We stayed in a Family room with 1 queen size bed and 1 single bed. The room was smelly and dirty due to age and neglect. There was a fridge in the room but it didn't work. I think it was overpriced at RM160 per night. We have stayed in much nicer hotels and paid less. However, the bed was comfy. Breakfast was very limited but OK for us as we were happy with toast and jam. We did walk down the promanade towards town and there were a few restaurants. We did find a really nice bistro (The Port Bistro and cafe) down by the ferry terminal. We got a really nice meal and the service was excellent. The hotel is a fair way out of town but it is near the jetty. We only stayed overnight so was OK.

My partner and I decided to escape the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur and headed to a small 'sleepy' town called Mersing, on the south-east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. We stayed at Seri Malaysia Hotel, arriving a day before May Day (public holiday). Our first day there was great - very relaxing, tranquil and peaceful - just what we hoped for. We had the pool all to ourselves. Then the nightmare started... a mass exodus of Malaysian holiday-makers arrived at the hotel. The pool turned into a GIANT laundry machine - the notice warning guests not to wear t-shirts, long trousers, scarves etc in the pool was ignored - the management didn't do anything about it. We avoided pool for two days... In addition, the noise level significantly rose - a lot of shouting, yelling, screaming, door-knocking, car stereo blaring etc. It was like staying in a Club 18-30! Worse still, the Mersing Carnival was in full swing right behind the hotel. The hotel was touted as 'the best hotel in Mersing' - well, it's really a nice budget hotel with good service and friendly staff, and not to mention the great location (i.e. near Mersing beach and a nature reserve). The room was OK, maybe in need of a make-over. Breakfast was good, especially the Malaysian breakfast - which was authentic and delicious. The town centre, ferry jetty to Tioman Island and bus station were a mere ten minutes walk away. After the other guests had left, we stayed two more nights, and were glad to be reunited with peace and tranquility. Seri Malaysia Mersing was a great chill-out hideaway... we will definitely return BUT not during public holidays or the Mersing Carnival. I must add that the highlight of staying at Seri Malaysia was when a beautiful Wreathed Hornbill came perching on our balcony!

Well we did not intend to stay in Mersing, we were hoping to be on Tioman Island, it’s a shame nobody, not the travel guides, not the hotels, nobody tells you that at this time of year (just the end of the monsoon season) there are fewer Ferries a day and of course when we got there after a 4 hour plus ride from Malacca it was long gone, as was the tide.
Our driver took us around to the first hotel we found the Hotel Seri.
Compared with most of the places we have stayed lately it was quite pricey at RM160 for a family room.
But the good news, it’s got a very nice sparkling clean and warm swimming pool.
The bad news, our room, well first impressions and all that.
The door was a dirty grey covered in dust.
The room smelt like some male cats had been trapped in it for a month and spent the whole time marking their territory, and it was full of mosquitoes.
Now I know that the hotel is not able to stop all mosquitoes but I do believe they can do something to keep the numbers down, I don’t think the Seri bothers.
The bathroom was a tired looking affair.
The bedroom was in bad need of a freshen up.
The TV had a few decent channels and you can get wifi in your room so some decent points there.
At this point I guess I thought the hotel was just tired.
After eating on the town we returned to the room, even after burning three mosquito rings the place was still alive and after burning incense it was still stinking.
Upon closer inspection the walls were covered in mould spores.
The walls and floors were host to a whole mini zoo of insect life.
And so to bed, urghhhh, the pillows and bed sheets just stink of dampness, so much so that it’s hard to sleep and upon waking up you will stink of damp as well.
And guess what? When I came to shower it did not work, so I had a cold dirty shower, sigh.
Whilst we were there we saw that there were signs in the almost empty car-park saving a place outside of the main door for the MD of the RHSM which I guess is the MD of the hotel (If not I apologise for the following).
If it was he should be fired, he is obviously more worried about his own image and importance than the state of the place he should be running.
If he truly cares, let him park along with everybody else, after all the place was hardly bursting at the seams, he could have parked almost anywhere anyway.
I guess with this attitude he has never ever slept in one of the hotel rooms, unless he has his own special suite!
I used to run a small leisure business and would park in the main car park and walk the building everyday, talking to the members and taking on board the criticisms and doing something about them.
The Hotel Seri needs a bit more of that and a lot of cleaning, fresh paint and a real good visit from the local version of rent a kill.

Mersing does not seem a bad place but, if I have to stay there again it won’t be in the Hotel Seri unless the price is cut by 95% because it’s just not worth any more and that is only for the pool and net connection.
Avoid this place, if the damp spores don’t get you, the bare electric wires will!