Gem Island Resort and Spa — Hotel in Terengganu

Was at this resort for 2 nights on 6 Sept (Tues) to 8 Sept (Thurs) and my review is as follows:||||1) Parking at Marang Jetty||It is public parking, chargeable at RM6 per night. It is open air and not far from the jetty. Nothing happened to our vehicle so we assume it is safe and secure.||||2) Boat Transfer from Marang Jetty to the Resort||This is provided by Suria Link Boat Services. The boat is new and safe. Boatman is friendly too. However, they did not help with our luggages. We have to carry ourself to the boat. Boat ride is about 15 minutes from Marang Jetty to the Resort.||||3) Resort Surrounding and Check In||This is a private resort on a private island. During our stay, they was only 3 other rooms occupied. So, it does felt very quite and relaxing. View from the resort restaurant/check in area is lovely and scenic. Check in was fast. We were attended by Irene. She was quite friendly. However, please note that the resort will not provide any assistance on luggages/bags during arrival or depature. We did not received any. We had to carry all on our own. So, do travel light.||||4) Water Villa 22 and 23||Most Villa will have super nice balcony overlooking the sea, so does our villa. Mattress and pillow are ok, if the duvet is thicker will be better. Fan and air conditioning system works well during our stay. Bathroom size is ok but a bit dirty. There was some dirt underneath the empty bucket. Water pressure is also weak. Our balcony roof has 3 missing tiles. As a result, during heavy rain, water will enter from the balcony to our room floor. We had to use the beach toilet to prevent water from flowing into our room. Next day, when we inform the resort, they mentioned that most rooms are of the same condition, so the guy just provided us with extra towels just in case there is heavy rain again. Overall, the villa has super nice view but the room quality is just okok. Maybe it is time to do some refurbishment.||||5) Meals||We took the full board package with all meals included. All we can say is that the meals quality keep getting more simple and cheaper as the day goes by. It does feel like the resort is cutting cost and our meals does look like budget meal. On our final departure day lunch, we were only served with a plate of nasi goreng cina with 2 tiny pieces of ayam goreng with 2 slices of cucumber and tomatoes. At RM940 per person for 2 nights, we do expect better food selection especially since we are on holiday and this is supposely a 3 star resort. Food taste is also average at most. If the resort is reading this, please improve your food offering as guests coming to your resort are not budget travellers (looking at your resort price).||||6) Beach Quality and Snorkelling Experience||The sea water is very clear, so the snorkelling experience surrounding the resort is good. We are able to see nemo fishes, giant clams, sea urchin etc. For those opting for a swimming beach, please note that the sandy area of this island is quite limited. They have 3 beaches, but i think the best beach is near the resort jetty area as the other 2 beaches are full with rocks and dead corals, may not be very feet friendly.||||7) Small Swimming Pool||The pool does look like an infinity pool from far but the peeling paint does make the pool look dirty and uninviting. Hope the resort can do something about this as the pool can be a very nice spot to chill and relax.||||8) Internet and Mobile Network||Maxis and Digi have very good 4G and network in this island. I think the resort does not provide any free wifi.||||9) Electricity Cut Daily||There will not be any electricity from 230pm to 530pm daily.||||10) Water Quality||The drinking water or hot water provided by the resort has the salty after effect taste (this is normal for many island resort in Terengganu).||||Overall||During our stay on a weekday, the resort is very quiet, peaceful and secluded. It is a very good spot to relax especially since the view from the resort restaurant and room balcony is great. If the resort can improve on the food and room, this resort has a lot of potential to compete with Laguna Redang, Sari Pacifica Redang or Summer Bay...

Gem island is a low key resort on a small private island on the East Coast opposite Pulau Kapas, a 20 minute boat transfer from Marang||We returned to Gem after a fifteen year absence with very fond memories. We were not disappointed and had another fantastic stay although visitor expectations do need to be managed.||Gem island resort has expanded since our last visit and now has 4 premium villas, 39 standard villas overlooking the channel between Pulau Gem and Kapas and a seperate 6 villas adjacent to Gemias small private beach. ||This number of rooms would be an issue in peak season given the facilities eg the small private beach has only about 16 beach beds & 5 hammocks with little room for any more. ||Maintenance is also a major issue with much of the wooden beach and veranda furniture in danger of collapse (& guest injury) and showing several years worth of wear and tear, not just one season. Many of the beach beds equally needed to be fixed, the small pool needs a clean and generally basic ongoing maintainance is desperately needed throughout.....||Rooms (especially the new premier villas) are functional and comfortable with air con and fan although it is important to know electricity is switched off from 230 to 530, the hottest part of the day. The standout of our stay was the food or at least it was until guest numbers grew and buffet becomes the default. Whilst the buffet was very average, the other meals served including the set breakfast were beautifully presented and very tasty. Zam who has been chef there for 7 years has done an amazing job.||Staff as mentioned in other reviews were very friendly and willing although not at all proactive in either approaching guests or indeed ongoing cleaning / maintainance eg cigarette butts were not regularly cleared from the outdoor ashtray although the majority of smokers were the staff! It was evident however that staff lifted their game when the manager Irene was in residence.||One of the gems of the resort is its location overlooking Pulau Kapas. It has a number of snorkel options directly off the island and within the Marine Park including some good coral to the left of the pier and some interesting rock snorkelling (and larger fish, shark) off the back beach. In both cases access is easiest at high tide as the access becomes quite rocky in low tide. There are options to hire snorkels, canoes, snorkel guide or snorkel boat to access locations around Pulau Kapas but these are not cheap so it is strongly suggested you bring your own equipment. ||Many guests have mentioned cost and it could be an issue depending on the experience you get eg quiet/relaxed vs busy/noisy large group.||In summary we thoroughly enjoyed our stay but the resort has a real Jekyll and Hyde character. When quiet eg 10/16 guests it is a hidden gem and peaceful, relaxed with great views, snorkelling and food which all justify its relatively high pricing position and enable you to fully relax and overlook it’s (very) run down infrastructure. However when it fills up it transforms to an over priced destination where the buffet is average, the facilities can’t cope with the numbers and the electricity cuts / noise / maintenance problems become much more challenging. The range of trip adviser 1 star/4 star experiences im sure reflect these very different experiences.||In addition when busy Gem is very poor VFM particularly when compared with a best in class customer & staff experience you experience at a YTL resort..... ||Nevertheless we hope to return for another low guest number, (mostly) quiet, destressing, & relaxing...

Da vari anni ormai prima di prenotare un qualsiasi hotel o resort vado su Tripadvisor per leggere i commenti relativi. Così ho fatto anche questa volta prima di prenotare 5 notti a Gem Island. Le recensioni erano molto positive: 4 asterischi. ||Il 20 agosto in una giornata di pioggia siamo approdati su quest'isoletta. Dalla barca sembrava piuttosto inospitale, soprattutto il resort, ma abbiamo pensato fosse dovuto alla mancanza del sole. Quindi nè io nè il mio compagno abbiamo parlato. Scesi a terra dopo circa mezz'ora di barca ci siamo trovati ad attendere per il check-in in una misera sala da pranzo. Quella a quanto pare era la Reception. Nessuno di noi ha fatto commenti. Ad un certo punto è arrivato il direttore factotum che ci ha chiamato nel suo ufficio (ufficio del direttore, ufficio della segretaria, negozietto, postazione internet, edicola e tabaccheria), 5 mq, di spazio dove la temperatura era quella di un congelatore. Mi sono rifiutata di restarci anche solo 5 secondi. Intanto cominciavo a chiedermi dove fossimo finiti..... Così siamo stati accolti su di un tavolo in sala mensa (non potrei chiamarla altrimenti) su di una tovaglia a quadri bianco rosso piuttosto sporca. Il Direttore ci ha descritto tutte le bellezze dell'isola e del resort, ci ha offerto da bere e poi ci ha mostrato come raggiungere la nostra camera e dicendo, riferendosi alla camera "It's very nice". Ci siamo incamminati con le valigie (nessuno è venuto ad aiutarci) lungo le Water Villas (così le chamano) lungo un pontile lunghissimo e dopo circa 5 minuti (reali) siamo arrivati davanti alla nostra camera. Dunque le camere stanno affacciate sugli scogli mentre dietro di esse c'è vegetazione. E fin qua sarebbe andato tutto bene. Ma quale è stato lo sconforto entrando e vedendo quella che per 5 giorni avrebbe dovuto essere la nostra camera!!!! Non volevo credere ai miei occhi. La camera rispecchiava totalmente l'impressione avuta del Resort. Trasandato, vecchio e sporco. Tale era la nostra camera. Il letto: con zanzariera. Lenzuola giallastre con enormi macchie (umidità???). Idem sul lettino di fronte che nessuno aveva chiesto. Armadio di legno puzzolente e sporco. Non mi sarei mai sognata di metterci un solo capo di vestiario. Frigorifero giallastro, pieno di ruggine e vuoto. Porta della camera di legno, malmessa e con 4 cm. di luce sotto di essa. Qualsiasi insetto avrebbe potuto entrarci tranquillamente. La serratura non funzionava e sarebbe bastato appoggiarci una spalla per aprirla. Bagno: Non si poteva definirlo tale ma non saprei come chiamarlo.... Un water con asse giallastra di plastica e sporca. Accanto un pezzo di legno con appoggiato sopra un rotolo di carta igienica. Di fronte un vano doccia con piastrelle gialle, uno scaldabagno appeso al muro della grandezza di una scatola di scarpe, eternit sul soffitto. Un secchio di plastica in un angolo ???? Il lavandino era nell'ingresso e vedrete dalla foto in che stato fosse. La vernice gialla con cui era stato verniciato si scrostava e finiva sul fondo. Non mi sono neppure lavata le mani per lo schifo.... Per fortuna avevo con me delle salviettine umidificate. Tende della portafinestra di plastica sporche e di un colore indefinibile. Le lampade sui comodini di bastoncini di legno e tela anche quella sporca e marroncina. Due sedie una in camera e l'altra sul balcone completamente arrugginite e sporche. Una desolazione! Dopo dieci minuti ho iniziato a smadonnare e alla fine mi sono fatta venire una vera e propria crisi di nervi..... Ho deciso che non potevamo restare lì e che dovevamo andarcene al più presto o avrei dato fuori di matto. Non parlando molto bene inglese e non sapendo come uscire da questa situazione insostenibile ho deciso di dire al Direttore che non potevo restar in un posto simile perchè avevo la fobia dei ragni (e lì pare proprio che ce ne fossero e che entrassero nelle camere). Con questa scusa il giorno dopo, con l'aiuto del direttore che ha chiamato il nostro Tour Operator di KL siamo riusciti ad andarcene e con la modica spesa di 750 euro a farci portare al Berjaya di Redang. Comunque quel giorno abbiamo dovuto restar lì. Io non ho nemmeno aperto le valigie. Ho dormito vestita su quel letto schifoso e puzzolente. Anche i cuscini puzzavano di vecchio e umidità.... La sera a cena non sono riuscita a mangiare nulla perchè anche il cibo era come tutto il resto. Uno schifo!!!!! La colazione al mattino anche peggio. Avreste dovuto vedere il buffet. Su di un tavolino ci stava tutto: una decina brioches mollicce, marmellatine confezionate, zucchero in una zuccheriera piena di mosche e una caraffa di succo di frutta. Nemmeno in prigione credo!!!!!!!||Mentre aspettavamo la barca ho fatto un giro sulla spiaggia più grande. Niente da eccepire sulla spiaggia ma nessuna attrezzatura. Nessun ombrellone, nessun lettino. Su tutta la spiaggia 3 forse 4 sdraio di plastica e metallo anche quelle naturalmente arrugginite. Unica cosa bella di questo posto: la piscina delle tartarughine, centinaia. Loro stavano bene. NOI SIAMO SCAPPATI!!!!!! Naturalmente una volta a Milano abbiamo e ottenuto un risarcimento. ALLA LARGA DA QUESTO POSTO a meno che non siate persone che si accontentano veramente di poco. Ma attenzione questo resort fa schifo ma non costa per quel che vale . Il prezzo era di circa 60 euro a persona incluso la...