Andaman, Langkawi, Malaysia [Master Thread] [CLOSED DUE TO FIRE JAN 2021]
#196
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: KSA
Programs: Marriott AMB, Skywards Gold
Posts: 3,734
#197
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: KSA
Programs: Marriott AMB, Skywards Gold
Posts: 3,734
Stayed here for 3 nights, the place is amazing. I have to say that everyone at the resort is just wonderful, from the moment we entered the resort until we left off, everyone was smiling all the time. ^ to everyone.
I have to say that the only problem encountered at the resort is the internet speed, it was pretty slow never went beyond 1.0 Mbps.
I have to say that the only problem encountered at the resort is the internet speed, it was pretty slow never went beyond 1.0 Mbps.
Last edited by LovetoTravel83; Aug 5, 2014 at 3:12 am
#198
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SE Asia
Posts: 181
Dear Thunderroad,
Reading your review brought back great memories ... its our family's favourite property in Langkawi & we normally vacation in Langkawi at least once a year but our last trip has been way too long ... Feb 2013!!
Will need to plan a trip soon before the end of the year ... thanks for the reminder.
Cheers!
Reading your review brought back great memories ... its our family's favourite property in Langkawi & we normally vacation in Langkawi at least once a year but our last trip has been way too long ... Feb 2013!!
Will need to plan a trip soon before the end of the year ... thanks for the reminder.
Cheers!
#199
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt
Posts: 140
I just realized that 4pm late checkout is not guaranteed for this location and I booked my flight for 7pm assuming it was...
Anyone know how generous this property is in giving 4pm late checkout? I'm at the corporate preferred level of SPG
Anyone know how generous this property is in giving 4pm late checkout? I'm at the corporate preferred level of SPG
#200
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 5
Hi all. I'm thinking about a stay here in January and was just wondering if anyone could comment on two things:
1) Did anyone go on any organised hikes from the hotel (other than the complimentary morning/evening walks?). How were they? What sort of hiking options were there? How was the guide? How expensive was it?
2) Did anyone go kayaking from the hotel? Do they have kayaks available (for free or for rent)? Is the area around the hotel safe for kayaking in?
1) Did anyone go on any organised hikes from the hotel (other than the complimentary morning/evening walks?). How were they? What sort of hiking options were there? How was the guide? How expensive was it?
2) Did anyone go kayaking from the hotel? Do they have kayaks available (for free or for rent)? Is the area around the hotel safe for kayaking in?
#201
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: SE Asia
Posts: 1,274
When I stayed two years ago Kayaks were avilable and free. I took my two youn chikdern 2 and 4 yrs Kayaking to the island next to the hotel. Very easy and safe as the hotel beach and water is protected in a bay. Just don't try and go around the island as you will get into open sea and there are jagged rocks on the side of the island facing the open sea.
#202
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA 1K MM, Accor Plat, Htz PC, Natl ExEm, other random status
Posts: 2,876
When I stayed two years ago Kayaks were avilable and free. I took my two youn chikdern 2 and 4 yrs Kayaking to the island next to the hotel. Very easy and safe as the hotel beach and water is protected in a bay. Just don't try and go around the island as you will get into open sea and there are jagged rocks on the side of the island facing the open sea.
I did go around the island, and it was a bit nerve wracking. Fun paddle, but you'd better be relatively strong - not necessarily experienced, just have sufficient stamina to get through what can be relatively high waves in an area where you can't be seen.
Greg
#203
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
Hi all. I'm thinking about a stay here in January and was just wondering if anyone could comment on two things:
1) Did anyone go on any organised hikes from the hotel (other than the complimentary morning/evening walks?). How were they? What sort of hiking options were there? How was the guide? How expensive was it?
2) Did anyone go kayaking from the hotel? Do they have kayaks available (for free or for rent)? Is the area around the hotel safe for kayaking in?
1) Did anyone go on any organised hikes from the hotel (other than the complimentary morning/evening walks?). How were they? What sort of hiking options were there? How was the guide? How expensive was it?
2) Did anyone go kayaking from the hotel? Do they have kayaks available (for free or for rent)? Is the area around the hotel safe for kayaking in?
The hike itself was great. Good guide. Two other people with us. We were under the impression beforehand that he'd take us by car to some other spot. But we simply walked up out of the hotel and then up and across the road, and it was fine. I don't think we saw a tremendous amount of wildlife on the walk, but the guide explained some interesting stuff along the way. If you're accustomed to hiking, you'd find it pretty easy. Definitely some up and down, but nothing terribly taxing. (Come to think of it, you might even be able to specify how tough a hike you like beforehand, but it could be that you're at the mercy of what other folks hiking with you want, perhaps with the default being easier.)
By the way, I provided a bit more information about the Andaman at the thread you started asking for more general advice about where to go.
#204
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: St. Croix
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1k, SPG Plat, Hilton Gold, CC Gold
Posts: 521
At the property now and writing this from the pool in our exec. suite, plat. upgrade, which is for the most part phenomenal. The kayaks are no longer free, 20 MYR/hr for singles and 30 MYR/hr for doubles they request you don't go around the little island but said we could if we really wanted too - did it last time so didn't bother this time. Hobie cats are about 70 MYR/hr, snorkels are free for up to an hour and there's windsurf gear too but I forget the price.
This is our second visit to the Andaman, was here about 2 years ago as a Gold and had a standard, pre-reno sea view room. We booked this trip pretty much around returning to the property and are staying a week this time. While most of the "hard product" type stuff is still incredible (beach, views, weather, island itself etc.) sadly the service seems to have really dropped this time. We remember last time the staff did all the little things right and really seemed to genuinely care.
The F&B (breakfast) was perfectly fine last time, not amazing but certainly good. They've made some small changes to the restaurant - the bakery seems smaller and the buffet layout is different and the quality seems to have suffered for it - especially the pastries, breads etc. but also the selection of dishes seems smaller and more simple. Service has dipped too; coffee and tea refills aren't proactively offered, buffet plates sometimes stack up, items dropped on the floor aren't picked up we've watched the staff stand to the side while guests try to push/kick open the doors with full hands (compared to say St. Regis Abu Dhabi where they won't let you even touch the doors).
We ate at Jala, the newish highly acclaimed seafood restaurant, also...very nicely set up and we expected it to be expensive but with fish that's 6x or more the price of other restaurants (25-35MYR/100g vs. 4-6 MYR/100g) it seemed a bit over the top - there was a lot of fish left over at 9:30 or so when we finished.
Housekeeping has had the biggest issues though, the minibar which is complementary in the suites and advertised as refreshed each day has yet to be refreshed without a manual request and even so there have been items missing each of the first 2 days until today when I left them an itemized list of what was missing, same goes for the coffee. Small towels seem to be in high demand as ours are yet to be fully replenished each day - they come in handy for drying feet on the patio when coming in from pool/beach as there's no mat. Dirty dishes are left in the room and the second bathroom has a family of about 10 spiders that have yet to be removed and were there at checkin - guess I need to manually request it, though I prefer to give the staff the benefit of the doubt if they missed it once, at least 3 times is a bit much.
Ice also seems to be a struggle, we've been requesting 1-2x a day to chill beer/wine and have either had to wait an hour while calling to follow up or ended up with a stack of ice buckets in the room that don't get removed once they're empty and drained.
It's still an incredible property - location, serenity, relaxation, but sadly for us while the staff is still incredibly friendly the service seems to be slipping quite a bit...or maybe other hotels have just upped the bar (St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Hilton Northolme etc.)
A pet peeve of mine is the quality of the renovation, it's a great 10 foot job. Up close there's grout missing from the tiles, tiles still have construction markings on them, rough edges abound etc. But the big issue is the patio doors for the exec. pool suites don't latch - we found this out after watching a monkey open what we thought were closed, latched doors. The handles turn but the doors don't actually latch making them almost useless for leaving the room via the patio, also make sure you use the additional locks when inside as the monkeys seem to know this and come up and jump on the handles.
This is our second visit to the Andaman, was here about 2 years ago as a Gold and had a standard, pre-reno sea view room. We booked this trip pretty much around returning to the property and are staying a week this time. While most of the "hard product" type stuff is still incredible (beach, views, weather, island itself etc.) sadly the service seems to have really dropped this time. We remember last time the staff did all the little things right and really seemed to genuinely care.
The F&B (breakfast) was perfectly fine last time, not amazing but certainly good. They've made some small changes to the restaurant - the bakery seems smaller and the buffet layout is different and the quality seems to have suffered for it - especially the pastries, breads etc. but also the selection of dishes seems smaller and more simple. Service has dipped too; coffee and tea refills aren't proactively offered, buffet plates sometimes stack up, items dropped on the floor aren't picked up we've watched the staff stand to the side while guests try to push/kick open the doors with full hands (compared to say St. Regis Abu Dhabi where they won't let you even touch the doors).
We ate at Jala, the newish highly acclaimed seafood restaurant, also...very nicely set up and we expected it to be expensive but with fish that's 6x or more the price of other restaurants (25-35MYR/100g vs. 4-6 MYR/100g) it seemed a bit over the top - there was a lot of fish left over at 9:30 or so when we finished.
Housekeeping has had the biggest issues though, the minibar which is complementary in the suites and advertised as refreshed each day has yet to be refreshed without a manual request and even so there have been items missing each of the first 2 days until today when I left them an itemized list of what was missing, same goes for the coffee. Small towels seem to be in high demand as ours are yet to be fully replenished each day - they come in handy for drying feet on the patio when coming in from pool/beach as there's no mat. Dirty dishes are left in the room and the second bathroom has a family of about 10 spiders that have yet to be removed and were there at checkin - guess I need to manually request it, though I prefer to give the staff the benefit of the doubt if they missed it once, at least 3 times is a bit much.
Ice also seems to be a struggle, we've been requesting 1-2x a day to chill beer/wine and have either had to wait an hour while calling to follow up or ended up with a stack of ice buckets in the room that don't get removed once they're empty and drained.
It's still an incredible property - location, serenity, relaxation, but sadly for us while the staff is still incredibly friendly the service seems to be slipping quite a bit...or maybe other hotels have just upped the bar (St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Hilton Northolme etc.)
A pet peeve of mine is the quality of the renovation, it's a great 10 foot job. Up close there's grout missing from the tiles, tiles still have construction markings on them, rough edges abound etc. But the big issue is the patio doors for the exec. pool suites don't latch - we found this out after watching a monkey open what we thought were closed, latched doors. The handles turn but the doors don't actually latch making them almost useless for leaving the room via the patio, also make sure you use the additional locks when inside as the monkeys seem to know this and come up and jump on the handles.
#206
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt
Posts: 140
At the property now and writing this from the pool in our exec. suite, plat. upgrade, which is for the most part phenomenal. The kayaks are no longer free, 20 MYR/hr for singles and 30 MYR/hr for doubles they request you don't go around the little island but said we could if we really wanted too - did it last time so didn't bother this time. Hobie cats are about 70 MYR/hr, snorkels are free for up to an hour and there's windsurf gear too but I forget the price.
This is our second visit to the Andaman, was here about 2 years ago as a Gold and had a standard, pre-reno sea view room. We booked this trip pretty much around returning to the property and are staying a week this time. While most of the "hard product" type stuff is still incredible (beach, views, weather, island itself etc.) sadly the service seems to have really dropped this time. We remember last time the staff did all the little things right and really seemed to genuinely care.
The F&B (breakfast) was perfectly fine last time, not amazing but certainly good. They've made some small changes to the restaurant - the bakery seems smaller and the buffet layout is different and the quality seems to have suffered for it - especially the pastries, breads etc. but also the selection of dishes seems smaller and more simple. Service has dipped too; coffee and tea refills aren't proactively offered, buffet plates sometimes stack up, items dropped on the floor aren't picked up we've watched the staff stand to the side while guests try to push/kick open the doors with full hands (compared to say St. Regis Abu Dhabi where they won't let you even touch the doors).
We ate at Jala, the newish highly acclaimed seafood restaurant, also...very nicely set up and we expected it to be expensive but with fish that's 6x or more the price of other restaurants (25-35MYR/100g vs. 4-6 MYR/100g) it seemed a bit over the top - there was a lot of fish left over at 9:30 or so when we finished.
Housekeeping has had the biggest issues though, the minibar which is complementary in the suites and advertised as refreshed each day has yet to be refreshed without a manual request and even so there have been items missing each of the first 2 days until today when I left them an itemized list of what was missing, same goes for the coffee. Small towels seem to be in high demand as ours are yet to be fully replenished each day - they come in handy for drying feet on the patio when coming in from pool/beach as there's no mat. Dirty dishes are left in the room and the second bathroom has a family of about 10 spiders that have yet to be removed and were there at checkin - guess I need to manually request it, though I prefer to give the staff the benefit of the doubt if they missed it once, at least 3 times is a bit much.
Ice also seems to be a struggle, we've been requesting 1-2x a day to chill beer/wine and have either had to wait an hour while calling to follow up or ended up with a stack of ice buckets in the room that don't get removed once they're empty and drained.
It's still an incredible property - location, serenity, relaxation, but sadly for us while the staff is still incredibly friendly the service seems to be slipping quite a bit...or maybe other hotels have just upped the bar (St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Hilton Northolme etc.)
A pet peeve of mine is the quality of the renovation, it's a great 10 foot job. Up close there's grout missing from the tiles, tiles still have construction markings on them, rough edges abound etc. But the big issue is the patio doors for the exec. pool suites don't latch - we found this out after watching a monkey open what we thought were closed, latched doors. The handles turn but the doors don't actually latch making them almost useless for leaving the room via the patio, also make sure you use the additional locks when inside as the monkeys seem to know this and come up and jump on the handles.
This is our second visit to the Andaman, was here about 2 years ago as a Gold and had a standard, pre-reno sea view room. We booked this trip pretty much around returning to the property and are staying a week this time. While most of the "hard product" type stuff is still incredible (beach, views, weather, island itself etc.) sadly the service seems to have really dropped this time. We remember last time the staff did all the little things right and really seemed to genuinely care.
The F&B (breakfast) was perfectly fine last time, not amazing but certainly good. They've made some small changes to the restaurant - the bakery seems smaller and the buffet layout is different and the quality seems to have suffered for it - especially the pastries, breads etc. but also the selection of dishes seems smaller and more simple. Service has dipped too; coffee and tea refills aren't proactively offered, buffet plates sometimes stack up, items dropped on the floor aren't picked up we've watched the staff stand to the side while guests try to push/kick open the doors with full hands (compared to say St. Regis Abu Dhabi where they won't let you even touch the doors).
We ate at Jala, the newish highly acclaimed seafood restaurant, also...very nicely set up and we expected it to be expensive but with fish that's 6x or more the price of other restaurants (25-35MYR/100g vs. 4-6 MYR/100g) it seemed a bit over the top - there was a lot of fish left over at 9:30 or so when we finished.
Housekeeping has had the biggest issues though, the minibar which is complementary in the suites and advertised as refreshed each day has yet to be refreshed without a manual request and even so there have been items missing each of the first 2 days until today when I left them an itemized list of what was missing, same goes for the coffee. Small towels seem to be in high demand as ours are yet to be fully replenished each day - they come in handy for drying feet on the patio when coming in from pool/beach as there's no mat. Dirty dishes are left in the room and the second bathroom has a family of about 10 spiders that have yet to be removed and were there at checkin - guess I need to manually request it, though I prefer to give the staff the benefit of the doubt if they missed it once, at least 3 times is a bit much.
Ice also seems to be a struggle, we've been requesting 1-2x a day to chill beer/wine and have either had to wait an hour while calling to follow up or ended up with a stack of ice buckets in the room that don't get removed once they're empty and drained.
It's still an incredible property - location, serenity, relaxation, but sadly for us while the staff is still incredibly friendly the service seems to be slipping quite a bit...or maybe other hotels have just upped the bar (St. Regis Abu Dhabi, Hilton Northolme etc.)
A pet peeve of mine is the quality of the renovation, it's a great 10 foot job. Up close there's grout missing from the tiles, tiles still have construction markings on them, rough edges abound etc. But the big issue is the patio doors for the exec. pool suites don't latch - we found this out after watching a monkey open what we thought were closed, latched doors. The handles turn but the doors don't actually latch making them almost useless for leaving the room via the patio, also make sure you use the additional locks when inside as the monkeys seem to know this and come up and jump on the handles.
I'll preface this by saying I would still go there for the incredible property, the luxury sea view room had a sofa next to the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the sea. The evening guide who took us around animal watching was fluent and a great story teller. The coral reef expert was superb and one of a kind. She was fluent, knowledgeable and passionate about the corals and fishes at the reef. The fish feeding was great. The beaches were excellent.
However, the first impression I got was horrifying. We arrived at the property and noone opened the door or helped us with our bags. there were 2 people there who could not be bothered to help us and we were furious. I suspect one was a tour operator and another a driver waiting on a call. Still.
Service recovery which was the room upgrade was nice though.
#207
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Toronto
Programs: UA 1K, AC MM E75, Marriott LT Ti, IHG Dia Amb, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 15,509
Just finished a 3 night stay here, and absolutely loved the property and the staff. First night was in an executive suite on 3rd floor, then moved to a pool suite for the next 2 nights. The pool is about 20' X 8' and is salt water. Very decadent.
I was also offered a welcome amenity of a cocktail and cupcake delivered to my room. The drink was their signature Luxury Collection cocktail which consisted of sparkling wine, gin, pear puree and lime juice and ice that you mix yourself in a shaker and pour into a martini glass. I have a habit of always booking for 2 even when I'm travelling alone (which I was this time), so got double cocktails and 2 cupcakes. Bad MG!
Found the assistant front desk manager (Mark) to be super helpful.
Buffet breakfast was good, but not up to usual Asian standards.
I took a cab from the airport to the hotel for 60 RM. When I called for a cab to return to the airport, I was offered the hotel car for 80 RM (instead of the usual 110 RM), so I took that.
Enjoyed the happy hour at the Beach bar from 5-6 pm every day. Drinks are discounted by whatever the temperature happens to be at 3 pm. So if it's 31C, the drinks are discounted by 31%. Worked out to about 20 RM/drink.
Also note that all the restaurants on the property offer a 15% discount for SPG members, but you must remember to ask for it.
Beach chairs and pool chairs were very easy to come by even though I was told the hotel was fairly full. Lots of trees and umbrellas for shade too.
I'd go back in a heart beat.
I was also offered a welcome amenity of a cocktail and cupcake delivered to my room. The drink was their signature Luxury Collection cocktail which consisted of sparkling wine, gin, pear puree and lime juice and ice that you mix yourself in a shaker and pour into a martini glass. I have a habit of always booking for 2 even when I'm travelling alone (which I was this time), so got double cocktails and 2 cupcakes. Bad MG!
Found the assistant front desk manager (Mark) to be super helpful.
Buffet breakfast was good, but not up to usual Asian standards.
I took a cab from the airport to the hotel for 60 RM. When I called for a cab to return to the airport, I was offered the hotel car for 80 RM (instead of the usual 110 RM), so I took that.
Enjoyed the happy hour at the Beach bar from 5-6 pm every day. Drinks are discounted by whatever the temperature happens to be at 3 pm. So if it's 31C, the drinks are discounted by 31%. Worked out to about 20 RM/drink.
Also note that all the restaurants on the property offer a 15% discount for SPG members, but you must remember to ask for it.
Beach chairs and pool chairs were very easy to come by even though I was told the hotel was fairly full. Lots of trees and umbrellas for shade too.
I'd go back in a heart beat.
#208
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 1999
Posts: 12,097
Absolutely loved the Andaman, notwithstanding being ripped off by their hotel car at MYR 110, which was just as old as the MYR 60 cab that took us there (have them call a cab or, like margarita girl above, negotiate).
It is a unique property that truly is enhanced by (and enhances) the rainforest that it's a part of.
We had the same experience that margarita girl had, other than less per-person welcome alcohol and cupcakes .
You would do yourself a disservice if you don't take advantage of their free naturalist walks (both the morning and the evenings one, they're different) and you should absolutely not miss the National Geographic documentary shown on the beach twice a week because it was filmed at the Andaman in 2010. The event schedule is in the room in a "The Andaman Gazette" (or a similar name).
Colugos sleep during the day right across from the door to room 317. Go there after sunset and you'll see them glide. Amazing.
The movie on the beach is also a great experience, so definitely consider staying for it if you like what's on offer.
We really liked the Jala restaurant, and went there twice; the you-pick from the display (truly) fresh fish is cooked very well, but we found the pomfret on the menu absolutely delicious and superior. The 15% SPG discounts brings the price down to about what's on the menu (they lard it up with surcharges).
This is far from your cookie-cutter could-be anywhere hotel; for those who are looking for a flawless experience over anything else, there are plenty of anonymous places that offer one.
We are looking forward to our next time there.
It is a unique property that truly is enhanced by (and enhances) the rainforest that it's a part of.
We had the same experience that margarita girl had, other than less per-person welcome alcohol and cupcakes .
You would do yourself a disservice if you don't take advantage of their free naturalist walks (both the morning and the evenings one, they're different) and you should absolutely not miss the National Geographic documentary shown on the beach twice a week because it was filmed at the Andaman in 2010. The event schedule is in the room in a "The Andaman Gazette" (or a similar name).
Colugos sleep during the day right across from the door to room 317. Go there after sunset and you'll see them glide. Amazing.
The movie on the beach is also a great experience, so definitely consider staying for it if you like what's on offer.
We really liked the Jala restaurant, and went there twice; the you-pick from the display (truly) fresh fish is cooked very well, but we found the pomfret on the menu absolutely delicious and superior. The 15% SPG discounts brings the price down to about what's on the menu (they lard it up with surcharges).
This is far from your cookie-cutter could-be anywhere hotel; for those who are looking for a flawless experience over anything else, there are plenty of anonymous places that offer one.
We are looking forward to our next time there.
#210
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: West Coast, U.S.A.
Programs: Bonvoy LT Titanium; UA Silver
Posts: 75
Great Wildlife on Hotel Grounds
Stayed in late January/early February, our 2nd stay at the Andaman. Stayed in February 2014 as well. Saw even more wildlife on hotel grounds than last time. Complimentary nature walks are great (thank you Fendi). Coral nursery snorkel was a wonderful surprise and experience (thank you Dynah (sp?)). If you love wildlife, it is easily seen on the hotel property - birds (even hornbills & eagles), flying squirrels, fish and coral in the coral nursery, monkeys, monitor lizards, and more - this is an place to effortlessly see them all without leaving the hotel grounds or sometimes even the pool. Environmental bent of the hotel is refreshing compared to other locations that put animals more on display than letting you observe them in their natural state.
Wish there was an informal restaurant option like a snack bar or pizza place.
Free shuttles to Kuah Town and Cenang Beach get you off the property if you feel the need for some different scenery.
Staff are responsive and caring. Not all speak that great English, however, we had no problem working through that fact. Starwood Platinum guests receive good recognition. We love this property and its staff.
Wish there was an informal restaurant option like a snack bar or pizza place.
Free shuttles to Kuah Town and Cenang Beach get you off the property if you feel the need for some different scenery.
Staff are responsive and caring. Not all speak that great English, however, we had no problem working through that fact. Starwood Platinum guests receive good recognition. We love this property and its staff.