I believe I have only ever been to Langkawi three times in my life. Once as a teen with my family, once a couple years back over the Raya holidays with some close friends and the most recent trip with my fiance and best friend. Each time was a vastly different experience. As a teen, I wanted to try alcohol and my mother indulged me the privilege of underage drinking just to void the novelty. Going with friends, we wanted to have a good time and we spent most of our money on champagne and chocolates. #keepingitclassy But my most recent trip with my guy best friend and my fiance, the three of us prioritised eating and relaxation. Having stayed at Tubotel once before, I liked the whole vibe of the place - chill, laid back and the kind of place you would travel to just to stay for a week straight when you need to escape the routine life.

Tubotel will instantly perk up your mood upon arrival - its colourful facade is hard to miss, even from the plane! We were lucky enough to spot it when we were landing. It is also conveniently located on the quieter side, sandwiched in between the airport and Pantai Cenang. The concept here is simple. The rooms are made from repurposed drain pipes and fit a queen sized bed quite nicely. We were placed in the sea-facing rooms at the quietest corner of the little "resort". I call it resort because I truly enjoy how comfortable and down-to-earth it is. It is like a boutique resort that anyone can feel at home in. Even the bedrooms come with a cute little painting/poster inside to brighten up the otherwise plain room.

You store your luggages under the bed and voila! You have a minimalist bedroom, fully equipped with a lamp, an air-conditioner, water bottles, towels and even a mosquito repellent. I absolutely loved it! When you travel to Langkawi, you want to enjoy the sun, sand and sea so you won't want to spend too much time in the room anyway.

However, when we went it was rainy season and we actually did spend quite a lot of time in the room, relaxing and enjoying the rhythmic sounds of the rain, beating against the concrete roof.

After the storm, it is always so beautiful and we got to enjoy clear skies and finally, a gorgeous sunset. Tubotel works almost like a hostel, where you get to meet plenty of friendly faces and interact with the other guests. I love that they don't charge corkage for drinks here - you get to buy your alcohol from outside and bring it back to the premises.

Be sure to get to one of the four-poster beds here to watch the sunset as it is the perfect spot to do so. The owner of the property, Alex Mark, uses plenty of up-cycled furniture that is so kitschy and fits right into the theme of the place.

Though you're paying backpacker prices to stay here, you're getting a 5-star service. From start to end, our stay at Tubotel was just so wonderful. One of my favourite things about staying at Tubotel is having their breakfast the next day. You get to choose from a daily menu that the chef prepares and this changes almost every day!

You get a sizeable breakfast and this is built into the cost of the room. Every guest gets an a la carte breakfast dish, each of them as delicious as the other! One of my favourite breakfast dishes here is the spanish frittata - an egg dish with spinach and other toppings.

It is also plated so beautifully that you can almost imagine you're at a hipster cafe having breakfast. Rooms at Tubotel start from RM110 onwards for two! What a great deal. To book your room at Tubotel, visit http://www.tubotel.com/website/.

Tubotel

Kuala Cenang,

07000 Pantai Cenang, Malaysia

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