weekend in Pangkor

Edwin and I spent last weekend in Pangkor Island and the lovely Pangkor Island Beach Resort (former Pan-Pac). It was a much needed break and for once, I had almost no complains about the entire place.

We placed our booking with the official hotel website because that offered the best deal. Our Ocean Wing room was lovely and very clean.

The bed was soft but firm and the sheets were spotless. The bathroom which had separate bathtub and shower cubicle was also huge and spick and span with plenty of fresh towels.

Sitting on the daybed in the above picture offers you this magnificent view of the well-manicured gardens surrounding the pool and the beach and ocean beyond. It was lovely to just sit and hear the ocean.

This picture isn't very clear because it was drizzling slightly when I took it on Saturday morning.

We had our meals at the Hornbill Restaurant which is adjacent to the pool and offers stunning (when it's not too cloudy) sunset views at dinner time.

The food was palatable enough with good variety. I do think it is overpriced so it's better to pre-pay (We paid RM80nett per person, per day for buffet breakfast and dinner) for it when placing your hotel booking. Walk-ins would be charged RM65++ per person for International-themed buffet dinner on Friday nights and RM75++ per person for BBQ buffet dinner on Saturday nights.

Hornbill Restaurant is probably named because of the many hornbills that flock to that area. There's a hornbill feeding station where the hotel places plates of fruit during the daytime for the birds to feed on. It's quite an attraction for hotel guests.





We were quite happy to just laze around in the room and in the pool. Thankfully it wasn't too crowded for a weekend.
The private 1.2km beach is clean if you enjoy swimming in salt water. Tucked in a little bay, the waves are not too strong. Lucky for me, hubby is my kind of specie...we enjoy looking at the beach and hearing the waves break on the shore but no thanks to swimming in the sea. Hence the nearest we came to the ocean was just walking around near the beach. Sunday came all too soon and we headed home. I wasn't too sad to leave because I was missed Joseph so much and couldn't help wondering if he was alright all weekend.

For those interested in spending a weekend there...here are some travel info...

The drive from KL to Lumut took us 3 hours. We headed to Shah Alam on the Federal Highway and used the Guthrie Corridor Expressway to reach Kuala Selangor. From there, roadsigns will lead you to Tanjong Karang, Sekinchan, Sabak Bernam, Teluk Intan and on to Lumut. The road is not too bad. Bumpy at some parts and too bad if you get stuck behind a huge lorry. But most parts are 2-lanes so overtaking is not a problem. It's scenic with lots of coconut trees and paddy fields along the way. Total amount of toll paid was RM3.90 each way.

At Lumut, we parked at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung multi-storey covered carpark. It's RM6.90 per 24hours for weekdays and RM10 per 24hours on weekends. What we liked was that the car was not burning hot when we got back and it does look safer (compared to open air private carparks).

We took a private ferry which goes direct to Jetty 2 on Pangkor Island (there are 2 jetties on Pangkor Island). It costs RM16 return per person and took merely 30minutes to reach Pangkor Island. The ferry was large and we sat in air-conditioned comfort. The upper deck has an open-air section for those who like the breeze in their hair. Jetty 2 is mainly for guests of Pangkor Island Beach Resort and Teluk Dalam Resort. The shuttle from the ferry to the hotel is free and takes no more than 3 minutes.

If you can afford it, opt for the Ocean Wing room. The other room categories are Garden Wing (far from beach and supposedly not so nice), Pacific Wing (I think partial seaview) and the villas. The villas are chalets on stilts are just at the ocean edge. It's quite a walk to the lobby/restaurant/pool areas but perfect if you just want to hibernate with lots of privacy.

View of Ocean Wing rooms from pool area.

Pangkor Island Beach Resort is pretty secluded and there are no nearby restaurants/shops so unless you're prepared to take a cab out to town, you've got to eat in the hotel.

We anticipated that drinking water would be expensive so we brought four 1.5L bottles of mineral water. Otherwise you can boil tap water or try being a camel and drink lots of juice at breakfast and plain water from the restaurant at dinner.

All in, we paid exactly RM800 for 3D2N accomodation in an Ocean Wing room with daily buffet breakfast and dinner for 2 pax. I'd say it was worth the money and would definitely do it again if time and finances permit.