Kee Hua Chee arrives in Langkawi in orange/yellow shirt to match Firefly colours!
The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa was won Luxury Island Resort in Malaysia for all the right reasons!
I FLEW INTO LANGKAWI ABOARD FIREFLY WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND AND WAS MORTIFIED THAT THE WESTIN LANGKAWI ONLY SENT A NEW BMW 7 SERIES WITH UNIFORMED CHAUFFEUR AND NO SIGN OF BIG BOSS MICHAEL SCHLUETER THE GENERAL MANAGER.
I wept gallons of crocodile tears as I expected the hotel GM to personally welcome me since I am so rich and famous. Luckily his excuse was water-tight and even I had to concede Michael Schlueter had a point.
"I flew into Langkawi from Phuket, Thailand at 4 pm and you arrived at 3 pm and I could not expect you to wait till I arrive," explained the affable Schlueter. "And of course I did not dare go Phuket on holiday when you were coming. I went a day ahead on 1 November to receive the award as Westin Langkawi had won the Best Luxury Island Resort in Malaysia! So now you know you are in good hands during your stay in Langkawi!"
So I was indeed as were the guests for MIGF's final dinner as our last feast at Putrajaya Marriott was our final dinner in Kuala Lumpur though Putrajaya is officially outside KL but you get my drift and let's not split hairs.
I was greeted by smiling bellboys and staff after 30 minutes' pleasant drive and any drive inside a BMW 7 Series is automatically pleasant! No ifs or buts!
My room has a rack rate of RM 1,300 as a Best Luxury Island Resort award winner never comes cheap but if you book online, I think it should be around RM 800.
The other Malaysian hotel winner is Tiara Labuan Hotel which won the Luxury Villa Resort. Another 'Country' winner is G Hotel which won Luxury Design Hotel. The Palace of Golden Horses won Luxury Golf Resort. These 4 awards are extra special since they are under the Best in Country category!
Another major Malaysian winner is Sama-Sama Hotel at KLIA which won Luxury Airport Hotel in the WHOLE of Asia!
These prestigious awards are given by World Luxury Hotels Awards.
So congratulations to all five!
Notice how MIGF founders Dato Steve Day and Datin Su Day always unerringly know the best hotels and restaurants to stay and promote!
The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa pulled out all the stops to ensure the 20 guests who flew in from Kuala Lumpur had the time of their life and worth their while since we had to buy the airticket, pack, unpack, pack and unpack and find our way from our porches to Subang Airport and back!
And we DID enjoy ourselves tremendously!
Canapes and cocktails started at 6.30pm on 2 November 2013 in the hotel lobby which was pleasant but hardly spectacular. But the drinks inside test tubes were a hit and wittily presented and I was hoping some would turn into Frankenstein but no such luck and everyone remained their usual selves.
Then a convoy of golf buggies ferried us to the 5-bedroom Royal Villa at RM 24,000 a night! Yes and it is taken on a regular basis!
But this was not the venue which would have been good enough. We were ushered down the garden onto the jetty where a saxophonist saxxed (is there such a word?) and I found the dining table would be at the pavilion at end of the pier!
It was called The Float which baffled me as it was not a pontoon and was solidly anchored into the seabed and was not bobbing up and down. Why not Westin Pavilion on Andaman since it was inside Andaman Sea? But I am not the owner of Westin Langkawi who is an Indonesian tycoon called Pak Peter who was invited to invest in Langkawi by our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Veteran visitors to Langkawi will know Westin Langkawi used to be Sheraton Perdana while earlier visitors would have stayed there while it was Langkawi Island Resort. The more trail blazing and pioneering (read that as 'aged'!) will have slept there while it was first built in 1973 as Langkawi Country Club! Of course I was not even born then so I dunno!
Its current manifestation as Westin Langkawi started on 19 December 2006 after running its course as Sheraton Perdana since 1995. This may explain the buffalo horn inspired layered roofs so popular back then as also seen in Genting Grand hotel.
The 202 rooms, 16 1-bedroom villas, 3 2-bedroom villas and 1 5-bedroom villa have been extensively renovated and updated with all mod cons so it is as good as new. And makes it a worthy winner of Luxury Island Resort and not the Datai or Andaman!
Since the pier was quite long, it was also used as venue for champagne and canapes! Tables were laid in alternate rows laden with exquistely presented nibbles while waiters kept pouring champagne as the sun set amid a surreal setting!
I am hard pressed to think of a more picturesque and photogenic location on an island laden with scenic spots!
So many flashes went off as guests took photos of themselves against a glowing sunset dappled with orange-red hues those on the beach might think a Morse code message was being transmitted!
As for the 4-course dinner, it was a masterpiece by Chef Chandran Narayanan while the wines were superbly selected by Antonio Ostuni the F & B manager. It was Deepavali but we were told not to shed a tear for Chef Chandran who had to work since he is a Muslim, after marrying one. He hails from Sarawak and cooked in the Brunei palace before leaving to look after his father. This was his second time with MIGF and we all forced him after dinner to continue!
Entertainment was provided by 3 dollybirds from Indonesia called The Java which means they must be from this island.
After a welcome speech by Dato Steve Day, General Manager Michael Schleuter stood on a podium to announce the good news about winning the best Luxury Island Resort award in the whole of Malaysia!
And the dinner, service and facilities proved Westin Langkawi deserved the award!
1 comment:
Looks like everyone has had a good time here! The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa deserves every accolade it has received thus far.
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