My family of 4 (2 adults, 2 small kids) stayed at the Nexus Resort for 9 days in early December 2008. We had a fabulous time at a very special resort. I cannot believe some of the disparaging remarks that some previous reviewers have made about the resort as it has everything you could possible expect in a resort. I believe some people just focus on a few niggly problems and neglect to take advantage of everything the resort offers.
Among the many impressive features of the resort is its magnificent setting in between mountainous rainforest and a stunning 6km beach. The lawn, gardens, pools, ponds, beach and architecture of the buildings are all spectacular and combine to make the resort very appealing to the eye. There is abundant nature everywhere and I have never seen so many different types of flora in one place. The grounds resemble a sort of nature park bordering on the sea. The area to the centre and right of the resort as you face the sea is more lively as it has the pools, mini football pitch, badminton nets, massage huts, park benches and even a horse stable. The area to the left in front of the individual villas is much quieter. This is where you can go to get away from all the activity. The entire resort area is very pretty and you must rent a bike and ride it throughout the resort to appreciate the beauty of each section of the resort.
We had a standard Ocean Wing room on the 3rd floor. Checking in and checking out was super quick. The room was fairly large and was luxurious enough for our needs. We liked the two big beds that when put together could accomodate all 4 of us. I also like the TV that has a multitude of cable channels. I got to watch some live Premiership football matches that I would not have been able to watch at home. The bathroom is big and we liked the bath tub and the big shower room. That meant that 2 of us could take a bath in the bathtub while the other two washed off in the shower. The room has free internet but you need to bring your own laptop and plug it in.
Unlike a previous reviewer who found housekeeping to be shabby I have to say that I found it to be superb. On a number of occasions Twice I pressed the "Make up the room" sign at odd hours, not really expecting anyone to make it up. After leaving the room and coming back, it was actually done. In the evenings someone comes and asks if you need anything in the room.I was very impressed.
The pools are great. There are 3 pools, 2 adult pools connected to the pool bar and a shaded kids pool. The water is always warm from morning till night. No problems finding a deck chair by the pool. An attendant comes around every so often to see if guests would like to order food by the pool.
The beach is superb. It probably rivals the best beaches in Phuket. A couple of things I like about the beach: (1) 6 km long, great for long walks, (2) fine powdery sand, no rocks or shells, just a few corals here and there (3) shallow for a very long distance, great for the kids to play in, (4) warm sea water. Its one of the most picturesque beaches I have ever seen. If you go too far away from the Nexus area of the beach, you might get attacked by sandflies, as I was, so be careful. The Nexus area doesn't seem to have a sandfly problem.
I had read before going that the food prices were expensive. In fact, we found the prices to be about the same as eating out where we come from(HK). We were given a 20% discount of the food prices in our package. Overall I did not feel that the resort was overly extortionate in their food prices as I have experienced worse elsewhere. The kids menu is very reasonably priced ($11 ringgit for fish and chips, for example). Nevertheless its a good idea to get your taxi driver to stop off at a supermarket or minimart and stock up on an assortment of snacks and drinks before you get to the Nexus.
Finally I have to mention the Nexie Club, which was very good to our kids. Our kids (ages 4 and 5) wanted to go to the Nexie Club everyday as they could participate in various activies and play with other kids. The Nexis Club has a full days worth of activities for the kids, one every hour, such as fish feeding, batik painting, claypot painting, beads weaving, cartoon movies, etc. You can pay $20 ringgit for all the activities or pay for selected activies only. Its wonderful for families who have kids.
If I have to mention something bad about the Nexus, I would say that it is a big resort and does have lots of guests. This means that it sometimes doesn't feel like you're at a vacation hideaway. The big resort feel is lessened by the extremely friendly staff and by the fact that you can always find a spot to be alone given the vast grounds. Nevertheless it was sometimes hard to avoid the crowds such as at breakfast and during the evenings around the pool area. I think this was made worse by the fact that I went during the high season. Also, I think if you were to stay in the individual villas the resort would seem smaller and more intimate.
On the whole we really enjoyed ourselves at the Nexus and would gladly go back to this slice of heaven on earth.
