Wisana Village — Attraction in Pulau Redang

Unfortunately our 3-nights stay at Wisana Village has not met our expectations at all.

It was our honeymoon trip. We were really looking forward to it as we read so many excellent reviews on both Google and Tripadvisor, but it was not a “paradise” stay we expected.

What was good: The beach The private beach is amazing, it is a blue pool-like water, white sand. Staff keeps it well-maintained. Snorkeling trip It was included in the price. The snorkeling trip was around half a day and included 3 stops. We swam with sea turtles, saw lots of colorful reef fishes and plenty of sharks. Reception lady She was very friendly and professional, and even went to get me some local remedy against the sand flies bites.

What was not good: Price It is rather expensive compared to other island resorts. We had a promo rate because of the low season and yet it was 2700 RM for 3 nights (~560 euro). Chalet We opted for a Delux chalet but there was nothing ‘delux’ about it. It is old and worn-out, especially the bathroom with rusty shower. After the check-in we discovered the colony of ants living under a toilet rim and it took a day to get rid of them. The AC was not on when we entered and the room smelled like sweat. Food There are so many amazing reviews about the food at Wisana but compared to other (cheaper) hotels we stayed it was average. They local dishes were goo but the European ones definitely not. Plus they mostly serve oranges and apples instead of delicious exotic local fruits. Water taxi is overpriced If you get bored you want to go to a Long beach like we did. It is 10 min boat ride if not less. The hotel can arrange it but they charge you 150 RM for a round trip, while normal price is 60 RM max for 2 people. No cleaning In 3 days no one cleaned our room which is a bit strange. I had to go myself to ask for fresh towel, more toilet paper etc. Nothing to do Some people go to Wisana exactly for that but we were honestly so bored. We could not stay on the beach all day, as there is zero shade. There are no umbrellas and no palms you can hide under. The complementary hiking trip was can celled, as it was raining a bit during the day (this also was not nice as they told us only when we were ready to depart). We were looking forward to night snorkeling that they mention on the website but upon arrival they told us it is not possible due to Ramadan. Sand flies You need to use repellent, also during the day. I had few nasty bites on my legs that got swollen and very itchy.

Summary. If we knew all the above upfront we would not go to Wisana but to a Long beach. It is a beautiful huge beach with lots of things to do, lovely cocktail bars (no alcohol in Wisana) and lots of food options.

I hope our review will not offend those who find Wisana amazing but will give a more critical perspective and help to manage expectations for...

Overall we had a good stay at Wisana, it was nice to get away from hustle & bustle, be on a pristine beach where you barely see anyone else most of the time and the lack of connectivity actually meant our kids spent time playing basic card games & chatting with us (when we’re not having fun swimming/snorkeling/playing in the water). I like that it didn’t feel commercial. Yes it was pricey, but I like to think the cost goes to supporting one of if not the only locally owned businesses in the area and to employ the local staff who seemed like they also had time to enjoy life on the beach (saw them play volleyball in the evenings). To me it felt like staying with distant relatives (who you pay for the lodging).

Pros: Again, the location, beautiful & clean beach, friendly and accommodating staff (they carried our bags off the boat to and from the room). Food had sufficient variety that there was something for everyone in my family to eat, and it was quite tasty. Very Malay family-style lauk, which I have missed since I live outside of Malaysia now. Both myself & husband loved the sambal belacan. We would suggest having more fish in the menu though because the fish we had for one of the days was the most popular dish for our family. There were plenty of deck chairs and spots outside for us to sit and enjoy the beach.

Cons: Unfortunately I found the room. particularly the bathroom rather uncomfortable. Its chalet wooden style which is aesthetically a good idea but having wood in the bathroom is not. Lots of mold and wetness. Everything was clean when we arrived but the design made it hard to keep clean, especially with all the sand. We also had several power outages, because they had issues with the generator and it was just after Eid so they had some delay in getting it fixed. Other complaints are just typical of a tropical island.. mosquitoes, monkeys etc. Some of the guests were feeding the squirrels for some reason which encouraged them to come to the dining area.

The wildlife I did love to see though were the beautiful sunbirds flocking the tree outside our chalet. We didn’t see very much if any living coral snorkeling from the beach but could see some fish on the left side, including baby sharks. The trip to Pulau Paku by boat organized by Wisana was nice though, beautiful coral and nice friendly boat driver. It was also cool to see the sea turtles on the second stop, but some boat drivers were feeding them so it introduced some artificial behaviour which detracted from the experience.

We might come back again to have another island getaway but would hope the rooms & bathrooms...

Please read this review of you're thinking of going to Wisana.

Pros: Water is crystal clear White sandy beach Extremely private and clean beach Workers are friendly Full board meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) Return boat trip to jetty 3 snorkeling stops included Hiking to top of Redang is RM20 pp. Challenging hike but worth the view! Small guests only 36 max at a time so you're never going to have other crowds with you. AC in room is good Maldives island is just right in front, you can see it from Wisana. Kayak will take 10 mins for an additional RM60 per kayak an hour.

Cons: Room is very basic. Nothing deluxe Toilet needs replacement Shower water pressure is low Whole bathroom needs renovating No AC in common area . Only fan Wifi only in common area. No wifi no TV in room. As expected. Basic dessert, not a lot of variety of fruits.

I feel like Wisana is geared towards the malay Muslim crowd and if you're used to their way of living then that's ok but if not then Wisana isn't the place for you.

It's extremely private so no shops, you can't get to other places without a boat, no pubs and really nothing else to do except laze around. I like this about Wisana because I didn't want noise. If you want the night life, go somewhere else.

Workers speak basic English although they are very friendly. Boatman is also friendly. Everything is made out of wood so it's a little dated and creeky as expected of a village life, lots of insects but the view is worth it for me. The only thing that let me down was the room and bathroom.

If you like Malaysian food, all 3 meals are malay food. Some occasional western food. I wish they put a little extra effort with dessert and fruits .

Would I go again? Probably yes probably not. If I want comfort, I would go somewhere else but if I want view and serenity, then definitely Wisana. For what they offer, I think it's a...