When we got here after a stay at the Ritz in KL and in Pangkor Laut resort in Perak and we were a little apprehensive as the hotel pictures showed nothing special.

Must say we were pleasantly surprised. We arrived latish, were whisked to our twinbedded Cahaya Room which .............smelt of smoking, terribly. But the manager that helped us was even more disgusted as we were - it was awful - and we had another room in only 10 minutes. With some extra's: that is service.

The architecture of the Hotel, a kind of circular fortress, is so-so, but the inner garden is beautiful.

The crown of the hotel is the wide and spacy, quiet and luxurious, super beach. The area of lounge stairs, no problem getting two: there are many, is very well attended to. Drinks service is swift and friendly. The seawater is to stay in and die for. So is the view.

A late dinner on the first night was no problem. The next 2 nights we dined at the Rhu which is without fault. Great services, excellent wines.

After checkout the last day we were shown the special room for guest that wait for their planes: nothing left to want, showers, drinks, aircon, etc. Well done!

My husband I stayed here 8 nights in mid June as the last part of our month vacation around Asia.

Package
We opted for the stay and drive package which included car rental for a day and a private BBQ on the beach. We stayed in the sea view room which had two balconies, one facing the sea and one facing the lagoon. The resort is stunning, even after a week. The beach directly faces west which makes for a great sunset. Our only advanced plans during our stay were to be on the beach from 6-8pm to watch the amazing sunsets, a different sunset each night. The only complaint about the room itself was that our sea balcony wasn't very usable because of the birds that overran it. Everywhere at the resort the birds fly right up to you and chirp in your face. cute a first, but after a couple days you just want to eat without a bird trying to steal your food.

Food
Our package included all inclusive meals and drinks (exclusive of alcohol) which includes 24 hour room service and the restaurant dining. This is well worth the money! My favorites were the (fresh) tuna salad with chili sauce and the prawn cakes. There was also great fruit and fruit juices. Some food was available in the restaurants/ only on some menus but I found if you asked room service they would still accommodate.

The Rhu restaurant is supposed to be the nicest restaurant of the three, however I didn't find to be very good. Both of our meals were overcooked and when we arrived at 7pm to an empty restaurant we were told they were too busy for us to have one of the four tables with the best views. Three servers refused to let us sit where we wanted in the empty restaurant, we were also told they they had no control over the seating and that is was done by the booking service. (Although we were not asked where we would like to sit at the booking). I had to go back to room and phone the booking service and ask them if I could sit in the front of the Rhu which they arranged. Further, by the end of our meal 2 hours later the restaurant only had a couple other tables occupied.

Activities
There are plenty of activities if you get bored, I typically like to explore and try different things but honestly the beach and the three pools are so nice I was happy just moving between them most of the week. We were provided a car for one day with our package and drove around the island (easily done in a day). We were inches away from water buffalo which we had to stop the car for them to cross, cute moneys (who eat from the trash bins on the island), roosters and beautiful birds. There is a great waterfall not far from the resort that you can just about stand under. Also, there is the tourist village with a cable car which was a bit too touristy for me but it was good for picking up a straw bag and T shirt. There are independent activities from the hotel on offer and we decided on the scuba diving which was good fun and well worth the money (something like $35 for a 2 hour beginner lesson, lunch, snorkeling for an additional 2 hours and transfers).

Service
I didn't find the service to the standard of an international 5 star hotel although I do believe that it is 5 star service for Malaysia.
All staff say hi as you pass by and are very friendly but at least three times while I was there I was told the system was down so they were able to do something (make a booking, provide the scheduled picnic lunch on time, check out of the hotel within 45 minutes). Also, there is a yoga instructor for classes however not only did she look like she needed instruction, she was giving bad instructions which could be harmful for people with back or neck problems.

The resort is located north of the Island, a place that can only be described as Heaven on Earth.

You get picked up from the Airport and drive 30 minutes to the resort. On arrival you are taken to your room where you are checked in (yes in the room not lobby - great isn't it).

The rooms are more like suites, beautifully decorated, clean spacious with a lovely balcony area. You have a king sized bed, bathroom has a shower room as well as a huge bath tub. You have a TV and DVD player (you can get free DVD rental from the Reading room) and a stereo.

When you walk out onto the beach, it's simply breath-taking - like a perfect postcard. The beach is immaculate as is the service provided.

The Rhu spa is fantastic we had a four hour treatment, which we did as a couple - it was amazing.

The staff are the friendliest I've ever encountered.

You have to see this place to believe it.

It comes as no surprise that my husband and I loved this place.

P.S the island is small and we found that hiring a car was helpful. We booked are car at the airport for 7 days which cost us £52 (what a bargain! you can negotiate with them)

You can't get lost on the island as there aren't many roads.

What can i say - we went to the Tanjung Rhu for our Honeymoon and we loved it. I can honestly say that I could not fault anything. The service, food, rooms, scenery were all fantastic.

Keep it up!!! Will definately return.

One piece of advise definately go all inclusive , great value for money and the food is beautiful.

To all the staff in the Tanjung Rhu - thanks for fantastic holiday and we hope to see you soon.