For Christmas 2018 Mr A and I returned to The Datai, on the island of Langkawi, for our third visit. (previous review is here).  The Datai closed for a full year’s refurbishment between September 2017 and ’18, so we were keen to see what changes had been made.  But Datai aficionados (and there are many; it seemed that most of our fellow guests were ‘returnees’) can rest assured; it is at once totally familiar, but undeniably fresher!

For this stay we had chosen a Canopy Premium Room, with a request that it be in the West Wing, because we enjoy the views of the adult pool from that side (top photo).  Our request fulfilled, Room 118 was on the top floor, which they call the 1st Floor, because it’s the same level as Reception. Views are just as good from the 2nd floor, below, which is on the same level as The Dining Room.

The room has the same spacious dimensions as before the refurb, but inside had been pleasantly “refreshed”.  Bathrooms have been refurbished and repainted, to make a much brighter and more open feeling. There’s a new freestanding bathtub, new glass doors to the WC and shower, and flooring is mostly wood, but with brushed marble tiles around the bath, shower and toilet, which are less slippery than in the past.  Looking from the huge comfy bed towards the French windows, there’s a new writing desk to the right and the mini-bar and coffee machine to the left. Soft drinks, beer and some snacks are complimentary.  In between is a 2-sofa seating area, low level table with fresh fruit, and the exit to the balcony, which has its own day bed.

From the balcony each morning we watched cute Dusky Langurs waking up in the tall trees behind the pool, giant squirrels looking for somewhere to sleep, pied hornbills feeding on seasonal fruiting trees, and numerous swifts darting about looking for an insect breakfast, and occasionally skimming the pool for a drink.  All this as the sun rose from behind 550-million year old mountains. Just wonderful.

As per usual, The Datai’s incredible breakfast is served in The Dining Room, offering indoor and outdoor terrace seating, perhaps overlooking the pool. The room has had a redesign, so now the myriad buffet items are easier to find, and open chef stations offer freshly squeezed juices, pancakes and waffles, or Malaysian dishes. A la carte dishes are also available to order; eggs Benedict were good in spite of the beef ‘bacon’ and a few days I went off menu and got pan-fried foie gras.  This is, by a significant margin, the best breakfast offering I’ve had anywhere! 10/10

The Dining Room also serves lunch and dinner, with the latter being a very fine ‘fine dining’ experience.  Across from the pool and jutting out into the forest on 30m stilts is The Pavilion, which serves very tasty Thai food most evenings. Tucked into the forest is The Gulai House which tenders traditional Malay and also Indian cuisine. Finally (not counting Room Service) is the Beach Club, down by the sea, where you can breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. In the evening the Beach Club often puts on excellent themed buffet events  (we went there on Christmas Eve), and the cooling ocean breezes are welcome.  FYI dinner in the Dining Room is superb, but it’s significantly more costly than the other restaurants.

Every day we took a light lunch at The Beach Bar, where we sat at the counter and chatted with the great team of staff and some of our fellow guests.  The friendly and relaxed vibe all around is one of the best things about The Datai: every member of staff smiles and greets you, and always says “you’re welcome” when you thank them for something.  Even the gardeners wish you “good morning” and place their right hand on their heart when you pass them on the way to the beach.  It is such an amazingly warm and friendly place, which I’ve yet to find replicated anywhere else.

Staff aside, the other key feature of The Datai that keeps people coming back for more, is the natural beauty of the location. Every day we walked down the hillside from the main hotel site, first on steps, then on a walkway through the butterfly garden, across an elevated wooden walkway (past the spa) and onto the Beach Bar, where we were taken to our sun loungers on the powder-white crescent of Datai Bay, and given fresh towels and iced water. For me, it’s the most beautiful stroll through tropical forest, and for National Geographic it’s one of the ten best beaches in the world.

There are only two hotels on Datai Bay, so it never gets remotely crowded and there are lots of quiet spots to plant your sun loungers on.  What I really love about the beach is that it faces roughly North, so the littoral forests fringing the bay always offer up some shade, if you’re looking for it.

As you lounge on or next to the beach a team of Datai staff busy themselves making sure you have everything you need, be it more water, ice, food or drinks, as well as complimentary refreshing mist sprays on your face, your sunglasses cleaned, fresh fruits in the mornings, ice cream early afternoon, and a cocktail of the day shot, later in the afternoon.  For anyone who, like me, is easily bored by sunbathing, there’s plenty to do to make the most of this beautiful location.  Every day we walk along the sand to the far left of the bay, where the Datai River enters the sea. The river acts as a nursery for fish fry, macaques take shade in the mangroves, before venturing onto the sands at low tide to look for clams, kingfishers look for their next meal – it’s also where you might be lucky enough to see otters playing!

Then there’s snorkelling on the small outcrop of corals, the watersports centre and the brand new gym next to it.  We also popped along to the fabulous new Nature Centre to put our names down for some of the myriad activities planned by resident naturalist Irshad Mubarak and his team, and also sat in on a lecture by one of the UK’s leading entomologists.  And then there’s the Spa….

The Spa is a small collection of treatment villas set in the midst of the forest, with spurs of the Datai River trickling by. One side of the villas is open to the outside and you can choose to have soft music playing, or, like I did, just listen to the stream and the forest as you relax into your sensuous treatment.  This is the most naturally beautiful and calming hotel spa I’ve ever seen. 10/10 I noted though that in this Christmas ‘peak season’, bookings had to be made at least 3 days in advance to have any chance of a session.

Finally, I must mention the medical support on hand at the hotel. It’s not something you normally read about in brochures or reviews, but as we get older it’s good to feel reassured that expert and friendly help is always at hand, when you’re far from home; be it for an overheating baby, a blister on a teenager’s foot, or something a little more serious.  Nurse Kala is an absolute wonder; she has great experience and knowledge as well as the sweetest, most charming bedside manner.

I am therefor delighted to report that Mr A and I , once again, had a fantastic holiday at The Datai. Its largely subtle changes have triumphantly nurtured its sensational natural tropical location, so there is still abundant wildlife to marvel at, and even more expert guidance in learning about the natural wonders here.  There have been some staff changes after the 12 month closure, but new entrants are being guided by all the ‘old hands’ to maintain the incredible levels of warmth and service, which have defined this hotel for years.

The Datai is simply the best hotel, and I’m already booking our next trip to our Langkawi “home” (as the team keep calling it).  10/10

PS two species of monkey make their home in the Datai’s grounds.  On our last day Mr A forgot to lock our balcony doors when we went to breakfast. We got back to find that a cheeky macaque had got into our room, but luckily all he’d been interested in were our bananas and he left all our belongings alone!