Expect some bizarre and exotic sceneries at Pekan Campus too!! Expect cows and goats... 

UMP Gambang has alot of active clubs compared to UMP Pekan. Won't be boring if you want to help out in your own race cultural clubs. :/

Not sure my delayed post still able to help for you tho.  But why you looking for hotels near Pekan? September intake freshies?

Just fyi Pekan is a rural area, nothing much to do over there, might just be visiting the museum.
Go for Kuantan hotels would be a much wiser choice since there are lots of interesting places and good foods around Kuantan. Meanwhile from Kuantan to Pekan campus just takes about 40 minutes.

Going on sat? A day earlier for campus visiting?
Im not sure is there hotels over there but even there is, it'ss gona be those very old and cheap hotels.
My advice, sleep well as preparation for orientation week a.k.a Minggu Induksi Siswa (MINDS).
It was a week of hell for my batch last year. mainly due to lack of sleep   

I cant really remember but if i not mistaken it does start on sun evening.
If you have friends over there, you two can gather up and register for same room mates. Otherwise u'll just get a random room mate. Register early and late doesnt really affect.
For me, i brought quite alot of things but basically all are daily necessities.
I'll can try list some down if you need.

A lock is only for your wardrobe. but usually my roommate doesnt lock as we already locked our room.
I would rather recommend a laptop lock if you do have expensive laptops, there always been things stolen especially near end of the semester.

For electric appliances : kettle/ hair dryer (but u can always borrow your friends one if do get kind room mates)

Get a huge water bottle, those 5 litres above. This is because there is only 1 water dispenser for each block and they located at the ground floor. So if you do get 3rd floor which is the highest, its a hassle keep walking up and down just for refilling water.

If you spend a lot of time surfing the internet and gaming, get your own broadband 
The best telco for broadband over there would be Maxis / u-mobile imo. With good location, I can get ping below 100 with a average speed of 4-5 mbps. The hostel do have free internet but youtube gets throttle badly, "jack sparrow" and *ahem* websites and game client are blocked. While during peak hours, facebook cant even load news feed 

The hostel only have 2 AC power plugs and sockets. So get a multi plug extension cord if you need.

Washing machine are provide but you have to self-service. Bring liquid detergent because if powder type you need make them dissolve in water before use. 

The place to dry your laundry wasnt well located, so mostly we dry our clothes by hanging them over the windows. If you has a lot of clothes, you might want consider portable clothes rack too.

For your information, the hostel are cement floor so they are quite rough. so you might want consider another pair of shoes for indoor / bath.  Do remember bring an extra towel for wiping your wet legs after bath.

Btw, you can get some images of the hostel if you look over the UMP official facebook. 

Hopefully information above are useful for you.

np 
anyway be ready to get shock with the location of ump pekan. deep in the forest 

the location is just sad. you'll realise when u reach there. No idea why they pick the location, its was build along a very random road in the middle of a random kampung. True story.

yep pekan mech eng btw.

If free time like weekend, we usually drive to pekan town for food or kuantan for entertainment.  There are car renting services for those who dont have transport. Just 5 bucks per hour for small car like kancil 

Scenery quite good la just the location is 
Food inside campus just average, you had to eat anyway even it tastes bad 
For Chinese food, just head to Pekan town, about 15 minutes drive distance. Fast food like Mcd / Kfc / A&W / pizza hut all over there too.

For those elective, im not sure. better get clear information from degree student.
im taking diploma fyi , cant help if its about academics 

hey~
for ur first sem UMP will set your timetable and what subject for you to take
on second sem onwards you can choose your own subject on which day and time
for me, my second sem I took CAD,fluid mechanics,programming,math subject etc

same here, kk5 student 1st year. they block almost online game everything in the uni line