Sekeping Serendah Retreat

There is a band in the village next door that practices loud, rock music at night. Not quite aligned with the expectation of a place that promotes itself as a peaceful, eco-friendly retreat in the forest. In fact, the music is so loud and clear, it literally feels like sleeping in a tent at a rock festival. Perhaps great if one's intention is to have a wild party weekend. Not so great if your intention is to escape the buzz of the city and find rest after a week's work. According to the caretaker, it's a resident band, and they practice every Saturday and Sunday evening. The practicing goes on weekdays too, albeit for shorter periods. Apparently, lots of booze is flowing at the band's locale as well, making it difficult to reproach the band. Why not call the police, I asked, but got no reply. In our case, we slept over on a Saturday. The electrical guitar waves started piercing into the compound in the early evening, shortly followed by the crashing and clanging of drums. To say the least, it was quite a shock, as we were just starting to unwind and relax after our drive from KLCC. We contacted the caretaker and was told the music would stop at 23:00. Putting aside the anti-climax and disappointment that such music could be permissible whatsoever, it wasn't until midnight that the band started to queit down. After patiently waiting until 23:10, we tried to contact the caretaker again and the Sekeping management itself, but received no response. In fact, a week has passed, and we are yet to receive any communication from the management, let alone an apology. It is a pity, for Sekeping Serendah is indeed beautiful. The stylish simplicity of the sheds in the lush tropical forest has a soothing enchantment to it. It could definitely be the perfect retreat from KL if the management could come to some accord with the neighbours. Until then, I’m sad to say, we will not return.

We are travel on last year March 2021 during MCO, we choose Glass Box 1, because it has more privacy than Glass Box 2, it can be said that the house is completely invisible, and the terrace is also covered by many trees. Compared with Glass Box 2. The design of the Glass Box is not acceptable to ordinary people, because it is a completely open bathroom and 🚻, and there is no cover facing the terrace, because there are totally no curtains, So it is more suitable for couples . . Children are also not encouraged to live because of the design of the terrace, they will fall off the side of the mountain if they are not careful. some places on the terrace are empty. If you sit up, you will be in a flat position. You need to be careful when you turn over. , don't get drunk and forget 🤣🤣 There are also many mosquitoes and ants here,advise to bring mosquito repellent and mosquito oil, otherwise it will really become a delicacy for mosquitoes🤣🤣 The air here is cooler at night and a little stuffy in the afternoon. because room is no air conditioner The room has no mirror at all, In fact, the room is quite small, so there is no any wardrobe , but there is a refrigerator and 2 fans (one is Ceilling Fan, one is a box Fan), Safety Box, some barbecue utensils, cups, bowls, mosquito coils, mosquito nets, showers, toilet paper, umbrellas, kettles, etc. Maybe because of the previous incident, there are a lot of CCTV installed here, and the room is also equipped with emergency buttons, so it is safer than before. . The hotel also will provides all barbecue utensils and charcoal grills, of course, you need to prepare your own food and drinks. . Although the hotel is not very far from the city, but is abit dangerous if driving during night. .

Even though the reviews I saw on Tripadvisor might be cautionary, I still wanted to give Sekeping Serendah Retreat a visit and guess what? It has become the highlight of my 2022 thus far! We booked the Glass Box 2 (2 days 1 night) a month in advance, paid the reservation fee and the remainder to the caretaker upon arrival with ease. The attendant, Megraj greeted us with a warm welcome and helped us with our bags. The pathway to our room was safe and easy to walk on even though it just rained. The environment of the space was clean and the open air balcony was refreshing! There was hot water available in the shower as well as body shower gel. In the room, you'll find 2 sets of tableware, a table fan beside the bed and a small fridge with an oven on top. The hairdryer was extraordinarily powerful considering how small it was too. I'd recommend that you keep the glass doors and windows shut between your explorations of the vicinity and bring along a bottle of insect repellent for safe measure(though I did not see or was not bitten once by a mosquito during my visit). After we got settled into the room, we made our way down to common area (which was conveniently nearby the pool) and proceed to cook dinner. In the al fresco kitchen was a stove and gas. There was also a wok, plates and cutleries too. Keep in mind, you will require a fire-starter to ignite it. So, please prepare a lighter with you or ring up the staffs to bring one for you. There were a group of occupants in the neighbouring timbershed but everyone kept respectfully to themselves. We did not experience any paranormal activities or intrusion from the anyone throughout the night and was woken up gently by the morning light and the cool of the habitat that surrounded us. After breakfast, we took a leisurely stroll along the trails shown on the map in the compound (provided upon entry) before heading back to the city, Ps. Best to make your reservations now because they're mostly booked out during the weekends (sometimes months ahead).

We booked the Glass Shed 2 (3D2N) for me (7 months pregnant), my husband and my 4 year old daughter. Even with my pregnant belly and an active toddler, glass shed poses no issue for us with the stairs. The furnitures are quirky and unique, love the steel look that brings a certain artistic flair to the place. We booked our stay in May but hit with interstate travel restrictions. The reservation / customer service team are so awesome in helping to extend and postpone our stay indefinitely. Despite my multiple emails, they have always been prompt in answering my questions and provide suggestions. Always friendly and never rude/ curt. Their email instructions are clear and concise. Plenty of information can be found on their website too. A big shoutout to the great team behind the scene. We were greeted warmly by friendly Gurong who helped carrying our luggage. Throughout the stay, he entertained us with his interesting experiences with the guests, his stories back home in Nepal and his adorable daughter. With Waze, it was easy to locate them. Total car ride journey from KL is 1 hour. The first thing that struck us was how peaceful and quiet the surroundings were. We were totally immersed in the nature and greenery. We enjoyed the fresh crisp air, sound of crickets, cicada and croaking frogs. It is almost like camping in the woods without sacrificing comfort. We love that it wasn't overly commercialised like those glamping retreats in Janda Baik. We were looking for fuss free, simplicity way to connect with the nature and Sekeping Serendah ticked all the right boxes. We didn't mind the insects. In fact, we welcome the chance to educate our daughter on grasshoppers, beetles and millepedes. If we wanted a sterile environment, we would have stayed at home. My daughter was excited sleeping under the mosquito net. They have mosquito coils for you. The hot high pressured water in our shower was a blessing. We opt to have BBQ on our first night. It was set up on time and without fuss. Next morning, they just came and clean up the BBQ area as well as replenished the Milo and coffee packets. We had steamboat on our second night which was perfect as it was raining heavily. Tip for Food: Pack your food in an ice box, easy to carry and keep them cold on the journey. They do provide a small fridge. There are wok for you to fry food, chopping board with knives and basic cutleries like plates, cups, spoons and forks. We packed bread as well so we can laze around with simple breakfast until lunch time. The swimming pool was lovely. The water is cold and welcoming after a hot day exploring the nature. We swam everyday. You can explore the next nearest town at KKB (15mins drive) for other kind of food but I wouldn't purposely allocate too much time outside the compound. We just went out to KKB for lunch and to buy necessities. Time slowed down for us. We had time to read, play card games and stroll in the forest compound. Never once were we bore