Tiger Rock, Luxury hotel at Pangkor

Where should I begin to tell you about Tiger Rock? Should I tell you about the beauty of the surrounding jungle? Or should I tell you how welcome we felt when we were picked up at the jetty? Or how incredible the food was? It's hard to start somewhere so I will start at the very beginning.

We were interested in this place since we heard it was so different from other hotels. But then again, to me, a hotel is a hotel. Right? Wrong! There are hotels and hotels. And there is ... yes!

So we left an e-mail for Rebecca, the owner of Tiger Rock. We got an almost immediate response to join them. She would pick us up at the Pangkor jetty. And so it happened. However, it wasn't Rebecca who picked us up, it was her manager Mohan, a 'big smiling' guy who drove the four-wheel carefully through Pangkor Town. There we picked up Rebecca and her mom.

We drove to the Dutch Fort. Tiger Rock is located behind the Dutch Fort. A very steep road curves up to Tiger Rock. Almost directly behind the Dutch Fort the jungle gets dense. Rebecca told us they have to keep the road open by hand. The jungle grows so fast that every year the axe has to be set in the vegetation.

We arrived at Tiger Rock. It looked amazing. The central building with the restaurant was comfortable. There was a swimming pool. We met Rebecca's husband David and her parents.

One thing immediately stuck me. There was an announcement on the chalk board saying: "Welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson". Rebecca and David had just arrived. It seemed Mohan gave every new guests, which in this case were the owners, a warm welcome message. I felt immediately comfortable.

Rebecca showed us around. Tiger Rock turned out to be not "just" another hotel in whatever class. It was a "home" away from my own home. That's how it felt. The 7 rooms were all comfortably furnished. One thing that stuck me there: the chairs. They reminded me of my own chairs in my house in Amsterdam.

The houses are set in 12 acres of jungle and backing onto 200 acres of forest reserve. The 2 houses are cocooned on slopes overlooking the sea and mainland. David designed the houses based on the traditional Malay wooden house and a colonial hill station house. Rebecca added all the creature comforts one could need and has surprised with unexpected color. Her paintings and artwork are found throughout the property.

Hill House has 4 guest wings with a central open sitting & dining area, & kitchen. The Main House is rented out as a whole. The Studio is set back, privately secluded from the Main House. The gorgeous Pool House overlooking the jungle is the central meeting place of Tiger Rock. "Tiger Rock is truly a spectacular jungle hideaway!" says Rebecca.

Indeed the style is unique. The houses are all set just next to the jungle. But the great thing is, you can enjoy the jungle from your balcony, or the restaurant. You can also shut the jungle out of your memory for a while, close the doors, and enjoy the cool air-conditioned room.

Entrance to The Studio

To me The Studio was the best part of Tiger rock. It's a place where I would love to live in, work and enjoy the sounds of the surrounding jungle.

To my surprised, The Studio was also very cooling. It's a great place to hang out at any time.

It's not for nothing that Rebecca had this room as her studio. She worked comfortably in this room when she produced her artistic designs.

Imagine yourself in The Studio, lying down on the bed, facing the green warm jungle, breathing the fresh air, listen to the natural sounds of jungle, and relax. Isn't that a life enrichment?

So, do you get a bit of the taste of what Tiger rock represents? In short, to me it represents: Warm, Luxury, Homey, Comfort and rich.

It's not very easy to find a place like Tiger Rock. Most of the times, when you want comfort, you find the up-market hotels with high buildings, where socializing is almost non-existing. At Tiger Rock, it's like a family thing. You sit down together and enjoy the meals while getting to know each other. It's a great way to expand your network of friends. That's one of the reasons you travel, isn't it? If not, never mind, you can still get your privacy arranged by Mohan.

Let us have a look at the rooms. When you read the names, you probably think why? The rooms are named the way they present and they are really comfortable, when I looked at them at least. The interior of the rooms are designed by Rebecca. Many of her artwork are placed there. I don't know if they are her masterpieces, I forgot to ask, but they are certainly very stylish.

The Green Room

The 'green' room is calm & cool. Each room has French doors that open onto private verandas. Enjoy the sea & jungle views.

The Blue Room

The 'blue' room is filled with Rebecca's bold paintings of shells. All rooms have en-suite bathroom with baths & showers, and have both air-conditioning & fans.

The Yellow Room

The 'yellow' room is stenciled with Indian influenced patterns & features Rebecca's carpet designs.

The Purple Room

The 'purple' room with rosewood & mother of pearl panel. Sarongs are provided as standard dress for the duration of your stay.

If you have not worn a sarong before, you'll get your first experience here. It's really comfortable wearing sarong in this tropical weather here. Sarong are mostly worn by Malays but you will noticed that people from other racial background do wear them too.

Rebecca told us that she gets mostly couples from Europe over at Tiger Rock. When we went there, we thought it's a very romantic place. It is in one way secluded but if you want to get to town or beach, it's just few minutes away. I would also recommend this place for a honeymoon destination.

However, Tiger Rock is not cheap with prices around RM 500-600 per night.

Back to the top of Tiger Rock

Back to Pangkor Hotels

Back to Pulau Pangkor.com homepage