LOCATION:
About 5 kilometres from Dungun town. About 2 hour journey from the nearest airport Kuala Terengganu.

DESCRIPTION:
Nestled in the serene beach of Tanjung Jara amidst verdant tropical forestslies one of the best resorts in Malaysia. Tanjung Jara Resort's sister property, the Pangkor Laut Resort, has already won many international accolades and one should expect similar experience at Tanjung Jara Resort.

I was lucky to stay here for about 1 week for some outstation work (yes, can you believe that?) and paid corporate rate of a measly RM230+ per night for a Bumbung room. Published room rates are usually much higher.

The resort goes by the "Unmistakably Malay" tagline, and rightly so. The name of the room types, its restaurants and spas, etc are appropriately mirrored to that. The terrace blocks consist of Bumbung rooms for the units on the 1st floor (Bumbung means "roof" in Malay), Serambi room for the ground floor (Serambi is some sort of verandah equivalent). The single storey beach-facing bungalows are called Anjung (or "corner" in English).

My Bumbung room was simply breathtaking. Timber floor, TV counter top, massive built-in closet, traditional bed, and extra spacious bathroom (which I estimate to be the same size of the bedroom itself). Also this is among the few resort that I know which provides personalized satellite TV service into your room - no more generic channels like CNN or BBC, this resort offers more channels than meet the eye should you decide to lie down in your comfortable bedroom.

There are 2 swimming pools at the resort. The better one, of course, is the one by the beach - with infinity pool design, sunbathing chairs and the mesmerizing ocean view. The main restaurant at the resort is called Di Atas Sungei (which means "on-the-river") which is built on a small stream.

At night, the resort staff will come by to your room to switch the bed into sleeping arrangement. Left on the pillow was a flower with a card written on it Malay rhymes (or pantun). Certainly a great experience!

REVIEWED ON:
October 2002

MY VERDICT:
One of my most memorable hotel stays in Malaysia.

MY RATING: