The Datai Langkawi

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️”

Loved every minute of our stay at the Datai. Amazing food & staff. Fantastic room overlooking the adult pool & rainforest. Especially enjoyed the Ariel yoga with Shinny & flow yoga with Barbara

“Amazing location but didn’t quite live up to reputation”

The Datai is undeniably beautifully set. We enjoyed our stay and I have rated it as average vis a vis value for money when compared to other luxury resorts in SE Asia. Staff were by and large super friendly and helpful but elements of service were haphazard at best - breakfast in particular was a… more

The Datai is undeniably beautifully set. We enjoyed our stay and I have rated it as average vis a vis value for money when compared to other luxury resorts in SE Asia. Staff were by and large super friendly and helpful but elements of service were haphazard at best - breakfast in particular was a Russian roulette and one day we tried to get a coffee for over half an hour. The waiter was apologetic and said he ended up making it himself….hats off to him for the initiative but it wasn’t the greatest. There is a new barista counter so it would be great to see high quality coffee coming out of it. We arrived on a Thursday lunchtime. Later that day we were walking back to our room after an afternoon on the beach to see crowds of people at a manager’s cocktail party. A member of staff asked us if we were planning on attending - it looked like the entire resort was there but we never received an invitation. We actually asked the person who checked us in if this was an oversight to which he said it was selective invitation which to us seemed totally odd (and off putting tbh). Dinner was disappointing apart from at the Thai restaurant where staff seemed to have their act together. The beach area is very nice - on the days we were there we observed poolside staff setting out loungers on the beach with towels (so they appeared taken) at set up around 8:30/9am and most days those loungers did not get sat on a single time which was frustrating when looking for a lounger. We even asked one day and was told they were being used (when they clearly were not). It’s disappointing to see this happening especially at a property of this type. We had a couples massage which was nice enough. After the treatment we were told to sit in the relaxation area and have a refreshment and relax…in principle this sounds lovely but the therapists proceeded to clean the room and chat directly behind us whilst we relaxed - it was odd! Overall we had a nice stay but would have e come back - questionable…nothing was terrible but nothing was standout when you consider the cost of staying there. I had expected to receive a post stay questionnaire to provide constructive feedback but nothing was sent to me.

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“Overpriced. Over-rated. Underwhelming”

Poor food lets the whole place down. Except for the Thai food in Pavilion, we had a poor to mediocre dining experience in Lobby, dining room and breakfast. It's just not worth this kind of money. Perhaps surviving off long-standing reputation. Nature lover into intermittent fasting. Go for it. Don'… more

Poor food lets the whole place down. Except for the Thai food in Pavilion, we had a poor to mediocre dining experience in Lobby, dining room and breakfast. It's just not worth this kind of money. Perhaps surviving off long-standing reputation. Nature lover into intermittent fasting. Go for it. Don't bother snorkeling as we did the sea is unclear most days (as told afterwards by their staff). Breakfast seating can be confusing and dealing with multiple wait-staff a nightmare. One even took away my just-brewed handcarried UK English Breakfast tea that i had just made whilst I was at the buffet. Poor.

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“Disappointing”

It rained every day. Nothing the hotel can do about that. But there is very little to do if it's raining. Beach, pool, rainforest tours, golf, tennis - all cancelled or unappealing. Spa and gym ok, but there's a limit to how much time you can spend doing those things. A wealthy guy was hosting a 30… more

It rained every day. Nothing the hotel can do about that. But there is very little to do if it's raining. Beach, pool, rainforest tours, golf, tennis - all cancelled or unappealing. Spa and gym ok, but there's a limit to how much time you can spend doing those things. A wealthy guy was hosting a 30th birthday party at the hotel for the first two days we were there. First night, the Thai restaurant was closed and the revellers partied by the pool into the early hours of the morning. We all got to listen to them having fun... On the second afternoon we were asked to move away from the pool area around 4pm so the birthday 'nightclub' sound and lighting system could be set up. By 5pm the party construction was in full swing and it was no longer possible to stay at the pool bar. I am sure the birthday party guests had a great time all night long, but the other hotel guests were relegated to second class citizens. At no point during those two days did hotel management apologise for the disturbance or lack of access to hotel facilities. Food at the pool restaurant was very poor, as was food at the pool bar. The Thai restaurant was lovely, as was the Malaysian restaurant - where the staff were amazing. Breakfast was wonderful. We had a pool villa in the forest - really nice and only a shame that the bad weather meant we couldn't make the most of it. One annoyance was the TV system, which is terrible (it rained so much we attempted to watch a couple of movies but gave up). Generally, all the staff are lovely and attentive and the setting is beautiful. But it's a long way to go and a lot of money for a mediocre experience and a seeming lack of care from the hotel manager. We checked out two days early - no one asked why. We provided feedback as requested (the usual post-stay survey email) but never had a response.

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