Batu Batu

Batu Batu is the only resort on Pulau Tengah, an island of about half a square kilometre in the Sultan Iskandar Marine Park. It opened in 2012 and has 22 villas: 20 one-bedroom Jungle, Ocean, Beach and Ocean Deluxe villas, and two 2-bedroom villas by the pool.

The case for it is the water and the quiet. Masks, snorkels and fins are free at the Dive & Activities Centre, the PADI 5-Star dive centre visits 15 fringing-reef sites from mid-March to October, and Tengah Island Conservation runs a turtle hatchery on Long Beach. The Beach Villas sit on Sunrise Beach with two small children’s annexes. The resort opens most of the year, and in the monsoon its boat runs whenever Mersing port is open; it is closed from 4 January to 4 February 2027.

The catch is the price stack. The villa rate is room only, every adult pays RM350+ a day for the 3-meal plan, the boat is RM190+ return per adult, and the resort’s own media pack puts a villa with full board at about USD500 a night. You pay the full villa rate when you book, for at least 2 nights. Wi-Fi works only in public areas, and the Jungle, Ocean and Ocean Deluxe villas are reached by stairs. A travel guide adds that the furthest villas are a 15-minute walk from the pool and restaurant, and that the reef off Sunrise Beach is too close to the shore to swim at low tide.