We had a trip planned from April 1 to April 16 - and we were doing Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Well, that went flying out of the window... Luckily award tickets via AA and bookings at the Four Seasons and Sofitel were refunded back. The flights from REP to BKK and Vietnam are lost, but it is not a large amount...so considering myself lucky.

Anyway - super optimistic, right? I went ahead and used the miles to book us to go to SIN and back in Sep. Now to plan the trip itself. We want to do Angkor Wat ; and then the rest of the time we are thinking of Malaysia. We like the entire luxury hotel experience...and admit - the locations we will go to will be determined based on the 5 star level ( budget around the $800 per night possibly a little higher). I am using points for SIN, and Hyatt Prive for Park Hyatt in Siem Reap...and now to plan Malaysia.

We are thinking of KUL for 2 nights - then Penang for 3 nights, Langkawi for 3 nights and then back to SIN. But at the same time not opposed to other countries instead of Malaysia as long as we can get back to SIN easily.

Any suggestions or thoughts? If you were to plan a trip - what would you do? Oh and by the way, we are not super outdoorsly people - we like culture, sightseeing, local foods...while not foregoing the luxury bit.

Looking forward to seeing your thoughts and planning this trip of a lifetime while going through this current storm of uncertainty.

D

I highly recommend Kota Kinabalu. It's on the Malaysian portion (north coast) of Borneo. In the pre-covid era, it was easy to fly there directly from SIN. And from there you could fly onward to other Malaysian locations. KK offers lots of natural beauty opportunities. And if you are a foodie, shop and eat at the Filipino Market - seafood and more every night. I've stayed several times at Le Meredien. Very nice breakfast. Rooms over looking the sea with fantastic sunsets. And it's right across the street from the Filipino market. There are also some more secluded resort type places, but my personal preference is for a more 'in the milieu' experience. There are fantastic values in many pearl shops around the hotel. If you have a friend who likes to create bead crafts, you can buy a string of small, cultured pearls for only a few dollars.
And who can resist telling their friends: "Where did I go? Ah, Borneo!"

I think if you go to Borneo, you might focus on Kuching (Sarawak) rather than Kota Kinabalu (Sabah): stay at the Hilton and make sure you get a river view room, preferably with access to the executive lounge (it won't break the bank).

Georgetown, Penang is a delight (in parts): the E&O is still a classy act, though a tad pricey for anything other than the standard rooms. The city has a number of equally pricey boutique properties but are not always good value.


Not disparaging the views of tvhead (it's a YMMV thing ), but for me the nicest part of KK is the terminal for ferries to Labuan Island.

Love this idea, thank you!!!

Will look into this. So would you pick ~3 days here instead of Langkawi?

If you are choosing locations based on 5-star hotels, I am afraid Kuching and Kota Kinabalu have fewer 5* properties than Penang/Langkawi. Having that said, the culture, food, and nature of Borneo are not to be missed. There are quite a few exclusive places you can go in Borneo (a little challenge to get there, but it's worth it) e.g. Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley (you are in the middle of a pristine rainforest) or Mulu Marriott Resort.

If you want to stick with Langkawi/Penang, there are plenty of luxury resorts in both places (Penang is more of a small luxury boutique hotels like E&O as mentioned earlier, the Edison Hotel, Seven Terraces etc. whilst Langkawi has huge resorts like the Andman, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, St. Regis).

$800 (I assume USD) a night is extremely high for Malaysia (you can get St. Regis one third of that price. Malaysia in general is a very cheap country for 5* hotels, especially in KUL).

Sorry, I hadn't noticed your $800 a night target. Unless you opt for presidential suites, your budget is virtually unbreakable for most of Malaysia. Penang's E&O is a century old wedding-cake grande dame, about as far from being boutique as you can imagine. It's recently re-fluffed and refurbished, but even so the really lovely Writer's Suites are probably still around $500: and you can get comfort there for far less.

If you prefert to be close in to the foodie action and historical centre, then you might want to go boutique.

On Langkawi the Datai might bust your budget if you aim for its top rooms/villas, but it's a charmer. St Regis and Ritz Carlton are not far behind, if you want the security of well-known brands. But these are resorts, and could be anywhere tropical.

For Kuching the Hilton is the best option. It's seen better days and is ripe for a refurb, but its location makes it the clear winner, right on the river front (OK, there's a road to cross). Splurge $200 or so for a club river-view room/suite on the Penthouse or 12th floor. Kuching is sprawling city, but its tourism heart is surprisingly intimate, stretching along the river-front with a back-up of narrow streets, markets and shop-houses - and the inevitable mega-mall tucked away between the river and city's Merdeka square. A couple of nights would give you the flavour of the place - but it's fair to say it's not going to be be the dreamy relaxed away from it all experience of one of Langkawi.s resorts.