May 18, 2015, 8:17 pm
Last edit by: lcpteck
Leaving Starwood on June 1, 2015
The Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort will be leaving the Starwood system on June 1, 2015. Reservations for dates on or after June 1, 2015 will not be eligible for Starwood Preferred Guest membership benefits, award redemption or accrual.
The Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort will be leaving the Starwood system on June 1, 2015. Reservations for dates on or after June 1, 2015 will not be eligible for Starwood Preferred Guest membership benefits, award redemption or accrual.
Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort, Malaysia [Master Thread]
Apr 29, 2007, 11:44 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: LHR
Programs: UA P, BA S, A3 *G, IHG Plat, Marriott Lt P, Hilton Gld, etc.
Posts: 1,078
Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort, Malaysia [Master Thread]
Stayed last weekend for 1 night at Sheraton Langkawi.
We arrived 11:30am, were welcomed by the reception staff at the entrance and were led to the sitting area in reception hall. We were offered cold towels and complimentary welcome drink. All check-in formalities were handled in reasonable amount of time. Duty manager come out to welcome us personally and advised that we have been upgraded to suite and said there are no problems with either early check-in or late (3pm) check-out next day.
Resort is spread out with 1 and 2 storey "malaysian-style" buildings but nothing comparable to Berjaya resort (where you really need to take bus to reach to some remote bungalows) - if one doesnt have luggage, then it takes a bit of slow walk to reach anywhere in 3-5 minutes.
Room we have upgraded to represents 1/2 of single-storey bungalow (2 suites per bungalow) and had "partial seaview", e.g. was located beyond similar bungalows on 1st line. Large sitting room with reception area, large bedroom with 2xdouble beds and enough place to put 2-3 more rollaways if one travels with children, bathroom with jacuzzi and walk-in shower, separate toilet, 2 balconies. Looks really roomy and I guess it was true their "best avaliable room" so good adherence to upgrade benefits.
Despite some distance from reception to the room all room service requests were completed in reasonable time, e.g. delivery of amenities and ice bucket took less than 5 minutes.
There was complimentary water (of local bottled variety) and complimentary bowl of fruits/plate of cookies.
Can not comment on food as we perused local cafees outside hotel, but we received letter that Captain grill was fully booked this night, so your choice of restaurant might not always be available. At the arrival we have been offered all-inclusive package with breakfast, lunch and dinner in any of restaurants for RM200++. We didnt take it as planned to go out but for some people it may represent good value for money
Swimming pool is of "infinity type" and have swim-in bar with underwater bar stools so one can have their favourite drink without leaving the pool. the only disadvantage is that pool is rather small and if hotel will be full it would not be easy to find lounger at the poolside (although there still will be enough at the beaches). Seawater is rather dirty.
I had an impression that hotel was rather empty which is strange as last weekend is a long one for locals (3-4 days due to labor day holidays) so it is probably due to the fact hotel is catering primarily for foreign tourists.
Overall great value for money (room rate was RM500) and I would not think twice staying there another time.
P.S: I stayed in Westin as well (former Sheraton Perdana) and if you prefer quieter ambience then Sheraton Langkawi provides more of that compared to Westin which is typical "one main building" plus some villas setup.
AX
We arrived 11:30am, were welcomed by the reception staff at the entrance and were led to the sitting area in reception hall. We were offered cold towels and complimentary welcome drink. All check-in formalities were handled in reasonable amount of time. Duty manager come out to welcome us personally and advised that we have been upgraded to suite and said there are no problems with either early check-in or late (3pm) check-out next day.
Resort is spread out with 1 and 2 storey "malaysian-style" buildings but nothing comparable to Berjaya resort (where you really need to take bus to reach to some remote bungalows) - if one doesnt have luggage, then it takes a bit of slow walk to reach anywhere in 3-5 minutes.
Room we have upgraded to represents 1/2 of single-storey bungalow (2 suites per bungalow) and had "partial seaview", e.g. was located beyond similar bungalows on 1st line. Large sitting room with reception area, large bedroom with 2xdouble beds and enough place to put 2-3 more rollaways if one travels with children, bathroom with jacuzzi and walk-in shower, separate toilet, 2 balconies. Looks really roomy and I guess it was true their "best avaliable room" so good adherence to upgrade benefits.
Despite some distance from reception to the room all room service requests were completed in reasonable time, e.g. delivery of amenities and ice bucket took less than 5 minutes.
There was complimentary water (of local bottled variety) and complimentary bowl of fruits/plate of cookies.
Can not comment on food as we perused local cafees outside hotel, but we received letter that Captain grill was fully booked this night, so your choice of restaurant might not always be available. At the arrival we have been offered all-inclusive package with breakfast, lunch and dinner in any of restaurants for RM200++. We didnt take it as planned to go out but for some people it may represent good value for money
Swimming pool is of "infinity type" and have swim-in bar with underwater bar stools so one can have their favourite drink without leaving the pool. the only disadvantage is that pool is rather small and if hotel will be full it would not be easy to find lounger at the poolside (although there still will be enough at the beaches). Seawater is rather dirty.
I had an impression that hotel was rather empty which is strange as last weekend is a long one for locals (3-4 days due to labor day holidays) so it is probably due to the fact hotel is catering primarily for foreign tourists.
Overall great value for money (room rate was RM500) and I would not think twice staying there another time.
P.S: I stayed in Westin as well (former Sheraton Perdana) and if you prefer quieter ambience then Sheraton Langkawi provides more of that compared to Westin which is typical "one main building" plus some villas setup.
AX
Jun 21, 2007, 8:00 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,950
Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort, Malaysia [Master Thread]
We booked a one-night stay at the Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort on a Thai Royal Orchid Plus redemption award. It was for one regular room, but prior to my arrival, I emailed the hotel to add my SPG Platinum number onto the reservation. At arrival, we were upgraded to an Executive Suite.
The taxi ride from LGK airport to the hotel was very quick, about 10 minutes. Check-in was swift (while we waited with cold towels and a welcome drink), and a buggy was called to bring us to the room. The suite decor was A LOT of wood, and not too appealing for my tastes. I don't know how old the hotel is, but maybe because of the wood style, I found the room to be quite "old" and run down. Bathroom had a lot of water stains behind the toilet, in the shower, around the faucets, in the bathtub, etc. There were also some ants running around along the walls of the bathroom, but this was not too serious a problem. At least the bed was clean, and that's all we were hoping for during this one-night stay. I would say that the photos of the rooms on the spg website are better than the actual rooms themselves.
We tried the Captain's Grill for dinner, and the food was quite good. We were there on a Monday evening, so there didn't seem to be too many other guests at the resort, so we had the restaurant almost to ourselves (only one other table of two there during our dinner). We had the set dinner menu for MYR 150, which included (1) smoked salmon with babyleaf greens, (2) lobster bisque with soft-shell crab, (3) fillet of beef or grilled seabass, (4) dessert, and (5) coffee/tea.
In the morning, we woke up too late to have breakfast at their new restaurant called FEAST. It is newly-opened (but for breakfast and dinner only), and the decor seemed very nice and modern. We just had a quick lunch at the Chimes Lounge instead.
We walked around the pool area (nothing too great about the pool), and did a quick walk along the wooden path by the beach. The beach is not too appealing, but we did see some signs saying something like "this is a romantic dining spot, and if you are interested, contact the hotel for arrangements". We didn't see anything too romantic about sitting on a small area of sand surrounded by large rocks.
Didn't try any of the spa or other facilities here either. The point of our staying one night here was to be close to the Cable Car, which we intended to go to the next morning. However, the Cable Car was closed due to technical problems that morning, so we checked out early (we had been given 4pm checkout), but left at 12:30pm instead for our two-night stay at the Westin Langkawi Resort.
The taxi ride from LGK airport to the hotel was very quick, about 10 minutes. Check-in was swift (while we waited with cold towels and a welcome drink), and a buggy was called to bring us to the room. The suite decor was A LOT of wood, and not too appealing for my tastes. I don't know how old the hotel is, but maybe because of the wood style, I found the room to be quite "old" and run down. Bathroom had a lot of water stains behind the toilet, in the shower, around the faucets, in the bathtub, etc. There were also some ants running around along the walls of the bathroom, but this was not too serious a problem. At least the bed was clean, and that's all we were hoping for during this one-night stay. I would say that the photos of the rooms on the spg website are better than the actual rooms themselves.
We tried the Captain's Grill for dinner, and the food was quite good. We were there on a Monday evening, so there didn't seem to be too many other guests at the resort, so we had the restaurant almost to ourselves (only one other table of two there during our dinner). We had the set dinner menu for MYR 150, which included (1) smoked salmon with babyleaf greens, (2) lobster bisque with soft-shell crab, (3) fillet of beef or grilled seabass, (4) dessert, and (5) coffee/tea.
In the morning, we woke up too late to have breakfast at their new restaurant called FEAST. It is newly-opened (but for breakfast and dinner only), and the decor seemed very nice and modern. We just had a quick lunch at the Chimes Lounge instead.
We walked around the pool area (nothing too great about the pool), and did a quick walk along the wooden path by the beach. The beach is not too appealing, but we did see some signs saying something like "this is a romantic dining spot, and if you are interested, contact the hotel for arrangements". We didn't see anything too romantic about sitting on a small area of sand surrounded by large rocks.
Didn't try any of the spa or other facilities here either. The point of our staying one night here was to be close to the Cable Car, which we intended to go to the next morning. However, the Cable Car was closed due to technical problems that morning, so we checked out early (we had been given 4pm checkout), but left at 12:30pm instead for our two-night stay at the Westin Langkawi Resort.
Jun 21, 2007, 8:35 am
#3
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: SEA(sia)
Posts: 5,181
When they renovated the rooms, the wooden walls were replaced with wallpaper and it was one of the first Sheraton in the region to have the Sweet Sleeper Bed.
BTW the best rooms at this property are not the exec suites which is located away from the beach. The former Prime Minister stayed in a beach front room (not suite) when I was last there
Jul 13, 2007, 9:06 am
#4
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Programs: QF QP NB, PC Plat. Amb, SPG Gold
Posts: 1,879
I had a recent stay at this hotel for three nights - wasn't particuarly impressed by it either. Was in a Beachfront Room which had been recently renovated and was pleasant enough (and the spabath was nice too, though not big enough :P ). The air-con seemed to have troubles cooling the room - fortunately being in a beachfront room you could open the doors and get a breeze - in rooms set further back in the resort it would be quite warm I'd imagine!
Service was pretty mediocre but generally friendly I found. I wasn't impressed with the food offerings, especially in Feast, it was generally pretty poor. Even more disappointing was the beach (or lack thereof) for a hotel with "Beach" in the name - best of luck finding the sand when high tide rolls in!
Overall, I wouldn't particuarly recommend people travelling too far to stay here, especially at the rates they seem to have these days. Even in the region there's plenty of more appealing places to stay at similar price points.
Service was pretty mediocre but generally friendly I found. I wasn't impressed with the food offerings, especially in Feast, it was generally pretty poor. Even more disappointing was the beach (or lack thereof) for a hotel with "Beach" in the name - best of luck finding the sand when high tide rolls in!
Overall, I wouldn't particuarly recommend people travelling too far to stay here, especially at the rates they seem to have these days. Even in the region there's plenty of more appealing places to stay at similar price points.
Dec 13, 2008, 4:42 am
#5
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: SKF, ROP, SPG, SL Golden Circle, Hyatt Gold Passport, Marriot
Posts: 464
Trip Report - Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort
I just returned from a 4 nights stay at Sheraton Langkawi. The receptionist upgraded me to suite even though I am only a gold preferred guest.
The hotel is built after traditional Malaysian wood houses on stilts with wooden floors. This may be the cause of some guests complaints about the cricking noise when one walks around, especially at night when wood contract when temperature drops. I can live with that. Indeed, the folding doors do not close properly and need some pushing and lifting to close properly. This again could be inherent for such wooden houses.
The beach is not the best in Langkawi. I have seen a number of jelly fish as well. Beach in Tg Rhu, Datai and Cenang are much better. OTOH, the beach near the fitness centre is shallow for a good 20 meters and the water is clear. The raise board walk to the pool is a great walking experience, the view near sunset hours is just beautiful.
The location is a bit far from the town and makes it not too convenient to get around. The car rental company charged me more for the car delivery due to the distance.
Using other Starwood properties in the region like Le Meridien Sentral, Sheraton Imperial KL, Le Meridien Jakarta, Plaza Athenee Bangkok as benchmark, I think it only deserves a cat 1 rating. Most rooms have been refurbished in the last 2 years, but the quality of finishing does not deserve cat 3 rating, IMO. The cat 3 rating could be given due the price it can fetch in high priced Langkawi hotels.
It is still a great experience with it's sprawling ground, and surprises like dusky leave monkeys, horn bills that hop into the hotel ground.
A little friendly advise to other visitors, the monkeys can be fun to watch but do not feed them, monkeys too used to human feeding can get very aggressive, this is evident in Penang Botanic Garden. The monkeys in Sheraton ground has not exhibited the aggressive behaviour as I observed.
The hotel is built after traditional Malaysian wood houses on stilts with wooden floors. This may be the cause of some guests complaints about the cricking noise when one walks around, especially at night when wood contract when temperature drops. I can live with that. Indeed, the folding doors do not close properly and need some pushing and lifting to close properly. This again could be inherent for such wooden houses.
The beach is not the best in Langkawi. I have seen a number of jelly fish as well. Beach in Tg Rhu, Datai and Cenang are much better. OTOH, the beach near the fitness centre is shallow for a good 20 meters and the water is clear. The raise board walk to the pool is a great walking experience, the view near sunset hours is just beautiful.
The location is a bit far from the town and makes it not too convenient to get around. The car rental company charged me more for the car delivery due to the distance.
Using other Starwood properties in the region like Le Meridien Sentral, Sheraton Imperial KL, Le Meridien Jakarta, Plaza Athenee Bangkok as benchmark, I think it only deserves a cat 1 rating. Most rooms have been refurbished in the last 2 years, but the quality of finishing does not deserve cat 3 rating, IMO. The cat 3 rating could be given due the price it can fetch in high priced Langkawi hotels.
It is still a great experience with it's sprawling ground, and surprises like dusky leave monkeys, horn bills that hop into the hotel ground.
A little friendly advise to other visitors, the monkeys can be fun to watch but do not feed them, monkeys too used to human feeding can get very aggressive, this is evident in Penang Botanic Garden. The monkeys in Sheraton ground has not exhibited the aggressive behaviour as I observed.
Dec 14, 2008, 11:49 pm
#6
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Singapore
Programs: SPG
Posts: 4,002
Using other Starwood properties in the region like Le Meridien Sentral, Sheraton Imperial KL, Le Meridien Jakarta, Plaza Athenee Bangkok as benchmark, I think it only deserves a cat 1 rating. Most rooms have been refurbished in the last 2 years, but the quality of finishing does not deserve cat 3 rating, IMO. The cat 3 rating could be given due the price it can fetch in high priced Langkawi hotels.
Perhaps you have already known about this though your last sentence in the paragraph might have implied otherwise.
The Category of each individual property is according to "the ADR for all the room types, over a year's span of time."(Thank you William)
This applies to your comments on Sheraton Singapore too
[email protected]
Jan 14, 2009, 11:33 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: HKG / SIN
Programs: Marriott Platinum, Shangri-La Jade, IHG Platinum, TG Gold
Posts: 486
Platinum benefits ??
Any other benefits besides room upgrade to a possible suite for Platinum members ? Free breakfast ? Is there a club lounge for afternoon teas / evening snacks ?
Aug 26, 2009, 6:10 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
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any recent experiences????i've booked 3 nights here next month....how is this hotel compared to the westin langkawi????
Aug 26, 2009, 8:03 am
#10
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TSV, Australia
Posts: 2,401
I had a stay during February. My review and pics are on tripadvisor.com
In short I really, really liked the hotel. As a gold I was upgraded to a partial sea view cottage, the cottage itself was lovely, the hotel buffet breakfast was excellent and the service was great. They even gave me a little birthday cake.
The only downside is it quite isolated and food and beverage prices are high. There are couple of small restaurants within walking distance, however.
I know many people prefer the Westin, but I would go back to the Sheraton in a flash.
In short I really, really liked the hotel. As a gold I was upgraded to a partial sea view cottage, the cottage itself was lovely, the hotel buffet breakfast was excellent and the service was great. They even gave me a little birthday cake.
The only downside is it quite isolated and food and beverage prices are high. There are couple of small restaurants within walking distance, however.
I know many people prefer the Westin, but I would go back to the Sheraton in a flash.
Aug 26, 2009, 1:57 pm
#11
Join Date: Aug 2009
Programs: Marriot Bonvoy
Posts: 58
It is a chalet style, the rooms are spacious and comfortable but the service really so-so. when request for something from room, it always takes a long time, have to call few times, the fastest i think at least take 10 minutes. This property is a bit old, need to refurbish. You can see wildlife around. It is fun to see monkeys or squirrels or discover some species that we rarely see... mosquito around property too... They don’t have club lounge for evening cocktail but they’ll offer members for sunset drink. They have 30 minutes free internet surfing per day at link@Sheraton for house guest. For me, the captain’s grill is the best among the restaurant. Overall, it's still ok but not the best choice, depending of what you needs.
Westin Langkawi is nicer but a bit far from airport and beach side. If you get there by ferry from Kedah or Penang, then you can consider Westin, very close to jetty.
Westin Langkawi is nicer but a bit far from airport and beach side. If you get there by ferry from Kedah or Penang, then you can consider Westin, very close to jetty.
Feb 27, 2010, 5:46 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
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any recent reviews????will be here for 3 nights in a couple months time....i wanted to try out the andaman but am travelling with a bunch of people & everyone else has decided to stay here....
Feb 27, 2010, 7:19 am
#13
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: SEA(sia)
Posts: 5,181
Apart from free breakfast for plats, nothing much has changed except for a new look lobby and restaurant.
Its an ok place, my major complaints are the poor sound insulation due to wooden floors and some room air-cons are not effective enough (even though they appeared to have upgraded their a/c).
Its an ok place, my major complaints are the poor sound insulation due to wooden floors and some room air-cons are not effective enough (even though they appeared to have upgraded their a/c).
Feb 27, 2010, 7:41 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,668
Apart from free breakfast for plats, nothing much has changed except for a new look lobby and restaurant.
Its an ok place, my major complaints are the poor sound insulation due to wooden floors and some room air-cons are not effective enough (even though they appeared to have upgraded their a/c).
Its an ok place, my major complaints are the poor sound insulation due to wooden floors and some room air-cons are not effective enough (even though they appeared to have upgraded their a/c).
May 7, 2010, 3:21 am
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,668
i've made reservations at this property 3 times over the last couple of years & each time i have had to cancel for some reason or the other....seems like my trip to langkawi has been jinxed....
but finally, if nothing else happens in the next 3 weeks, i will be here for 3 days towards the end of the month....
been reading a number of reviews & as i mentioned before, the free breakfast for plats is a good perk....has anyone stayed here over the last few months????what kind of upgrade can one expect as a plat????is it easy to get cabs at the airport or would a pickup arranged by the hotel be the better way to go????
but finally, if nothing else happens in the next 3 weeks, i will be here for 3 days towards the end of the month....
been reading a number of reviews & as i mentioned before, the free breakfast for plats is a good perk....has anyone stayed here over the last few months????what kind of upgrade can one expect as a plat????is it easy to get cabs at the airport or would a pickup arranged by the hotel be the better way to go????