I'm not sure what happened with the 2 reviews previous to mine which were negative, especially with regards to the front desk.

i had the opposite experience. when i called, the hotel owner (Mr Tan) was gracious enough to give us directions to the place at 1am. front desk service was the best i've seen in malaysia for a long time - they will walk you to your room, and Mr Tan is a friendly host.

the rooms are large, clean, comfortable and the shower is excellent with lots of hot water. Raja Villas is situated on a hill, and the view of the islands off Mersing from this hilltop (either from the swimming pool or the sea facing rooms) is simply unbelievable. i spent hours on a bench underneath a coconut tree next to the swimming pool. it's nice and windy to boot!

it does look deserted, and for the most part it is, which is a good thing! the main multi-storey block is actually composed of service apartments. the hotel block is the 2 storey complex next to it and is not large - i don't think Raja Villas has that many hotel rooms.

do check this place out if you are in Mersing since it's reasonably priced. it's not next to a beach, but by golly the view is simply amazing!

it was the middle of the night and i was desperate for a room. i thought i'd find something better the next day but ended up spending 3 nights here.

Must agree with previous poster about Raja Villa!
Something not right about this place?

Went there today (Sat 19th April) to enquire about rooms/condo services - but was met by a person (male) who just did not want me there???

Kept telling me that everything has been booked solid for the next 12 months+.

Yet, the general impression that one get's is of an abandoned resort - run-down - no cars/people etc.
Completely empty!
A ghost resort!
Very odd indeed???

We booked this hotel for two nights, payment on arrival. When we arrived at the property our hearts sank - dead shurbs, mossy exterior, huge bees nests hanging from balconies, restaurant was shut and parts of the hotel looked incomplete.
We asked the receptionist if we could see the swimming pool and our rooms before checking in. She called her manager who told us we had to pay upfront before we could view anything. He claimed that they would return our money if we didn't like what we saw, but at the same time wouldn't commit to when he would come to take us around - we would just have to wait for him.
I negotiated to advance one night's payment instead of two, and he declined this. At that point we walked out and drove home.
I don't know why the man was so arrogant and unfriendly, but I suspect they knew that we would not have stayed after seeing the hotel close up, and that they planned to keep our money.
Narrow miss, don't get caught the same way.