Sand & Sandals Desaru Beach Resort and Spa — Hotel in Johor

Just to share my experiences.

-when we arrived around 10am plus, they mentioned that we have to pay 200rm for early check in. And at that time, there were no one around... Upon asking, the receptionist mentioned that there was a room but we have to pay for it. My friend and i were appalled when the receptionist mention that it was time for them to earn as it is the weekend. But luckily, we managed to settle for check in at 1pm. The receptionist mentioned that they will give us a call when the room is available. We waited by the pool from 10am to 1pm, no one called. The management should get their staff professionally trained as they are the first people guests meet and have an impression of. -There was this musky, undried laundry smell that was in the room. There was a purifier in the room but does nothing to help with the smell. Not only does the room smell musky, the towels, beddings and pillow case smells of it too. the lighting in the room as BAD as there was only has 4 lamps in the room. there were monkeys around and some even jumped up to our balcony! We were not informed of the possibility of encountering monkeys. very dangerous as the sound of plastic bags might cause the monkeys to attack guests. It would be good for the receptionist to warn future guests about this for safety reasons. -Dined at the teppan restaurant in the hotel, there was a lack of physical menu and we had to scan the QR code to get the menu. We don't mind scanning but the problem is, the wifi was so slow and it took very long to load the menu. Plus, the lighting was very bad. My friend and I ordered the 3 sets yakitori sticks thinking that there were 2 for each portion. When it came out, we were SHOCKED at how many it came. 1 set of yakitori has 6 pieces! The staff did not even clarify with us. The chicken was undercooked at spices and herbs restaurant in the hotel, we ordered the surf and turf meal. In it, there were beef and 2 pcs of prawns. We told the waiter how well we wanted our beef to be. We understand that english is not their first language and the waiter needed used a picture to get a better understanding of the wellness of the beef. After almost an hour of wait, our surf and turf finally appeared and we were shocked to see another 2 plates of beef tenderloin being served to us when we did not order... -2nd day, the manager of the hotel checked in on us and offered to change our rooms on the 3rd day. It was very kind of him to do so. But, one thing that was off putting was the fact that he asked my friend, who wrote up a review, to take it down. This makes us felt that this kind gesture of him was just for the review to be taken down and not to enhance our experience with the hotel. new room was much better as there were more natural sunlight coming in the room to. one little problem is that there are lots of ants in the room. Ants can be found in the toilet area, behind the door, above the little fridge, beside table and the table underneath the television. 4th day at the hotel, manager called to check in on us again which was very thoughtful of him. But the intention of the call was to remind my friend to take down the review again. on our last day, which falls on a tuesday, we went to the pool and requested for 4 towels. But were quickly shot down that '1 room can only have 3 towels'. Hotel staff can have more flexibility in their rules and on that day, there were only 2 small families other than us. I understand that if the pool was full with people, and they were not able to provide us with more towel. BUT it was low season and the pool was practically empty.

That being said, there was also a pro. we went out but upon returning to the room, we found out thag our key card is not working. We asked the workers there to help us open but maybe due to some rules they are not able to. This one worker, told us to wait a while, while he sprinted down to help us get a new keycard from the receptionist on his own accord. We were really touched by...

September 2025|I recently stayed at this resort with my wife and two toddlers for a 3-night, 4-day family getaway. After reading some mixed reviews online, I wanted to share my own experience in detail because overall, it was memorable, though with room for improvement.||The Good|Location & Facilities: The location is beautiful, spacious, and surrounded by greenery. The architecture is impressive, with well-designed restaurants, reception areas, and easy access to the beach.||Staff Experience: Staff were generally polite and friendly. On one occasion, my room key stopped working. Without me having to go back down to the reception, a staff member immediately helped, arranged a replacement, and solved the issue in no time.||Kids’ Facilities: The kids’ area was wonderful, safe, and well-maintained. Our toddlers enjoyed it a lot.||Birthday Celebration: We celebrated my wife’s birthday there, and the candlelight dinner was a highlight of our stay. Special thanks to Sohilin (bartender), who stayed with us throughout the dinner and ensured everything was perfect. Also, we would like to thank Aino (Demi Chef) for sharing the pics. The room decoration prepared by the housekeeping team was beautiful—my apologies for forgetting their names, but please convey our thanks to them.||Dining: We particularly enjoyed the Baboo Biryani at the restaurant—it was delicious. We had the opportunity to visit the Club Lounge, and the staff in charge was also welcoming and made our meals enjoyable.||The Not-So-Good|In-Room Dining Confusion: With toddlers, sometimes it’s difficult to go out to dine, so we requested in-room dining. Reception initially said the menu could be found on the table or TV, but none was visible. When we called again, reception connected us to the restaurant, and here’s where confusion set in:||Restaurant: “We don’t serve in-room dining. You need to come down.”||Me to Reception: “But yesterday we had dinner served in the room. Someone from the restaurant says we don’t provide food in rooms.”||Reception: “Let me check.”||Restaurant (again): “We can serve only limited food options in the room but not Bamboo Biryani. If you were served that in-room yesterday, that’s incorrect—I’ve checked, and it was not served.”||This back-and-forth made the experience frustrating. It appeared that staff weren’t fully trained or aligned on policies, leaving the customer stuck in the middle.||Room Issues: On our last day, we upgraded to one of the most expensive rooms. Unfortunately, the bathroom had waterlogging issues—after a shower, water remained for 25–30 minutes. While I reported it, no action was taken, likely because we were checking out the next day.||Late Checkout Request: Standard checkout was at 12 pm. With toddlers, we requested a small extension, even until 1 pm. The receptionist checked with the manager, who was literally in the room next door.||First response: “Half rate for room until 5 pm.”||Revised after discussion: “Maximum 12:30 pm free of charge.”||What struck me most was the lack of accountability from the manager, who did not make the effort to step out and address us personally, despite being in the office right next to where we stood. This felt dismissive, especially at a resort positioning itself as a luxury property. In other high-end hotels I’ve stayed in—even 7-star establishments in major cities—management has been far more approachable, flexible, and customer-focused. For a resort that was not even fully booked, the rigid approach and absence of direct engagement from the manager were very concerning and left a negative impression.||Overall|The resort has great potential—beautiful location, family-friendly facilities, and some genuinely attentive staff. However, certain service inconsistencies and managerial inflexibility held the experience back. With improved staff training and a bit more customer care, this place could easily become a top destination for families in...

This is not a 4 star hotel. It is probably a 2 or 3 star hotel. If you expect a 4 star, you'll be dissapointed. If you have never been to a 4 star hotel or better, you'll probably be okay because you'll be happy no matter how bad the hotel treat you (because you don't know what a 4 star hotel service should be like).

One reason I say this is because the workers are poorly trained, with no basic understanding of what a good customer service is. I don't blame the workers, I do blame the managers because the workers are what the managers want them to be. I felt sorry for these workers.

My first bad impression of the hotel is at the check in counter. We arrived around 1:30 pm. The counter looks pathetic, very small with only two lines. Once I reached the counter, I didn't see a smile from the worker, why? Because she was wearing a mask covering her face and nose. What kind of manager would allow the person who is supposed to be the first to welcome and greet the guests wear a mask? You might as well put a wall in front of the workers, so the guests don't have to see them, it's pretty much the same thing. If she's sick she should be given another work some place else at the hotel, not at the check in counter. This is not a pandemic period.

Then, after paying extra RM 162 for an extra person fee (I had 2 rooms with 5 adults and one 6 year old kid) and RM600 deposit, she said we also have to pay another RM 162 for the 6 year old kid. What? We really had to argue with her for this and she finally obliged and said it's okay. After all that and thinking that we would get our keys we were told our rooms were not ready yet, and she will text me when they are ready. Why didn't she tell us earlier before all these eggravations?

Then, once we got our keys, a few hours later, and getting in the lift, the bell boy tried to squeeze in into the lift with the dolly. No one ever taught him that he should wait for the next one instead of sqeezing in with the guests? The lift is not big enough to fit all of us and the dolly, but he squeezed in anyway.

The room looks spacious and nice. The bathroom looks dark and not very clean. There are only 2 bath towels in the bathroom. They look quite dirty, disgusting, and old. No face or hand towels like the ones we would see in a 4 star hotels. I guess they don't know what face towels and hand towels look like.

The next day for breakfast, we were told our six year old daughter have to pay RM50 for breakfast. Wow! No one told us that before.

There were a few more things that made us think that this is not a 4 star hotel. Most of the staff looked grumpy, they don't like to smile or even wanting to greet guests with good morning or anything. The written signs/reminders/warnings (written on papers) posted throughout the hotel, on the walls and doors look very cheesy and showed that the hotel has no class. It is something that you would see in a 1 star hotel. I guess the management has never been to a 4 star hotels and see how these hotels are being run and how the staff treat their guests. Amari, Suasana, and Hyatt Place are just a few, of many examples, of good hotels in JB.

Overall, we didn't have fun or enjoyed our stay. In fact, we were dissapointed. We didn't expect the service to be this bad. We definitely will not be coming back. If you want to have a nice and enjoyable holiday, stay away from this hotel and go...