I just returned from Malaysia and wanted to thank everybody who gave me some input before my trip.
Here are some of my impressions, as I don't like to write long trip reports. If anyone has any question I will gladly answer though.

I stayed 5 night in Langkawi at the Pelangi Beach Resort, 3 nights in Pangkor Laut Resort and then 2 nights in Kuala Lumpur at the Mandarim Oriental.

LANGKAWI - very nice island, very clean and laidback. Not much to do or see or shop. I found it to be a nice place for romance and honeymoners, but not for families with teenagers. Had a look at the Datai and the Tanjung Rhu and though the Datai left me a bit disappointed as I thought it was nicer, the Tanjung Rhu left me sad for not having stayed there. Beautiful and with the best beach in the island.

PELANGI BEACH RESORT - Nice hotel but no way a 5 star, a 4 star hotel. Nice grounds, big confortable rooms, so so food,nice pools, helpful service , quiet beach , not lovely though. Got a great discount rate by joining their Meritus Club members and it was worse the money. The prices I saw at the booking sites are way too expensive and I wouldn't consider staying there if I was supposed to pay those rates!

PANGKOR LAUT RESORT - The resort is really beautiful but a bit boring. I think 3 nights there were enough. I stayed in a Sea Villa and paid an extra 900 MR ( 200 euros) per night for the upgrade , not worth it. The room was small and I was a bit disappointed with it. The minibar had only some beeers and cokes, no snacks or chocolats. Emerald Bay is a beautiful beach, main pool is lovely, service is good but not great and food was also a bit disappointing. Not many facilities at the resort. The spa village area is beautiful with wonderful conditions and massage rooms but treatments are very expensive and though we get a 45 minute extra pretreatment foot massage, baths, small ritual, the treatments aren't as great as I thought they would be. A one time wonderful experience at Pangkor Laut Resort but I wouldn't consider staying there again. A 3 hour drive from KL and a 50 minute ferry ride!! Enough for once!!

KUALA LUMPUR - A very nice town, clean, maybe a bit westernlised . I regret not having stayed there for longer. My time there was spent shopping at the Suria KLCC ( wonderful modern shopping mall) and in China Town. Had no time to see more and to go to Malacca. Would gladly return there. Met some virtual friends there for a dinner and they made us feel very welcomed.

MANDARIM ORIENTAL KL - Wow! This was the hightlight of the places we stayed! Wonderful rooms, service, best buffet breakfast I have ever had in my whole life and I have traveled around the world and stayed at some of the best hotels. Ths was by far the best city hotel in Asia! I can only compare it to the Ritz in Paris in terms of service and everything. Only at a bargain price!!!!Highly recommended!

My overall comment on Malaysia is that it's a wonderful country, very clean, very good roads and highways, beautiful landscape, wonderful friendly people who mostly speak very good english, very good for relaxing and romance. I think only it lacks a bit cultural feeling and performances . Crafts are much alike Thailand though not as extensive and colourful.

Thanks for reading and feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Teresa

thanks Tere for your report. I'm going to Malaysia Sept 22. Although I'm not going to Langkawi (I'm going to KL, Borneo and Penang), I will be spending 5 nights at the Mandarin Oriental so I was glad to read your good impressions of it. Can you tell me what kind of room you had there? We're on the Club Floor in a premium city view (of the Petronas Towers) and we get a free buffet breakfast (in the club room I think?) I was wondering if you knew if it's the same as you had. How are the prices at KLCC and in KL in general? I'm a big shopper. Did you by any chance go to any jewelry shops?

Hi Laurie, I had booked 2 deluxe city view rooms but they upgraded us to two deluxe park view. The Club rooms are even better but it was much more expensive . They were full anyway. I am sure you will love the Mandarim! I stayed in the Peninsula Bangkok last year and have to say that overall the MOKL is much better . Their service is amazing!
I had a full english breakfast tea the day of our departure at the lounge bar and it was a very nice experience as well.
The prices in KL are not much different in the brand shops than those in Europe. There is a very nice shoe shop though, which is very well known in Asia, it's called Vincci, with incredible prices and very nice shoes and sandals. I bought 2 pairs ands my daughter bought 5! Each one was around 60 MR ( around 14 US dollars). I didn't see the jewellery shops, sorry , as I wasn't very interested in buying any. But they have a Chopard and a Mikimoto in the Suria KLCC.
Have a great trip

Thanks Tere. The Peninsula Bangkok is my favorite hotel so I'm curious to see how the MO compares to it. Thanks for the tip on shoes! I LOVE shoes and boots and own about 60 pairs, but there's always room for more! I'll be sure to check out that shop. I'm just not sure what to do with my husband while I'm there ;-)

eric can be giving the other ladies foot massages while you are trying on shoes...