Pangkor Laut Resort

We booked Pandora Laut as a birthday/Christmas gift to ourselves We arrived at the terminal to take the speedboat, it was busy and this process needs to be a little slicker, although everyone was very polite. We were introduced to Sherwin, He was very helpful and let us get to the beach bar in record time. Back from the beach bar and we arrived at our sea villa, it was fantastic just as the photos depicted Chapmans bar on Emerald beach for us was paradise, the bar staff were attentive particularly Tohid, Asgar and sohag We also enjoyed the Spa bar was great and so was the barman who name I can’t remember sorry In the buffet and anther bar we met smiley cousin, Tanka pre ma all amazing too We really enjoyed the whole experience, except the tapinyaki which sadly was very disappointing, Christmas Day on the Fisherman’s cove was great. We also took the snorkel trip which was only us!!! Loved that too I could go on and on but I ll stop now

Forth time here, 2nd review. I'm the happiest whenever I got the chance to come here for a short break but to be honest, there were a bit of hit and miss this time around in terms of staff friendliness and cleanliness (rooms and restaurant). As usual, I'll be going after the Hill Villas but i was quite surprised the room was not as clean as it should be. The same goes to the cleanliness at the Feast Village with a rat running around during the breakfast time. However, I won't be making too much of a fuss on that because it is the peak season with the huge crowd celebrating the new year just like us. Putting that aside, I truly enjoy the New year eve midnight cruise and the service offered by the captain and the crew. I will still be back but i not during the peak period.

We stayed hers from 29th Dec 24 until 8th January 25. This resort is advertised as a 5 star luxury resort, which it should and could be, however they let themselves down in certain areas, most definitely on the management side. Firstly the island is beautiful with such lush greenery and jungle. There are some amazing animals and birds to see, such as monkeys and the hornbills. We also saw some sea otter, a monitor lizard and sea eagles. despite our stay in a hill villa, we never saw a single monkey during our 10 days stay 🙈 We stayed in a hill villa. The first room had an obstructed view to the sea (avoid the block of villas where 379 is) When we spoke to reception about our disappointment we were then moved to another hill villa (370) which had a fantastic view. Thank you to the reception team for arranging this 😊 The biggest frustration and annoyance was the dining arrangements especially at lunchtime. When you first arrive you are told about all the places you can eat (we were full board). These places were feast village (buffet style dining), uncle Lim’s (Chinese), Fisherman’s cove (seafood), Royal Bay Beach Club (western food) and Chapmans Bar on the beach. You’re told you have to make reservations for the evening (which is a bit annoying), but what they don’t tell you is that these restaurants aren’t always open! Our preference was the buffet style dining at feast village which we had on arrival at lunchtime. We tried to reserve this restaurant for the next 4-5 evenings, only to be told it was closed. When asked why, we couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone. We eventually found out through another guest, it was because the owner, his wife and appropriately 100 guests had come over for 3-4 nights, which meant most of the cooks were required for that (perks of owning the island I guess). After they had all left we kept asking if the feast village was open especially for lunchtime, time and time again we were told yes. Turn up each time and it’s closed! That meant you were restricted to lunch at the Royal beach club or Chapman’s bar, however the menu never changes. We finally found out that the buffet dining is only open for lunch, when there is a large amount of people checking in or out. The communication here is terrible, it’s not the staffs fault, but the management. Other areas where it doesn’t come up to 5 stars were, having to ask for shower gel etc to be topped up, mini bar not restocked, having to ask for lightbulbs to be replaced, all these should be done automatically in a 5 star resort. The room feels dated and the housekeeping wasn’t always up to standard, I.e floor mat left on side tables instead of being put back (this happen twice), small towel not replaced (twice again) Stained bedding. At that point, my wife felt embarrassed to keep having to tell reception about these issues and be that person that they don’t want to keep seeing 🤦 Internet also very intermittent in our room but fine within the other areas. Also in a 5 star resort you shouldn’t have to pay for activities such as paddle boarding or Kayaking. We were also amazed to see so many families with young children and babies, as there is absolutely nothing to do in an evening, no entertainment at all. It’s not all bad though, the spa and treatments are amazing 🤩 and the staff all over the island are very pleasant, courteous and polite. Overall this is a beautiful island and resort, however I’d only recommend staying for 2-3 nights, not for a week or 10 days like us. We have been lucky enough to stay in other 5 star resorts and we would rather go back to Maldives, than come back here.

Been looking forward to this for months which always puts more pressure on the Resort when you actually get there. Spent three days in KL before a 4 hour drive and a fifteen minute boat trip to get there. What can we say? It was different league! Even the small things that went wrong somehow went right!! That monkey snuck into our Room because we were so entranced by the mother and baby putting on a show for us whilst sitting on the patio enjoying a morning coffee. It was my birthday whilst we were there and we booked Fishermans Cove. The food was tremendous. As was the service. At the end of the meal they brought out a cake and presented it to my far better half and sang Happy Birthday to her. I was just happy I wasn't a year older anymore! They were mortified when they found out and we had a very generous discount on the Bill. Everywhere we ate, drank or wandered we were met met by friendly and professional staff. Hate singling out but will say the two gents (from Nepal & Bali?) who worked in The Straits Bar were absolutely exceptional. It's essentially a five star Resort tagged to Jungle. The wildlife, flora and fauna were amazing. Hornbills, Monitor Lizards, Sea Otters, Flying Foxes etc etc. Do the Jungle Trek if you can but dress appropriately. Takes a couple of hours and starts off very simple. Trust us, it is a Jungle Trek!!! Finally. We have just read a few recent negative Reviews which we genuinely cannot understand. They do not represent our experience in any way. Baffling!! We truly hope that we will be back. V & H

This is definitely a “Has Been” Resort.. For the price paid there is definitely no value here. The place is run down despite the fact that I was told our rooms were newly refurbished, nothing stood out to me. The Resort lacks leadership and needs a leader who has some presence to create some passion and personality about the place. 9 out of 10 staff that walked past us didn’t smile and didn’t acknowledge us at all and to be fair, one or two made the effort to interact with us, namely Segar the Guest Liaison Manager who deserves a medal.. On the Food & Beverage side, Breakfast was a feeding frenzy made worse by grumpy egg chefs. I just don’t understand why hotels put grumpy, non-communicative egg chefs on egg stations who are not morning/guest orientated people? Guests want to wake up to see smiling staff not grumps! Food quality was just “OK” but if you are going to charge an arm and a leg for local food, try to at least make it better than what you can get at a hawker centre. At the Emerald Bay Beach Restaurant why can’t a guest get a simple Club Sandwich or a Burger?? At the Fisherman’s Cove, the food quality was pretty good and the Manager was quite attentive and friendly. As for Uncle Lim’s Restaurant, despite its terrible layout was quite alright and the food was pretty good. The Main Pool was a disaster. No easy way to get in and out of this pool and the deep end is treacherous in a Resort…beware if you have kids….also very limited sun lounge seating in this area. In short, an awful Resort Pool experience made worse by staff power washing and scrubbing the area during the afternoon and during the peak season when the hotel is full… sigh! Leadership!! The Spa Village Pool was perfect but you have to have a treatment in the Spa before using this pool or be a guest in the over water bungalows… In the evenings the Resort is dead.. even at Christmas time there is no entertainment.. not that I am expecting a corny band from another Asian Country, but at least something to make the dead nights a little more romantic.. how about a Solo Pianist playing into the sunset or a guitarist or harpist plucking some strings….anything to enhance the evening would have been welcomed…. Management… I could go on but there isn’t enough space.. For the money paid for two rooms here, I should have listened to my instincts and head to Phuket, Krabi or Phu Quoc where I could stay in a real 5 Star Luxury Resort and not have all the above dampen my family’s Christmas..