Perhentian Island Resort — Hotel in Greater Perhentian Island

Stayed here for 3 nights from 29th March 2022. From the moment our speedboat reached the resort jetty it was a sight to behold. Crystal clear azure waters greeted us w schools of fish can be seen as you’re walking on the jetty. We arrived at almost 3pm after a 7hr drive from KL ( inc hvn breakfast & quick pit stops) but the resort was kind enough to keep the buffet lunch for us because there were 9 of us who arrived in a group and a further 7 who arrived earlier. Our friends who arrived earlier opted to drive a day early, spend the night in Kuala Besut and took the 11am boat transfer to our resort located at Pulau Perhentian Besar. It takes about 35 minutes to reach there by speedboat. The highlight of our stay was indeed the beautiful beach at our resort. We rented their snorkeling sets & right in front of our resort there are turtles ( we saw 2 huge ones), Parrot fish, Napoleon fish, Angel fish (they are all called Dory to me) as well as loads of Nemo & family! Sighted a large grouper from the jetty, my kids & their friends saw a baby black tip shark as well as small stingrays… all this right at the resort beach. The rooms are rather basic but clean and being in the airconditioned room is bliss after a hot day at the beach. The pillows are rather hard though and I recommend you bring your own toiletries( shampoo, conditioner, shower gel & pillows if you’re fussy) because the ones given aren’t very nice. There’s no internet or TV but I think there is WiFi but 4G works fine here. If you want hair dryers & mozzie sprays, you have to get it at the reception as they don’t put them in the rooms. There is a ladies only spa and the traditional massage was quite good. The pricing is reasonable too. RM135 for 75 minute massage ( there was a 10% discount at that time). A friend tried the scrub but the complained that it hurts. For guys who want a real deep tissue massage can just walk out of the resort to the left of the jetty to find Pak Man perched on the cliff edge for a traditional massage with awesome views. Be prepared for some pain but my hubby felt totally ‘light’ with all the tensions & knots all gone. 14 of us also took the 3 hour snorkeling package which took us to other small islands like Pulau Rawa, Pulau Susu Dara and one more I forgot the name of. My daughter saw a small sea snake but the boat guy said that particular one was harmless. Highly recommend you do this because of the amazing corals and fish you will see. We also had dinner one night at Pulau Perhentian Kecil which takes around 7-10 minutes by speedboat right opposite our resort. This island has plenty of resorts and cafes all along the beach. If you prefer a busy & bustling area with evening entertainment then this is the place to stay but I love the privacy & serenity of our resort island a lot more. The staff here is very helpful and service here is good as they are ever ready to assist in anything you may need within reason. The activities counter staff is very patient and helpful too. Can’t say much about the food here though. Don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed. Enough said. Just enjoy the beauty of the island and you will be...

I paid for the premier beachfront room with full board and boat transfer at $160AUD a night for 3 nights and I never once felt like I paid for "premier" not at any time.

I turned up at the island jetty and had to climb off the boat I arrived on into another boat with my bags then onto the jetty which was to some degree a mission.

only to have to walk around like a lost dog looking for reception. When I finally found reception the gentleman was rather polite but all he was worried about was money for tax and told me I couldn't go to my room until 3pm.

Which made it awkward to organise my things and clothing to get changed to have a swim or even settle in for the day.

I then decided to try the lunch buffet which was alright but probably the best out of the buffets to come.

The view of the beach is absolutely stunning and it was a great swim but getting a towel in the beginning was like pulling a crocodile tooth. (Surprised they didn't want more money)

The room was good but not $160AUD a night good and had a loose toilet seat and no Radio or TV or even wifi so it was surfing on my phone in those quiet times of relaxation. (Which is fine but 4G on a small screen)

I then progressed to my buffet dinner which was ordinary at best (an embarrassment to Malaysian food)

Ordering a drink was a mission because it seemed no one wanted to go near the white boy. But after leaving my food at the table I managed to order my drink at the counter only to come back to my plate missing.

The next day I went for the breakfast buffet and after looking I felt I wanted an actual prepared breakfast. which they didn't do. So it was buffet only (again 😔)

Everything was just a cash grab (which is fine if you get what you paid for)

I really liked the beach and the whole vibe of the perhentian islands but this resort is a disease to everything good about the island. By the end of the second day I honestly couldn't wait to get back to besut.

On the last day I wanted to do my laundry and they handed me a list for the individual costs per clothing (the only place I have stayed to do so. All the other hotels was more than happy to do it for me for free )

I asked if I could use the printer to print off my plane ticket and to no surprise was asked for more money.

Would recommend the Perhentian islands to everyone, absolutely a beautiful place but stay away from this pickpocketing resort. It's a tourist cash grab that's average for ridiculous prices.

(This is my first bad review which is upsetting because normally I just move past it and forget. But this time I felt I had to say something because out of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam this was the most expensive place I stayed and also the worst..)

I've never been so angry with a place I've stayed at anywhere else...

The last resort|Unfortunately, I whole-heartedly agree with previous reviewers. There are only two factors that keep the resort going - the wonderful beach and sea access, and the fact that - at least during the current high season - the demand for rooms is such that even very over-rated (and over-paid) facilities like the PIR get filled. It sort of becomes the 'last resort' for people like us who do not book super-early and so miss out on any of the chain of much better places (supposedly lower grade) on this larger of the two islands - including Coral View, Abdul's Chalet, Mama's, Tuna Bay and several others. All markedly better in most respects than the Perhentian Island Resort. The place visibly dates back to the 80s, and much of it has not been renovated / updated since then. No need to repeat what others have said - but just a few examples of the many seemingly little things that 'irked' us. Breakfast - buffet type, but with low quality products throughout - old (non-fresh) chewy 'croissants', low quality juices, really almost undrinkable coffee... large round tables with unironed table-cloth that still have food remnants from the night before. No ROTI CANAI - which is a major product produced and consumed for breakfast at the other, smaller resorts. Service people stand in corners of the room but are not helpful at all (except when collecting the pointless breakfast vouchers..). There is an espresso / coffee machine - but when you ask, any 'good coffee' costs extra (different from 4 star hotels elsewhere). - Rooms: no hot water (not essential here, but nice to have - available in some of the 'lower grade' resorts nearby). No TV (again, not essential - but the others have it). Rooms all need to be 'redone' as well as thoroughly cleaned. - Staff - many are friendly and helpful enough, but generally do not seem to be trained well, or speak enough English for this kind of place. Management / supervision overall seems to be lacking. Example: we finally moved out to another resort. The front desk is asked to call the other resort to send a boat. Staff tries once to call, then turns to us and says: no one answering the phone. We try and immediately get someone and so arrange it all ourselves. - Anyway - our bottom line, and recommendation would be for the owners to do 2 main things: 1) to close the entire place for an entire season (or whatever it takes) to do a major overhaul of the entire facility, and 2) equally important, to seriously strengthen management and supervision, as well as...