Gem Island Resort

Was at this resort for 2 nights on 6 Sept (Tues) to 8 Sept (Thurs) and my review is as follows: 1) Parking at Marang Jetty It is public parking, chargeable at RM6 per night. It is open air and not far from the jetty. Nothing happened to our vehicle so we assume it is safe and secure. 2) Boat Transfer from Marang Jetty to the Resort This is provided by Suria Link Boat Services. The boat is new and safe. Boatman is friendly too. However, they did not help with our luggages. We have to carry ourself to the boat. Boat ride is about 15 minutes from Marang Jetty to the Resort. 3) Resort Surrounding and Check In This is a private resort on a private island. During our stay, they was only 3 other rooms occupied. So, it does felt very quite and relaxing. View from the resort restaurant/check in area is lovely and scenic. Check in was fast. We were attended by Irene. She was quite friendly. However, please note that the resort will not provide any assistance on luggages/bags during arrival or depature. We did not received any. We had to carry all on our own. So, do travel light. 4) Water Villa 22 and 23 Most Villa will have super nice balcony overlooking the sea, so does our villa. Mattress and pillow are ok, if the duvet is thicker will be better. Fan and air conditioning system works well during our stay. Bathroom size is ok but a bit dirty. There was some dirt underneath the empty bucket. Water pressure is also weak. Our balcony roof has 3 missing tiles. As a result, during heavy rain, water will enter from the balcony to our room floor. We had to use the beach toilet to prevent water from flowing into our room. Next day, when we inform the resort, they mentioned that most rooms are of the same condition, so the guy just provided us with extra towels just in case there is heavy rain again. Overall, the villa has super nice view but the room quality is just okok. Maybe it is time to do some refurbishment. 5) Meals We took the full board package with all meals included. All we can say is that the meals quality keep getting more simple and cheaper as the day goes by. It does feel like the resort is cutting cost and our meals does look like budget meal. On our final departure day lunch, we were only served with a plate of nasi goreng cina with 2 tiny pieces of ayam goreng with 2 slices of cucumber and tomatoes. At RM940 per person for 2 nights, we do expect better food selection especially since we are on holiday and this is supposely a 3 star resort. Food taste is also average at most. If the resort is reading this, please improve your food offering as guests coming to your resort are not budget travellers (looking at your resort price). 6) Beach Quality and Snorkelling Experience The sea water is very clear, so the snorkelling experience surrounding the resort is good. We are able to see nemo fishes, giant clams, sea urchin etc. For those opting for a swimming beach, please note that the sandy area of this island is quite limited. They have 3 beaches, but i think the best beach is near the resort jetty area as the other 2 beaches are full with rocks and dead corals, may not be very feet friendly. 7) Small Swimming Pool The pool does look like an infinity pool from far but the peeling paint does make the pool look dirty and uninviting. Hope the resort can do something about this as the pool can be a very nice spot to chill and relax. 8) Internet and Mobile Network Maxis and Digi have very good 4G and network in this island. I think the resort does not provide any free wifi. 9) Electricity Cut Daily There will not be any electricity from 230pm to 530pm daily. 10) Water Quality The drinking water or hot water provided by the resort has the salty after effect taste (this is normal for many island resort in Terengganu). Overall During our stay on a weekday, the resort is very quiet, peaceful and secluded. It is a very good spot to relax especially since the view from the resort restaurant and room balcony is great. If the resort can improve on the food and room, this resort has a lot of potential to compete with Laguna Redang, Sari Pacifica Redang or Summer Bay Lang Tengah.

It was really quick and easy to get over to Gem island. The rooms are simple but all with beautiful views over the sea and you can relax and watch blacktip reef sharks swim by from your balcony! You can hire kayaks and paddle around the island or across to Kapas. The corals around the island are not the best but there are lots of fish and often blacktip reef sharks if you swim across the channel. A perfect spot to chill out for a few days. The food is ok but not amazing. They need to improve their vegetarian options.

As Gem island is just a 15-min boat ride away from Dungun, I wasn't expecting too much but was pleasantly surprised. The corals were decent, especially on the South China Sea-facing coast and we saw branch & staghorn corals, shelf/plate coral, sea anemone and clown fish, boxfish, sea cucumber and sea slugs, sea urchins (ugh!) and too many fishes to name. Another guest told us that she and her friends had spotted a 6-foot black-tipped shark two mornings in a row but we were not so lucky. It was great fun kayakking around Gem island (just 30-40 mins.) and we also kayakked over to Pulau Kapas (just the beach facing Gem Isle) where the corals were sadly mostly bleached but there were very many giant clams with brilliantly coloured 'lip frills'. I counted 87 before I gave up! The largest we saw - which we nicknamed Great-grandfather Clam - was close to 2 feet across. The food at GIR was also quite yummy. The breakfast croissant was light and buttery and the coffee was robust enough. My son particularly liked the Indian style chicken curry for dinner and I found the squid cooked in a savoury-sweet-slightly sour gravy yummy!