The Datai Langkawi

“Wow....”

We're travelled the world and I can only think of a couple of locations that come close to the Datai. During a 7 day stay we got to know so many of the staff, leaving us feeling that we'd made a whole bunch of new friends. The enthusiasm of Dev, the Nature Centre Manager was infectious, as was th… more

We're travelled the world and I can only think of a couple of locations that come close to the Datai. During a 7 day stay we got to know so many of the staff, leaving us feeling that we'd made a whole bunch of new friends. The enthusiasm of Dev, the Nature Centre Manager was infectious, as was that of Shakira who is the captivating onsite historian. All the bar and restaurant staff were fun, especially Syahril (who kept the cockails flying!) and Adip (Mbappe :) at the beach bar. Tano knocked out the tunes on the piano with a smile on his face in the main lobby bar and the guys and girls in the spa were just so kind and friendly. A special shout out to Yahya who was so nice to talk to over dinner. The yoga classes on the beach front should be a must for anyone visiting, they could not be bettered for nourishing both mind body and soul. Finally last but not least Kartik who always greeted us with such friendliness and kindness…a true ambassador of the Datai It’s not often that the enthusiasm and ethos of a business stretches from the very top to every single employee in the organisation but Stephane, Celine and the rest of the exec team both clearly live and breathe ‘Datai’ ...and their enthusiasm is obviously infectious. Thank you, we had an amazing time and hope to see you again. Mark & Marceena

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“Delightful Datai does it again!”

This was our fourth stay at the Datai in a wonderful Beach Villa. We are "beach bums" after all! Once again, we were delighted to arrive and be greated as though we were returning to our second home.Which it does feel as if it is! We think the Datai is a magical place;a paradise of rainforest wi… more

This was our fourth stay at the Datai in a wonderful Beach Villa. We are "beach bums" after all! Once again, we were delighted to arrive and be greated as though we were returning to our second home.Which it does feel as if it is! We think the Datai is a magical place;a paradise of rainforest with its exceptional flora and fauna and the beautiful beach with its heavenly views. All the staff are as ever,so friendly helpful and determined to make our stay and experience as perfect and sublime as it could possibly be. The Gulai House and Beach Club restaurants are our favourites. Service and cuisine exceptional. Breakfast overlooking the beach and Andaman sea .Bliss. We have travelled widely over many years and have never found anything else that comes as close to perfection as the Datai. Excellent Pina Coladas and Margaritas at the Lobby Bar overlooking the beautiful bay. Thank you everyone at the Datai. Too numerous to name - but you are all fantastic. See you all next year! X Phil & Fiona

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“Service in the extreme”

This was our second visit to the Datai, and it was even better than last time. A truly wonderful hotel combining rain forest and beach locations. The service throughout was excellent. We were fortunate to be staying in a beach villa- highly recommended. Our butler Fazz ( ably assisted by Irman) i… more

This was our second visit to the Datai, and it was even better than last time. A truly wonderful hotel combining rain forest and beach locations. The service throughout was excellent. We were fortunate to be staying in a beach villa- highly recommended. Our butler Fazz ( ably assisted by Irman) is a real star, going above and beyond on a number of occasions- we will ask for her when we surely return.

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“A truly elevated experience”

The Datai exceeded my very high expectations and was a highlight of my recent trip to Singapore and Malaysia. Everything about this place exudes quality, from the teak used for the hotel buildings, the design and style of the room, the delicious food and low-key but thoughtful service (the kind I p… more

The Datai exceeded my very high expectations and was a highlight of my recent trip to Singapore and Malaysia. Everything about this place exudes quality, from the teak used for the hotel buildings, the design and style of the room, the delicious food and low-key but thoughtful service (the kind I prefer). Clientele here seemed mainly older and skewed mostly British, but there were also couples seeking romance and young families enjoying the beach with their kids. We stayed in a Canopy Premium Room - a top-floor room in the main building with a spacious balcony and daily replenished minibar including soft drinks, water and beer. Staying in the main building meant we didn’t get a villa of our own or private pool (though both are possible here, but we were close to the Dining Room for breakfast, the adults pool, the lounge bar and the Pavilion Thai restaurant. The spa, health club, nature centre, family pool were about a 10-minute walk through the beautiful and aptly-named Butterfly Walk and located on the spectacular Datai Bay, though buggies to get around the resort are plentiful. Others have highlighted that the Datai is less a beach resort than it is a rainforest resort that also happens to have an incredible beach, and I’d wholeheartedly agree. A large number of rooms are set on stilts on the forest floor, and those that aren’t all have views directly into the trees. Monkeys, hornbills, geckos and flying lemurs are a common sight for guests, and the hotel offers free and paid nature experiences such as rainforest walks and birdwatching. My personal favourite was the “trek to Crystal Creek”, a rainforest walk ending at the incredibly peaceful eponymous creek, where we gladly availed ourselves of the cooling waters, while dreaming of a visit during the rainy season rather than the tail end of four hot, dry months. Would I change anything? If I had to nitpick, the coffee at breakfast wasn’t great. I recently watched a video on youtube where the creator wondered why top hotels, who spend huge amounts of money on almost everything, can’t seem to get coffee right, and this was true here. Maybe the economics of serving quality coffee to a large number of guests (many of whom might not appreciate it), simply doesn’t make sense - but given they’d managed to serve up a superb selection of pastries at breakfast every day, a high-calibre Americano, Cappuccino or Espresso wouldn’t have gone amiss. Finally, while our room was beautifully designed, comfortable and stylish, the shower was small and lacked strong water pressure - perhaps the one small casualty of the hotel’s admirable and genuine eco credentials. That said, those are genuine nitpicks and I’d come back to the Datai in a heartbeat. My priorities are food, service and relaxation at a place like this, and the Datai hit it out of the park for all three. Service - 9/10. Really great service and the kind of service I particularly like which is relatively low-key. I got the sense though that they’re good at recognising what their specific guests like and adapting to that. Property - 10/10. Stunning throughout. Room - 8/10. Stylish, quality materials throughout and a relaxing balcony. The shower as I mentioned was a minor downside. Food - 9/10. Almost everything was delicious. Particular highlights for me were the breakfast - tons of fresh fruit, delicious pastries, freshly made Roti Canai with curry - and the Duck curry I ate at Malay restaurant Gulai House. But you can’t go wrong at the Thai pavilion either. Personally I’d avoid the Beach grill as the flavours just aren’t as intense by comparison, but if you’re less into spice then it might come as a welcome respite. The hotel also offers a large programme of different food experiences outside of the “standard” restaurant menus. Extras & activities - 8/10. I took part in two paid activities - a morning Birdwatching walk through the neighbouring golf course, and the aforementioned trek to Crystal Creek - and both were well worth the cost. The hotel also has numerous free offerings and I enjoyed morning Yoga and complementary Padel and Tennis coaching, but the night-time nature walk around the hotel grounds was a disappointment - the group was too large and the buggies driving around too numerous to see much of anything. I suspect an equivalent paid excursion where you go deeper into the forest would yield better results.

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