The updated and expanded 2nd Edition of the Utopia Guide to Malaysia surveys the gay and lesbian scene in 17 cities. Listings include gay scene maps, organizations, bars, discos, spas, accommodations, restaurants, and more. A special section highlights venues that are especially welcoming for women. Click here to order

Genting Highlands

• Genting Apartments
  10km Genting Highlands, 012-229-3632, email. Gay and lesbian-friendly accommodations. Special discounts for long stay. Utopia Member Discount

IPOH (Perak State) -- area code (60-5)

• Chris Home Stay
  7 Persiaran Jelapang 5, Taman Silibin, 012-507-7740, email. A gay-friendly homestay fully furnished and includes breakfast, Net access, city tour, and discount on pick-up services. Cooking facilitities available.

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah State) -- (60-88)

Kota Kinabalu is easy to navigate using our Utopia map:

• Marina Court Apartment-Sabah
  Email. Waterfront apartment, in the center of Kota Kinabalu, available for holiday rentals. Located next door to the Promenade Hotel (see map). This sea and pool view apartment offers more privacy, space and amenities than a hotel room and can sleep up to five at a cost of less than two hotel rooms. Privately owned and gay friendly. Utopia Member Discount
• Promenade Hotel
  Right in the middle of the city, close to major shopping and eating outlets. Do check out the hotel gym and sauna which are frequented by GLBTs, both locals and guests. The leisure center is free for hotel guests and for non-hotel guests, a walk-in rate is levied, or a monthly membership fee inclusive of gym, pool, sauna and jacuzzi. Facilities are clean and in working order.

KUALA LUMPUR -- area code (60-3)

Bukit Bintang is jammed with bustling shopping centers, restaurants and many of KL's popular hotels which are right in the center of the action. The neighborhood is easy to navigate using our Utopia map:

• 41 Berangan
  41 Jln Berangan (see map), Bukit Bintang, 2144-8691, email. Hip, gay-friendly guesthouse located in central Kuala Lumpur, walking distance from the gay scene. Eleven rooms. Affordable, cosy and warm. Private. Utopia Member Discount
• Bedara Home Stay
  Jln Bedara, 012-201-8880, FAX 2163-6522, email. Gay-managed home stay.
• Eight Guesthouse
  8-10 Tengkat TongShin (see map), 2144-2050, FAX 2144-4250. Comfortable, casual and contemporary, this gay-friendly, low frills guesthouse has retrofitted three heritage colonial shophouses with modern plumbing, spacious lounges, and Net access. Just a short walk to the nearby gay scene and lots of cafés in the vicinity. It attracts a younger, international and mixed clientele. Inexpensive rates with continental breakfast included.
• Hotel Capitol
  Jln Bulan (see map, off Jln Bukit Bintang), 2143-7000, FAX 2143-0000. Right in the heart of the gay scene, this well-run hotel features inexpensive and contemporary 4-star hotel rooms with full amenities and Net access (at additional surcharge). Excellent staff, incredible views of the twin towers from the higher floors. Their superb luxury suites are OTT and come with free Net access. Top marks.
• I Yang Guesthouse
  Bukit Bintang, 016-6786458, 017-211-2586, email. I Yang guesthouse is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and walking distance to major shopping complexes like Lot 10, Times Square and Sungai Wang. A luxury condominium with two rooms and two bathrooms, all furnished. Facilities include swimming pool and gym. Utopia Member Discount
• Matahari Lodge
  58-1 Jln Hang Kasturi, 2070-5570, FAX 2070-5570, email. Gay-friendly guesthouse and hostel for backpackers, students, budget travelers, etc. Good location, very clean, friendly staff. Utopia Member Discount
• Pondok Lodge
  2/F Unit 20-1C & 20-2C, Jln Changkat Bukit Bintang (see map, opposite Frangipani club), 242-8449, 012-211-2237, 012-218-0334, email. A gay-friendly hostel which offers homestay and basic, traditional Malay living. Inexpensive and friendly accommodation for budget travelers. Recently upgraded, with a beautiful roof garden. Situated in the trendy Bukit Bintang area of Kuala Lumpur, walking distance to the gay scene and many bars, cafes, and shopping malls. Just a few minutes by bus or taxi to tourist attractions such as National Museum, National Art Gallery, Railway Station, National Mosque, etc. Facilities include: aircon rooms, phones, common kitchen, Internet access, TV lounge with movie nights, shared bathrooms with showers, rooftop garden terrace. Plus they can arrange for meals, laundry, city tours, airport pick-up, luggage storage, FAX and online services.

  Comments from Utopians:

  "I stayed in Pondok Lodge a few times. It's very cozy and has a tasty breakfast. Clean and bathroom is not smelly. But on weekends it is very noisy and can't sleep because next to the building is a disco pub. In my opinion, stay here during weekdays, not weekends." -- lp320, Sep 23, 2008

• Pujangga Homestay
  21 Jln Berangan (see map), 2141-4243, email. Three minutes away from Istana Hotel. Second turn to the right from rear Jln Nagasari entrance of Istana Hotel. The nearest monorail station is Jln Raja Chulan & Jln Sultan Ismail. A small, gay-friendly guest house with personal attention for each guest. Five minutes walk distance from Jln Bukit Bintang, the most happening street in downtown of Kuala Lumpur. Utopia Member Discount
• Travellers Palm Homestay
  10 Jln Rembia (see map), 2145-4745, email. A G&L-friendly hostel with homestay concept, located in the heart of the gay scene. Utopia Member Discount

  Comments from Utopians:

  "I just spent five faboulous days at Travellers Palm Homestay and can recommend the place to everybody visiting KL. They have a nice staff, interesting people who stay there and a very relaxed and laid back atmosphere. The rooms are cheap and clean, breakfast is included, and the Bintang Walk starts in front of the door!" -- Megamann, Jan 11, 2009

• Westover Lodge
  2/F 4 Medan Pasar, 2070-1286, email. A new and friendly gay-owned budget guesthouse located in the heart of Chinatown. Westover Lodge offers single, double and triple rooms which are a clean, comfortable and extremely affordable base for backpackers and budget travelers. Transportation facilities are within reach (2 minutes from Masjid Jamek and Pasar Seni LRT stations). Nearby are Central Market, Merdeka Square, Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman market, China Town, Puduraya Bus station, 24 hours convenience stores, money changers, cafés, restaurants, bars and shopping malls. Utopia Member Discount

  Comments from Utopians:

  "I stayed at the Fortuna Hotel in Bukit Bintang. Very conveniently located. The staff is very kind, competent and helpful. Bringing a guest was no problem. Rooms are large and nicely equipped. The superior rooms could do with some renovation though and I had to tamper with the aircon funnel because the room was too cold (next time I'll try a deluxe room, only slightly more expensive). They didn't ask for a CC number when I booked by phone. I recommend this place." -- michaeltacky, Jul 7, 2008

LANGKAWI (Kedah) -- area code (60-4)

• Pondok Keladi
  Kg Padang Putih, Jalan Pantai Tengah, 955-1648, FAX 955-1548, email. Gay-friendly chalet with six bedrooms with cooking facilities. Cheap, clean, quite and private. Only 3 min bike ride to the nearest beach. Free bicycles. Utopia Member Discount
• Pondok Keladi 2
  Pantai Tengah, 016-972-3608, email. Gay-owned two-bedroom house for rent. Can sleep four people. Hot shower, TV, aircon in the master bedroom. Please email for pictures and booking details. Utopia Member Discount
• The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa
  Jln Pantai Dato' Syed Omar, Utopia Map, 960-8888, 960-8871, FAX 966-3097, email. 202 rooms and 20 villas with serene, modern decor, exhilarating views and ample amenities (like cooling rain showers). Gay and lesbian-friendly.

MELAKA / MALACCA -- area code (60-6)

Melaka's Old Town heritage neighborhood is easy to navigate using our Utopia map:

• Hotel Puri
  118 Jln Tun Tau Cheng Lock, 282-5588, FAX 281-5588. Not gay, but a favorite of gay travelers, especially those coming up from Singapore for the weekend. A gorgeous heritage building with inexpensive rates that include breakfast. Great location in Old Town and just a short walk from the bars, shops, and sights. Rooms include air-con, Wi-fi, satellite TV, phone, in-room safe.
• Heeren House
  1 Jln Tun Tan Cheng Lock, 281-4241, FAX 281-4239. Heritage lodging right in the old section of town and a short walk to the shops, the museum, and Melaka's wonderful street life. Room are simple and cozy, with non-pretentious antique furnishings. The owners, a British/Singapore straight couple, are both extremely helpful, full of useful suggestions and local insider info, and completely at ease with gay guests. Net access is free in the lobby café, adjacent to their souvenir shop in the front of the shophouse.

PENANG -- area code (60-4)

BUTTERWORTH / MAINLAND
• Unique Motel
  2/F 6914 Jln Ong Yi How (corner shophouse), Raja Uda, Butterworth, 016-415-3050, FAX 333-7584, email. Center of Raja Uda Town (Butterworth's Chinatown) on the mainland. Same row as MAYBANK Jln Ong Yi How Branch. Convenient to a lot of hawker foods and restaurants nearby. Inexpensive single, double and triple rooms with air-con, TV, and some with en suite bathrooms.

  HISTORIC GEORGE TOWN / PENANG ISLAND

  Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion 14 Leith St, 262-0006. Gay and lesbian-friendly heritage accommodation just a couple blocks from the classuc seaside Eastern and Oriental Hotel. Why not stay a night or two in the most beautifully restored traditional 19th century Straits Chinese mansion in Penang, nicknamed Le Maison Bleu for its exterior of period indigo wash, setting of the feature film Indochine? Billed as a "flamboyant masterpiece of 38 rooms, 5 courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 'yin-yang' windows", this home belonged to one of China's last Mandarins and one of Asia's first celebrity capitalists. Of special note, the home is designed according to fung shui to take full advantage of elemental wind and water forces, and is a masterwork of inventive ways to harness chi, including hidden rainwater channels throughout the structure. Rooms are furnished with antiques, art, photographs and objet from daily life in Penang of old. Rates are very reasonable and includes breakfast. Unlike visitors on the twice daily guided tours (11am and 3pm M-F), guests have run of the mansion and may take photographs. Walking distance from nearby heritage streets and major architectural landmarks. Winner of a UNESCO Conservation Award and a National Architecture Award for Conservation.

• City Bayview Hotel
  25-A Farquhar St, 263-3161. Situated between the seaside Eastern and Oriental Hotel and the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. This ideally located hotel is excellent quality for price with gorgeous rooms, sea views, room safe, strong in-room wireless Net access, and full amenities, and easy walks to the heritage streets.
• Hutton Lodge
  17 Jln Hutton, George Town, 263-6003, 263-6002, email. Experience living in one of George Town's few remaining colonial-style bungalows. The breezy and shady interior has been restored and decorated with mid-century modern touches but left mostly white/minimal. Clean, comfortable aircon rooms with large beds. Gay and lesbian-friendly and located in the heart of the city, just off a block off Penang Rd and the start of heritage walking tours of George Town's many attractions. Garden terrace, Wi-fi, public telephone, laundry, luggage storage. Some rooms have attached shower/WC. Parking and bicycles for hire. Comfortable, low-frill rooms at extremely low rates. Utopia Member Discount

  Comments from Utopians:

  "With my bf spent two nights at the fabulous Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (they had their Xmas decor up and the boxes under the tree were from Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Montblanc!), then treated ourselves to a few more nights at the classic Eastern and Oriental Hotel. Right on the sea, in the heart of historic Penang and a short walk from wonderful Penang Musuem and right across from the nightclubs. The executive package on their website was too good to pass: for under US$250/night we had the oceanview suite with king bed, huge breakfast buffet, free laundry (really worthwhile in the heat and humidity) and complimentary airport return in the hotel car. Every last Sun of the month is a heritage street market right in front of the hotel, with all sorts of food and craft items." -- Azmi, Nov 25, 2008