang with Gerard that picked us up outside and dropped us off in the heart of Penang 5 hours later.

We really enjoyed our stay at Gerard's Place in the Cameron Highlands. It was a real treat to have our own home to stay in for a while, rather like sharing an apartment with like minded people. The attention to detail and warm hospitality meant we had the perfect stay.