The Aseania has seen better days, of that there is no doubt. Paint, trim, cement work all need a certain degree of attention. Another case of lax maintenance and refurbishment policies. It's really a pity, because to see this Pink Palace at night with the fanciful features of its Mediterranean themed architecture lit up is really quite impressive. I'm sure it was amongst the best on Langkawi when it was first constructed.

The property is nestled on 8 acres at the foot of a wooded hill. The impressive pool is truly the property's best feature. At over 154 metres in length, it claims to be the longest in Malaysia. It morphs into 4 uniquely differing designs: flowing river, wave pool, kiddie pool with water slide and a quieter area geared towards adults complete with poolside bar and its own waterslide. The pool was inviting, and my wife and I enjoyed lazing on the poolside loungers when we didn't wish to swim at nearby Cenang beach. On occasion we would spot a gang of macaques playing in the nearby trees.

Our superior (regular) poolside room was very simple in both design and choice of furnishings. The high ceiling, light coloured ceramic floor tiles and white walls made the average size room appear larger. There was a little carpeted sitting area situated in the front corner of the room that included a small settee, floor lamp and coffee table. An empty fridge as well as a hot water kettle were kept in a cabinet beneath the television set. Patio doors led out to a tiny private terrace that only just fit the plastic table and two chairs provided.

The weakest part of the room design was the tiny bathroom. I would have happily sacrificed a few spare metres of bedroom to make it a bit more roomy. A small sink with only a cold water faucet was squeezed in next to the toilet on one wall with the tiled shower stall directly opposite. The bathroom wall tiles were in good shape but the floor tiles were quite porous and had stains and ground in dirt that scrubbing could eradicate. There was some mould on the grout above the sink that was quite off putting.

During our stay, my wife and I dined exclusively at the hotel's food and beverage outlets. Breakfasts were buffet style and consisted of cooked-to-order eggs, varied rice and noodle dishes, meat or sausage, bread or corn puddings, pancakes, some fruit and a small sampling of bread and danish pastry as well as the usual assortment of fruit drinks and beverages. I was perfectly happy with the spread, but some complained that variety and quality has declined over the years.

For dinner, we ate our meals at the hotel's Rempah Ratus Malay Restaurant. The dinner buffet was so inexpensive at 20 MYR (tax & service included) that the nearby restaurants were usually pretty deserted at what are usually peak dinner times. The food was mainly Malay with a few Thai and Chinese dishes on offer. The soups were always excellent, and the choice of prepared salads, meat & fish dishes were always more than satisfactory. Shrimps were very large, but often a bit mealy. Desserts were typical Malay, so not much in fancy cakes or pastries, but the fresh fruit and custards were fine. Wine & beer were available by the glass at 8 MYR and 5 MYR respectively. You can also dine á la carte if buffets aren't your thing. Entrée started at about 8 MYR. There was an entertaining cultural dance show on a couple of the nights, and the venue was sold out for 3 of the 4 nights we dined there. Staff were most accomodating, efficient and friendly. They even managed to fit us in on one occasion when we showed up without any reservations and let my wife sneak some different food choices from a closed catered affair.

Overall, I would rate the hotel a 3* with the room garnering only a 2*, but the extremely low price we paid (90 MYR incl. breakfast, taxes & fees) is a mitigating factor that must be considered, especially when that same 90 MYR doesn't even buy 2 breakfasts at the Sheraton Langkawi Resort. Throughout our stay housekeeping kept our room very clean and provided fresh bed linens daily. We could have used more towels, as only 2 are provided, but we never asked. Pool towels were always available. We never experienced a shortage of hot water and the A/C was the coldest we've had in any SEA hotel. TV choices were somewhat limited, but we didn't travel to Langkawi to watch old movies or television reruns. There are deluxe rooms and apartments situated in two separate buildings at an opposite end of the property (some of which are part of a time share scheme). I didn't see them first hand, but photos in the lobby indicated that they were of similar style but larger. A big plus was the proximity of the beach, which we both found quite clean and uncrowded in spite of being there during the busy time of Hari Raya and Deepavali. The lure of a nearby duty free shop was not without its appeal and we happily stocked up on booze, chocolates and assorted apparel.

Typical prices:
1 ltr Dewars Scotch Whiskey 33 MYR (compared with 44 MYR at the airport duty free shop)
750 ml Bollinger Special Cuvée Champagne 119 MYR (148 MYR airport)
325 ml can Tiger or Carlsberg beer 1.60 MYR
carton of Marlboro cigarettes 42 MYR (44 MYR airport)

Fixed price taxi fare to the airport 16 MYR
Broadband internet (off property) 5 MYR per hour
Car rental from 60 MYR per day
Typical restaurant entrée 8-15 MYR (dependant on portion size S-M-L)

I was disappointed with the service level at Aseania. Beach towels were not given until I complained to the front office manager. Reason given was there are not enough towels due to full occupancy. Towels are given for pool use only despite Aseania being a “beach” resort. During breakfast, simple request at the fried egg counter for scrambled egg was ignored. Reason being, they only serve fried egg that morning. Furthermore, it seems only staff at front office have been trained to smile and be friendly. Other than the above, the general maintenance of the hotel premise is bad. Only one lift is working. The air-conditioner was not working properly despite being “serviced”. I will definitely not stay at Aseania again for my next visit.

Just got back from lankawi stayed there for 6 nights at The Aseania Resort, or should I call it the Pink Palace as refered to by many. Indeed a fine hotel though not exactly on the beach but a stone,s throw away had a lot to offer, A lovely pool,great staff the food is good especially the chinese eve dinner was great value for money with the live music, entertainment by local cultural artists,large variety of chinese goodies to eat. Amust to see is the cultural show in the restaurant during dinner.The resort is very close to the underwaterworld and the duty free store,suvenior market.
Dont miss the cable car rides, island hopping etc there is a lot to do in lankawi.I wonder what people were talking about Tsunami affecting lankawi. Lankawi is rocking folks and its one safe holiday destination. My wife Chris and me had a great holiday there and would recommend it to any one.
Steve & Chris..

This is our first time visiting Pulau Langkawi. We asked Mayflower ACME Tour S/B(Langkawi) to help us booked Langkawi Village Resort but it was fully booked, so the suggested Aseania Hotel. We stay there from 14/12/2004 to 17/12/2004. This hotel is great and it look like a palace viewing from a distance. The staff here are friendly and helpful. Being a first time visitor, I have no idea where to order a birthday cake for my husband's 50th Birthday which fall on the 16/12/2004. I check in the hotel at about 4pm and the next day we were on a tour to Pulau Payar so with such a short time I asked one of the receptionist to help me order. On the 16/12/2004 morning as we had our buffet breakfast, one of the Hotel waitress brought the Birthday cake with lighted candle to our table for my Husband. I appreciate the helpfulness of the Hotel staff and it will always be a memories to us for what they had done.
My children love the hotel swimming pool. We check out on 17/12/2004 and check in City Bayview until 21/12/2004. We visited a lot of the interesting place and we are glad that we safely return home to Kuching before the Tsunami strike.