We stayed here for 4 nights recently in a deluxe villa.

Things did not get off on the right foot as when we arrived at the airport as I had organised transfers but no one was waiting for us. When I rang the hotel, they claimed that they had not received any transfer information. However, I checked my emails later and I had sent it to them and they had acknowledged. Anyway, it was a simple enough mistake so I decided to let it go. They explained how to get to the ferry pier which was easy enough.

Arriving at the pier, we were able to get on a boat straight away (although it took a while for the boat to start!).
The resort, I have to say, is stunning. It's just clear green waters filled with tropical fish and little treehouse villas.....I was very excited to be there. We were met by Tomas (the general manager) who was very nice and accommodating.

The room was ok….only ok.
I was shocked to find out that the resort was only 7 years old as it really felt tired. And for me, this is where the problems start. Bunga Raya is playing in the 5* market, but isn't a 5* resort.

Cons:
• The bathrooms are not air conditioned. So you have to keep the door between the room and bathroom closed. It makes the bathroom a bit hot and really smelly unfortunately. It just didn't feel that clean or luxurious.
• The refrigerator was filthy.
• Something black--I'm assuming oil or dirt was leaking from my ceiling fan onto the bed however, the housekeeping staff never changed the duvet cover.
• We stayed in a 5* resort in Vietnam last year and included in the amenities were mosquito lotions. The Bunga Raya has serious mosquito and sand fly issues. Even though we brought our own repellents with us, we ran out as we were constantly applying them. And there was unfortunately no shop at the resort.
• People put towels out and disappeared...It was virtually impossible to get a sunbed in the shade after 10am. A real issue if you have children.
• Cocktails/drinks at the bar took 20 minutes or more…only one person making them.
• The resort ran out of the wines we requested on 2 of the nights and one night they ran out of coke.
• It's clear that the resort has operational challenges and some supply issues.
• The staff were super friendly but just lacking on the service side.
• Ziplining was very pricey.
• If you need wi-fi, this isn’t the place for you.

On the plus side:
• Snorkeling was great fun. The sea was very clear when we visited.
• The food, although expensive, was delicious!
• Breakfasts were great--from a menu or buffet.
• The general manager seems very committed to addressing issues and really improving the levels of service.

Having stayed at many other LVX Preferred Collection hotels and resorts, we had high expectations for the Bunga Raya. It could be an exceptional place. We also stayed in the Gayana Eco which I have also written a review of. In both cases, there was a feeling that the owners of the both resorts are just not investing the necessary money back into the resorts. It is an expensive holiday, particularly if you are coming from the UK or even further. This is why I can only rate it as average. It has to be aesthetically perfect!

If they don’t address some of the issues I’ve mentioned, they are sure to lose clientele to the Gaya or Shangri La.

Still if you chose to go here, you will probably have a nice time. It is in a lovely jungle setting and a great place to relax.

We stayed here with our 3 children for 5 nights at the end of our holiday in a gorgeous 2 room villa. Good points - lovely rooms; our villa (number 39) was in an excellent location, tucked away but very close to the pool and main restaurant and with wonderful views of the sea. Free soft drinks and beer in the mini bar and bottled water in the room and by the pool plus at dinner. Free sundowner drink in happy hour and then half price. Good food in the two restaurants, including great variety on offer for the included breakfast. Marine conservation centre at the sister hotel was excellent and worth the visit. Lovely snorkelling off the beach plus large pool with very comfortable loungers. Snakes, monkeys and bearded pigs plus lots of hornbills to see. Mainly great staff who were lovely with the children.
And what could have been better... mini bar not reliably restocked and cups and glasses not replaced. We ran out of shampoo and hand towels. We had one night of bad service in the restaurant, among other things, having to ask twice for spoons to eat our soupy curries. Guests were allowed to 'bag' loungers then disappear for hours at end while we struggled to find somewhere to sit... I feel picky as we had a wonderful time but it did work out at more than £500 per night so the details need to be just right.

We visited for 3 nights and really enjoyed our stay. The resort and accommodation was beautiful but the service was very inconsistent. Reception and beach restaurant were fantastic but the service at the cocktail bar and in the Long House restaurant was extremely poor and not what you would expect for such a premium resort. The cocktail bar was so slow. The cocktails were delicious but it was so frustrating waiting for them to arrive. The Long House was disorganised, inefficient and frankly the staff looked like they were completely disinterested in providing any kind of service. One evening after waiting nearly an hour for our main courses, we were told they were going to be another 25 minutes. We were just about to leave having expressed our dissatisfaction and they arrived. Communication was completely lacking. Next morning at breakfast we had to wait a ridiculous length of time for coffee and we actually gave up waiting on two of our four hot breakfasts.

My recommendation would be to use the beach restaurant for dinner (unfortunately this isn't an option at breakfast!).

I am so disappointed to be scoring this as average but It simply came up way short of my expectations!