I have spent a lot of time in Malaysia, but somehow, I kept missing out on visiting the centre of peninsular Malaysia at Taman Negara. Now that I was finally visiting, I wanted to make sure we had the best time possible, so I looked for the best hotel in Taman Negara.
The Mutiara Taman Negara seemed like by far the best choice. Located on the edge of the national park itself, it would make exploring it easy and we’d be surrounded by it when we weren’t!
Plus, they offer tours, activities, food, everything to make a visit easy! This was especially important to me as I wanted to see a lot in a short period of time while travelling alone with kids. The Mutiara Taman Negara Resort package we booked on Agoda (find it here) was also reasonable, especially as it included breakfast and dinner.
However, recent reviews seemed mixed so I was intrigued to check things out.
So is Mutiara Taman Negara a great place to stay?
Below, you will find my full Mutiara Taman Negara review to answer those questions. I’ll show you the resort grounds, the room, what we ate and more, so you can make your own decision about whether to head to Mutiara Taman Negara Pahang. I also share a video where you can see all of this for yourself.
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Mutiara Taman Negara Review
I wrote this Mutiara Taman Negara Resort review after staying here with my two kids aged 6 and 11. Many families were here, so it’s definitely a popular option whether you have kids or not.
Mutiara Resort Taman Negara Location
Address: 27000 Kuala Tahan, Pahang, Malaysia
The hotel Mutiara Taman Negara Malaysia is located right on the edge of Taman Negara, Malaysia’s oldest and largest national park. The Park Centre is located in the resort grounds, and it’s across the Tembeling River from the town of Kuala Tahan, as pictured above.
What’s great about this is that it’s the only accommodation located in Taman Negara itself. All other options are in Kuala Tahan. This means you are able to hike and do your activities in Taman Negara directly from the hotel.
The downside is that if you want to go to a shop or restaurant outside the hotel, you also need to go back across the river into the town. This is very easy and quick though. Boats cost RM1 per person and run all the time.
On arrival, you’ll also need to get a boat across with your luggage. There is little assistance for this. I did find it a little tricky, especially as I was by myself with two kids.
So be aware that you’ll need to get all your luggage out of the boat, onto the jetty, across a plank, up stairs and then lift it into a box.
From here, it will be delivered to your room.
How To Get To Mutiara Taman Negara Resort Pahang Malaysia
It’s quite easy to get to Mutiara Taman Negara although it can seem confusing initially.
You basically need to get to the town of Kuala Tahan. If you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, the resort can take you here on their shuttle. You can book this directly with the resort. It is on the pricey side, however.
You can also get a bus to Jerantut which is the closest major town. From here, you can take a taxi from the bus station. This takes about an hour and is easy to do. A taxi cost us RM80 when we did it, although it was old with no seat belts or air-conditioning.
You can find bus fares from Kuala Lumpur here or look from elsewhere here.
You can also take a private taxi from anywhere in Singapore or peninsular Malaysia directly to the river crossing for the hotel. This is the quickest and easiest way and what we did when we left Taman Negara to go on to our next stop. So much easier and nicer!
We can book this taxi for you with a safe and reliable local operator here.
Once you get to Kuala Tahan, you need to get to the jetty for the river crossing to the resort. It’s easy to work out where to take the boat as there are a big signs and its pictured above.
Someone here crossed our name off a list and helped us get into the boat. This costs RM1 per person.
However, on the other side, we were on our own as you can read above.
You can read our full guide to getting to Taman Negara from Kuala Lumpur here or from the Cameron Highlands here.
Check-In
I wouldn’t say our first impressions were that great since we had no assistance on arrival at the jetty, had to walk up a ton of stairs and then weren’t sure where to go.
But once we made it to reception, things improved. Check-in was easy.
They gave us details for our included meals (breakfast and dinner) and the tours I booked before arriving via their website.
On that topic, I got the best deal on accommodation and meals by booking on Agoda here.
Then I was still able to book their tours in advance on their website. Payment was taken for the tours at the end of my stay.
I was also given a piece of paper with more information on tours in case we wanted to book something else and a map of the resort.
The tour desk is right here at reception, and this is also where we went for our tours. It’s easy to book tours once here.
They then told us it was a two-minute walk to our room. Sadly, it was over five minutes! They took our suitcase for us on our buggy which we had left at the jetty in the box described above. It would have been nice if they offered to take our other bags too.
It was super hot and humid, and it was annoying carrying so much stuff when we didn’t know where we were going. The signs in the resort often didn’t say all the way up to our room number (#99) so we found the walk confusing and kept referring to our map which meant it took about ten minutes this first time.
Some instructions beyond saying it would be two minutes away would have been nice.
Taman Negara Mutiara Resort Rooms
At the Mutiara hotel Taman Negara Malaysia, the rooms are chalets or bungalows. You can choose between single, double, triple and quad chalets or a one-bedroom chalet for more space.
The one-bedroom chalets have a separate living area which also has two single beds and a main bedroom with a king-sized bed.
Bungalows are much bigger with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a dining and living area. They look more modern. However, they did not seem to be available when we visited here.
All rooms have air-conditioning, fans, balconies, hot water, toiletries, tea and coffee making facilities, TV (only local channels), mini fridge and in-room safe.
They are an older style, and it’s worth remembering you’re in a rainforest here so don’t expect the hotel and rooms to be the same as what you find in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. The 3 star rating it has is fair.
Mutiara Taman Negara Chalet – Triple
Since there were three of us, we stayed in the triple chalet which had a queen bed and a single bed.
The first thing we noticed was how big this resort is – since it took a long time to walk to our room! We were right near the edge of the resort in room #99. On the upside, this meant we were closer to the Canopy Walk.
Our chalet wasn’t connected to any others which was a win. Most are in groups of two.
On entry to the chalet, there was a space for our luggage to the right with an umbrella there and hanging space.
Next to this was an area with tea and coffee making facilities and the mini-fridge. Inside the fridge was three bottles of cold water. Just what we needed!
On the left was a shoe rack and the entry to the bathroom.
The bathroom was spacious with a basin area, open shower and toilet.
The shower had a hot water heater but, actually, we never needed this. It was very hot and humid when we were in Taman Negara. There is not much water pressure though.
In the main part of the room was three single beds, one bedside table, one lamp, a table with the flatscreen TV and a single armchair.
There was also a fan and air-conditioner.
The beds were comfortable and everything was spotlessly clean.
The downsides were that there was only one lamp, the air-conditioner only took the edge of the heat and there was limited space to put our things so the room felt messy.
The room was always quite dark, even during the day, with just the one lamp. There was also a light in the entry way and bathroom, but that was all.
At the other end of the room was a door to the balcony which was great. It was quite private with views of the jungle and a table and two chairs.
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Facilities
There are not a ton of facilities here as it’s really not required. The goal is to explore Taman Negara. What they do have is a useful tour desk and many activities visiting the park.
You can view their tour list here. You can book your tours on arrival or I did it before I arrived as I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
I booked my Mutiara Taman Negara package on Agoda for better prices and cancellation conditions and then went to the Mutiara hotels Taman Negara site directly to book the tours. It wasn’t a problem.
There is also wifi at this hotel. It surprised me by being very good! It was perfect and fast everywhere we used it in this resort. Even in our room which was so far away.
There is a mini mart which has some drinks, snacks, toiletries and other essentials and souvenirs. There isn’t much in here and it’s a little pricey.
The Park Centre is on-site for Taman Negara and you can buy cold drinks here for a little cheaper.
The hotel grounds are beautiful, and it is a nice place to walk around.
Dining
On-site is the Seri Mutiara Restaurant which is where you’ll eat any included meals. It wasn’t busy when I was here, and it wasn’t a problem getting something to eat.
We ate breakfasts and dinner here which were included in our room rate. We also ate lunch on our first day. They seemed to be open all day.
You can also get a drink here and purchase a meal if it’s not included. There are buffet and a la carte options.
The prices aren’t crazy given you’re somewhat isolated. It’s really not hard to hop on a boat back into town to get more options, although I found the food better at the resort.
The food was great quality. There was a reasonable amount of options on the buffet and in the menu. There was pasta in the buffet as well as more local options.
I had a beef rendang I absolutely loved for lunch on the first day and then it was in the buffet that night! There was also a fish option in the buffet, the pasta bolognese, vegetables, rice and some great desserts. Water is also available in the buffet and juice in the morning.
The breakfast, like the menu options, has western and local options with noodle and rice dishes as well as toast, cereal, pancakes, sausages, fruit and more.
The food exceeded my expectations and, given how it’s easier to eat here, I would try to book a half board package to save some money, keep it simple and to have good food.
Mutiara Taman Negara Video Overview
You can see a quick overview of what it’s like at the Mutiara Taman Negara in the following video.
We walk you through the journey here from KL and some of the most popular activities in addition to what it’s like at the resort.
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Final Words
I very much enjoyed staying here and thought it was great value.
While I would have loved it if the room was cooler, had a separate shower and was not so far from the reception and restaurant, the room was in good repair, clean and comfortable and I was very happy here. The hotel is a solid, three star choice that deserves extra credit since its located in a national park where it would be harder to provide consistent quality.
Given you are right in the national park, it’s impossible to beat the location. There is nowhere I would rather stay in Taman Negara/Kuala Tahan.
Click here to see the latest prices and more information now.
Or sign up for a multi-day experiences which include accommodation and meals at this resort.
Looking for other accommodation options in Taman Negara? Find our full hotel guide here. You can also find our full guide to things to do in Taman Negara here and all our guides to Taman Negara here.
Planning a trip to Malaysia? Have any questions? Join our Malaysia Travel Planning Facebook group here now! It’s the perfect place to ask any questions and to be inspired!
