The Datai

Langkawi, West Coast Malaysia

The Andamans elegant sister. Set on the jungle covered hillside above their private beach this is ‘The’ hotel to stay at on Langkawi.

We loved it, its beautiful, the food is delicious, the beach is edible, the pools are elegant and the staff are dreamy (or words to that effect) Having been carved out of the jungle the hotel has a completely different, more natural feel to it then the hotels with perfectly manicured gardens. The rooms, housed in the main two wings of the hotel, look out passed the Olympian sized adults only swimming pool, over the jungle to the sea beyond. The rooms are stylishly decorated in a contemporary Asian style, each with a small balcony. The freestanding villas are dotted along the hillside in the heart of the jungle. Each villa has a good size balcony but the abundance of jungle does mean your view and perhaps more importantly the amount of sun you receive is quite limited. Some villas come complete with private plunge pool, which also double up as a Jacuzzi – a lovely idea and very spoiling, ideal to cool of in rather than too sunbathe around.

For the able bodied it is a lovely walk through the jungle to the Beach Bar, Beachside Pool and the wonderful sweeping private beach they share with their sister hotel the Andaman. If you don’t fancy the walk there is always a golf buggy instead. One of the strengths of the Malaysian hotels is their delicious food and the Datai is no exception, with three exceptional restaurants of its own plus the three at the Andaman with food ranging from Pan Asian to Mediterranean you are spoilt for choice. The elegant adults’ only pool is a haven of tranquillity while the smaller pool by the beach provides an informal setting for a dip before sampling a couple of cocktails at the poolside bar. For pure relaxation try the Spa with treatment cabins overlooking the river meandering through the jungle. It provides wonderful treatments with the noise of the jungle in the background.

As at the Andaman the Malaysian staff are wonderful, both friendly and helpful. Which is just as well as we didn’t want anything to put us of this lovely hotel. All in all this is probably our favourite hotel in Malaysia.

NOTE:

At certain times of the year the villas in the jungle can be quite hot and as with any jungle it does have bugs! So you may prefer to be in one of the hilltop rooms in the main hotel.

COMBINES WITH:

Pangkor Laut

GETTING THERE:

Fly to KL or Singapore and take an internal flight up to Langkawi. The hotel is then an easy ½ hour drive from the airport.

ROOMS:

110 including 40 Villas and 18 Suites

THINGS TO DO:

You can explore the island of Langkawi, play golf on the hotel’s lovely course, or just chill out on their huge beach. The is also a Spa, tennis courts and watersports available.

COST:

£130 per person per night (Room Only)



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