The Datai Langkawi

Stunning hotel, room, grounds and surrounding area, beach etc. Particularly enjoyed a morning swim at the beach pool and walk along the beach before breakfast. Extremely warm welcome. Champagne was a real plus and the daily delights around the beach of ice-cream, fruit and cocktails as well as a regular top up of iced water were excellent. Fabulous breakfast. Thai, Malay and Beach restaurants superb. We enjoyed the latter for lunch and one evening had a beautifully cooked grouper which was outstanding. ALL the staff without exception were well trained and engaging and provided outstanding customer service. We loved the golf course and enjoyed a delicious lunch at the club. We also enjoyed seeing The wildlife and the beautiful flora and fauna.

Personal view however we found the area around the large swimming pool could have been enhanced with some of the beautiful pots and plants we saw in the rest of the property. This is not a criticism!

- outstanding location between the jungle and the sea - beach is incredible as well as the main pool - very good breakfast from 7 to 11am so plenty of time - impeccable service - buggies quickly available - I personally loved the restaurant / bar at lounge level and the pond, the selection of drinks is very good - very good service at the beach bar and directly onto the beach - access to the pool and beach anytime really, I was jet lagged and had a couple of swims at dawn, incredible Overall very very good

only provided so that the hotel can adapt and improve - confusing switches in the bedroom - should be simpler - for the price everything in the bar should be free - despite being superbe, the price is still a little too high for Malaysia - far away from everything which is a good thing but also limits you when it comes to food or else - beach bag not given for free !!! it would be good for the price paid as a hotel souvenir

I don’t normally write reviews but it’s one of those occasions where it would feel unfair not to. So much so that I’m writing this before I leave. This is also not going to be an eye-opener for anyone who’s seen the over 3,000 overwhelmingly 5* reviews on this site. But here it goes…. I’m 44 and I’ve been to over 75 countries, staying in some amazing locations. Datai has been on my “must do” list for a while, but it has never quite happened, and partly maybe I was worried that it would be a bit of a letdown after such hype. Having now been here for almost a week, the only disappointment is at myself for having waited so long to come! As I’ve said, this will not be very original, but what really makes the place is the staff. I will not single out anyone, partly because of how exceptional everyone I’ve encountered has been, and partly because I realise such high level of service can only be achieved also with the help and efforts of those we guests never see (maintenance, gardeners, beach cleaners, porters…). Nothing is too much trouble, and you get treated like this is a home, not a place you pass though. The friendliness, helpfulness and joy of all the staff you meet are remarkable, and a credit to both them and the the management. Location - spectacular, from the first time you glimpse the Andaman sea through the rainforest foliage on arrival. Beach is stunning, and while a bit of a walk from the main building, it would be hard to complain as you walk along the butterfly path of the ancient rainforest. The walks to, and along, the beach are also a scenic way to burn off the calories from all the amazing food you will definitely overindulge in. Food - worthy of a Michelin star, Pavilion being my particular favourite. The blend of flavours is a discovery in every bite, and bartenders’ skills are excellent (speaking as an amateur home mixologist here). Please run cocktail classes! Rooms - of a very high standard, and I’ve stayed in the simplest room category. Spa - a must, but book well on advance. Same as with the nature activities (which I didn’t quite get to experience this time). Weather - it will rain, at some point. Usually late in the evening or early morning, so not much of an issue. If stuck for something to do, escape to the excellent and very old school hotel library (I did). Atmosphere - very relaxed and the opposite of bling. What you would call a quiet luxury. The place itself is the star, and over a week I’ve seen no “look at me”influencers obsessively filming themselves (a disappointingly frequent scene elsewhere). I’ve heard that about 40% of those who come are returning guests, and I can understand why. Well, Datai, you’ve just got yourself another future returning guest - I will definitely be back in a couple of years’ at most. And I don’t normally revisit long-haul locations

Expectations were high and this far, far exceeded expectations. What was outstanding: 1. the team - wow are they happy to be working here and boy did this come across with the friendly, efficient, above and beyond service from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. 2. the accommodation - out of this world - stayed in a rainforest villa with a fully sharing walk in wardrobe and bathroom for 2 which was as big as a london flat. Amazingly appointed. So so comfortable 3. the food - all 4 restaurants were superb - stand outs are too many to mention but the ala carte breakfast is super special. 4. the setting - beautiful beach - so well designed. We ended up meeting so many people that mid stay it would take us 2 hours to get in and out of brekafast. Bonus is that we got invited to a private dinner party on the resort hosted by a well known super friendly fun actress with a world leading super model and 80s music legend. Words cant really describe how special this hotel is.

A week here in a Premium Rainforest villa was without doubt the best beach hotel, perhaps any hotel, in which we have ever stayed. I can find no fault. Staff are engaged, polite, friendly, efficient and professional, this is at the heart of the operations. Our villa was lovely, spacious, well maintained and has every possible amenity. The two pools are great, one adult only. The beach is stunning, clean, warm water and just beautiful. Dining, there are several options, none of them cheap, but all of high standard. I gave it 5/5, but only because there is no option to do 6/5.

We have wanted to come to The Datai for a few years (before the BBC Programme) and our stay completely surpassed our expectations! Like some of the previous reviews we also cried when we left! We did catch the tail end of the rainy season but tbh it didn’t ruin our trip we still made the most of being on the beach and used the opportunity to bodyboard as the waves were bigger! The setting was so stunning. I’m not sure the photos on the internet do it justice! We really felt immersed in nature. The walk from the beach to the main building is incredible! We stayed for 12 nights in a Beach Villa (6) the villa was amazing and we had a dedicated butler Nizal who helped to make our trip so wonderful. Nizal was very helpful and informative and always went above and beyond to make our stay special. The restaurants are all fantastic, we ate in them all and couldn’t fault them. We loved the ‘Spirit of the Andaman’ buffet at The Beach Club and we had an amazing Diwali buffet at The Gulai House. We had breakfast every morning either in the main building or down at the beach and the only problem was not being able to eat enough to make the most of all the options! We also took part in the excursions, which we highly recommend. We did the night time walk with Ritz and the morning walk with Barry. We saw lots of wildlife on both trips, on the evening walk we were lucky to see 4 colugas! We also did the ‘Trek to Crystal Creek’ with Barry which was wonderful. We were lucky as it was only the three of us and we had an amazing experience swimming in the creek surrounded by nature. Speaking of nature, we weren’t sure how many animals we would see as some reviews said they didn’t see much but we regularly saw the troop of dusky leaf monkeys hanging out down by our villa and also at The Beach Club. We were also visited by a family of hornbills! We also saw kingfishers, otters, macaques and sea eagles. One of the most important things for us about The Datai are its sustainability credentials. We enjoyed a trip to The Lab and purchased some gifts made out of recycled products – next time we’ll take part in one of the workshops. We also enjoyed a fascinating tour of the garden and learnt about native plant species. We also saw the stingless bee hives and we bought some of the delicious honey so we can enjoy it at home. As all previous reviews have stated what really made the trip for us were the staff. We always like to stay in hotels where we can feel ‘part of the family’ and everyone at The Datai made us feel like that right from the start. All staff members we interacted with were friendly and knowledgeable and always happy to help. Part of the reason we felt really sad on leaving was saying goodbye to people who even in a 12 day period had started to feel like friends, especially Nizal. Some of the people who made our stay special are listed below. I am sorry for the people we have unintentionally left out. Nizal Shaiful Tony Azhari Sitina Leona Rasman Daba Yanti Karthi Fadhlan Hannis Adib Sofwan I can see why people continually visit The Datai and treat it like a second home as it already feels like that after one visit. We are already making plans to go back!

Secluded and private

The main swimming pool is too open and could be more cosy and shaded

ロケーション、設備もよく、食事も美味しかった

なし

So if you love beautiful independent hotels, this is likely to make your list for lots of reasons. Amazing beach. Amazing setting. Great service. But there are some pitfalls. 1. The weather. Rains a lot here and can kill a lot of your stay and access to the walks/sea. 2. The mattresses. If you like a firm mattress do not count on a good nights sleep. 3. Good wine. By the glass there are not many selections. 4. The “tours” and walks. While it is still unique and breaks up the day, the tree top canopy walk is about 50ft long, the permanature walk is a tiny herb garden. So don’t oversell yourself that these are amazing experiences. And (see 1) they get called off for weather. 5. The lights and light switches in the bedroom, the aircon, all take some getting used to. Hard to turn off. Hard to control. The food (mud crab salad at beach club) was excellent. The service was completely 5 star plus. The rooms were excellent in terms of setup. And it really is idyllic. Just some things to be careful of. 5 star reviews will be correct too. Just some things I think warrant you knowing about before you go. As once you are there, you have no other options given the isolated location.