Guest Reviews

Maduzi Hotel: "Wonderful Stay"

I had an absolutely wonderful stay at this most friendly hotel. In effect, I stayed here to join the Half Marathon Running event (with the Starting Point at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre). The hotel took note of this special purpose and provided me with such a great upgraded room. Despite wonderful care, staff members refused to take tips. I had lunch with my running mates at this hotel after finishing the running event. The French food was really terrific and did not cost as much as usually expected of a top-quality hotel like this. Million thanks for all the wonderful services. I certainly plan to come back. From Associate Professor Dr. Pinai Nanakorn, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University

SEEDS Restaurant & Lounge: "Friday dinner"

A really exceptional experience - divine location attentive staff and a warm welcome from the proprietors. Each dish was exquisite and was worth the premium prices charged. Atmosphere was also splendid and once the rains end I can imagine the al fresco experience is the best in Yangon as it has a wonderful location on the bank of Inya Lake

THE SAMAR: "A gem in Bustling Siem Reap"

"OVERVIEW Coming here for the Angkor Empire Marathon was my main aim for this trip. Siem Reap has changed alot over the years since I came in 2006. From the only big establishment of Le Meridian Resort, they have many more to offer and also hospitality competition is getting tight. As this time I was travelling with older folks and all ladies, I had to make sure that the hotel is really comfy, especially my own mother is a very very stringent person when it comes to hotel selection. After consultation with her, we finally land on Samar. Just from the pictures, she said she felt that this little resort will be good. I must say I was a bit taken aback from the Poor reviews put forth here, but we nevertheless went ahead. BOOKING I originally booked on Agoda and Booking. com for two rooms as I needed 2 rooms, agoda.com could only provide me one. After the booking, I got in touch with manager Mr Bertrand, he was patient in replying and gave me clear directions on the amount to prepare for the trip. Throughout the e mails, he was patient and assured me that the rooms are well prepared for our trip. I like this French professional way of dealing things. So there we are prepared and packed ready to go. LOCATION To speak the truth, this hotel is not only the usual Pub st or Main National road, so it is of course not easy to find. But this is also its advantage, you can be sure you are out from the tourists infested area ( esp these days there are so many Korean and Chinese big tour buses and groups). If you are however going for those cliche big tours, then do not bother to come here because this place is all about style and niche. The establishment is smaller in real life than in the pictures, but it is definitely tastefully designed. It gives you the feel of a big home rather than a hotel. If I am not wrong there are not more than 10 rooms and one big villa in the whole ground. It is very well kept, very clean, tidy and a lot of plants around. Already we felt relaxed. STAFF and MANAGMENT We were greeted by the staff who was expecting us. The lady in the counter are more conversant in English, so they were the ones to serve us. But generally all the staff can actually speak English, but I guess the Cambodians are shy people, so they hardly speak. We were given a refreshing welcome drink, while I settle the bill with the staff. We had to pay upfront the stay. There is, however, no need to leave a deposit for safeguard. So do prepare cash in hand ready or a valid credit card or hotel voucher for your stay. ROOM We all stayed on the second floor, the first room nearer the lobby is the one with 2 beds ( single) while the last room is one big bed. Both rooms are big and spacious and tastefully furnished with a European Colonial style design, I loved the black and white tiled toilets with nice bath tub. Definitely enough space. We were also given robes and slippers. Umbrellas and Hats were also provided for us as the weather is really hot. All these were free of charge. I must say the bed is really comfy, I had not problem at all snoozing like a pig for the 4 nights, even the aunties in the other room, who are light sleepers mentioned to me the beds are nice. There were choices of hard and soft pillows on the bed. Really comfy comforter and strong working aircon with fan to cool you down after a day in Angkor Wat is good enough a tourist can ask for ! The TV also provided many channels of entertainment in various languages. At the balcony, you can see the swimming pool and afar the vicinity. This is also a place good for chilling out and talking to friends. Although the water pump was not working well at night, we mentioned it to the hotel staff and they quickly got the engineering plumber to get it fixed. So we could get hot soaks after visiting the Angkor Wat. There is no hot water making facilities but you can always get hot water from the kitchen from the staff who are more than willing to serve you. The fridge is cold and the hotel provides 2 bottles of drinking 500ml water. FOOD The food is really good. Although pricey, but hey in Siem Reap everything is in USD, comparatively to Singapore, it is worth it. To begin, first night we had a selection of Khmer Asian Western fusion gourmet with an Italian red. The meats are really tasty paired with the unique Khmer cooking style, the first night was already a plus for us. We could not finish everything but it was really good. For the breakfast, there are no buffet spreads, but we get our daily fruits and fruit juice with coffee and tea. Bread baskets were also given to us with Baguettes, crossaints, choco rolls and toast. Homemade jam was also served. There was even home made yoghurt for us. Daily the residents gets a choice of egg with either bacon or sausage. I really love the sausage, it is home made and good meat, no unhealthy transfat here! We only tried their lunch on the last day and of course, the quality is really not compromised! Very tasty kway teow chicken noodles, Asian yellow noodles with pork bits. Yummay! I think the sweet treats here in the hotel is really good. We absolutely adore the French pastries here, like the pana cotta. SWIMMING POOL One good mention is that the pool is not infested with chlorine like most big establishment does, it does not hurt and dry your skin. The area around the swimming pool is nice to chill and relax. I absolutely love to laze around whole afternoon. WIFI I really hate the WIFI here, cos it was too efficient !! haha and I keep getting messages from work which I had to shut the phone down so that I can really enjoy the rest by the pool. TRANSPORTATION As the hotel is way out from the main road, there is no way to get out unless you walk out pretty far just to get the tuk tuk. I suggest you either get your own transportation and make arrangements with them to ferry you to and fro, or you can get the tuk tuk to come into the hotel via main road. From the pub st to the hotel is about USD4-5 per tuk tuk trip. Although the hotel also provide transportation at a higher price, the quality of the tuk tuk is better too. The hotel staff will not force you to take their tuk tuk, but if you need the service just let them know. SPA Free facial for the ladies ( one time) was good and refreshing, for the guys , they have shaving service which none of us used. But the spa was rather relaxing, we did the massage, although we cancelled last minute for 2 people, the staff also never forced us to pay for any late cancellation. They just smiled. OVERALL I must say the Samar is a place I would go back and also recommend. I was still worried that the staff will be like slow and cannot be bothered. But they are all generically very kind and quiet. They might appear non chalent but actually they are just shy, if you step out and talk to them, they will be more than happy to smile and talk to you, there is no hard selling in this hotel. Staff just let you take your time relax do your things. I love that factor, the last thing for a holiday is to handle hustlers! Thank you Samar team for the wonderful five days four night!! Merci Beaucoup.."

Tugu Bali: "Great place to stay"

"Tugu is comfortable, staff pay a lot of attention to your every need, very baby friendly. Breakfasts were great. Pool was a great respite from the heat (especially as the beach is more of a surfer's paradise). The rooms are very well designed with attention to detail. Every corner has a little, fascinating curio to be discovered. The sound of the beach in the distance is very calming. however, there are a few bars/clubs on the street behind which might have some loud music thumping into the night - you may or may not be perturbed by this. Great bars and restaurants near by and a few metres away from the beach. We'll definitely consider the Tugu for our next stay. Room Tip: all rooms have their own charm"

The Village House: "Best place to stay on the peninsula"

I would echo all the previous reviews. Yes this place is out of the way, and in a completely different spot to the big resorts in Damai. But that is exactly the reason for choosing it, it's very intimate and relaxing, there's no kids around and you feel like you're experiencing something closer to Malaysian culture.

Tugu Lombok: "Authentic Lombok getaway"

The Tugu resort is a magical place, filled with impressive architecture, artwork and relics of the island's past. The buildings are placed in various parts of this sprawling resort, which ensures that it feels quiet and relaxed, even when fully booked. The rooms are incredible: we stayed with a family of 4 (two teenagers) in a two bedroom Swarga villa with 2 outside bathrooms: the rooms cannot be faulted. They have character and individuality and still all modern amenities. The private beach offers some paddling, snorkling and kayak opportunities and obviously the Gili islands are close for an excursion. The only downside to the resort is the restaurant facilities: when we were there in August, only the main restaurant was open and the choice on the menu is limited and the quality is average (this resort needs a separate fine dining option if it is to keep attracting travellers in a gradually more competitive Lombok market), which is why we "eloped" to have dinner in the Lombok Lodge. Staff in the restaurant area is moreover not trained or motivated to the standards required of such an establishment. This being said, the location and rooms trump these improvement areas, which is why we still give it a five star rating.

Tugu Bali: "Romantic 10 year anniversary celebration"

"This was the perfect place to have a night away from our 5 year old to celebrate our 10 year anniversary! We felt like we were a million miles away in the serene setting provided by the hotel. This is a must for any trip to Bali! The cultural night on Thursday adds such a special touch to our evening! "

Misool Eco Resort: "Beautiful, Remote, Charming and Friendly. Just paradise Really"

"If you like scuba diving, peaceful tranquility, a crystal clear turquoise ocean, friendly unpretentious service, beautiful unpolluted pristine beaches and holidays are a priority that you don't mind spending a bit of cash extra on, then Misool would be a great choice. If you have small children, like hectic nightlife or need to work within a tight budget then Misool may not be the place to stay. For the four of us ( we travelled as two couples) it was heaven on earth! We are keeen scuba divers and have dived in many places across the globe but Misool really is the jewel in the crown. We opted for the unlimited dive package which is definitely worth it if you plan to dive a lot which we did. On offer every day are 4 dives - a pre-breakfast dive, post breakfast dive, afternoon dive and dusk/night dive. If that is still not enough you can dive on the house reef any time. Some dive sites are definitely better than others, but that said nearly all dive sights are significantly better than most dives that we have done elsewhere. We were there in February and the visibility was great. We also had a fair bit of rain but that in no way detracted from our holiday. Marfel, our dive guide was excellent and really looked after us. We were in an incredibly remote location with no access to medical facilities if we had had any sort of emergency but felt safe all the time due to the high standards of safety and equipment that we had. The resort itself is so beautiful, words do not really do it justice. Neither do the pictures on the web site. You have to see it for yourself to appreciate it. The service is also excellent. The staff are so friendly and will do anything for you. So are there any downsides? Well yes there a couple.Firstly getting there. It depends where you are travelling from obviously, but I would say that for most tourists it is going to be a real hike. From Dubai (which is one of the most accessible places in the world) it still took us 3 flights and a 5 hour boat journey. On the way there the boat journey wasn't too bad becuase we were the first on the boat and got the air conditioned seats at the front. On the way back we had a few staff members travelling back as well as the guests and we were stuck at the back - very cramped, with no air conditioning which was pretty uncomfortable for a long trip. Secondly, whilst the whole resort is spacious, beautuful and in some ways luxurious it is on a small island miles from anywhere. In lots of ways this is a bonus but it does mean that the air conditioning does not work as well (or sometimes at all) as it would in places where you would pay this amount of money. It may seem incredibly expensive but then you do need to factor in that absolutely everything, including water needs to be imported. Also quite a bit of money (I don't know how much) goes to conservation projects. One final point - I would not recommend the meet and greet service at the airport. It is quite expensive and a total waste of money. We had to wait nearly an hour in sweltering heat on the pavement for our guide to turn up and when he did, he did not seem to provide any added value service at all. We would have been better queing at the check in for 20 minutes ourselves and paying to get into the lounge for a fraction of the price paid. We did alert Misool to this and they are looking in to trying to change providers. Overall, I cannot fault Misool Eco Resort. This was probably the best holiday I have ever had and I would go back to Misool again tomorrow if I could. Thank you to the Misool team for making our stay so special ! "

Tugu Lombok: "Unique, thoughtful service in a stunning location"

"We spent 3 nights in Tugu and were firstly impressed by the size and beauty of the property. The long stretch of private beach and two pools offer a lot of space and comfy sun loungers. The surrounding area and restaurant/ lobby is beautiful - very authentic and often pays tribute to the Hindu religion and times gone by, but is very charming. The service is excellent - they offer a very personal service and give great advice about hotel activities and the surrounding areas. Elly and Henry in reception are brilliant. The menu is extensive and the food was good. Smoothies and cocktails are excellent. We also enjoyed a private yoga class and massage - both were great and reasonably priced. If you are looking for sun, sea, sand, good food, service, activities - then this is the place! "

Cheong Fatt Tze – Blue Mansion: "Vénérable maison"

Tout est raffiné dans cette vénérable et belle maison bleue restaurée dans les règles de l'art avec beaucoup de goût. On se sent comme invité chez une honorable famille Peranakan. Chambre spacieuse, beau parquet de bois noir, meubles anglo-chinois, beaux tissus, patios bleu intense avec belle végétation en pot, petit déjeuner délicieux et copieux, gentillesse du personnel, qui se démène pour vous quand votre voiture n'a plus de batterie.. Un sejour inoubliable...