3 Best Hotels in Malaysia

Right on the coast with direct access to a pristine stretch of Desaru Beach, this luxury resort is as beautifully designed as you would expect, with touches of contemporary Malaysian style, suites that come with private plunge pools and floor-to-ceiling windows, a world-class spa, and dining options that include a Malaysian-style restaurant, and Mediterranean beach club eatery. For families, there’s an on-site kid’s club and guest experiences that include traditional Silat Melayu martial arts classes and forest excursions to see white-handed gibbons. 

An hour-and-a-half boat trip from the Sandakan yacht club takes you to tiny, wooded Lankayan Island, a little slice of paradise ringed with white sand beaches and turquoise waters. The only habitation on the island, the resort offers 23 air-conditioned beachfront "chalets" each with functional wooden furniture, high ceilings, private terrace for optimal sunset gazing, and enough space for a family. On the sea turtle corridor, the island is serious about conservation; if you go between June and September you help accompany hundreds of adorable hatchlings to their first sea dive. Within close proximity to the island, human divers can enjoy 32 dive sites and two wrecks. Although the diver price includes three dives a day and unlimited jetty diving (non-diver packages are about $100 less), the snorkeling is every bit as good.

Walking around the grounds of Temple Tree is like taking a trip back in time; the eight villas that make up the hotel are restored antique buildings of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian origin. With more than 110 years of history, the former family homes were collected from around Malaysia and thoughtfully renovated. Guests have the option of renting out entire villas or individual rooms. Each house offers unique traits like a Mahjong room in the Chinese House or a private gym in the Black and White House. The hotel owner supports a local animal shelter, and cats roam freely here. Breakfast is set up in your in-room refrigerator the night before so you can prepare it yourself in the morning.