Perhentian Island Resort

I want to be fair. Perhaps this would have been a wonderful experience for a young family, if they are OK with very “rustic” accommodations. We are not that young family. We paid $800 ringgit per night for what we believed would be at least an adequate resort (in Kuala Lumpur, that same $800 would have more than paid for a suite in a 5-star hotel). Our expectations were not super high, since we understood that we were paying for an experience on a private island. Just clean and comfortable. Unfortunately, we got neither. Our room, #208 had a broken front door that only opened 1/3 of the way, scraping across the floor and then stopping. There were deep gouges and white paint all over the floor, which let us know this issue is ongoing. At first glance, the room looked clean (and bedding was fresh), but on further inspection we could see that only surface cleaning has ever been done. The doors were filthy, mold stains on walls, absolute filth in the pipes and shower drain and air conditioning filters. Dirty, streaked mirrors. Also, the king size bed was hard as a rock - extremely uncomfortable with a poor quality mattress. We paid an extra $100 ringgit for an “extra bed” which was just a cot - a plastic mattress. Food at PIR is bad and obscenely expensive. Piles of trash behind convenience stores and coffee shops. And overall, a deeply unpleasant sewage smell in our room and permeating the island. The good: beach is absolutely lovely. Water is crystal clear, sand is white. No trash on the beach (they hide trash behind businesses, but it’s obvious as it stinks and attracts rodents). It was a wonderful experience to swim with colorful tropical fish. That was the one and only thing I appreciated about this overpriced and horrifically maintained island.

Beautiful resort with great potential, but service needs improvement – 7.5/10 We spent a week at this Marriott resort and overall had a very enjoyable stay. The property is beautiful, our accommodation was extremely comfortable, the views were wonderful, and we really appreciated our villa with a private pool. Breakfast was definitely one of the highlights — excellent variety and quality, especially the freshly! A special mention must go to Zafirah, our Villa Host, who was absolutely wonderful: kind, attentive, always available and genuinely interested in making our stay special. We also really appreciated the lovely touches for our wedding anniversary. That said, for a 5-star Marriott resort at this price level, there are some areas that really need improvement. The biggest issue for us was the restaurant service. Although the staff were always friendly, service was consistently very slow and dishes for the same table rarely arrived together. On several occasions, one of us had almost finished eating before the other person’s meal arrived. There were also some surprising operational issues. The beach bar was out of basic items, including water, for several days, which is difficult to understand at a 5-star tropical resort. The management of sunbeds around the pool also needs attention. Guests reserve them early with towels and belongings and sometimes do not appear until hours later. We were told there is a 15–20 minute policy for unattended sunbeds, but unfortunately we never saw it being enforced. Finally, the arrival experience could be much more polished. First impressions matter, and the transfer/check-in process did not feel particularly premium or aligned with what we expected from a resort of this category. Overall, we would rate our experience 7.5/10. There is a lot to love here: beautiful surroundings, excellent accommodation, a great breakfast and some genuinely lovely staff. However, at this price point, the consistency of the service needs to match the quality of the resort itself. With better restaurant coordination, attention to basic stock management, enforcement of pool policies and a more refined arrival experience, this could very easily become a 9/10 resort.

Hotel DA NIGHTMARE. The tour operator had called us Spartan... it's simply a nightmare!!!! Old, dilapidated housing with cracks on the walls, holes and floors raised, dirty and neglected. The shower without a plate, so the bathroom floods, very weak jet that takes hours to rinse. Smurf washbasin that if it suits you and does not leak water from the siphon, smells like sewer in an exaggerated way every time you use it.Insects everywhere!!! Sheets and towels LERCI, refrigerator leaking water. Broken safe, a socket in the whole room including the bathroom. The only positive note is the sea, but it is a meager consolation!!!! Too bad!!! They have a treasure in their hands and can not handle it!!!