The rooms are in small wooden huts located on the hillside at one end of Air Batang. We stayed in two different rooms as we hadn't pre-booked.

One room had direct access to the beach which was great. The other room was slightly further up the hillside - no beach access but a better view. Both rooms had ceiling fans which is definitely all you need to stay cool.

The chalets are a few minutes from a good restaurant and small beach bar and about a five minute walk from the ferry.

Ok, so I agree with the rest of the reviews to some degree. Bamboo Hill has a lovely relaxing location and beautiful views. Before staying in these Chalets I thought it looked picture perfect, but unfortunately the reality didn't live up to expectations.

With no air conditioning and a fan that seemed to make little difference it was almost impossible to sleep. The rooms are small with no storage space so I think two or three nights only is best. There is only a cold water shower although this was not too much a problem given the heat. We had an unwelcome visitor on our second night which seemed to have made a new home under our bed and seemed to enjoy keeping us awake, in addition to the uncomfortable (very short) bed and heat we decided that two nights was enough and moved to a hotel with air conditioning and a bit more luxury.

The location of the chalets is very good with nearby cheap but good food places and plenty of places to book boat trips or hire snorkling equipment.

I would only recommend this place if you are looking for very basic accommodation and don't mind sleeping in amongst the jungle.

I stayed with a friend at Bamboo Hill for 2 nights in May 2010. The chalets are built into the hill with beautiful views of ABC beach. Our chalet 6 was a bit of a hike up some steep stairs, so definitely not suitable for those with mobility problems, but you are rewarded with stunning views from there.

The chalets are basic and small, but sufficient for a short term stay or if you are planning to be mostly outdoors (as you would in Tioman). The bathroom has a shower with cold water only, which is not a major problem with the hot temperatures on the island! There is a ceiling fan and moschito net over the bed.

Unfortunately the heat and humidity during our stay was unbearable for us without air-conditioning (the fan seemed to make little difference especially through the very thick moschito net). Also the jungle noises at night including something making scratching noises under our bed for most of the night made our sleeping impossible, so after the second night we decided to move to the airconditioned Berjaya Resort with a swimming pool for our last night. I guess this is not a fault of the Bamboo Hill, however if you are not very tolerant of extreme heat I would strongly recommend reconsidering staying somewhere without air conditioning.

The chalets are close to several restaurants and eateries. We have always eaten in the adjacent ABCD restaurant which was very cheap (from RM3.50 per main dish), had good breakfast choice and made excellent fresh fruit juices.

The beach in front of the hotel is not the nicest on the island as it is of darker yellow shade and very rocky at low tide, but since we were going to be exploring around the island anyway, I didnt find this a major issue. Salang beach seems to be nicer with while sand (not sure about the choice of hotels there though).

We took a one day snorkelling trip from Bamboo Hill to the Coral Island and surrounding beaches, which was definitely worth it and good value. The beach at the Coral Island is stunning with pristine white sand and snorkelling around there was amazing.

Only a week's vacation from the Desert, and so glad i returned to Bamboo Hill for the 3rd time. Even tho it was such a short trip, there were no disappointments. (I flew with Berjaya Air from KL) Rooms 5 and 6 are up some steep steps, good knee exercise. Secluded location, but withing walking distance of shops, cafes, BBQ restaurants. Great online booking system, checked daily by Lin, who by the way also helped me when I was sick, bringing me Chinese herbal medicine. Check the website:
www.bamboohillchalets.com