Since COVID restrictions have been lifted, I have been itching to go on a beach holiday locally and have heard quite a few good reviews of Pangkor Laut so for my anniversary, I decided to check it out!
Pangkor Laut Resort, owned by YTL is situated on a private island about 15mins from Lumut, and right next to Pangkor Island, Malaysia. A speedboat is available from the Pangkor Laut Resort office at Lumut jetty – which departs on an hourly schedule.
ROOMS
On the website there are 5 types of villas to choose from – Garden, Hill, Sea, Spa and Signature Suite with rates per night of RM1.1k,RM1.2k, RM1.8k, RM2k, RM3k respectively.
We chose the sea villa and upon arriving, I certainly think this is the best value for money. Our villa were held on stilts above water. Its verandah faces the sea with plenty of privacy, away from the crowd. I absolutely loved the verandah! We spent tons of time lazing, reading and drinking wine. You could laze on the lounge chairs or sit by the wooden bench to observe the fishes below.
The Garden villas were beach facing and were strategically located between the two restaurants but lacked privacy since most people would be walking around the garden and plenty of gardening was carried out during the day. Some of the hill villas were located next to the restaurants and I think would be quite noisy during dining hours. The spa and executive villas were a bit more remote, and would require you to take the shuttle to the restaurants (tho the shuttle comes every 15 mins) but is super close to yoga and the spa if that’s what you are into!
The Sea Villa was spacious, designed with vintage local design. The bed was a bit too soft for my liking (blame my old back) and the bath tub design was really unique, with a slope so you can lean and soak.
AMENITIES
There were plenty to do for a 3D2N holiday! In terms of sports – there was a pool, 3 tennis courts and one which could double as a basketball court and football area. There were also indoor games room and a gym. There are yoga classes too but requires booking and ours was canceled due to the rain 😦
If you are into water sports there is a kayak and paddle boarding option. The only downside was the designated area was really limited so we tried paddle boarding only! The guy was nice enough to charge us Rm60 for half hour for two boards so we could head out together instead of RM60 for an hour per board.
If you are looking for entertainment there is a karaoke room and a library. The karaoke room tho is always booked cause there were tons of families when we went.
But best of all I encourage you to just soak up the goody goodness of the sea and beach! From the general beachfront to catching waves at Emerald bay, it was just so so beautiful and relaxing. We went to Emerald bay on both days to catch the sunset. 🙂
FOOD & SERVICE
We got the resident package (available for locals) so we paid Rm300 extra per pax for free breakfast + 2 lunch + 2 dinners. It was so worth it cause the food were really expensive – Rm60-90 per dish. You could choose between Uncle Lims kitchen and Feast Village for dinner and let me tell you – choose Uncle Lim!
It was goooood – serving tasty local Chinese dishes. Feast village on the other hand was average but did offer more variety of local and western dishes. For lunch, under the package we could only dine at Royal Beach Bay Club and the food was really disappointing. There were more paid restaurants available on the island (I heard the one on emerald bay is good) but it’s really up to you on what’s your budget and preference!
Breakfast offered a decent spread of local and western selections. We were stuffed daily! The service was good, the staff remembered our room number everytime we came to eat – that was a nice touch and the General Manager made it a point to talk to everyone from every table, even helping everyone get their luggage when we were checking out! They can just be rather slow when something is ordered to the room, I think despite their good service, they seem rather understaffed.
All in all, I enjoyed my trip! I think it’s a good place to just unwind and if you are looking for a more luxurious all inclusive package without heading to club med, I think Pangkor Laut is a good choice 🙂 it does come with a pretty hefty price tag but if you are in for a treat then would recommend!
Gudeiary 