We booked 5 rooms for a short family getaway during the few days immediately after Chinese New Year. We were prepared for bad service as we suspected that the place will be fully booked during this peak period. We were right about the hotel being fully booked, but was pleasantly surprised that our experience was not too bad. It wasn’t perfect, but it was not a horrible experience.
We were pleasantly surprised by the very helpful and friendly attitude of the porters and bellboys who eagerly helped us unload our luggages from our cars, which we parked on the ground floor near the lobby. They were very friendly, greeted us with smiles and very efficient.
Check-in took slightly longer than I expected, but this could be because we book several rooms using a booking website and another directly with the hotel. I would conclude that booking directly with them is slightly more advantageous since the room booked directly with them was given a King-sized bed, whereas the rooms through the booking site were given separate twin beds eventhough we stated our preference for a king-bed very clearly during reservation. The price was the same either way.
The room décor was quite modern and updated, but it had a little bit of musty smell probably from the wood trimmings and furniture. But the smell lessen considerably after we turned on the air-conditioning. We got rooms at the View Wing, which had partial view of the sea. The beds were clean, nicely laundered and high quality thread count sheets and bed was quite firm. We had good sleep.
Service from housekeeping was quite efficient and quick initially, since at that time not many people checked in yet. Our remote control for the LCD TV was not responsive and immediately upon our complaint, a housekeeping personnel attended to us and changed the battery for us. However, the remote control was slow in responding and that could be because the cable box was hidden behind the LCD screen. However, another room in our travelling party had a busted light bulb in the toilet, but nobody attended to it even though a complaint was made to the front desk. Housekeeping service was not very consistent throughout.
No WIFI in rooms, but there is wired internet. You need to bring your own ethernet cable if you are bringing your laptop or you can loan the cable from the reception for a deposit of RM 10, which is refundable upon return of the cable.
Toiletries were quite sparse and the towels seriously need changing. The towels were grey and worn. Room floor wasn’t exactly very clean and the bedside tables looked dusty and dirty – I daren’t touch them. Relatively good quality bedroom slippers were provided, which helped us cope with the rather grainy floor.
In terms of activities, there were not much to do though we played some indoor table tennis and few rounds of pool. The location of the indoor table tennis table was not ideal as it was tucked into a small section with no ventilation nor sufficient space for much movements. Pool table was slightly uneven resulting in the balls tending to roll to one side of the table. Swimming pool was quite small and didn’t look very clean.
There were some go-karts and bicycles for rent, but the area for these activities is quite small. More for the children than for any serious biking. You could also walk to the beach – not far away. The view of the marina and the surroundings is a nice change than just the view of the sea and beach.
Breakfast was included in the room price but it was a disappointing affair. Quality of the sausage was bad, white and soft with no hint of any chicken taste. The egg station was hidden outside, and only after some serious searching, we found it. Not much fresh fruits were served and even the obligatory 'nasi lemak' which we can find in most hotels were not served. The only food which we found good was the cornflakes – which didn’t need any cooking. The hotel should seriously improve on the quality of the breakfast.
Check-out took a very, very long time. Don’t really know the reason, since we only stayed one night and didn’t have any extra charges or issues. The hotel should improve on check-out time as it took unreasonably long. The bellboys was helpful and very attentive – eager to help us with our luggages and helped to carry our luggages down to the lower level where our cars were parked. They were extremely helpful and attentive – kudos to them.
Overall, it was not an unpleasant stay – but hope the hotel management can improve on the negatives highlighted to make the stay better. It is the small things which make all the difference – especially cleanliness of room, service level of housekeeping and the quality of breakfast. Compliments to the nice landscaping, maintenance of the greens, foliage and shrubs. Common areas were nicely landscaped with simple, clean designs and nothing overtly gaudy or outdated.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
