Langkawi Dec 2008
First stop: Langkasuka Beach Resort (our hotel)
We were quite aware of the extreme reviews (from very good to very bad) on Tripadvisor. However, we are also very used to various sorts of hotels in southeast Asia, from 5* to no-star.
Overall, we had a good time at the hotel, because we were NOT very often in the hotel. The one thing said about the Langkasuka Resort that is definitely true is that it is CHEAP. It was even cheaper when we selected the HOT WHEELS package, where for RM150, you get a two-queen bed room plus a basic manual transmission (excludes fuel) car per day without breakfast. Note that most other car rentals on Langkawi are about RM50-100 per day excluding insurance. Ok, don't expect a brand new car...just a car that is working and can bring you around the island.
15 year old Proton Saga!
We could have pre-booked breakfast, which is RM20 per person for either western or Asian buffet breakfast, but we found out that it was the same price if you just showed up at the cafe anyway. So we figured we would only have breakfast on selected mornings at the hotel, while the rest of the time, we would drive out for breakfast and touring...
The room is fairly spacious. It is somewhat clean, but this is dependent on how the cleaners do up the room each morning.
The toilet has both a long bath and a shower area.
The F&B are ok. We ate a la carte on one day and it was acceptable by price and quality.
The kids had a good time at the recreation room...
Ambrose almost hit the bulls eye (i.e. he hit the 25)
The beach is very good, very clean...lots of hermit crabs and other live sea creatures (including jellyfish!!! be careful) in the water.
The free form pool is also ok, the kids would love it.
Some drawbacks of the hotel would be its location: it is near nothing. To the left, there is some construction going on; to the right, there is an abandoned water theme park, where there supposedly is a Korean restaurant (didn't go check it out).
so if you want to have a meal other than those served at the hotel, you must travel a minimum of 10-15 minutes either north or south, or to the airport (which is nearby).
So here are some of our tips for this hotel:
1. Book this hotel if you intend to explore Langkawi island extensively. i.e. you will be only using the hotel for sleeping and OCCASIONALLY jumping into the pool/beach.
2. Do not expect 3 or even 4 * service; many of the staff cannot speak English (they can understand. but cannot reply you), only the front desk is good enough in English.
3. Very good value for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (given that they have 2 queen sized beds), thus better value than other places which you have to pay for extra bed(s).
4. You can save even more money by getting a free (but complicated) transfer to-from the airport. You can walk out of the airport, head towards the left carpark, and about 50m ahead
you will see Helang Hotel (which is also owned by Langkasuka Resort). Go to the Helang front desk and tell them you want to go to Langkasuka Resort, and there is a shuttle or car that goes between the two hotels regularly. FREE.
The other way to go FREE to Langkasuka Resort, is to WALK. Out the airport, head left, walk past Helang Hotel, past the Exhibition Center, come to the T-junction (about 1km), then turn right another 500m you are at Langkasuka Resort. Only for the brave.
The other way is to book the HOT WHEELs (room+car) package, where they can arrange to pick up and drop off at the airport. (minor cost involved)
Conclusion: this is the cheapest hotel where you get some nice facilities (pool/beach) (the ASEANIA is about this price, great pool but they don't have their own beach).
Do not have 4-5* expectations. Think "budget" and "utilitarian" and you will have a "value for money" time.
We were quite aware of the extreme reviews (from very good to very bad) on Tripadvisor. However, we are also very used to various sorts of hotels in southeast Asia, from 5* to no-star.
Overall, we had a good time at the hotel, because we were NOT very often in the hotel. The one thing said about the Langkasuka Resort that is definitely true is that it is CHEAP. It was even cheaper when we selected the HOT WHEELS package, where for RM150, you get a two-queen bed room plus a basic manual transmission (excludes fuel) car per day without breakfast. Note that most other car rentals on Langkawi are about RM50-100 per day excluding insurance. Ok, don't expect a brand new car...just a car that is working and can bring you around the island.
15 year old Proton Saga!
We could have pre-booked breakfast, which is RM20 per person for either western or Asian buffet breakfast, but we found out that it was the same price if you just showed up at the cafe anyway. So we figured we would only have breakfast on selected mornings at the hotel, while the rest of the time, we would drive out for breakfast and touring...
The room is fairly spacious. It is somewhat clean, but this is dependent on how the cleaners do up the room each morning.
The toilet has both a long bath and a shower area.
The F&B are ok. We ate a la carte on one day and it was acceptable by price and quality.
The kids had a good time at the recreation room...
Ambrose almost hit the bulls eye (i.e. he hit the 25)
The beach is very good, very clean...lots of hermit crabs and other live sea creatures (including jellyfish!!! be careful) in the water.
The free form pool is also ok, the kids would love it.
Some drawbacks of the hotel would be its location: it is near nothing. To the left, there is some construction going on; to the right, there is an abandoned water theme park, where there supposedly is a Korean restaurant (didn't go check it out).
so if you want to have a meal other than those served at the hotel, you must travel a minimum of 10-15 minutes either north or south, or to the airport (which is nearby).
So here are some of our tips for this hotel:
1. Book this hotel if you intend to explore Langkawi island extensively. i.e. you will be only using the hotel for sleeping and OCCASIONALLY jumping into the pool/beach.
2. Do not expect 3 or even 4 * service; many of the staff cannot speak English (they can understand. but cannot reply you), only the front desk is good enough in English.
3. Very good value for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (given that they have 2 queen sized beds), thus better value than other places which you have to pay for extra bed(s).
4. You can save even more money by getting a free (but complicated) transfer to-from the airport. You can walk out of the airport, head towards the left carpark, and about 50m ahead
you will see Helang Hotel (which is also owned by Langkasuka Resort). Go to the Helang front desk and tell them you want to go to Langkasuka Resort, and there is a shuttle or car that goes between the two hotels regularly. FREE.
The other way to go FREE to Langkasuka Resort, is to WALK. Out the airport, head left, walk past Helang Hotel, past the Exhibition Center, come to the T-junction (about 1km), then turn right another 500m you are at Langkasuka Resort. Only for the brave.
The other way is to book the HOT WHEELs (room+car) package, where they can arrange to pick up and drop off at the airport. (minor cost involved)
Conclusion: this is the cheapest hotel where you get some nice facilities (pool/beach) (the ASEANIA is about this price, great pool but they don't have their own beach).
Do not have 4-5* expectations. Think "budget" and "utilitarian" and you will have a "value for money" time.
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