Hotel Review: The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi
Our very first vacation of the year, a 3 nights’ staycation at the Ritz-Carlton Langkawi. Almost a year ago, we were at the St Regis Langkawi for my brother’s wedding celebration. This round, we chose to stay at The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi to celebrate my wife’s birthday.
Located in the lovely area of Pantai Kok, The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi enjoys a commanding position with a private beach and one of the most romantic sunset views of the Andaman sea. It is about 15 minutes drive away from Langkawi International Airport and 40 minutes from the main city of Kuah.
The Room
We booked the Rainforest Deluxe Guest Room with Ocean View and was pleasantly surprised to be upgraded to the Rainforest Junior Suite. At 100sqm/1,076sqft, the room was huge with a balcony, living area and separate shower. We were grateful for the complimentary birthday decor and welcome treat.
We stayed at the Dahlia building 8 room 283. It was on the 2nd of 3 floors and it was conveniently located within walking distance to the breakfast area (Langkawi Kitchen). There is a buggy service to transport guests to other areas of the property located further away.
Amongst the amenities in the room we liked were the Nespresso machine, mini chiller, Schott Zwiesel wine glasses, TWG tea bags, two 48inch Smart LED TV (Astro, Netflix and phone mirroring enabled), automatic day and night curtains, oversized bathtub, marble shower area, bluetooth speaker and full-sized shower gel and shampoo bottles.
Dining
The Ritz-Carlton Langkawi has 4 restaurants, but only 3 were operating currently. The Chinese fine dining restaurant Hai Yan was closed during this period. The Beach Grill is an alfresco dining adjoining the beach serving international cuisine and fresh seafood. The Horizon bar & restaurant is an open-air retreat designed exclusively for adults as you savor an intimate ambience, fine wine, handcrafted cocktails and Thai-inspired menus for lunch and dinner.
The Langkawi Kitchen is where breakfast is served and also offers Asian cuisine for dinner. During our stay, we had the Matsirat set menu comprising a 4-course Malay cuisine with complimentary glass of wine priced at RM98 per pax. The food was delicious and it was good value for money. We returned here the next day for the Mahsuri set dinner which was equally good.
Facilities
The Ritz Carlton Langkawi has 2 pools, the common pool is located at The Beach Grill while the adults only pool is at the Horizon Bar. The adults pool has an infinity pool and is the best place to enjoy romantic sunset views.
There are sunscreens provided at the pool area, snacks and fruit infused water are complimentary.
The property’s recreational facilities include tennis court, boats, canoe, hiking trails, snorkeling. The fitness center is open 24/7 at 50% reduced capacity. Others include:
Spa: Open from 11AM to 7PM.
Ritz-Kids: Open from 10AM to 5PM
Beach & Water Activities available from 9AM to 5PM.
Conclusion
Overall it was an amazing getaway. Ritz-Carlton Langkawi is truly a top notch luxury resort, one of the best in Malaysia. If offers breathtaking sunset views of the Andaman sea, plush rooms and second to none service. It can be romantic, peaceful and brings you close to nature.
There are some areas we disliked even though we understand that it is unavoidable.
- The beach was partially closed due to restoration exercise of their Beach Ecosystem starting August 24th till middle of October 2020. Horizon bar and adult pool was closed on Mondays & Tuesdays.
- The breakfast hour was shortened from 11am to 10:30am. They no longer serve Ritz Champagne during breakfast but only Prosecco.
- We were told by the staff that there would be some bites served at the arrival lounge from 12pm to 3pm but it was empty when we visited.
Between Ritz-Carlton and St Regis Langkawi, it is very hard to choose but I liked the following from each hotel. My advice is to experience both.
Ritz-Carlton Langkawi: Uninterrupted sunset views from the pool, adults only infinity pool, larger rooms with oversized bathtub
St Regis Langkawi: Breakfast spread is awesome, butler service, all facilities within the compound, daily champagne sabering
Watch on YouTube
Useful Tip
The hotel has a cancellation policy which allows you to cancel right up to 24 hours prior to arrival without any payment deposit. So after you had secured your booking, I suggest you check the room rates from time to time as it will vary considerably. As I had experience, I booked my room for RM4,278 earlier but the rates dropped to RM3,592 a few weeks later. So I cancelled my earlier reservation and rebooked. Had I not rechecked the price, it would have cost me an extra RM686 for the same room.
