I would like to travel to Asia in August. After spending some time in China I would like to chill out a little bit in some beach/island resort. I know most of southeast Asia will be in the rainy season (e.g. Thailand and the western coast of Malaysia). I have travelled to Indonesia 3 times so I was willing to try something new.
I have browsed some web pages on peninsular Malaysia but my impression is that the islands of the east coast are either backpacking spots like the Perenthian or Tioman (I like the mood, but I am not that young anymore so I would like something more comfortable) or places with giant hotels (package-trip family oriented type) like Redang. The best resorts (Datai, Pangkor Laut, 4S) are all on the west (rainy).
The question is, is there another place outside Bali with the same blend of beautiful setting, outstanding resorts, beautiful sea and nightlife? (at least a little bit...).
Thanks for your help...
Ringhio

I don't know whether or not you are "fussy" but I do know that you could use some better info on weather. Check out www.weatherbase.com You'll note than when the west side of Thailand and Malaysia is rainy, the east side has good weather. You could opt for an island in the Gulf of Thailand like Koh Samui or on the East coast of Malaysia, which many believe has beaches much nicer than Thailand.

It wont be the rainy season on the islands off the gulf coast of Thailand - that is Ko Samui, Ko Tao and Ko Pha Ngan. The latter two are not as developed and more akin to the Perhentian Islands so Ko Samui might be a good place for you to look at. You can fly there direct from Bangkok, KL, Singapore and HK.

What about Palau Lang Tengah an island halfway between Redang and Perehentian. I have not been to this area but did a lot of research for a proposed trip. Like you I wanted something in between. I found the above island and looked at staying at D'Coconut Lagoon here is the website www.dcoconutlagoon.com. Hope this helps it looked nice to me.

Sorry pressed post to early. One other choice we will be staying at is The Santhiya on Koh Phanagan an island off Koh Samui. A new resort n the North East side of Island so no where near the full moon party area where backpackers etc go.

You could also consider Borneo.

I agree that the east coast of Malaysia, the Gulf of Thailand and the Malaysian island of Kalimantan (also called Borneo) would be good choices in August. Hua Hin, south of Bangkok, would be an easy trip from China, as you could fly to Bangkok and drive down in two hours from there. The islands of Koh Samui or other Thai islands mentioned above would work, albeit they would be a longer journey. Some of the smaller Malaysian islands in the Perhatian group are very lovely, but will be harder to get to from China, and do not offer "outstanding" resorts IMO, they offer more basic accommodations, and offer virtually no nightlife. I love Rawa, but it probably would not meet any of your criteria and would be hard to get to from the PRC. There are some nice Shangri-La hotels on Kalimantan.

An excellent hotel on the mainland of the east coast of Malaysia is the Tangjong Jara Resort, just south of Kuala Terranganu, which you could connect to from Kuala Lumpur, which hopefully would be a direct flight from somewhere in China. This is a beautiful hotel on a lovely beach, but very little nightlife unless you go into KT. Take a look at http://www.tanjongjararesort.com or the website for Small Luxury Hotels of the World at: slh.com

However, other than Hua Hin and possibly Koh Samui, none of these are going to offer a lot of night life or shopping. Koh Samui is probably the most Bali-like in terms of night life (Hua Hin is, IMO, more seedy), but none are really big on it from what I have seen.

If you are flying from China back to the US, you might consider going to Hawaii. This would meet all your criteria I would think. You can go via Continental from Hong Kong in 14 hours, or from Beijing via Korean Air in about 12.5 hours. That is not a bad way to go, and then it is a short (relatively speaking) flight on to the US. (Even if going to Europe, it may not be a bad flight back, check schedules.) There may be other flights from other cities in China that are also as easy. (Flying TO the PRC from Hawaii is a very long flight and always seems involve a stop somewhere like Japan or the mainland US for reasons that passeth all understanding.) August is one of the best months in Hawaii, but prices are at their lowest as Christmas is the high season there. (I have been doing my own research recently for a trip there myself from Hong Kong.)

Although a longer flight from Asia, you could consider places like the Tahiti and Fiji, these might offer more of what you are looking for.

Ringhio, you are not fussy. Just a bit misguided by some web pages. The Msian east coast isn't a backpacking holiday spots at all. There're swanky beach resort like the Tanjong Jara Resort and Berjaya Resort. And for the weather, I would only steer clear from the east coast between October - Feb. Frankly, the monsoon isn't that bad you know. Island resorts will be closed but there are a lot of beachside hotels along mainland Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu that are opened. These hotels usually promise another night stay for free for every rainy day. For the past 5 years, a beach festival called "Monsoon Madness" has been held during year end to capitalize on the quirky weather. The world's top para-sailing and wind-surf experts will flock the Balok and Cherating beach for its fiery wind.

August rainy in the west coast? I am not sure where you got that info but I assure you the rainy season is very very mild in the west coast because the Malaccan Strait is blocked from the western monsoon by Sumatran island. To prove my point, if you check tour packages offered by most UK's agencies (not sure about US), resorts and hotels in the west coast are priced higher in July-August and Nov-Dec periods. In the past, people worry about floods during rainy season but nowadays flooding rarely happen because roads and drainage have been upgraded in many parts of the country, especially touristy spots. In short, people here never let rain bother their vacation plans. Put it this way, if it rains, I'd still put on my soccer boots and hit the field. It's not the hell-loose scenario as many foreigners perceived.

Lastly, if you can afford it, go Pangkor Laut Resort for its beautiful seaside setting. For a mishmash of beach and nightlife, Penang's Golden Sands Resort can do no wrong. Happy planning!

Just to clarify about the recommendations for Borneo: Kalimantan is the Indonesian part of Borneo, and the Malaysian part of Borneo, specifically Sabah is where the two Shangri-La resorts are. They are both accessed through Kota Kinabalu. The best connections to Kota Kinabalu are through Kuala Lumpur. I don't believe there are any direct frights from China.

Thank you guys! This is all very useful. By the way, I am from Italy.
Ciao

Just a small bit of info on Sabah for you - just in case. Friends recently returned and loved the Shangri La Resort Tanjong Aru at Kota Kinabalu, namely the Tanjong wing. I beleive there are two wings and this was the more expensive but very nice.

They did go to the Shangri La Rasa Ria but felt it was just too far from town and you really had no choice but to eat at the hotel.

Friend of mine just returned from a place called Sanya, located on Hainan Island, biggest island off China on the South China Sea. 1 hour flight south of Hong Kong.

My friend stayed at the Sheraton but apparently the Hilton there is amazing (both resort style hotels). Check them out.

S