The Danna Langkawi — Hotel in Langkawi Island

My partner and I stayed at The Danna's Marina view room In October 2014. On arrival to the airport we were greeted by the hotel staff with bottled water and a refreshing cool towel. We were then driven to the hotel with takes around 30 minutes. Once at the hotel the staff unloaded our bags and showed us to the lobby where we were met by the hotel concierge who discussed our planned excursion. The concierge was very helpful and offered us some great advice and ideas regarding what we could do and where we should go during our stay. We were given a refreshing cool tea and a complimentary massage and felt every bit welcomed. The room was spacious with ample storage, there were also bathroom amenities and bottled water which were topped up everyday. The bathroom was beautiful, spacious and has a stunning view out onto the marina.

The next morning we set out early, stopping for our complementary breakfast within the hotel. This was a buffet style including a set menu, which alternated every couple of days. The selection was good including continental, traditional and freshly cooked dishes. The service we experienced was amazing, the staff were so attentive and payed great attention to detail. With full stomachs we set out to the oriental village, which is only a ten minute walk or a short taxi ride. That evening we had a sunset boat trip booked via the hotel concierge. The hotel had arranged for a taxi to take up to the harbour where the catamaran was waiting. Initially I was sceptical as the boat isn't the prettiest thing you have ever seen, but don't be let down. The staff are young and energetic, the food is great and the evening was incredible, defiantly not one we will forget soon. On arrival back to the harbour, the taxi was waiting to take us back to the hotel. We noted that in our room there was fresh local fruit, which was changed each morning.

After breakfast the next day we ventured out to the seven wells water fall, which is slightly further on from the oriental village. In the afternoon we spent time at the poolside, again the staff were very good at anticipating guests needs and we always happy to help. The vanilla milkshake is a must and the food is also great. The hotel didn't ever seem over crowded and there were always free sun loungers with fresh towels. The area is impeccably clean with an incredible view out over the bay.

We had a jet ski day trip booked via the hotel concierge for our third day, on this occasion we were driven by a hotel car and personnel to the main town. We had changed ours from tour one to a two due to the different tours specification as per the concierge's recommendations. Again the area the company is based is one that you might question as it is a tiny hut tucked behind the main strip. We waited for the jet skis to be towed to the beach signed our papers and were given a safety talk. Then we set off after an initial drive around to get a feel of how they worked. The guide was so pleasant and the tour was out of this world. Visiting islands with multiple stops along the way. This is defiantly a must during your stay, it was well worth it!

We visited the spa during our stay which is located on the top floor of the hotel. The rooms are well designed, the spa personnel were knowledgeable and ensured that it was a tailored experience. On our last evening we had booked a private dinner on the beach, we were treated by our waiter Hans who deserves a special mention. He was so down to earth and attentive. All of the food was incredible and the champagne and water were regularly topped up. The atmosphere was brilliant, with a tropical storm in the far distance it made for a lifetime experience. By the time we had finished dinner the storm had just about made it to the bay, but Hans was waiting with soft warm towels to rap up in as we made our way back to the hotel. We were very sad to leave the Danna and will defiantly...

I stayed in the Danna Langkawi recently for 2 nights. It took me a long time to decide on which hotel to stay in Langkawi as some of the nicer 5 star hotels seem to be priced very high and the Danna had good reviews coupled with what I thought was a more modest price . My booking was half board which included breakfast then dinner or lunch- I always went for dinner .

Check in was slightly annoying. I had been told check in was at 3pm so to Be fair to the hotel they did warn me- but my flight was booked before and got into Langkawi around midday. It is really easy and cheap to get a Grab taxi to the hotel. On previous occasions when I arrived in the morning and check in was in the afternoon hotels usually find some space . Perhaps I have been lucky or maybe it was different in the Middle East… or maybe it depends on occupancy . Anyway- the person checking me in said I would have to wait. I think check out was around 12 or so- which made me wonder why rooms weren’t available as surely they can turn arojnd a room fairly quickly in they have enough staff to clean them….? I asked even if it could be a little earlier- but they said they will see. I waited around the lobby and nothing happened. To cut a long story short I got really bored and went somewhere nearby. Although they did give me a small welcome and some thing to eat - it would have been nice in situations like this to maybe let you go to the restaurant and have lunch or something like this. They said you could sit by the pool but I always find it a hassle to get the luggage and find somewhere to get changed etc. maybe it’s just me and it’s not a major issue. I found the check in quite transactional and they kept asking me to read things and sign things. I’m aware it most hotels you have to sign and give a credit card which is fine- but it seemed quite laboured and more about the money! I mean I know it’s a business but other hotels they do it in a nicer way. So this left a little bit of a bad feeling on the first day.

Having come back to the hotel after going out it was still a little bit of a hassle to ask someone if the room was ready and not a very slick process .

The room itself was lovely - really clean and well appointed. It was spacious too. I went do the Marina view room. The balcony was also spacious.

The pool area was pretty good- a large pool- I didn’t see an adult only pool- but maybe I didn’t look hard enough. There were mainly families in this hotel. The staff were all friendly and polite.

Breakfast was enjoyable with a great selection plus some things you could order individually on top of the buffet . I could not fault the breakfast and the quality of food was good. The dinner was either in the formal restaurant or the Italian. Both were excellent- service was great and the food was well presented and delicious. Half board washed no definitely worth getting. I would almost go back just for the food. Asnan the chef cooked some amazing food and explained what he cooked and how he cooked it- amazing chef! The gym was ok- maybe it could have had a little bit more equipment but overall was more than satisfactory for my needs and had a great view .

Would I stay in the Danna again? I’m in 2 minds- it seem one of the more reasonable 5 star hotels compared to others on the island and food was amazing. I thought the check in process could have been better and more accommodating. I might come back to Malaysia next year and if I go to Langkawi maybe I will come back to the Danna or maybe I’ll push the boat out and spend a bit more and try some of the...

The Danna is a beautiful hotel with stunning rooms & swimming pool but sadly that is where the 5 star experience ends.

We had a number of issues with our stay all of which we raised with management several times (and it takes a lot for us to complain!) we were told by the manager that several other patrons had similar complaints. Unfortunately we did not witness these issues be resolved whilst we were still there.

Issues included:

Sunbeds around the swimming pool - quite simply there are not enough and people were ‘reserving’ sunbeds from as early as 7am. We would come to the pool around 9.30am and about 90% of beds would have people’s towels on without anyone there. I felt sorry for families arriving at the pool later in the morning unable to find a bed despite there being hardly any people around the pool. I did mention this to management a couple of times however it didn’t get resolved so we ended up upgrading ourselves to a villa. I did notice the pool added some extra cushions on the floor obviously intended to resolve this issue however I don’t think that was a good enough solution.

Service - the staff are wonderful and kind people however there seemed to be a lack of senior staff members and almost every order we made arrived incorrect. We had meals arrive extremely late and even then half the order was missing, meals arriving incorrectly, items missed etc. the New Year’s Eve party was particularly painful with drinks orders being taken and just never arriving. Also the room service was particularly poor as the woman on the phone never understood the orders and everything would be wrong. Overall it felt like the hotel lacked experienced staff / enough staff.

Spa - I had one booking at the spa and I waited in my treatment room for over 15minutes without a therapist before eventually having to return to reception and ask only to find the therapist had been waiting for me in a different room. It just felt clunky and unorganised. I also tried to book other treatments at the spa only to find it was fully booked for the remainder of my stay. Again I think this goes back to lack of staff as there seemed to be a lot of treatment rooms

Restaurants - overall we were pleased with the quality of food however our frustration was more on the reservation of restaurants. Firstly we were told we didn’t need to book for planters or straits however we arrived at straits to find we did need a booking. The next day we booked it only to find out the booking had been made for planters! Our booking for the Italian was also not made properly and it was sheer luck we realised this and had to make quite a fuss to get a table there. Other times we tried to book it and it was fully booked quite far in advance. I think there needs to be more seating in both the Italian and Straits or another restaurant is needed on site. Again service was short staffed at the Italian. The guy overseeing the outside dining area was absolutely brilliant but he was on his own and tables were fighting to get his attention to order.

The beach - this one isn’t really a fault of the hotels but the sea here is not clean and I would not recommend going in it. If you are looking for a beach stay in Langkawi I would recommend the Datai is better suited.

Overall it didn’t feel like a luxury hotel as some of the others on the island do. It would benefit from more...