Review: Redang Beach Resort

After visiting Boracay in January, I needed to get another island fix and decided to return to Redang Island in the state of Terengganu in Malaysia in April. It was my third time on the island.

This time we stayed at Redang Beach Resort simply because the facilities are good and the rates were pretty reasonable. I paid RM693.24 for a 3 night / 4 day weekday snorkelling package. The cost includes the following:

- Return ferry from Shahbandar Jetty (in Kuala Terengganu) to Redang Island

- 3 nights in a Standard Room (twin sharing) at Redang Beach Resort

- 4 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, tea & dinner)

- Marine park fee

- 2 snorkelling trips a day

I thought since we went on a weekday, there would be less people and we would have the whole resort to ourselves. Unfortunately I was wrong and there were large groups of travellers (mainly Malaysians) whilst we were there.

CHECK-IN

When you arrive on the island, you will be ushered to the registration counter here:

All guests will be briefed by the staff too.

Guests may go to their rooms after check-in provided the rooms are ready. Otherwise, have to wait.

My bed had a broken wheel. I got the staff to repair it but it broked again when I sat on the bed. So I lived with the broken wheel throughout my 3 nights at the resort. It was not so bad after all.

LANDSCAPING

One of the features of Redang Beach Resort that I like is its landscaping.

There're manicured paths leading to the rooms:

This is the common area fronting the beach:

Another view of the common area fronting the beach:

Sorry this photo is dark. Either I need to improve my photography skills or editing skills.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Now let's talk about the most important thing for most travellers - meals!

All meals are served in either Home Town:

... or New Town:

The menu is the same in both locations.

In respect for its Muslim staff, the resort does not allow guests to consume alcohol in Home Town or New Town. However guests may do so at Summer Point (more on this place later).

We were assigned to Home Town and this is the buffet counter there:

The soup, dessert and drinks counter:

The resort does not provide mineral water bottles in the room. Instead, guests may get an unlimited supply of drinking water from the huge silver container that you can see on the right of this photo. I must say that this is a proactive effort to minimise the usage of plastic bottles on the island.

The salad and dessert counter:

It was barbecue night on our first night there:

Unlike most hotels in KL where the kitchen staff will barbecue the food for guests, in Redang Island Resort you'll have to barbecue the food yourself. In the end I didn't eat anything from the barbecue counter because I ain't got no patience to stand near the burning charcoal.

Another plus point for Redang Beach Resort is its wide variety of delicious food. To give you an example, here's the barbecue menu on the Sunday when we were there:

- Asparagus soup
- Salad bar
- Spaghetti
- Fried rice
- Cheesy mussel
- Creme corn
- Chicken wings
- Pandan chicken
- Chocolate cake
- Peach tart
- Watermelon
- Oranges
- Cendol
- BBQ stuff - satay, sausages, fishball, etc.

I was impressed with the quality of food (especially for that price) that I went up to the chef and commended his cooking.

If you still need to stuff your face with food, you may proceed to the Kopitiam which sells Malaysian food and cafe food:

Here's the menu in Kopitiam:

Note that you'll need to pay for anything that you order at Kopitiam as its not part of the snorkelling or diving package. Kopitiam also sells birthday cakes to groups who come to the resort to celebrate birthdays. 

DAY TIME ACTIVITIES

Now let's move on to activities at the resort.

Snorkelling and diving are the most popular activities on Redang Island due to its rich marine life.

Redang Beach Resort offers diving or snorkelling packages which includes 2 snorkelling trips a day or 3 - 4 dives a day.

This is the Dive Centre where divers get ready for their dives:

If you just want to laze by the beach, there are beach chairs for you to lie on:

My favourite is the hammock:

Lying in the hammock with the cool sea breeze blowing is one of the best feelings in the world. I slept in the hammock for a couple of hours each day that I didn't go for a single snorkelling session :-)

Benches are also available if you need to do work or even chat with friends:

There are two small pools for guests who prefer to swim in chlorinated water:

The waters in the pools were cloudy due to the many idiotic guests who swam with their clothes on.

Redang Beach Resort also has a mini mart, souvenir shop and batik painting centre for guests who wish to express their creativity on a piece of batik:

If you've got nothing else better to do, then perhaps you may want to look for squirrels that run around freely on the island:

Photo credit to Celia.

NIGHT TIME ACTIVITIES

When the sun has gone down and you've had your dinner, you have the option to go to Summer Point for a couple of drinks as you enjoy the live music:

The live band was getting ready when I snapped this photo.
Summer Point is the only location in Redang Beach Resort where you can drink alcohol.

On alternate nights, the DJ comes on and he spins from this place which is located right on the beach:

See the benches in front of the stage? Guests sit there with their friends, drink as much as they want and dance their hearts out to the tunes played by the DJ.

After reading my review and seeing all the photos, what do you think of Redang Beach Resort?

As for me I had a peaceful time there and will certainly come back again.