Pangkor Laut Resort

The location on a private island is fantastic. It is truly surrounded by the sea and rain forest and all its wildlife (sea eagles, horn bills, monitor lizards etc). I was looking to stay at a resort close to the nature and this was hotel really delivered on that. The different hotel rooms are spread over a large area and for an example walking from the Spa Villas to the breakfast restaurant takes about 15 minutes. There is though a well working buggy transportation service going between all the different areas from early morning to the late evening. The staff is very warm, helpful and welcoming. But I feel a lack of training and the actual delivered service is not at a five star level. I stayed in a Hill Villa on the lower level and the view was very limited due to trees shadowing it. It was fine for me (hey, it is nature) but if sea views are important for you make sure to request a villa with clear view. The room interior was a little dated but well working and spacious. It was clean in all aspects except for the bath tub that was very sandy. I tried all the four restaurants during my three night stay. My favorite actually turned out to be the beach restaurant Chapman bar as I think the lunch dishes I had there had the most flavors. Because seasoning was underwhelming in general at the others. Service at Uncle Lim was oddly over attentive (you really felt rushed, i.e. literally putting down the fork/chopsticks and the next second you are asked if you want the next dish) and just confused as you get the same question from several in the staff. no coordination. Fisherman Cove is the fine dining restaurant, it was ok but don't expect a Michelin star restaurant. The live stations at the buffet breakfast did a good job (egg station, noodle station etc). You could also get freshly made juices and barista coffee. The western part of the buffet was underwhelming, there was several choices but all bread/pastries felt industrial baked. Don't expect any late party in a lively bar, I felt everything closed down very early, including the pool bars. The longer jungle walk was really good with a very nice and knowledgeable guide, really recommended. Also the Pangkor island tour to the different temples and mosque was interesting. Skip the Island hopping if you expect good snorkeling, the visited reef was very small and not in good condition but if you just want to get out on the water and see some other island, it can be worth it. Overall I think this is a four star resort in a five star location.

Beautiful resort having stunning views. The staff everywhere is super nice and friendly, every day from breakfast to dinner welcoming us with a smile, and a special thanks to Devi, Afif and Gagan. We had a hill villa and the view was amazing. The room is really big but a bit outdated, the bath is huge but the water did not really get warm so we did not use it which is a shame. Next to the hill villa there was also plastic in the jungle / rubbish. The organization around the facilities could have been a bit better: one of the only things you can do is sit at the pool or beach (both clean and with beautiful views) however there are not always enough sunbeds so that is a shame. On the beach some sunbeds are also broken and there is enough space to have more. Kayaking costs money which feels a bit ridiculous if there is so little to do and you can't go anywhere else it seems unfair to charge extra for this as the resort is expensive for what it offers, we wanted to kayak around the island but you are only aloud to kayak at the very small part in front of the island so we did not end up doing it. The gym is quite nice but also very old machines. The food is really good, especially breakfast. Enough staff walking around to serve coffee and tea, they are very attentive, sweet and fast. We also really loved the special foodtruck evening which they have on Tuesdays. All in all we had a lovely stay, really thanks to all the amazing staff, but the resort does need renovation as it is rather pricey currently. You really pay for the views and location, we look forward to coming back when it is renovated.

I recently spent 4 nights at PLR to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary. From the Mainland Jetty Office until the day we left, we had a fantastic experience which we will cherish forever. Special mention to Mr Wayne and Ms Naveena in KL office, for ensuring the whole stay was memorable. To Mr Megendran who was at the Jetty from the moment we arrived and always within a call away to assist with anything, Being the unsung hero, Mr Magendran is always behind the scene, ensuring no hiccups and no unexpected problems during our stay. To Chef Ruhaimi for the lovely meals which he was ever so happy to prepare. To Ms Prithiya who was always ensuring the stay was perfect with a huge eye for detail, observing and picking up our preference from our first day at the resort. From the 2nd day, Prithiya was on top of everything.... To Kimi at Front Office for taking time off his busy schedule to stop by to check on us, asking if there is anything else that they could do to help make our stay even better. To Nadim and Hassan from the Resort F&B team who always helped us at Dining. To Mages who always does his rounds in the morning, checking in on guests. Our celebration was one we will remember till the end of time. The people and the team at Pangkor Laut Resort is what makes this resort such a wonderful property. We cannot wait to return.

I don’t normally write reviews, and definitely not of this length but I want to on this occasion. The reviews of this resort are mostly really good, but some are not, and this inconsistency almost stopped us booking what turned out to be one of the best holidays we have ever had. We’d thoroughly recommend Pangkor Laut to our friends, and hope this information allows others to have the confidence to decide it will suit them too. My husband and myself stayed for our honeymoon from the 8th- 15th January in a Spa villa on a full board basis which we booked with British Airways. We were picked up from our hotel at KL and dropped back at the airport in a private car, which was air conditioned and extremely comfortable and was included in the package. The check in process at the marina before the boat worked well. The resort is nicely spread out, and regular buggies ferry people around, so if you wanted to avoid walking that would be easy. For us, we enjoyed walking from the spa villas at one end of the resort to the Feast village and back for breakfast. This is just over 1km each way, and takes you all along the front of the bay, allowing for good Hornbill sightings, especially when we were there as they were nesting. Our villa was beautiful. A deck with two comfortable sun loungers looking out to sea. The bedroom was large, with a king sized bed, and the bathroom had a tub made for two with a rain shower above. For the brave you could open the windows and feel like you were showering outdoors. The villa had lots of hanging space, an iron and ironing board, hairdryer, a limited mini bar (but the staff will bring drinks to the villa, and also bought us milk) and ample English sockets and USB outlets. We found the concierge, Jeff, extremely helpful. We made contact with him in advance, and using WhatsApp made reservations for dinners ahead of our arrival. We could have booked excursions ahead of time, but we did this on the day of our arrival, again after talking with Jeff. Jeff stayed in touch via WhatsApp through out our stay, helping me retrieve lost property from Kuala Lumpur and get it to the resort with one of their drivers, and printing some papers I needed also. We couldn’t have asked for anybody more helpful. We ate extremely well at the resort. Our favourite restaurant was definitely Fisherman’s Bay, with outstanding food and a great outlook on to the bay. We enjoyed Uncle Lim’s, had some great lunches at Chapmans Bar and the Beach Club, and loved the incredibly varied breakfast options at the Feast Village. We treated ourselves to a private dinner on the beach, which was an unforgettable experience I would thoroughly recommend. We did the deep sea fishing experience, which we loved, helped by catching 18 fish. We dined at Feast Village that night and the chef took 1 each of the 3 species of fish we cooked and prepared 3 courses for us. There is nothing to beat tuna sashimi from a tuna you caught personally a few hours before! We did both jungle walks, the shorter one that is included, and a longer one that had a small charge attached. We enjoyed walking in the jungle, but more than that we enjoyed talking to the conservationists working at the hotel and hearing about the projects they are involved in. The island really is a special place and a haven for wildlife. We also had a wonderful 4 hour spa experience including a bath house experience, a head massage, body scrub and full body massage. We left extremely relaxed. Despite all this activity, we found lots of time to relax. As spa villa guests we got access to the spa area at anytime, which includes a beautiful 50m adult only pool, and bar. We enjoyed the loungers here, and swimming. Mizan, who supervised the pool area in the day and worked at Fisherman’s Bay at night looked after us so well, and made it a really special time. When we weren’t here we took the buggy to Emerald Bay and enjoyed the beach and swimming in the sea. The bar here is a little more lively too. We got loungers every day, except for the day we arrived after 12, when we had to take a cushion on the sand, but after 30 minutes or so loungers became free and the staff came and found us and moved all our stuff to the new location. Added to all of this we had wonderful weather too! With a fantastic storm during our first night, and after that hazy starts followed by sunny days. Nothing is perfect, and there are some small things that could be improved - the gym is looking a little dated and some of the equipment needs a little TLC. We did not try the water sports but again the equipment looked like it had seen better days. (We also wondered why the water sports weren’t at Emerald Bay?). We were not seeking ‘nightlife’ but there isn’t any - with the restaurants closing up at 10.30 or 11, so it isn’t a resort for anyone who wants a party vibe. For us we couldn’t have asked for a better honeymoon, with a wonderful resort, in the middle of nature, and staff, who without exception were polite, friendly and eager to make our stay as pleasant as possible.

We stayed for three nights at the island. I found very little evidence that it is a five star resort. We had an aging cabin in the woods that would be spacious if the bathroom, toilet and hall were not oversized. The bedroom itself is very small. We went with two kids and they can convert the sofa to a small single bed, leaving three people in the queen sized bed and someone on the sofa. The air conditioning, which is as old as the house, sounded like a misfiring tractor which we reported far too many times before it was eventually fixed on the second night. Two stars because the staff in the restaurants were all lovely. The food was decent and if you are resident of various countries you get all your meals for free. We are not from such a country.