The Roots Eco Resort Ipoh

"Nestled in the curve of Kinta Valley and is Ipoh's best secret " is their tagline and they have managed to live up to it. This is indeed Ipoh's best kept secret. 

We were initially put off with the fact that the location is in Tanjung Rambutan and with so little reviews , we were quite skeptical. It was a last minute plan for Valentine's and most places do not have rooms anymore. I guess it was a blessing in disguise that most places are fully booked as this place is truly a gem. 

We had booked two different room for two nights as they are fully booked. The first night we stayed at the Orchard Villa Deluxe. I felt like it was architectured perfectly for couples. The bed, the outdoor bath room and most of all the Jacuzzi! To have it outdoor right smack in a natural surrounding was mentally soothing. We spent the night soaking inside, drinking beers and repeated the same the next morning after breakfast. 

The second room we had was a room with 6 single beds and located a tad too near from the reception.  As we're just a company of two, 6 beds is obviously too much and we really wanted some privacy so we requested to change to other room. It was full house and left with no choice, they gave us the Tree House. It was really built on a tree!

It was much more private but it was located too near from the road making sleeping almost impossible. So if you're planning on a trip here then I would suggest you to book early so you'll be able to choose the rooms that suits your needs best. We appreciated the effort in accommodating our request nonetheless. 

I believe you can actually swim in the river but it seems quite deep and since I can't swim I reckon it would not be too safe for me. And if the river is not for you then there's also the "modern river" to swim in. For those who can't swim like me, you can always hang out at the deck chairs or at the gazebo if your entourage/partner prefers the river.

We requested to use the BBQ pit on the first night and thought it was going to be a private one just outside our room but they had it in the main lounge which we didn't really appreciate. As it is a public pit, it is totally understandable that pork is not allowed but we wished we could have been told prior to the stay. We had brought some marinated pork belly and we had to throw it away :(  

To be honest I had no expectations when we ordered the food - We just wanted to have the pit free as they will charge unless you order a certain amount of food from them.  It was all good as the potato salad and fried rice was the bomb. It was nothing like any of what I have tasted, very delicious. Marinated meat too was good.

Breakfast is provided but because the resort does not expect hundreds of guests at once, the choices are not as much as what your 5 star hotel would but I can give an assurance is that they are damn good, The Nasi Lemak I had was the best I had in a long, long time! 

Marketing has been kept minimal and I believed many customers are here based on word of mouth from happy guests and I hope it is kept this way - "Ipoh's secret". I would not want a beautiful place like this to be exploited in the name of greed. 

That said, with me writing a lengthy positive review bare in my mind that this is not the place for everyone. If you just want to find peace and tranquility just by doing nothing at all faraway from the city, then this would be the perfect place for you.  In my book that is what holiday is supposed to be and that's the reason why I really enjoyed the place.

Thank You The Roots for making the getaway an awesome one.  Looking forward my next stay!