Homestays w: North Sumatra, Indonesia

The service is very satisfactory, the customer service is very enthusiastic, and the room is very clean

If you’re looking for peace and quiet a bit away from the main town, Tuktuk Timbul is very well located. We stayed in one of their traditional-style little houses, which were very cute and charming. It’s a great spot if your plan is simply to relax, enjoy the atmosphere, and do nothing much. The homestay has a restaurant (we didn’t try the food though), a pool, a ping pong table, and a billiard table — so you can easily stay entertained without leaving the property. For the price, it’s definitely good value. That said, if you want to explore or do activities around Lake Toba, this may not be the best base. There isn’t much to do in the immediate area, and the staff weren’t very helpful when we asked for recommendations — apart from renting a scooter, they didn’t provide much guidance. Communication was also tricky as they don’t really speak English. Service felt a bit cold overall; the owners live nearby but never greeted us, which made us feel like we were disturbing them rather than being welcomed. In summary: a good option if your goal is to switch off, relax, and stay put at the homestay itself. But if you’re looking for friendly service, local tips, or activities beyond the property, you might find it lacking.

The place are quite new big room & still need to improved more. No TV, no AC either fan in the room. Nice bed, nice View from the room & got more plug at the room. Just need to walk down and up the stair too much. No short cut. So far the owner was kind & helpful. TQ Penginapan Mafir. 

Probably the best resort in Pantai Cermin. The staff is friendly and attentive. We had good matrasses and a spacious room. The website includes a note that ‘some rooms have windows’, suggesting the chance of getting a room in some sort of cave. We think most rooms have (several) windows, so the description of the rooms deserve better.  Be aware that the place is hard to get or to leave if you don’t have your own means of transportation. Taxis don’t come here, maybe Grab does. Foreign tourist hardly come here and only a few staff speak English, but Google translate can help out. The resort is busy in the weekends with local tourists from nearby, like Medan. The immediate surrounding  is regularly sweeped to remove rubbish, but many places, including the beach has a pollution issue.

Keep in mind that electricity on the island is periodically turned off, for several hours (5-6 hours). Otherwise this is a great place. Delicious and varied cuisine, excellent views, helpful staff, some rooms have a lot of ants, but it’s possible to find the best option. Excellent entry into the lake.

I had a wonderful stay at Matraville; Dim was super helpful and friendly, picking me up and dropping me off for my ferries to and from the island, and arranging a private tour of the island for me at short notice, along with advising me with travel options back to Medan airport and then booking my chosen one. It's clear he really cares about his guests having a good stay! The homestay itself is also lovely, with an excellent view from the balcony, and ambient lighting for the winding down to sleep. It's also only a short walk to very good bars and restaurants (5-15mins depending on your selection), with a good place for breakfast just next door. Would definitely recommend and return!

This location is perfect! Stunning and looks onto the river. The rooms are spacious and very comfy, with mosquito nets to over the whole bed. Service at reception was excellent and we were able to keep our luggage there over night for storage while we did an overnight jungle trek. (Highly recommended) I used Izoen, the guide, to help me organize everything needed for an enjoyable hike. Hafiz was also amazing and such a wonderful person to help when I didn’t feel well and took me to the pharmacy nearby. Very convenient, warm people and safe👌 There was just one thing I would have really liked. In the room there is no kettle and coffee/tea cups to make your own coffee and tea in the room. I think this could be a nice addition - since there are such beautiful balconies and porches to sit outside. Also there was no shower gel or hand soap in shower area. But there was a hand soap by the sink.

Having a last minute booking the reception was really fast. We were also given a voucher for snacks. The view was fantastic. Being facing the Bukit Barisan and having Mt. Sibayak as a background. Thought of having dinner at the Rooftop cafe. But only knew that the cafe only opened after 8pm. We ordered at 8pm, but only received our food at 9.15pm. Even my kids already cried because of hunger. The food was average. Not much of a choice. Even the choices in the menu were not really available. Please bring your own soap, shampoo and tissues since these were not provided.

We stayed at Sapo Karo Rest House as a family, booking 2 rooms. The location is very good—close to main attractions in Berastagi but still peaceful and calm. The environment is relaxing, perfect for family bonding and rest. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and the surroundings felt safe and quiet. We really enjoyed our time here and would definitely come back!

Great place to stay. Very quiet and chill. Only downside was the flushing toilet did not work properly, the hand washing sink's pipe was not properly installed, the speed of the shower was not fast enough and hot water sometimes was limited (maybe because we did not know how to operate it well). Overall, with quite an affordable price, I can't complain much 👍 Also, they allowed me to borrow their water host to clean my car before checking out on their reception yard.