Father's Guesthouse

Father's Guesthouse was, as the name suggests, originally a religious establishment run by French monks. Only one remains now, a doddering elderly man who does not want to go home to France and is partially deaf. He's very friendly though, and came to meet us when we arrived and speaks English well. Although obviously he was hoping we might be French. The owners, Jay and Sandy, run the show for him and also have a café in Penang if you're heading that way. Usually Sandy will meet guests at the bus stop. They offer free rides when you arrive to their guesthouse, but we really liked that she was not pushy. She just gave us a brochure and pointed out the van and said there was a ride if we chose to stay with them.

Actually they are not far from the bus station. The main building on top of the hill is the original monastery retreat and has the reception, book library of gigantic proportions for a guesthouse, pool table, resident dogs, and quiet gardens. All the rooms up there are private only. People here seemed to do their own thing quietly as couples.

All the action however takes place down at the dorms just down the hill. These are a series of WWII bunkers made out of corrugated iron. They sound hideous, but really they're nice, all freshly painted, clean, roomy and original.

The only other building we saw like this in the Cameron Highlands was an old Anglican church with a stone front, so it is a fairly original design. There's a café here, ping pong table, a video lounge, gardens and vegetable patch, pine trees, and flowers. It feels very alpine and most people were friendly and were enjoying just a relaxing time. Some watched videos a lot during the day, especially if it was raining. Other people hooked up to go out walking together, which is a good idea because they don't recommend that female travellers do it alone. Be careful if you do hike -- we didn't get lost, but we kind of lost our way thinking we could navigate between paths.

Father's Guesthouse does arrange full and half day treks if you're on your own or want some help. From what we saw of other places in town and heard from other people, this is the best, cleanest, and quietest places to stay in the Cameron Highlands.

If you decide to get here under your own steam, it's not far from the bus stop but a little difficult to explain. When exiting the bus station turn left up the main street. You will cross a little bridge heading out of town, take a left immediately after and follow the road. As it bends around you will see a sign up a garden path to Father's. It's much quicker to walk up here than go the long way around, unless you have a car.

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