Luxurious Living at Pangkor Laut Resort

The best thing to do in Pangkor Laut is none other than indulge yourself in luxurious living: swimming at the beautiful cascading lap pool, enjoying a relaxing massage or bath at spa village, relaxing by the beach of Emerald Bay, jungle trekking around the island, or just doing nothing but enjoying the view at your own private courtyard.

The food served in the good restaurants in Pangkor Laut is excellent, especially Uncle Lim's and Chapman's Bar. So indulge and give your tastebuds the most memorable moments!

The service in Pangkor Laut is also exceptional! Upon arrival, luggages will be taken care of and guests are ushered in by smiles and a welcome drink at the reception. The check-in process is simple and quick and guests are then escorted to their villas. The hotel staff will be explaining everything in detail, including information on 'tipping is not necessary'. To me, it is very surprising that this piece of 'no tipping' information comes from the bell boy himself! This shows the courtesy and sincerity of the staff!

Quick Tips:

If you are a Malaysia/Singapore resident, ask for the 3D2N all-inclusive package that only costs RM799 per person. It is the best deal you can get for such a luxurious resort.If you are a member of the YTL community, you can get RM50 off per person. The membership is free, you can join by going to the website: www.ytlcommunity.com.my

Best Way To Get Around:

To get to the island, you need to go to Lumut by bus or by car. It is a small coastal town where most people will stop-by for half a day just to catch the ferry to Pangkor Island. As Pangkor Laut has its own private catamaran (RM50 per person one-way), you are required to register at the Pangkor Laut Resort Lumut office and then be escorted to the private ferry for the transfer. You can also opt to fly to Pangkor Island, then transfer by boat (RM50 per person one-way) to Pangkor Laut Resort, which is 30 minutes boat ride away.

To move around within Pangkor Laut Resort, there is frequent shuttle service that brings you from one station to another. The bus stands have a phone where you could contact the concierge for assistance and mineral water is provided at each station.

Walking is also a good option to explore the island.

Pangkor Laut Resort offers a range of four villa types and three suites, all having a unique style of its own. All villas are designed to pamper their guests with spacious interior, luxurious fabrics, private balcony with cushioned deck chairs, CD player with a large selection from the library, and best of all, assured privacy and tranquility.

I stayed in the Hill Villa No. 340, which is perched dramatically on the hillside amidst the rainforest, right next to the Pavarotti suite. As I was the earliest to book, I got the villa that offers the best view among all the other hill villas. The balcony of my villa has magnificent view of the sea, overlooking the sea villa, and also the greens of the rainforest.

The bathroom of the villa is one of the highlights. It is designed with a ‘open-concept’, providing huge space for each bathroom activity. It features two separate vanities for each guests, all nicely made of wood. A colourful range of shower foam, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion from the spa village itself awaits on the counter. The oversized bathtub that fits two persons opens out to the rainforest, where you can soak yourself while enjoying the sounds and sights of nature outside.

In the evening, the room service staff will come to the villa and make our bed for the night. An aromatherapy incense set is left on the bed as a surprise good night gift from the thoughtful resort management. The complimentary fruit platter is also replenished.

The only down side of my villa is that it is a bit far from the main lobby. We have to walk uphill for five minutes to reach a lift that carries us halfway up the hill. Then it is another eight minutes walk through the edge of the rainforest, down a dozen of steps of the wooden staircase to the entrance of our villa. It can be a bit dark at night, especially at the wooden staircase. The other alternative is we can take the wooden staircase at the bottom of the hill, walk straight up the hill, without taking the lift. With the canopy of the tall trees providing shades to us, I would personally prefer taking the stairs. This will take you eight minutes to the stairs, and another 10 minutes uphill all the way.

Overall, I must say the villa itself is already an irresistible place for surrendering to the thrall of paradise.

This restaurant is elegantly built atop a rocky outcrop beside the oh-so-famous Sea Villa of Pangkor Laut. It is often packed from 7pm onwards, so I would recommend that you place your reservation 1 day in advance to avoid disappointment.

The dining experience here is pure pleasure. Service is excellent and food is high in quality. The only downside of this restaurant is that there are a few corners that are not well-lit. Therefore, as you dine, so are the mosquitoes! To save yourself from the harassment of mosquitoes, do bring an insect repellant with you.

Despite the popularity of this restaurant, there is still no menu available. You can discuss with the helpful waiter/waitress how you want Uncle Lim, the chef, to cook your food. So you can ask the chef to customize your food to your own individual taste and requirement. How wonderful is that?

Soup of the day, rice, and tea are complimentary.

Highly recommended food in this restaurant will be scallop with broccoli/asparagus. The scallop served are fresh and large, and succulent at each bite. The Roast Duck with chef sauce is also a mouth-watering specialty of Uncle Lim that you should not miss. Steam tiger prawn (depending on season), prawn in Nyonya style, deer meat with black pepper, etc. ...The list is simply endless. However, all good food comes with a price. And in this case, it is quite a high price to pay.

Just bring along an empty stomach when you go to Uncle Lim and enough cash/credit card, and you'll be fine.

This restaurant is only open for lunch. Set on the beach of Emerald Bay, with the tropical forest as the backdrop, Chapman's Bar is almost paradise.

The menu is mainly dominated by Mediterranean cuisine. However, there are also a few simple local dishes such as fried noodles, satay, etc. The tapas are very nice, with the garlic shrimp and sauteed mushroom bruschetta at the top of my favourite list.

The pasta selection is good, too. I had the seafood spaghetti and it was excellent.

The service here is somewhat slow. Maybe it is because Chapman's Bar is an outdoor restaurant, with so many guests scattered around such a vast ground.

The price of the food here is relatively cheap, as compared to the Royal Beach Club - the poolside restaurant near the reception. And most importantly, it offers more variety and the taste is better.

Laying off the major sights of Pangkor Laut Resort is a hidden paradise on earth - Emerald Bay, one of the world’s most beautiful beaches that will steal anyone’s heart away. It is set in an idyllic cove with the rainforest as the backdrop. The water is emerald green, hence its name. The water is also very shallow from the shore. You can actually walk out to the sea for approximately 20 metres! Of course, swimming in Emerald Bay is a bliss. The wave is gentle, the sea water luke warm. Oh, what a tropical paradise this is!

If you prefer just to laze by the beach, with the seabreeze in your hair and splashes of waves as music to your ears, this is just the place for you. Besides the cushioned deck benches, there are also low beach benches that allow you to almost sit on the soft sandy beach itself without compromising for hygiene. While you are relaxing and enjoying the beautiful day, some creatures of the beach are very busy! Yes, there are many crabs busy making holes and crawling around their playground, there are so many of them it is almost like a beach party of their own!

There is a very nice café open for lunch only at Emerald Bay – Chapman’s bar. It is right by the beach, under the umbrella of the tropical forest. It serves Mediterranean cuisine and also some local exotic cuisines, combined with the cool scent of the forest nearby. A wide range of tropical fruit juices, smoothies and cocktails are also available. Nothing beats sipping fresh coconut juice while sun-bathing on the beach benches.

There is a romantic restaurant, Dinner On The Rocks, overlooking Emerald Bay on the rocky outcrop. Without sitting in for dinner, you can still stroll on the deck and watch the sun sets over the glistening water of the Straights of Malacca. Or alternatively, watch the sunset from the beach of Emerald Bay.

If you ask me what is the favourite activity I have done in Pangkor Laut Resort, I would say relaxing by the beach of Emerald Bay watching time goes by.

The spa village is a unique retreat that extols the healing cultures of the region. It comprises of eight treatment pavilions, a deluxe Belian Treatment Pavillion, three Healing Huts that include Chinese Herbal, Ayurvedic and Malay Huts, a Wrap House, two Bath Houses, and three Spa Huts.

You could also take a stroll in the Herb Garden or simply rest at the nap gazebo after a rejuvenating treat. A little tip here: the lap pool at the spa village is much better and peaceful than the one at the main resort, so head straight to the spa village if you would like to have a few laps or just simply soak yourself under the sun.

There is a spa menu in every villa where you could choose between a la carte experiences or spa packages. I tried the aroma massage while my mother tried the Swedish massage. Each a la carte or package comes with a complimentary bath house experience that represents various bathing traditions from around Asia. First, we went through the Malay Circulating Bath, a swimming pool designed in neo-nusantara style which gives you the experience of a village maiden bathing in a stream. After that, we rested at the Malay aromatherapy garden that comprises of four scents of herbs, each herbs helps in uplifting, calming, rejuvenating and stress-relief.

Next we went to the Japanese Bath house where we experience Japanese style cleansing with a goshi-goshi cloth and water in a wooden bucket. This is followed by a dip in the heated Rotenburu pool, where all our stresses are evaporated by the heat.

Then, the resort professional spa staff gave us a gentle exfoliating wash and a Shanghai scrub which is traditionally offered exclusively to males in Shanghai. Lastly, we ended the bathhouse experience with a soothing footbath and an invigorating Chinese Foot Pounding, previously only enjoyed by the concubines if feudal China. The Bath House Ritual is escorted throughout by a staff, where our every whims and fancies are being attended to.

While waiting for our massage therapist, we could rest at the library, enjoying the tranquil surroundings and have a cup of calming tea.

The spa experience in Spa Village is highly recommended. Although the price is on the high side, it is definitely an indulgence not to be missed!