Luxury Hotels - Datai Junkies (The Datai - Langkawi trip report)

I have been for a while following this forum without much activity myself but we made a trip last weekend which was worth reporting on so here we go :)

Little back ground on this trip to start with; as my partner is doing a project in KL this summer and I`m able to work location free it is very easy to spend the weekends on lovely exotic destinations. Last weekend, we decided very last call to experience Langkawi, and where else to stay than the iconic Datai? In fact, we were somehow reluctant as earlier this year, we met with a lovely fellow flyertalker in one of the Indonesian Amans who told us standards had slipped after the management change.

Upon arrival, we were immediately escorted to the lobby lounge overlooking the adult’s only pool (there is another pool with kids down at the beach club) with refreshing towels and a welcome drink. Passports were checked swiftly and before we knew we were ready to be shown to the room. We were staying in a room in one of the two main buildings; I believe we stayed in a deluxe or premier room. Absolutely stunning design by Kerry Hill (also known from Amanusa). Although the design was done in the early nineties, the rigour is remaining and is a feast for the eyes. Loved the bathroom and the bed was one of the most comfortable we ever slept in. It is the type where you can leave all the pillows and still have enough space before your toes reach the end, skin kissing Egyptian cotton, but let me carry on.

We quickly packed our beach bag and took off to explore the resort and beach. We walked literally through the rain forest to the beach club, about 117 steps we were told by staff :D, passing by the amazing jungle spa and some of the (very private) villa`s. That is a 7min walk but we were also offered to make use of the buggy service at our convenience. The beach area consists out of a dream swimming pool, a beach restaurant, beach bar with lounge area and off course.. the stunning private beach. The moment we appeared several staff members prepared our chairs with towels and refreshing ice water. During the day they continued to impress us with complimentary fruit rounds, sorbets to enjoy. We had lunch near the beach and besides a daily special there was an extensive list to choose from with very decent prices. Again, super attentive service.

The resort has several restaurants to enjoy, there is the main restaurant next to the adults pool (where breakfast is served), there is a Thai place (unfortunately no time to enjoy this one), the beach club (only for lunch I believe) and the amazing Gulian (Malay-Indian restaurant in the middle of the forest, a 5min stroll from the beach club). We enjoyed a memorable diner there. The lobster is to die for. Genuine friendly service with a smile from all of the servers impressed us. During diner we were checked upon by the lovely Indian F&B manager who truly does an amazing job. After diner we took a buggy back to the lobby bar where a live band playing. What a great place to have an after diner drink with melancholic talks to close down a memorable day.

Breakfast is another highlight with 5 to 6 different fresh juices and energy boosters to choose from, there is Champaign to savor (not our cup of tea at 9 in the morning though), and all the other breakfast pleasantries you can think of excellent quality. Waffles, pancakes, eggs Benedict can be ordered and prepared on order swiftly. They eve print out handy briefs of the world news of your home country under the form of a A4 sheet ‘Gazette’ like paper. God is in the smallest detail.

We had a treatment in the spa which consisted of a back and feet massage. Truly one of the best massages we ever had. When arriving in the Spa pavilion you can choose treatments and which oils you would like them to use in an outdoor patio, afterwards you are escorted to one of the 4 couple’s therapy pavilions for your massage. In each of the pavilions there is bath, daybed to relax, shower and all facilities you might wish for in a treatment room next to a small stream. You indulge in relaxation while listening to forest sounds: the wind, the water, the wildlife …

Unfortunately we had to leave to soon from this magical place. Business was calling. We opted for the Hotel Limousine service to take us back to the airport and this was a smart choice for many reasons. Besides enjoying the comfort of a Mercedes S sedan, with leather interior, boisserie and stocked with refreshing towels of Bulgari, scented wetnaps and water it takes you in a wisk to the airport. By our mistake we forgot something in the Hotel lobby during check-out and on our way to the airport a Hotel staff member came after us to deliver the item … service at its fullest.

A noteworthy mention on the boutique is the following. We checked out the nice items they had, one beautiful skirt in silk was unfortunately not available in the partners size. The proactive reaction of the boutique assistant was unique, she suggested to make a note in our guest profile to have order it and have it available in the right size for our next stay. While in other resorts the care in the boutiques is nothing more than a truckload of smiles and thank you's this was above and beyond. We are really looking forward to pick this item up.

We will be back during the month of July and are pretty confident The Datai and its design and its team will welcome is with the same warmth and care. Since we got back home, an instant smile pops on our faces if we think back on the moments we appreciated so much at The Datai.

Hope you like my review! Think some other reports might follow

A few pics to end with:

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060856.jpg
Main dining restaurant & adults pool

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060808.jpg
Lovely beach club pool

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060822.jpg
Beach area

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060842.jpg
Beach area

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060855.jpg
Jungle path way from towards beach

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060850.jpg
spa pavilion exterior

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060851.jpg
spa pavilion interior

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060823.jpg
private beach

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060928.jpg
hotel monkey

http://i1068.photobucket.com/albums/u449/swissbelgiantravelers/THE%20DATAI/P1060948.jpg
Good night note (came with yummie chocolates)

Welcome to FT, SwissBelgiantravellers! Does that nickname mean you speak 6 languages? LOL -- but that's a great first post.

Welcome to flyertalk! Very nice report. We look forward to future posts from you. Have you also considered the FS Langkawi for future trips?

good first post ^

earlier this year, we met with a lovely fellow flyertalker in one of the Indonesian Amans who told us standards had slipped after the management change

luxury hotel forum regular? :cool: :D interesting you chose datai for first post

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for this great report!

Interesting - thank you.

In fact, the original Kerry Hill interiors were re-done by Jaya Ibrahim when GHM refurbished a couple of years ago.

What happened to the OP?

removed

Hi guys, I wanted to update the report and make the pictures embedded, apparently the system thinks it`s spam now so blocked it temporarily :)

Hi guys, I wanted to update the report and make the pictures embedded, apparently the system thinks it`s spam now so blocked it temporarily :)

:D
i never knew a post could become 'pending' AFTER it was already posted!
but i guess it makes sense, otherwise there would be a workaround

to clarify for others - its an automatic (not human) thing the site/forum does, certain things trigger it

Nice report, good to get an update, since it is no longer managed by GHM.

Being one of the Datai-Junkies on this board I am very glad to hear that things seem to run well after GHM's departure (they did a great job here since its opening - a big thank you to Jamie Case for that ^), thanks for this report and welcome to FT, SwissBelgiantravelers ! ^

The design of the place is still stunning thanks to the renovations over the last few years. Still, I prefer this authentic property that blends very well into the natural habitat (monkeys, hornbills, monitor lizards, snakes) over the perfection but artificiality of the FS LGK theme that could have been build everywhere (and I am a big FS fan). FS LGK rates this year are very tempting though (at least on the German tour operator's market - FS cheaper than the Datai).

Great report, thank you for posting it. It is good to hear that you were pleased with your experience at Datai.

I have a trip booked with my partner to Langkawi next November. We first had a reservation at Four Seasons but eventually change our reservation to Datai.

After your report, I am even more convinced that Datai will be the better alternative for us.

Welcome to flyertalk! Very nice report. We look forward to future posts from you. Have you also considered the FS Langkawi for future trips?

Hi Ericka ! Haven`t actually considered the FS at all for this trip. All tough FS `never` is a bad choice, we are bigger fans of their city hotels rather than resorts. And in this particular case, we loved the ambiance in some of the other Kerry Hill hotels before so we had to try this one ;-)

good first post ^



luxury hotel forum regular? :cool: :D interesting you chose datai for first post

Already for quite some time i was planning on starting to write some reports but after this trip we absolutely felt we had to write about this one :) I plan to write something about Aman in Indonesia soon.. very nice too

My wife and I stayed at The Datai in November last year (not long after the management change) and to be honest we were left underwhelmed. First impressions were poor as we drove ourselves there and the old GHM logo hotel sign had been taken down, so we missed the hotel and continued to drive halfway around the bay! The fact that the weather was grey, windy and drizzly didn't help. We had a jungle villa that was very comfortable but I found the A/C a little weedy and when it was dark and rainy it felt rather dingy and hemmed in by the foliage. I'd definitely plump for a corner suite if we went again.

The food was fine but two nights in we ate at the Thai restaurant and the early the next morning I was very ill with food poisoning-style symptoms. I'll spare you the messy details (yep, it was not pleasant) but this was pretty debilitating and I literally couldn't even move from the bed. The hotel's nurse was on leave and the only other option was to call a local doctor who would come out, but there would be a charge for this. In the end we undertook the very long and uncomfortable journey to town to find a pharmacy so that I could get something to settle my stomach. I still felt very fragile and wasn't eating much by the time we left two days later and then had to endure a 15 hour flight home praying that nothing 'sudden' would happen with my body's plumbing!

I can't conclusively pin the blame on the Datai but within hours of finishing the meal I was very ill and we'd not eaten anywhere but the hotel. I can't say I was blown away by the attitude of the hotel's management (unlike the general staff, who were lovely) and it took a lot of arm-twisting to even get them to take my fateful meal off the bill.

Aside from that, there was heavy construction going on next to the beach for the new wave of villas which was very bothersome, there was a mad rush to perform 'maintenance' on the hotel's infrastructure in time for the winter peak season so the wifi went off for 'a few hours for essential maintenance' but was still off when we left 3 days later, they were hammering on the roofs of nearby villas all day to replace tiles and I was surprised with so much cheap and ready labour on hand that nobody bothered much to fish all the leaves out of the pool that had blown in there.

Perhaps we were unlucky, in that we caught the hotel in limbo between GHM and the new management. That didn't make it any cheaper though and my memories of it are sullied somewhat. I'd be hard pushed to recommend it in many ways, based on my experience.

Any info about the ongoing renovations at the Datai? I've heard that the Beach Club is closed for the moment and apparently the spa is temporarly relocated. I will be in Langkawi at the end of November and I am a bit undecided wheather I should change my reservation to Four Seasons instead of Datai. I am quite sure that the Datai would be more my cup of tea but, on the other hand, would not want the stay at the construction site either.

Any further update on the Datai?

Are renovations finished?