Malaysia

Asia,Travelling

One island, One resort!

We found Pangkor Laut Resort in Pangkor Island, along the Straits of Malacca, on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, a stunning one-of-a-kind property, part of the YTL group of hotels.
This place was the favorite of Luciano Pavarotti, who declared: ‘I almost cried when I saw how beautiful God had made this paradise.’

The landscape is astonishing, the island as well, the jungle and the emerald water with very soft sand beaches are extremely beautiful. The resort and the landscape designers deserve lots of congratulations. The resort covers 30% of the island, the rest remaining jungle.

Best views leave unforgettable memories

There is a great mix of the Asian architecture and luxurious jungle

1. Accomodation

The resort offers accommodation by the sea (bungalows on stilts over the sea) or surrounded by tropical gardens ( villas in the hillside amidst the rainforest). It provides a variety of locations: from garden villa, hill villa – among luxurious vegetation with a magnificent view of the sea, beach villa- steps away from the sandy beach, sea and spa villas- luxurious bungalows on stilts over the emerald-green sea.
Sea and Spa villas are linked with the rest of resort by wooden walkways. A romantic scenery at night when lanterns light the walkaways and the sound of the sea can be heard lapping beneath you.
Pavarotti Suite is a pictorial tribute to the world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti who fell in love with the island.
The resort features 2 outdoor pools, an award-winning spa and 7 dining options. Guests can enjoy a workout at the fitness room. Squash and tennis courts are available.
• Private Suits. For a more intimate holiday, the private suits, in a quite side of the island, are an excellent option: a complex of 3/ 4/5 apartments, own swimming pool, own butler, personal chef.

We stayed in the Spa Village area, in over-water bungalow perched on stilts above the emerald sea. Whoever looks for relaxation, this is a very good place to stay.. watching the sunset, hearing the sound of waves crashing, listening, feeling the motion of the tide.

Reading “The Collector” by John Fowles

2. Dining

As a captive client on the island, we chose from the seven restaurants in the resort, from Italian fine dining to Asian fusion cuisine or Chinese-style home cooking. My favorite is Uncle Lim’s kitchen, a restaurant built atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the Andaman sea.

Breakfast is amazing! During the day, no matter the place you sunbath in the resort, you are being treated with a platter of fruits.

3. Service

I was pleasantly surprised to have most of the staff knowing our name and trying to be as useful as possible. 2 persons from the front office deserve special congratulations for their effort in customer service: Kashi and Michael.

4. Perfect guests

We had monkeys in the room eating our snacks and messing up things in the bathroom, however, in the jungle, one should not leave windows open and behave as in a city. Now, after one year, I remember this as one of the best moments of that holiday, when we caught 3 monkeys eating cashews, fruits and sugar in our bathroom, ready to fight us as we were getting closer to them.

Hornbills everywhere on the island

At sunset

As the departure moment was coming I felt like the place still had so many stories to tell… And was thankful to the verdant landscapes and the glorious sea for this tropical fairy tale.

A mix of plumeria and orchids flowers

View from the room, at Spa Village

5. TIPS

In terms of connecting to the island, we arranged the transportation from Kuala Lumpur and back with Pangkor Laut (PLR) and even if it seems at the beginning as being quite expensive (~150 EUR/way and ~ 300km drive) the drivers were polite, you have magazines, water and snacks in the car therefore it is worth going this way. The journey takes approx. 3.5hours and once arrived at Pangkor Marina, the staff there was also very polite and friendly while doing the check-in and offering refreshments.

You can check for more information on: www.pangkorlautresort.com. You can find great deals on slh, booking.com, agoda, etc.