Come for the amazing ocean and nature views, stay ...

Come for the amazing ocean and nature views, stay for the lovely staff, but go out for food.

We wanted to see a horizon again for a staycation and weren t disappointed: The sea view, but also the foliage and nature around (parrots, hornbills, eagles etc) instantly gave us a feeling of being away. The architecture is wide open yet cozy, the rooms orient towards the view and have all amenities including free sustainable water bottles, the lap pool feels intimate, and the public beach access is great.

The staff deserves particular recognition for not only being professional but also happy, funny and chatty, including to the pool and room staff, gardeners, engineers or waiters, which really gave a feeling of warm hospitality.

The reason I give 4 stars is that for a hotel in the absolute top luxury category we would have expected two things: First, more varied and interesting food and beverage options, with only 1 restaurant and the bar only opening later, one can t get a good coffee and sweets or just fruit for instance. The room service is not up to standard with long wait times and especially local food seems made for a different market (e.g. Laksa with no spice).

Second, while the lap pool and public beach are great, the main pool is combined with the kids pool, which tends to be taken over as adventure pool with jumping, yelling, music and swimming platforms. Birthday parties with balloons take over the only small restaurant. The architecture of the hotel is designed for tranquility and nature, therefore it doesn t have a place to escape - given the first point with no bar and the restaurant at the pool, the only chance is to go out and either eat out, or bring back something to eat in the room while the public spaces are closed or taken over by kids parties. If you look for a luxury experience for adventure kids that s great, but it s not a hotel for kids or adults who prefer peace sadly.