Gaya Island Hotels with Bars

We spent 3 nights at Gaya Island Resort and had a great time, I thought I would write a review because there are a few things worth considering before you go. Firstly, the place itself is amazing, the staff are super friendly and caring - probably the most professional I have ever experienced in my many years of travelling. So all in all it was a wonderful stay. The things worth noting are as follows: 1. The sunbeds, I think may have mentioned it and it's worth mentioning again - there are nowhere near enough. When you pay and arm and a leg to stay at a beautiful resort it is annoying that they haven't found a way to add more sunbeds. People get there early, throw on their towels and stay or disappear and the seat is gone for the day. This is a solvable issue and the resort should so something about it. 2. Check in is after 3 - could be later - and it's not flexible, so if you are arriving earlier be prepared to sit around waiting for your room. It would be nice if they could flex a little as waiting hours for a room without your bags is not a joy, but it is what it is. 3. Eating - you are on the resort, so you are eating in one of their restaurants - no other options available. There are a few restaurants so not really a problem (we did the hot pot restaurant and it was great), but good to be aware. By far the most expensive places we ate in Malaysia, but I guess given the quality of the resort it wasn't a surprise and the main restaurant is reasonable enough. 4. Activities - my wife and daughter did the cooking class and loved it, we did the night walk - which was fun and me and my son did the coral garden. The Coral garden was fun and I was lucky to see a big old shark. However there is a large amount of plastic floating on the surface of the water that is quite concerning and makes the whole place not feel so clean. The corals and fish look healthy so may be fine, but be prepared to swim through bottles and crisp bags to see the fish. The local resorts and local authorities should really work together to resolve and you pay the tourist tax, so not sure where that's going, but not to plastic clearance by the look of it. Hope that's helpful. all in all, it's a beautiful place to stay, could just do with a tweak here and there to make it even better

Great resort. We stayed at ocean villa 30 for two nights. Well maintained and special place. The staff are truely amazing. A special thanks to Karl the resort manager for listining to our feedback and returning some good karma. Also many thanks to the restaurant chef for the best food we had so far in Malaysia. Some small improvements: - airconditioning is a bit too loud even in sleep mode to keep on during the night - during and after a tropical rainshower the plumbing could not take it anymore, we accept that, but not the smell it gave inside the room. The positive: - free water sports, kayak, subs - kayak to the mangrove, do it yourself - breakfast at your own jetty - very good food, best value for money - sevice orientated staff all around taking very good care of you - daily plastic cleanup from the resort. Remember it is not their waste. They do anything to minimise the plastic footprint, even providing your own drink bottles - very clean rooms, great beds, amazing bathroom - only a short boat trip from KK away Terima Kasih Echoresorts :)

First & foremost, biggest compliments to the housekeeping team! We arrived in our villa around 2pm, went out around 4, and only returned at night after dinner to find: a mosquito coiled lit outside our door, bed has been made, coffee cups washed, rubbish bin cleared, how thoughtful! The sight of the sea from the resort was superb, enhanced by the good weather. The welcome drink of calamansi juice with plum, aka Kitchai Ping as it’s known locally, was as good as my mom’s. We initially intended to have the weekend hi-tea, but apparently it had to be pre-booked at least a day before. Thanks to that we got to enjoy happy hour instead, before having the weekend BBQ dinner that we managed to book a slot upon arrival. Bartender gave us extra kicks in our cocktails, thank you for taking our relaxation up a notch! However we seemed to be unlucky with food serving. We booked for dinner at 6 but our happy hour session somehow made some miscommunications and delay. Food was good and a plenty, though we did notice satays were missing, but we were well fed. Breakfast order was also somewhat mixed up, kitchen must be overwhelmed with many guests, but we got what we wanted in the end. Overall we are happy with our stay. We didn’t manage to explore the trails, perhaps we may return for a day trip in the future, and have that weekend hi-tea we missed.