Paya Beach Spa & Dive Resort — Hotel in Tioman

hotel review

for a 4 star hotel, it really got me question how they got this title. i stayed 6 nights in total and the conclusion is i’ll be looking elsewhere to stay on my next visit to the island. below is my breakdown of strengths & opportunities from my own experience here:

strengths friendly staff & there are mandarin speaker staff available as well. applicable if you are native chinese speakers who are concerned about language barrier jetty is closed by & so is the beach accessible to a lot of food stalls (from thai food, chinese food, malay food, italian food etc) & there are a few convenience store if you need to get alcohol, snacks or essential items i would rate cleanliness 3/5 as they don’t clean thoroughly. they missed out on cups & sweeping under the bed. also generally the resort is old. while it is clean, its old so some items look rough maintenance request was very quick! told one of the staff our room sink wasn’t working well and the nettjng above the roof is 1/4 open. we were concerned about monkey climbing as I did saw a monkey staring down at me while i was brushing my teeth lmao but yeah they resolve it immediately.

opportunities for a 4 star hotel, you would think beach towels are given especially since they have a pool but nope. no beach towels provided and they will guide you to their duty free shop to purchase their towels. towel ranges from RM 30-50 which for locals, it’s bloody expensive. for a 4 star hotel, you would think some facilities will be provided for free but nope. every activities you see on their website is chargeable except the pool. i booked through Agoda and not sure why agoda state there’s a gym but kindly note there isn’t. it’s stated on their website too like i said above, the hotel needs some renovation work especially the breakfast area. it’s giving 80’s vibe 😵‍💫 not sure if hotel f&b closes every Wednesday & Thursday but they were close for 2 days which is quite questionable for me like how can F&B not operate 7 days a week? perhaps its cause there are other restaurants available but note if you want room service, its not available. how is this 4 star hotel service? as they were close for 2 days and my stay includes breakfast, 1st day they brought breakfast to us. 2nd day, we were told to have breakfast at a cafe near jetty. my guess the main issue is due to understaff. upon arrival, we ordered and we waited 20 minutes for our food. during the wait, we were sat on the table filled with uncollected food dishes and flies. tons of them. KKM should have a word on this. waking up with such a beautiful weather just to have some damn flies to ruin my appetite 🤧 i’ve read some reviews about the smell. our bed is okay but the toilet does have a pungent smell. it doesn’t bother me much but i wouldn’t expect smell coming from a 4 star hotel. this has nothing to do with hotel. this area in general, the prices are A LOT higher as compared to other areas in Tioman. the food/drinks prices here are equally/more expensive than what Kuala Lumpur is selling. my guess is due to tourist attraction but something to take note cause the pricing is way over the top.

i had a wonderful time in Tioman during the pandemic. i stayed in a much run down places and was hoping staying here would provide a better experience but unfortunately it didn’t. there were just too much of the down side than overshadows the good experience i had. if you have plans to visit the island, do come. it’s a beautiful place but this hotel does not reflect on the 4 star title...

I write now to warn people about the ferry schedule. I hope that my experience with Paya Beach Resort will help you decide how you will spend your time.

I made a booking here for the days after my wedding. The hotel offers to bundle ferry services with the reservation, and advertises the ferry as running from 6am to 5pm, but they cannot provide a schedule until 2 weeks from the reservation date due to tide/weather conditions. The hotel has a policy of no-date changes or refunds within 4 weeks of the reservations. This sounds perfectly fair, and my family and I booked our post celebrations here for July 21-25.

A little more than 4 weeks from the reservation date (June 20th), they reached out with the schedule (attached below) for dates July 21-25. As you can see, the ferry times may be only in the early morning, and there may only be 2 ferries in a day.

At this point, depending on how soon you can check the ferry times and how you want to plan to depart KL at 4 am to arrive at Mersing by 9 am, they may not allow you to cancel your booking. So there's a very small window to cancel, and if you are part of a big group across several timezones, it can be difficult to even coordinate transportation.

You may think that you can cut the trip short by one day, but if you have planned to dive, you cannot fly within 24 hours of your last dive. This means you are travelling in one direction 5 hours of driving to Mersing, 2 hours of ferry to get to a hotel you can dive less at. That's 14 hours of travel from KL to not complete your goals. Even asking for a date change or hotel credit towards a future stay within 4 weeks before the reservation is not heard.

All of this is to say that the hotel should be upfront about the fact that there may only be 2 ferry rides in a day, and that they may both be extremely early in the morning. You need to invest an extra day to stay near Mersing overnight to make the ferry. The hotel will not be accommodating about this. While I think this is bad hospitality, we may have technically had a few days to decide whether we could cancel the reservation (at a cost of RM100/person for 12 people), so you could say this problem was our fault, and we should not have tried to pack in a scuba trip just after my wedding. But when will so many people take time off together? They weren't even willing to accommodate a date change by 1 day. Or a credit towards a future stay (even if prices go up and we pay the difference).

In my view, the hotel is less than upfront about how difficult the ferry schedule can be, and profits from the trouble that that causes. While they allow a name change on the reservation, good luck finding someone who can make the trip within the dates specified by the reservation. Pay careful attention to the dates as specified in the agreement, and cancel immediately as soon as you think you...

Exceptional Hospitality at Paya Beach Resort.

Though we weren’t staying at Paya Beach Resort, we visited multiple times for dining and excursion activities—and each visit left us genuinely impressed by the team’s warmth, professionalism, and extraordinary responsiveness.

🌄 Mountain Trek Rescue During a mountain trek, we lost our way and became stranded. Despite being day visitors, the resort’s front desk and activity team treated the situation with urgency and care. Mr. Peng personally came to locate us and guide us back to safety, while another team arrived by motorboat to assist. Their coordination and concern were deeply reassuring—an outstanding example of cross-team collaboration and guest-first thinking.

🐒 Monkey Mischief & Rooftop Heroics Later that evening, a monkey snatched a small bag containing my wife’s phone and dropped it on the restaurant rooftop. Mr. KK Wong, the restaurant manager, quickly spotted it and mobilized his team. In the middle of a rainstorm, Mr. Sonet Roy climbed onto the slippery rooftop and retrieved the bag—an act of courage and kindness. What stood out most was his humility; he was genuinely reluctant to accept any reward, embodying the resort’s spirit of service.

🍽️ Delicious Food & Thoughtful Service The food at Paya Beach Resort is excellent. The fried rice was flavorful and satisfying, and the juices were all freshly squeezed—refreshing and made with care. Mr. Masud crafted a perfect cup of ginger tea tailored to my preferences, clearly putting effort into every detail. Mr. Roberto, always smiling, was eager to help and made sure our dining experience was smooth and pleasant.

🏍️ Friendly Faces Beyond the Kitchen Though Mr. Arvin is a chef, we met him during an ATV ride. He didn’t serve us food, but his friendly demeanor and openness made the excursion even more enjoyable. It’s clear that the resort fosters a culture of warmth and hospitality across all roles.

🎖️ Leadership That Inspires Overseeing it all was Mr. Simon, the General Manager, whose presence was felt throughout our visits. He wasn’t just managing from behind the scenes—he was actively engaged, motivating his team, and ensuring every guest felt valued. His leadership radiated through the staff’s morale and dedication.

Final Thoughts Paya Beach Resort isn’t just a beautiful destination—it’s a place where people genuinely care. The team’s responsiveness, empathy, and integrity transformed our visits into something deeply personal and heartwarming. If you’re looking for a resort where hospitality is not just a service but a...