Our trip to Malaysia was a fun-filled holiday. Each day was packed with sights to see, tours to take and streets to be strolled on. We knew that each day would be like this before we left home, so we specifically planned for a couple of days at the beach. A couple of days for sore muscles to recover, alarm clocks to rest and for our shoes to take a respite. However, the beach portion of our trip didn’t live up to our expectations.
After our fun-filled morning of seeing the orangutans (see previous post), we had lunch and then took a very long taxi ride to Demai Beach Resort. This resort was supposed to be a paradise of relaxation, but, it was a bit of a disappointment. It was in desperate need of moderation. The hair dryer below was a perfect example of this.
That's one old hair dryer.
The rest of the room was just as old. On the positive side, the rooms were fairly large and gave a great view of the ocean and the nearby forested hills.
The view from our balcony
The resort is very large. So large that you really need transportation to get around or even to get to the lobby. Luckily, the resort had a shuttle service that was fast and the drivers were very friendly. Once, we had settled into our room, we decided to explore the resort grounds and the beach. The tide on the beach was pretty far out when we walked on it. The sand was covered in small crabs and their handiwork of tunnels.
Can you spot the little guy?
The walk on the beach and the shuttle bus rides made us hungry. We decided to try one of the three restaurants at the resort. The one closest to the ocean was a seafood restaurant called Fisherman’s Catch. The restaurant boasted fresh seafood. Our meal was less than memorable and not worth the money we shelled out (no pun intended) for it. What I do remember the most about the restaurant was the cat that walked around the restaurant, under our table and through our legs. I’m not a huge fan of cats and I prefer not to have them in a restaurant where I am eating. It just doesn’t give you great mental images of the cleanliness of the kitchen. The view from our table did help, at times, to take our attention away from the creature lurking between our feet.
The view from our table.
The resort has a ton of potential and it looks like it must have been a great place to stay at one time. I still believe that with some renovations and an upgrade into the 21st century, it can be an awesome place for rest and relaxation. It just didn’t impress us.
We thought it was important to take a mini vacation within our vacation to actually rest. A short beach trip almost guarantees a restful experience. In this case though, it didn’t. We realized that night that we wouldn’t be spending the next day laying on the beach. We knew we had better get out and explore, so we did. Stay tuned!
Have you ever stayed at a hotel that didn’t live up to your expectations? Tell me about it…
See the beach photos here.