We were booked into Bunga Raya for the second week of our honeymoon and from the pictures on the website, we were naturally very excited and had high expectations for our arrival.

These lasted up to the point of being shown our "deluxe" room (#20). Dark and bare, it was depressing and far from the luxury boutique we had expected and paid for. We could have put this down to personal taste and high expectations until we found cobwebs in the bedroom, mould in the bathroom, an uncleaned bath, stains on the daybed in the lounge, windows that were rotting and would not close and holes in the bed sheets. For an alleged 5* resort charging in excess of £400 per night none of this is close to acceptable and we were really disappointed.

When these points were brought to the attention of the management, the room was cleaned but nothing was done to try and win back our first impressions, and their response was "well sometimes a hotel just isn't suited to a couple".

As has been previously mentioned by other reviewers, the choice of restaurant is limited to 2. the Koi and the Pantai grill (only open in fair weather) on the beach. If the menus changed or varied on a daily basis this would be fine, but there is only one menu for each sitting at each restaurant. The food was fairly priced and of below average quality, and I had food poising from some softshell crab. We discovered for ourselves by reading the hotel brochure that there was a wine cellar to eat in and we were delighted to have a break from eating at the Koi but could not understand why this had not been mentioned or suggested as we were there on our honeymoon.

Again,it was the small things that I would have expected from a 5* resort that were lacking. During dinner in the cellar no one light the candles that were on the table or around the room, we were forgotten about and our main course was served whilst our first course plates still sat there

Our biggest issue was that the hotel was desperately inconsistent – sometimes we were offered the menu for breakfast to have cooked things other times we werent. Sometimes we were given towels and water at the pool, other times. They ran out of sparkling water one day, there was no cheese at breakfast one day, no yoghurt another day, and no orange juice on another.

Conscious of our disappointment, the management made a very nice gesture of upgrading us from the delux room to a plunge pool villa for the last 3 nights of our honeymoon. This was a smaller room than the delux, but had the added in-room benefit of a coffee machine! The plunge pool was dirty and there was a bottle cap floating in it when we moved in. Taking all of the above into consideration, I nearly fell over when I was told how much the room rate per night was - £500 plus!!!

We were meant to stay for 7 days but checked out after 4,5 days to head back to the Shangri-La in KK to at least end our honeymoon on a high.

In summary, I would be hard pressed to recommend this hotel to anyone and cannot fathom how or why it is worthy of 5 stars.

Wanted a nice, relaxing beach getaway in KK but unfortunately, it was monsoon season and all the rubbish gets washed up to this side of the sea - very unsightly and unappealing - did not get into the water at all.. Of course I know this is not the resort's fault at all but it did dampen the mood.. Also, it rained everyday we were there so would be best not to go during monsoon season. We didn't mind that it was about 20 mins by boat from the mainland to the resort because we didn't think that we would leave the resort much.. Much to our disappointment, the food there is bland and appalling with numerous spelling mistakes in the menu - not what we expected from a fine resort! So we had to go out multiple times to the mainland for food, NOT FUN! If you are going to run an isolated resort, u need to make sure that your guests have almost no reason to want to leave during their entire stay. The staff all get an 'A' for effort, helpfulness and attitude but I think a lot of them (especially the ones dealing with food and beverages) need to be up skilled and more knowledgeable. The wildlife on the island is cool though, we encountered several wild boars, a venomous green python, many birds and a monitor lizard. We stayed at Villa #14 and it has it's own plunge pool and we think it is the best villa in terms of layout and location, try to get that one if u can.. But until they improve their food DRASTICALLY, I won't be back

Considering the hotel is very new, the beach front villas looked a bit tired. It's more like a your average chalet with a flat screen TV and Bose sound system. Air conditioner was a bit leaky probably due to condensation. Plunge pool didn't look enticing. There's algae at the bottom of it. Wardrobe slidding door was broken. Not to mention safe is not bolted down and they make you sign a contract stating they are not lliable for lost of valueables kept in the safe. That's because anyone can literally lift the whole safe and walk away with it.

The beach was choppy due to monsoon season so visibility is bad. So forget about snorkeling. Lots of trash gets washed up. I even saw a bag embedded in the sand! Although they seem to clean it on a regular basis with a Bobcat and broom, the trash swept up is such an eye sore. It's like little nests of seaweed and rubbish all over the beach front. Not sure if the problem will ever go away as it's situated not far from the water village.

There was also very limited choice in food or places to eat. There were ants on our dining table but that comes with being in the jungle. Make sure you cover yourself in citronella spray. It really lacked the wow factor me unlike Ko Phi Phi Don in Thailand. I guess, stay a night if you're in KK and see it for yourself.

Booked a few days stay at the Bunga Raya resort as a chance to relax for a weekend over my birthday.

Arriving at the port area in KK, the check-in process is done here prior to the boat transfer out to the resort. Fairly quick and painless, although if you time it badly you may well get caught up with the hordes who are going out to the island for a day trip. Luckily they seem to go on separate boats, as on our transfer there were only 4 of us who were actually staying at the hotel.

Boat transfer is farily quick and we were lucky as it was a nice smooth trip, as you turn into the bay and see the resort it's hard not to be impressed. Most of the bungalows are well hidden on the hillside so can be tricky to spot. The jetty itself is a nice feature, the short walk to the reception area gives you a chance to admire some of the sealife.

We were assigned out bungalow and taken on the short trip to our room by electric golf buggy. There are plenty of these around the resort, and you can always call for one if one isn't passing when you want a lift somewhere.

The bungalow itself was very spacious and nicely furnished, with a large separate bathroom area. I was particularly impressed with the ceiling decoration around the ceiling fan, quite a work of art!

The verandah overlooked the beach, and more often than not we had a monkey visiting making the most of the view.

Breakfast was of a good standard, plenty of choice to suit all tastes. The early morning delivery of muffins was a nice touch, although you had to be quick to get there before the monkeys !! (I understand the hotel management may dispense with this nice touch, as they've not found a monkey proof basket for the miuffins yet!

The early evening cocktail hour was a nice touch, 1st one was for free and the 2nd was for half price, and gave you a chance to meet your fellow resort residents. Dinner can be a slightly disappointing affair, I think 2 or 3 nights maximum will stop you getting bored with the menu at the 2 restaurants.

The swimming pool area outide the main building is also very nicely presented, although I didn't spend too much time there as the beach is lovely. Nice soft white sand, and kept very clean whenever the sea gets rough and washes in the plague of Asian beaches everywhere, plastic bottles and bags!!

I will definitely return in future, a great place for a relaxing break. We did have a massage in the Spa, although I did find this extremely over priced so probably wouldn't bother next time.

So in conclusion, the only negatives I could find were that it would be nice if guests of the resort can have a separate area on the mainland when checking in to avoid the crowds of day trippers. It can give the wrong impression, I was slightly worried as to what sort of place I was visiting, but my mind was put at rest once we arrived on the island itself. I'd also like to see a little more choice for dinner, quite limited although maybe most guests only stay for 2 or 3 nights so this is ample. Otherwise, no problems at all.

Overall, highly recommended!