The Hugest Hotel Room Ever!

Spent three perfectly wonderful days at the Four Seasons Langkawi just last week. If you want space to relax, peace to immerse in your own company, and luxury, this is the place to be. Imagine 48 hectares, and just 92 villas and suites. The resort was literally full when I was there, but I couldn’t have guessed as there was so much peace and quiet all around, all the time!

You always have massive expanses of sandy, shell-tossed beach to yourself, and always gobs of luxe living and smiley staff who seem perfectly happy to pamper you to bits. I’ve so much to write about, I’ve decided its best done in smaller doses over a series of posts.

First up, the rooms. Gosh, what rooms? It was a gobsmackingly colossal villa I was put up at the Four Seasons Langkawi, stretching over 3,000 sq feet for just the built up area alone…that’s bigger than a five room flat, mind you!

Perched right by the beach, the one room villa (above) has the largest bedroom I have ever seen in a hotel, flanked on two sides by full length windows which give you an expansive view of the sea on the front, and your lush garden walkway on the side. You can do cartwheels from end to end of the room without crashing into anything, if you wanted to.

Round the corner from the bedroom is the private spa room with two treatment beds, on to the gargantuan study, and beyond that, what I call the ‘bathroom complex’. This includes a generous ‘basin centre’ (left), a massive Arabia-inspired bathtub that can possibly fit six, and a corridor which leads you to the ‘closet’ easily as large as a condo bedroom, the shower room and finally the toilet, decked out to look like a swanky European living room.

Outside in the wrap-around garden is the outdoor shower, jacuzzi, a huge patio and deck chairs at the end of the garden. Just down a couple of steps and you’re on the beach.

Little wonder, it’s popular with couples. But if you’re coming with kids, the villa is perfect too.  With so much space, my daughter was perfectly contented to read and draw in the room, potter about the garden or dip in the jacuzzi, and head out onto the sand for shells. Younger kids will no doubt spend lots of time building sandcastles right by the villa and you don’t even have to venture beyond the patio to keep an eye on them.

The grounds are really fun to explore. At Villa 16, we were very near the beach. But if you headed to the other end of the resort, it closely hugs a cliff with its bare limestone walls which skirts the cycling path. The greenery is more luxuriant here – more shady than sun and sand; but it’s more dramatic too. Look out for macaques, squirrels, monitor lizards and tree shrews.

Beyond that, the Four Seasons Langkawi offers two pools: a family pool in the middle of the property, and a quiet pool for adults only. A highlight in the latter pool was the eight private cabanas which can be booked in advance, or taken up on a first come first served basis. Because the resort is so large, it loans you bicycles for free to get you around within the hotel, if you don’t want to call for their buggies. (Above, one of the gym staff rounding up some bikes to bring to our room.)

For food, there is Ikan Ikan (right), their ‘fine dining’ Malay restaurant decked out like a traditional Malay house (albeit a very large one) on stilts, the Serai which serves breakfast daily and turns into an Italian restaurant at night, and Kelapa Grill, for the usual beach bites, pasta and pizzas plus local fare. 

While I wasn’t too impressed with food at the Grill, it’s basic beachside fare while you’re sunning by the pool. Dinner at Ikan Ikan was atmospheric. No air condition, but the open plan set up allowed lots of sea breezes into the heavily wood panelled restaurant. Taking recommendations from the waitress, we picked out a rack of lamb, deep friend sea bass, the evening’s favourite, and other dishes like sambal kangkong and curry. The food was decent, with some hits and misses. Halfway through dinner, it began to pour very heavily and the rain did beat in somewhat.  Rather than being an annoyance, it was actually very dramatic and exciting to be in this semi-al fresco setting, staying largely dry and comfortable but hearing the roar of the thunder and rain. Very nice. The only problem was that when it was time to go back to the villa, we had to get a little wet trotting from restaurant to waiting buggy, even with huge gold umbrellas. The buggy was surprisingly dry, but the poor driver was soaked to the skin keeping us comfy. I was really impressed by that level of service.

Speaking of food, the breakfast here is fantastic. It’s a buffet spread with an entire section of healthy pastries, a separate (not so healthy) pastry section, the usual American breakfast dishes, as well as Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Malay options, plus a la minute waffles and omelettes, toasts and a range of fruit juices. Lovely!

The spa (above wutg yoga studio in background right) is a gorgeous getaway within the resort, separated by high walls to keep the intense tranquillity inside. You’ll find a huge reflective pool, three over-water pavilions for quiet reading, and massive spa treatment rooms the size of small bungalows set within their own private garden. Outside, bird cages hang in dramatic rows hiding garden lights, right beside a cool yoga studio where Freddie, the supple instructor, conducts daily morning yoga for beginners. I popped there on my first morning and found a crowded class of over 15 people, including many willing men. The routine was moderately gentle and it worked up a little sweat. Much of it was stretching – including muscles you never knew you had. While it was challenging to some, it felt great after that. My husband and daughter attended too – a little sceptically at first – but they were was so sold on the effects by the time the class was over.

There’s much to do if you’re not into lazing and idling. A surprisingly kid and youth-friendly resort, there are many activities to keep the brood occupied whatever their age, while for the family, you have mangrove and nature tours, cycling to a nearby waterfall, water sports and loads more. (I’ll be writing more short posts on this soon. Bt the way, exterior of Villa 16 on left.)

Only 20 minutes from the airport, the Four Seasons Langkawi is such an easy quality weekend getaway. It’s not cheap but you get treated monstrously well! What really struck me is that whether you are a couple or family, Four Seasons Langkawi manages to give you a really good holiday and caters to guests of all ages incredibly well – even that ungainly in-between preteen age. I think that comes from thinking through their services and offerings very well, and really knowing what your needs are – as a parent, a kid, a tween, even an old person. More stories from this really lovely place coming soon!