Hotel Suggestions Needed
Feb 20th, 2006, 02:02 AM
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Hotel Suggestions Needed
All, I am totally stuck for ideas.
It is my 30th birthday next February and in the next few weeks I would like to book a special holiday for this. I was wondering if you could help me with hotel suggestions.
I was thinking of either Thailand or Malaysia - beach holiday only as I have been to KL, BKK, Singapore and HK previously.
I am flying from London.
I am looking for something pretty luxurious - 4 or 5*, right on the beach (don't want there to be a road in between or anything), something close enough for us to go and have a walk out of the hotel, and somewhere nearby to restaurants and a few bars for the evenings.
Plus, I scuba, so it would be nice to get a couple of dives in.
I didn't fancy somewhere like the Maldives as I wanted to go somewhere where you can go out and about and do things. I would love Bali as I but the weather is really bad in February apparently which is why I have focused on Thailand or Malaysia.
Any suggestions of hotels in resorts that fit my requirements would be much appreciated as I have been reading all the reports on Fodors and Trip Advisor and my head is spinning!!
Thanks
SK
It is my 30th birthday next February and in the next few weeks I would like to book a special holiday for this. I was wondering if you could help me with hotel suggestions.
I was thinking of either Thailand or Malaysia - beach holiday only as I have been to KL, BKK, Singapore and HK previously.
I am flying from London.
I am looking for something pretty luxurious - 4 or 5*, right on the beach (don't want there to be a road in between or anything), something close enough for us to go and have a walk out of the hotel, and somewhere nearby to restaurants and a few bars for the evenings.
Plus, I scuba, so it would be nice to get a couple of dives in.
I didn't fancy somewhere like the Maldives as I wanted to go somewhere where you can go out and about and do things. I would love Bali as I but the weather is really bad in February apparently which is why I have focused on Thailand or Malaysia.
Any suggestions of hotels in resorts that fit my requirements would be much appreciated as I have been reading all the reports on Fodors and Trip Advisor and my head is spinning!!
Thanks
SK
Feb 20th, 2006, 05:53 AM
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one place that comes to mind is the emerald cove resort on koh chang....newly built last year and directly on the beach it is really quite nice....they have excellent service and two good restaurants...
a non beach holiday might include the anantara in north thailand near chiang saen, north of chiang rai....
we found the jw marriott on phuket to be quite lovely and just issolated enough to avoid the hordes of tourists and sun seekers in the more populated parts of phuket....there is a choice of conventional lux hotel rooms or time share apartments available...excellent restaurants...
the pansea on koh samui is really a very lovely hotel as well
totally issolated and a bit rustic is the laem set inn also on samui...easy to get out to other places on the island for activities as well....
the new sheraton at pattaya, while not right on the beach is a destination we will try this fall....all reports are that it is an excellent place...
in hua hin there are many places: the usual ones like the sofitel, hyatt, marriott and anantara, but also newer and small places like the wora bura..
in malaysia i particularily like langkawi island....the sheratons there are nice and the datai is quite a lovely place with gold nearby if that interests you....there are many places on this wonderful island....check out its feb weather however....not sure on that score...
hope this gives you a couple of choices
a non beach holiday might include the anantara in north thailand near chiang saen, north of chiang rai....
we found the jw marriott on phuket to be quite lovely and just issolated enough to avoid the hordes of tourists and sun seekers in the more populated parts of phuket....there is a choice of conventional lux hotel rooms or time share apartments available...excellent restaurants...
the pansea on koh samui is really a very lovely hotel as well
totally issolated and a bit rustic is the laem set inn also on samui...easy to get out to other places on the island for activities as well....
the new sheraton at pattaya, while not right on the beach is a destination we will try this fall....all reports are that it is an excellent place...
in hua hin there are many places: the usual ones like the sofitel, hyatt, marriott and anantara, but also newer and small places like the wora bura..
in malaysia i particularily like langkawi island....the sheratons there are nice and the datai is quite a lovely place with gold nearby if that interests you....there are many places on this wonderful island....check out its feb weather however....not sure on that score...
hope this gives you a couple of choices
Feb 23rd, 2006, 04:58 PM
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If you want to dive, you will want to avoid Koh Samui and islands in the Gulf of Thailand as the monsoon is there and/or receding, and the water clarity will not be good at that time The islands off Thailand and Malaysia in this area are otherwise excellent for diving, so maybe for your 40th you can consider a trip there.
Langkawai does not have any good diving at all, neither does the Hua Hin area (the beaches on the coast south of Bangkok)
Phuket and areas around it have excellent diving, and Feb is a very good month there, you cannot dive from the beaches, but need to take boats to outlying islands or reefs; you may be able to dive directly from beaches on Phi Phi, I am not sure about that. I am a big fan of the JW Marriott in Phuket for its facilities, staff, food and nice location away from the rush; there are also numerous other hotels on the island to consider like the Amandari (amanresorts.com), the Banyan Tree, the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket (starwood.com; but I would only recco certain units there, the private villas or the units right on the beach) and the Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club (lemeridien.com). The Sheraton and Banyan are part of a 4/5-hotel complex on a very nice long stretch of beach with several lagoons connected by a shuttle boat. You can use facilities at all the hotels and charge to your room, including the great spa at the Banyan Tree. (The Sheraton also has a nice spa.) There is a nice shopping complex in the lagoon resort complex as well. There is a golf course at the Banyon Tree. The Marriott is near the Blue Canyon golf course, considered the best on the island, and you can get tee times there through the hotel.
If you really want to dive, you might consider a live-aboard boat trip, it is hard to find these in the 4-5 star category unless you charter your own boat, if you are interested, I can make some reccos. I can also give you some reccos for private boat hires for day trips in the Phuket area.
I regretfully agree that diving in Bali in Feb is not great because of the rain. Take a look at weatherbase.com for rainfall, that will help give you an idea of water clarity you can expect in various areas.
Langkawai does not have any good diving at all, neither does the Hua Hin area (the beaches on the coast south of Bangkok)
Phuket and areas around it have excellent diving, and Feb is a very good month there, you cannot dive from the beaches, but need to take boats to outlying islands or reefs; you may be able to dive directly from beaches on Phi Phi, I am not sure about that. I am a big fan of the JW Marriott in Phuket for its facilities, staff, food and nice location away from the rush; there are also numerous other hotels on the island to consider like the Amandari (amanresorts.com), the Banyan Tree, the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket (starwood.com; but I would only recco certain units there, the private villas or the units right on the beach) and the Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club (lemeridien.com). The Sheraton and Banyan are part of a 4/5-hotel complex on a very nice long stretch of beach with several lagoons connected by a shuttle boat. You can use facilities at all the hotels and charge to your room, including the great spa at the Banyan Tree. (The Sheraton also has a nice spa.) There is a nice shopping complex in the lagoon resort complex as well. There is a golf course at the Banyon Tree. The Marriott is near the Blue Canyon golf course, considered the best on the island, and you can get tee times there through the hotel.
If you really want to dive, you might consider a live-aboard boat trip, it is hard to find these in the 4-5 star category unless you charter your own boat, if you are interested, I can make some reccos. I can also give you some reccos for private boat hires for day trips in the Phuket area.
I regretfully agree that diving in Bali in Feb is not great because of the rain. Take a look at weatherbase.com for rainfall, that will help give you an idea of water clarity you can expect in various areas.
Feb 27th, 2006, 06:52 PM
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If you can afford 4-5 star prices, you can try Pangkor Laut Resort in Malaysia. A very posh island resort, no roads, you can only get there by the resort's private ferry. The whole island is owned by the resort. Lovely chalets are perched on seaside and you can catch the burning sunset every afternoon. I have seen news report that Nick Price (golfer) and Luciano Pravotti (tenor) call the island resort their favourite. It's about 260km from KL and situated on the west coast. Accessible via Lumut port. So you don't have to worry much of the monsoon season. Latest price tag was RM1200.00 for 3 days 2 nights stay, weekday offer, food inclusive.
Feb 27th, 2006, 11:52 PM
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Sorry, I got a bit carried away with the 4-5 star hotel thing and forgot about diving. When I was a kid, where Pangkor Laut is today, it was called Emerald Bay. I used to go camping there until the island was sold off in the 90's. Corals were in abundance then. There are still a few small islands off Pangkor main island with corals but you got to know the right boatmen to take you there. These smallholder boatmen usually hangout in Pasir Bogak and Teluk Nipah. But anyway, I agree it's difficult to find great diving spot anywhere near Pangkor Laut.
Feb 28th, 2006, 12:19 PM
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you aren't into something like the Maldives forget Pangkor Laut Resort. There is also nothing else to do there besides beach and spa and it gets very boring. And, as others have said before, they have no diving facilities there.
I have been to Bali, Malaysia and Thailand and my favorite was Bali , followed by Thailand. I also found Malaysia a bit boring , even Langkawi ,if I compare it to Koh Samui in Thailand. I loved Kuala Lumpur though and thought it was very lively and modern.
Are you sure it's not good for diving at that time in Bali? I would put it in first place.
I have been to Bali, Malaysia and Thailand and my favorite was Bali , followed by Thailand. I also found Malaysia a bit boring , even Langkawi ,if I compare it to Koh Samui in Thailand. I loved Kuala Lumpur though and thought it was very lively and modern.
Are you sure it's not good for diving at that time in Bali? I would put it in first place.
Feb 28th, 2006, 05:35 PM
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I've dived Bali in the rainy season and the dry, and of course it's better in the dry. Not only is the visibility better because water has not been churned by weeks/months of wind and rain, but you get more sunny days which means more light further down. But of course it is relative; if you have never dived in SE Asia where water clarity is better than most places. So maybe if you are used to diving in California you would think diving in Bali in February is fantastic, no wet suit needed, visibility is probably much better than you are used to, no kelp, good coral. I just would hate to have someone fly all that way and then have 2-3 days of overcast skies and rain, choppy water, darkness at 30-40 feet, etc and not really enjoy the experience.
On the other hand, Phuket is great weather in Feb, so that is why I would recco that. Phuket also has the restaurants and other activities SallyKate is looking for. The only thing that might not be possible there is diving right from a beach; however you MAY be able to do that in Phi Phi or Krabi. Perhaps Sally Kate could post another question on this point as I have not done that; most diving in the Phuket area is from boats. I don't see any issue with getting in a boat to go diving anyway, you will get to deserted sites which have better diving generally anyway than populated islands where you have runoff and more dead coral.
On the other hand, Phuket is great weather in Feb, so that is why I would recco that. Phuket also has the restaurants and other activities SallyKate is looking for. The only thing that might not be possible there is diving right from a beach; however you MAY be able to do that in Phi Phi or Krabi. Perhaps Sally Kate could post another question on this point as I have not done that; most diving in the Phuket area is from boats. I don't see any issue with getting in a boat to go diving anyway, you will get to deserted sites which have better diving generally anyway than populated islands where you have runoff and more dead coral.
