TERATAK 1 - Malay Farmers' Hut

I stayed at Marina's Malay hut for two nights with my mum. I really love her little piece of heaven on earth. It is a sanctuary from the busy-ness of town and i loved going back to it after a long day out and about in Langkawi.
Marina picked us up from the airport. She told me beforehand to look out for the lady who has flowers in her hair and a big warm smile,and so it was easy to spot her :)
Marina made our stay very comfortable and even took us on a tour around the island before she dropped me off at my next hotel (I was on the island to write hotel reviews). Her tour made my mum and I feel as if we had seen everything worth seeing and didn't have to do anymore touristy things for the rest of the stay.
We went during drought season and found the heat quite uncomfortable (we are Malaysians and are supposed to be used to it but we are not!). So do be prepared for scorching heat.
Also, for city dwellers who are so used to noise and entertainment, being in the village could be a harsh adjustment. I had entertainment through books and my smartphone to keep me from feeling the shock.
I also would like to say that I had a terrible neck sprain for a week before my trip and during my stay at the Malay hut (maybe due to the fresh air and lotsa sleep) I healed almost completely. We also loved meeting the cats that lived there and miss them very much!
If I were to go to this place again I would bring more people with me as it would be fun!
This is a good place for couples who want quality time together or families with young children who could get to know about trees, and see a rooster, hen, turkey and learn about where eggs come from and other things city dwellers are not aware of. Well done Marina and Ruben for creating a gorgeous haven on earth!

My husband and I had a fantastic stay. Marina greeted us at the ferry and drove us to her little farm.

The facilities were exactly as described. We enjoyed being away from all the hustle and bustle of the central beach area. My husband loved swinging in the hammock and reading.

The location is only about 10 minutes by car to the beach area and many great places to eat. Marina gave us a tour of the area and pointed out her favorite places to eat.

Marina was always available to give insight into the area and was very warm and friendly. She has a great laugh :-)

Make sure you embrace the heat during your stay - there are fans but no air conditioning.

The farmhouse is a perfect location to visit Langkawi. Marina was so friendly she helped us to have a perfect holidayweek.
Thank You Marina.

We had absolutely lovely stay in Teratak 1. Marina could not have been more welcoming and helpful. The hut was amazing, clean, comfortable and with everything we needed thought of. The \Island is just beautiful and, all round a wonderful place to visit. If it's a really laid back relaxing holiday that's needed, this is the place to go.

The best part of staying in Marinas house is Marina herself. She and her husband were very friendly and wanted to make sure that we are fine. It was rather like visiting family or friends. The farmers hut was in reality even better as seen on the pictures. It was cozy and comfortable equipped and one basket of fruits was also supplied by Marina. One does not need to be a afraid of Mosquitos since Marina took a lot of precautions so we did not have a single bite. In case you should feel ill, Marinas husband is a doctor and can help. Langkawi was a great experience for us. The people, the climate and the hospitality were overwhelming and we are sure to come back. Thank you Marina for the wonderful stay!

Well what can I tell you that others have not already said... it's all true! Marina and Ruben were truly wonderful hosts, the hut was fantastic and I loved being in a kampung with the sounds of chickens, birds and local life. I would highly reccommend Marina to anyone looking for a a proper homestay experience, where you are genuinely welcomed into someones home by hosts who would love to show you the island and all it has to offer. Marina took me to a night market and helped to explain the different foods and friuts to me, it was a wonderful experience.
As everyone will have realised from previous reviews, Marina and Ruben are consumate hosts, so I thought I would mention some of the practical stuff.
The accommodation is a little way out from the main drag. I thought it was a little bit too far to walk - especially in the heat. But you can borrow bikes and it is a gentle 10-15min flat cycle (I had n't been on a bicycle for decades, when bikes only had 3 gears!). Alternatively, there are always taxis in Cenang to take back.
I stayed on Langkawi on my own (single, 50 year old woman) and never felt unsafe anywhere, I am used to living in the country and brought my torch I use at home when walking the dog. I was amazed that the village roads all had street lighting, so I did n't need to use my torch once, but if you are a townie, you may find the country in the dark unsettling - but it is not unsafe!
The hut was fantastic, there is a huge shower with the softest towels, I imagine they would be great if you have a touch of sunburn. There is a huge fridge which I managed to fill with beautiful fresh tropical fruits. I loved having breakfast of fresh mangos and pineapple, toast and kaya on the verandah, mango juice running down my hands and arms!
Internet access, if wanted, was fast and reliable while I was there.
thank you so much Marina and Ruben for a wonderful time, I do hope I can come back and stay longer.

We have began our trip in Malaysia by Langkawi and with Marina : the best thing to do ! A very warm and helpfull welcome and stay : the first ex aequo with Rose Qimi cottage in Kapas.
Start our trip sleeping in a real malaise home rather than in an hotel room made us begin the travel in the good terms.
As the beaches do not have many interests (busy and a bit noisy...), it makes more sense to live in the quiet countryside; the small road that leads to Marina is a treat.

We loved our stay with marina and Ruben!
Our hut was clean and beautiful, very cosy.
Marina helped us everyway she could, and showed us all nice places to eat. She Also helped us rent a car, and made us and our daughter feel very welcome.
The huts are in a traditional kampong wich is so nice and quiet.
The sunsets are beautiful. You are just 10 minutes away from pantai chenang where you have lots of shops and beautiful beach.
Malay farmers hut with marina is highly recommended!

Where to begin? Our stay at Marina and Ruben’s was one of the best, if not the best, stays of all our travels over the years (I think we have, cumulatively, been to 40 plus countries and who knows how many cities and hotels.) We never wanted to leave and would have happily just kept extending our stay indefinitely if we could have. It is that good. Enough said? Perhaps, but let’s keep going…

Firstly, your stay at Teratak Damai cannot and should not be separated from the wonderful people that are hosting you. Marina and Ruben are interesting, inteliigent, insightful and generous people. Also, they speak perfect English (as I said to Marina, hers is actually much better than mine!). We had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with Marina and Ruben in a social sense and thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. Marina and Ruben were incredibly helpful, helping organise car hire, another hotel room one night between room change, picking us up and dropping us off at the the airport, plus other bits and pieces that popped up along the way …

I could keep going but I will summarise: they went above and beyond and then above and beyond again. You could not hope for better people to meet on your travels, let alone have better people host you.

Secondly, the rooms: we actually spent time in all three during our stay. Our favourite was perhaps Teratak 1, but we spent time in Damai 1 and Damai 2 as well and thoroughly enjoyed both of them. The rooms are open and airy and extremely comfortable. The bathrooms are superbly done. Each room opens out to its own patio, which you can open up into the general area and the beautiful garden or close up and have as much privacy as you’d like. The rooms - and the entire set up really - is perfect in that sense; you can choose to be as open or as closed as you would like, and Marina and Ruben respect that.

Lastly, we were initially somewhat sceptical about the location given that it was not right near the beach, however, it turned out to be absolutely perfect. The property is located in the middle of a small village. It is quiet, it is beautiful and it is incredibly relaxing. If you have a car then it is ideal. If you don’t have a car or motorbike, you can still walk into town (which we did a number of times, sometimes grabbing a cab on the way) or hitch a ride with Marina or Ruben when they’re heading in. We didn't have a car most of the time and it was not an issue at all.

We loved it and really hope that we get to return in the future (if they’ll have us!)

We stayed at Marina's Teratak hut for four days and had an absolutely lovely time. Marina was waiting for us at the airport when we landed, and led us seamlessly to her lovely home. She is an easygoing host, funny and approachable and entirely helpful. The hut had everything we needed and more. Despite the open air concept, there were no insect problems and security was not a concern. The hut is somewhat isolated in a small village and you have to remember the route so that you can direct a taxi back, but it's easy to figure out. Marina drove us many times out to the city and gave excellent recommendations for activities. Our experience with Marina and her family was one of intimate, thoughtful and gracious hospitality. My only caution would be that as two young women traveling alone, we did not feel comfortable walking from Pantai Cenang beach back to the Teratak (a 20 minute walk perhaps) at night as part of the way did not have a sidewalk, nor was very well lit. Thus we took taxis back each time.

A wonderful experience, and highly recommended for travelers looking for a relaxing, easygoing stay.

We traveled to Langkawi in March and had the pleasure of staying in Marina’s lovely dream cottages. We knew we are in safe hands and did no research after reading the wonderful reviews for Marina & Ruben. Literally we just landed up to be greeted by Marina’s lovely bright and warm smile at the airport. We blindly took her expert advice as her knowledge of the area and recommendations are par excellence. She goes out of her way to help you hire a car, places of interest, places to relax, she has extensive local knowledge and the history of the region. We stayed in the farmers hut and our friends in Damai 1. Marina has put a lot of thought process while designing the accommodations you will be very comfortable as all amenities have been provided. The rooms are very clean, bright, airy and tastefully decorated. Marina’s creativity and personal touch is visible in all the cottages – the sun catchers, manicured garden and plants, hammocks, the lovely antique furniture pieces which belong to the family. It’s ideal if you want to travel in a group everyone has their privacy in their own rooms yet the rooms are so close you can enjoy spending time together. Highly recommended for a family vacation if you book all the rooms you can enjoy the different character each of the accommodations have to offer. We particularly enjoyed having our breakfast and late night snacks together and our chats with Marina. She is very considerate provides a lot of goodies! Believe me you get so attached to “your home” it’s difficult to leave you are teary eyed to say goodbye. Marina’s is very accommodating one of our friends couldn't make it for the trip she was very kind and understanding and helped us to re book.

We regret that we got only 2 nights in Langkawi I’d definitely recommend going for a week to enjoy the peaceful life at Kampong Glam.
Thanks for hosting us we will be back very soon!

Marina was a great host! She offered to pick us from the ferry and also dropped us off at the airport! She gave us a full tour of the island and showed us all the highlights and even helped us rent a car. The accommodation is extremely close to one of the busier night life beach streets. The room was clean, spacious and we had privacy when we needed it.

It's safe to say Marina goes above and beyond as an Airbnb guest.

My partner and I had the loveliest time in Langkawi under the care of Marina and Ruben. Above and beyond hospitality right from the get go. We were both greeted at the airport by our vivacious host Marina and was generously allowed a late check out at the end of our spectacular eight days stay at Teratak Damai.

In between Marina assisted us with car rental, arranged for massages in the comfort of our own room, shared her extensive knowledge of the island and we were even treated to a culinary delight by her hubby, Ruben. Totally spoilt we were.

Missing Langkawi already!

It was a lovely, peaceful stay a little away from the busyness of Cenang. Marina was a perfect hostess, very friendly and helpful. She picked us up from the airport and took us on a mini tour around the area, giving us important information like the location of ATMs, car rentals, good restaurants, etc. Highly recommended!

Proud to be Marina and Rubens first swedish guests we will really recommend a stay there. Marina was an exellent hostess. Helpfull and kindely. She drew us with her car around the area. Picked us up att the airport and drew us to our next hotell in cenang after our three nights at their nice house. Thanks for everything. Best regards from us.

We had a wonderful stay at Damai 2. The place is located in a small village near the popular Cenang beach. We reached the beach in 20min with the bicycle.
Marina is a great host. She picked us up from the ferry, gave us a lot of informations about the island and the culture and showed us all the good places around. We didn't have a car so she even dropped us at the cable car station which was a 20min-drive.
The house is beautiful, clean and perfect for everyone who is looking for a relaxing timeout in a quite environment.

Fantastic stay with Marina - definitely highlight of my trip to Langkawi!

Marina is an artist of life style - she decorated the houses with wonderful taste and dedication to details. The room is big, clean and bright and comfortable to stay. The neighborhood is quiet and smell lemongrass.

Marina is interesting and willing to share her experience and story. She is intelligent and knowledgeable, all your question with curiosity can be well answered with inspiration. My mother and I are more interested in the culture and nature, and Marina gave so many suggestions and guidelines and stories about Langkawi and the neighborhood, and some local event information that you can not find online. Langkawi is more than surfing and diving.

Most importantly, Marina is considerate. Just take one thing for example, Marina drove us to the Cenang Beach. My mother has a knee problem so she sat with Marina instead of swimming with me. Marina felt confused and concerned and she called her friend who can speak Cantonese and asked her to communicate with her mother! It is more than friendly, just like a good old friend who take care of you. It is touching. Thank you Marina.

We'll be back to visit Langkawi and Marina for sure!

What a gorgeous home stay and very nice host - definitely the best accomodation we stayed in on our Malaysia trip! A must-go for everyone looking for a relaxing, cozy, and beautiful place to stay. A great deal."

Staying in Damai 1 with Marina and her family was the best experience in my 3 weeks on Langkawi. Marina puts so much attention in details making the place feel like home. The rooms all have a personal touch, very clean, fully equiped, lots of privacy, but Marina is always around the corner for help, advice or just a pleasant chat. It is a little bit away from the noise and busy streets from Pantai Cenang, but easy to reach by bike or scooter (using bikes are free, scooter is for rent). Marina offers a peaceful, homely and quiet place where you can see and experience the kampung life of Langkawi. A perfect base to explore the island, with all modern conveniences around (you don't miss A/C at all) for a price that is more than worth the experience.

Staying at marina's place was an amazing experience for us. She was extremely kind in taking the time and trouble to drive us to buy our tickets to koh lipe and also to show us around the island. She explained in detailed the best food restaurants and what they serve so that it suits our preference. Renting a motorbike from marina was quick and easy, hassle free. Upon arrival to the house, it's spacious and nicely furnished. Breakfast is complimentary with a good quantity. She even left dinner at the table for me! Recommended for anyone looking for a non touristy quiet getaway. 5 stars.

We stayed in Damai 1 for 8 nights in November and really had a wonderful time, helped in no small part by Marina and Ruben's warm welcome. They are extremely honest, decent, clued-in and generous people. It is an idyllic tranquil rural set up but with all ammenities nearby. We were given as much privacy as we wanted but were very much welcomed into the family. We had some great conversations and gained a good insight into Malay culture and the fabulous food through them (there was a definite bond over food!). They could not have done more for us during our time in Langkawi and made the last part of our honeymoon really memorable.

We stayed at Teratak 1 for 3 nights and absolutely loved it! It was the perfect place for a 'kampung' experience but with enough modern facilities to make your stay pleasant. Although there are no air cons, but its very cool in the evenings and at night. Also, there are several fans to keep you comfortable. One night, we decided to bring in the stand fan from the verandah to the room and needed to use a double blanket! My 8 month old baby enjoyed having his naps on the hammock every morning and afternoon while my friend and I enjoyed our morning breakfast/tea/supper on the verandah.

The comfort and tranquility was one we were craving for on this beautiful island and found in at Teratak Damai Langkawi. Marina and Ruben are very accomodating and friendly hosts that made our stay even more pleasurable.

We will definitely be back again soon!

We first stayed with Marina and Ruben for almost a month in March 2013. We enjoyed it so much, we returned for another 3-week holiday in May. They are great hosts and we were treated as part of the family on both occasions. Marina and Ruben have a wealth of knowledge on Malaysian history and culture and we often talked about the flora and fauna of Langkawi.

It was a wonderful experience living with the local people in the kampung (village); we had smiles and waves from the children every day. We thoroughly enjoyed our morning walks with Marina in the local area and being introduced to all the exotic trees and plants growing all around us.

We have lived in Borneo for the last 4 years and travelled extensively in the region; without doubt Langkawi is our favourite location in SE Asia.

If you want a holiday or a short break away from the normal tourist areas, I have no hesitation in recommending a stay with Marina and Ruben. We were very sad to leave and look forward to a return visit in the near future.

marina and ruben are cool, helpful and wonderful hosts at teratak damai airbanb on the island of langkawi, malaysia. i travel to many tropical islands every year. island of langkawi is my regular stop and i have been staying at damai 1 or 2. soon teratak 1, a cute old malay home,. will be completed. when i go back there i want to stay in teratak 1.
the location of teratak damai airbanb is in a malay village surrounded by padi fields. the nature around is dynamic and constantly active. the village people are always welcoming to me!
i want to come back and stay at teratak damai with marina and ruben again and again!!! aloha!

After having stayed with Marina, Ruben and the rest of the family for 4 months the only thing I can say is that they are fantastic hosts!
I loved my wonderful studio Damai 1 and felt comfortable and safe all the time which is important as well as I was travelling by myself.
Living a kampung life is completely different to "only" being a tourist. You get to know much more of the real life on the island than just staying on Cenang Beach (even though this is only 10 min. By bike away). Going to the night markets, makanan (eating-very important) with the locals and seeing more than just tourist stuff was an experience I don't wanna miss and hope to repeat soon.
Marina n her family included me in their daily life, I got to know their friends and she even took me to her family on the mainland. We went to Koh Lipe together and had some fantastic days there.
I hoped it would be like that but you cannot expect that from a host and so I am still very grateful to have found this special family.
As some animals (Tuah the turkey and his wife Suri, chicks Henny n Penny and 4 wonderful cats) are part of the family as well it was a very natural living surrounded by paddy fields, water buffaloes and birds.
For people coming from busy towns or countries the stay will be a wonderful experience to see that a more quiet life is possible and veeery relaxing.
Anyway, I am very happy to get to know this life and look forward to returning asap!

Visiting Langkawi island in Malaysia? This is a great place to stay! Very friendly and helpful hosts. The accommodation is superb, set in a tranquil rural area amongst the rice paddies and Palm trees. Marina and Ruben are nature and animal lovers, there's cats, chicken and an amusing turkey - bird life galore and peaceful grazing buffaloes round you. And still its close to the main beach and busy town. You will not find better value and more comfort than this. We loved our stay there and hope to return soon. James and Sonja Brady