Thank goodness for the smiling, happy, helpful staff! Who are wonderful.
The resort is huge and is well maintained. Beautiful gardens, lobby and corridors all clean.
Luckily we upgraded to the ocean wing where it is quieter. The pool area just for the ocean wing guests was a haven compared to the garden wing.
Our room was a junior suite with an ocean view. The room was massive, with great views (apart from the building work to the left which was going on with some noise when we were on the balcony). The room had everything you need with a free mini bar (no alcohol). BUT it’s sooooooo dated as other reviews have said. Not Shanghai-la standards at all. In fact it was the biggest let down of our 3 week trip. The Tanjung Aru in KK is far superior in standards and rooms. The rooms here need a total refurb and a deep clean to bring them in line with a 5* property.
As guests of the ocean wing we were entitled to choose from having brekkie in the main restaurant or the smaller, more personable Oceano.
Thank god for the Oceano! Breakfast here was a great experience with buffet stations and unlimited a la carte. Nothing was too much trouble for the amazing Suryana/Sue. She remembered our names, favourite coffees, window seat etc etc. she was so kind and helpful and really looked after us. So much so we went back to eat there in the evening, which was amazing!!! Again fantastic service from Sue, wonderful quality food, expertly presented and tasted delicious! She’s such an asset to this hotel.
The Oceano was a god send as the main buffet was chaotic! Too crowded, mediocre food, staff overstretched, tables being taken when we were already there! Dirty plates left, the speciality stations ran out of food! It was awful. In fact we didn’t even finish our meal- it’s not what we expect from a five star resort.
Unfortunately this is the only choice for guests in the ocean wing unless you pay extra to eat in the a la carte restaurants. We didn’t realise- we upgraded and paid the extra mainly for the use of the restaurants in our half board package. Good food and ambience is extremely important to us when on holiday. As a good will gesture the front desk did give us a 150rm each allowance towards the a la carte restaurants, which we were grateful for.
There’s no club lounge, like in the Tanjung Aru, or any extras you’d expect when paying top notch prices. The bars were extremely expensive and ALL the activities eg yoga, bike are all chargeable! Disappointing.
I totally agree with other people that this is an embarrassment for the Shanghai-La group. It needs to be upgraded urgently and exhibit the same standards as the other one in KK (less than hour away!) I can’t believe it is a Shanghai-La!!
Again, thanks to Sue and the hard working staff. With a refurb and if they offered more than just peace and quiet for an expensive upgrade this has the potential to be top notch. It’s such a shame that it lacks value for money.