Manukan Island Resort — Hotel in Manukan Island

Upon arrival at MIR, we were greeted by a receptionist who briefed us about the resort facilities. He was friendly but could tell he wasn't experienced with the briefing as he was constantly asking himself whether he'd missed something. We were informed that the jungle trekking activities weren't available due to a landslide and therefore there weren't any activities available in the resort. Any other activities had to be booked through one of the third party agencies at the island. Check in was late. Room was meant to be ready at 2pm but we only got in around 2.40pm.

The villa itself was good, with cable TV and a comfortable bed. The staff had also helped decorate the bed with petals for my boyfriend's birthday which was gorgeous. The petals did stain the bed a lot tho which left a huge mess but that was a minor problem.

I should also point out that the beach villa we stayed in was right in front of Manukan Island's public beach area so literally EVERYONE could see you from outside. Zero privacy at this area and kind of ruined the whole luxury element of MIR. Definitely recommend getting the hillside villas as these were located at MIR's private beach.

Only the Prahu restaurant was opened during our stay, which is an open air beach side restaurant with limited options on the menu. We had lunch upon arrival around 3pm and flies were EVERYWHERE. Not sure if the restaurant could do much about this but it was very bothersome and as a result I couldn't finish my food. Service wasn't great at this hour either - cashier looked like she hated her life. They do have dine-in options as well tho which I regret not choosing for lunch.

We had the Malay set menu for dinner and the butter prawns were AMAZING. The other dishes were only average so I recommend just ordering the butter prawns ala-carte as the set dinner was quite pricey. The fly situation at night wasn't too bad and the waiter brought a little anti-mosquito burner thing to put at the foot of our table. Service was much better during dinner and the chef even came out to greet us after our meal.

What I was really ticked off with was by the customer service MIR offered before our stay. The lady who answered my call had no idea how much meals would cost at MIR, and could not assist me at all when I requested for the birthday set up in the room. She just kept asking me to email their sales team instead which was weird to me because what was the point of her job then?

Also customer service post-stay was non-existent. Upon our arrival at the Sutera jetty after check out the 'concierge' just told us to carry our own bags instead of helping as like they did when we checked in. I had also messaged them about a charger I left at MIR but received zero reply from them about it. Bye charger... T.T

Overall I think the staff do need to be trained a lot more especially since the normal room rates at MIR can go up to RM1K+++. Thank God we went there during one of their promo seasons because their normal rates are definitely not worth it given that the services are average AND the island is not exclusive at all. Crowded beaches and trash everywhere.

Anyone looking for a more exclusive and luxurious vacation should definitely check out the resorts on Gaya Island instead. They are pricey but...

Stayed at the Manukan Island resort. What a brilliant hotel. The hotel is part of the island and has 20 rooms. 10 beach Chatlet and 19 Hill Chalets. The beach chatlet are in front of the public beach and while the hill chatlet are in front of a beach that is privately owned by the hotel. These rooms offer splendid views of the South China Sea. The hill chatlet are duplex rooms with a large living and bath area ground floor and a large bedroom on the 1st floor. Bith the floors have a balcony. The rooms have Satellite TV (limited channels), complimentary beverages in the mini bar and breakfast. The bath area has a rain shower and a small bath tub.

if you are staying at the resort, then getting to it is best from the Suetra Harbour. They have a RM60 return package and it takes about 15 mins to get to the island from the harbour. The service is very professional. This is enhanced if you are staying at the resort. The RM 60 does not include a RM 10 conversation fee. This is charged as you enter the island.

The food ootions are limited to the Resturant run by the hotel and one other resturant. Vegetarians need to plan ahead as the options are limited.

The island has several water based activies, swimming pool (only for hotel guests) and 2 jungle treks. One of which is to the sunset point. Plan to take mosquito repellant as you will be bitten. It is approx 1.5 km walk each way and it will take an avg of 25 mins walking. Folks with bad knees can excuse themselves as the route has several ups and downs that will challange the knees.

Finally this resort is so underrated. It has brilliant rooms and very polite staff. The stay was brilliant and I wish we couldnhave stayed longer. Dont go by its website as it does not do justice this...

The service is amazing, really one of the best I've experienced The staff and manager are genuine and sincere.

There is a really nice 1.5km walk to a sunset point, but beware the walk back will be in pitch darkness so do bring some torch lights with you.

The beach is just paradise, but there are sandflies which makes being on the sand and sea uncomfortable 😖 There are so many sea creatures to see: puffer fish, an assortment of coral reef fish, stingrays, sharks, giant clams, barracuda, squid.

The only gripe was the private beach area for guests. There when snorkelling, 90% of what we saw was rubbish consisting mostly of plastic bags. Do go to other areas of the island to snorkel. We spent the whole day just picking up rubbish from the sea. According to staff it was washed there from other areas. Something really needs to be done about waste management.

It is also really convenient to get to this island. Just 15 minutes by boat from KK. So it gets very busy during the day with many day trippers. In the evening the whole island quiets down as this is the only accommodation on the island. It's great for lovely quiet evenings.

We managed to catch stunning sunrises and sunsets here. It was such a lovely trip. Your warm hospitality made it all more special. Thank you all for such a wonderful stay...