Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort Review

Sunset at Avani Sepang

Address: No. 67, Jalan Pantai Bagan Lalang, Kg Bagan Lalang, 43950 Sungai Pelek, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia 
Tel : +603 3182 3600 
Fax : +603 3182 3700 
Email : sepang@avanihotels.com

Room: Superior Twin Room
Dates of travel: 3rd - 5th December 2014

It's the time of the year where hordes of workaholics start to clear their annual leaves, or in my case, PHs and Off-in-lieus. If you know me well enough, I never want to waste a single off day! Now I have more than usual off days in the week! 

Called up my girlfriend, Y, and we planned a mini adventure (or you could call it a trip without our men curbing our spending, bloody financial controllers!). We're each others' devil's advocate, encouraging one another to spend be it spa, in-room dining or drinks (usually I'd have the virgin version of whatever she's having). 

Palm Tree Shaped Resort

After browsing through of another friend's beautiful photos of this 'Maldives' or 'Dubai' wannabe place, we're headed straight for Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort, or formally known as Golden Palm Tree Resort. Namely so, as the entire resort is shaped like a palm tree. Aerial view would be very Maldive-ish. Plus, it's just about an hour's away from KLIA and about 1.5-2hrs away from KL town center. It's actually located very closely to the F1 Sepang Circuit.

Lobby Area

Alighting from the taxi, we were wowed by the large lobby and smell of sunshine. However, no one greeted us, welcomed us nor asked if we needed assistance or checking in. We walked past bellmen who were just chatting amicably amongst themselves. Have they forgotten they're the first impression of any resort? 

Anyway, we checked in and the receptionist very kindly explained where and what time breakfast was, gave us our keys and sent us on our way. I thought that's what you only get in city hotels? Not 5 star resorts... She didn't explain where the water sports area was, that there were Zumba & Yoga classes (I'm an aspiring Yogi) until I missed it the next day & only after opening up the map that was attached with the key. It may be my oversight and mistake not to have read everything, but it would be a nice touch to have someone point it out. I'd love a good yoga stretch in the morning!

Pathway leading to our room

We got a room on the 'trunk' of the palm tree which was nice because it's not too far to walk from either the lobby or clubhouse (where the restaurants, pool, spa and bar are located at) back to our room. We had a lovely, unobstructed view from our room. The room was actually large enough for us to hang out and have dinner on the sofa, chill on the balcony on rattan chairs or laze in bed and watch TV.

TV error!!

It's an occupational habit; I looked for the hotel's compendium/in room dining menu first thing after I put my bag down. Of course I didn't find it anywhere in the room because it's all on the TV! It would have been really high-tech and all if the TV actually worked though. It displayed a "unable to connect to server" screen and kept searching but to no avail. We eventually called for Eng/IT support and they fixed it in no time. It happened again at night when we were lazing in bed and the entire screen just froze. We decided to wait it out because it was late and I was in my pajamas and feeling really cozy. After 20mins of waiting it out, we got frustrated and called support. Halfway into the 15mins wait for support, the TV fixed itself. Oh wells...

Welcome to Avani Sepang! #yaytoindustryrate #avanisepang

A video posted by Natasha Lim (@natatatasha) on Dec 12, 2014 at 2:08am PST

Thought you should know too, the resort is built over mangrove waters, so don't expect blue and clear waters. It was always muddy brown and you'd be able to see sand/mud from your balcony during low tides. I was actually hopping to spot some mangrove wildlife (mudskipper/otters), but all I saw were mud & mud water. 

Rain shower & nice view!

You could enjoy the view while on the toilet!

Sink Area

Unacceptable

We stayed in a superior room, so the room doesn't come with a bathtub. The shower overlooks the sea and it's really lovely to stand under the rain shower and look out. However, some evenings, we noticed how far the shoreline went out due to the low tide and there were people who walked out. I'm pretty sure they could see us showering if we didn't pull down the blinds!

Twin Beds

The room is actually large enough with a sofa by the balcony/windows to enjoy the sunshine and view as you just relax or even have your dinner there. It can even turned into a day bed in the evening for small children.

spacious room!

There is sufficient space between the sofa and the bed, for a family especially. You're able to toss your floaties, bags and even spades and buckets for the little ones. The TV seems a little small considering how spacious the room is.

Rattan furniture out on the balcony

View from the balcony

 Pool

Infinity Pool

On the second day, despite the gloomy weather I might add, we decided to laze by the pool after a hearty breakfast. I know it's a sure way to put on weight, but it was just too lovely not to snooze on the deck chair for a couple of hours! Initially, there were a few families by the pool having a good time. After about 10mins it started to drizzle and we moved to this lovely cabana. Despite that the cushions were kept away to keep dry, we were contented just sitting there soaking up the cool breeze and view. Shortly, this friendly gentleman walked toward us and offered us two deck chairs under the shelter as the cabana had a cloth shelter and it's not necessarily water proof. I felt that that was a lovely touch. At this point, the pool emptied out and it was just the two of us and two other guys.  

Tree pose. Find a sense of balance while we're waiting for the rain to stop. #strikeapose #stopdropyoga #stillraining

A photo posted by Natasha Lim (@natatatasha) on Dec 12, 2014 at 8:31pm PST

The View inside the gym!

After finishing a book, the rain had finally ceased and we moved back out to the outdoor deck chairs. The sky was still gloomy, the wind chilly but it was so lovely to just continue another round of snoozing, which I did! I was rudely awakened though about an hour into my nap to find hordes of children covering almost every inch of the pool. I like children, believe me. But not when they're all screaming at the top of their lungs at a resort that promises rest, relaxation and luxury. 
 

Happy children having fun despite the gloomy weather

Despite all the screaming and occasional splashes of water (children will be children and they just want to have fun right? After all, I was once their age), we were well taken care of by the wait staff at Bila Bila & The Bar. They were always smiling and always inquired if we needed more of anything. Totally made up for all the screaming kids. 

It's dark & you can't really see the pool, but yes, infinity pool! Plus the live band is excellent! #21guns #greendays #chillaxmaximum #avanisepang

A video posted by Natasha Lim (@natatatasha) on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:59am PST

In the evening, there's actually a really good live band and they sang modern songs in their first few sets (think Green Day). In between their sets, there was actually belly dancing performances! Apparently the staff at Avani are multi-skilled! The Zumba Instructor is the lead belly dancer and she's really hot! 

AvaniSpa

AvaniSpa Reception

We wanted to have a spa session so bad, we booked an appointment for 2 hours despite the price! We got the Revive/Revitalize Me (or something similar, I honestly can't remember the name and the spa menu is not online). It's a 120mins spa session consisting of four components, namely, Welcome Touch, Malay Urut Massage, Head Massage & Refreshments. Bear in mind, the names of the treatments are based solely on memory as I was too relaxed and forgot to take photos of the menu. 

Spa Menu

That spa session cost us RM310++, roughly equates to SG$140 nett after adding in the taxes. It's honestly the most expensive spa/massage session I've ever been to. I'm not going to compare the price to Thailand or even Indonesia (1/5th the price) because the Spa outlets I've been to is not located in a 5-Star Luxury Resort. 

Spa Form

We arrived about 20mins before our treatment as requested by the receptionist so that they are able to go through what type of massages we want and our body condition as well as preferences. We got there, filled up a form (indication our preferences on where we would like them to focus on), and got distracted by their balcony. They had two hanging lounge day beds! We propped ourselves immediately on it and enjoyed the view while waiting for our turn. We even forgot about our tea. Pretty soon, the entire balcony was filled with China/Taiwan delegates in business attire, making a ruckus (and I thought the children at the pool were pretty bad). I'm not sure if they're on a site inspection or just went up there themselves. Pretty soon there were about 20 of them taking photos of the spa reception, talking loudly and looking at Y and I lounging on the day bed.

Spa Balcony

I got a bit irritated because the spa is a place for you to relax & unwind and with 20 people staring at me, I'm stressed out! I walked back to the reception and asked if we could sit inside, the receptionist rejected my request because the area in which I wanted to sit and wait was for Medi-Pedi only. So I asked how long more till I can start my treatment then, and she replied that my therapist was with another guest at the moment and she will call me once they're done. 

Wow. Ok. So I went back out to get stared at by the 20 people. 

This is definitely unacceptable. Where I work at, I've never brought guests to the spa for a site inspection because I know how noisy we will be (shoes click and talking). Plus, the spa receptionist will never allow me in. They want to maintain a level of calm and tranquility which AvaiSpa has ZERO.

Soon we were ushered into the changing room to get changed, and I asked Y, so what exactly is the "Welcome Touch"? No one spoke with us or get to know us better. 

Spa Reception

Anyway, the treatment started, then it ended, and I must say, it is forgettable. Which was rather sad because after spending almost half of what I wanted to spend on this trip, I got a forgettable massage. With that price in SG (even in luxury properties), we are able to use facilities like Jacuzzi, Steam Rooms, etc. 

In my form, I wrote to have a medium pressured massage, focusing on the shoulders, neck and head. Initially when the massage started, it felt good, but each stroke is done about 8 or 16 times, and after the 5th stroke, where ever she was rubbing started to hurt. I did tell her to go softer as it hurts, and she did. 

I was looking forward to the head massage so bad because I was having a headache the previous day. Sadly, it lasted about 10 mins and when I was just starting to enjoy it, we're done. I expected 30mins of head massage man. She only massaged the scalp or rather the top of the head. They didn't massage the temples or the back of the head, which was again disappointing. 

Red Touch Mocktail

"Refreshments" is actually just a mocktail they got from the Bar at Bila Bila. It's good with a mix of dragonfruit puree and sprite. No doubt the mocktail was good (Y didn't like it though), again, I expected the refreshment something in the line of lemongrass something and fruits. You know, something that alines it with the spa or relaxation or whatever. 

Oh, did I mention I found 2 bruises on my body after the spa? The one on my shoulder disappeared after 2-3 days, but the one on my thigh is still there after 1 week.

At the point, I was done expecting anything from that spa.

I guess the only thing luxurious and 5-Star about this spa is the price. I even wonder if they self appointed the 5-stars or were they actually rated by Forbes or other audit companies?

So....

We enjoyed ourselves despite the uneventful spa day. The staff working at the restaurants, bars and even housekeeping were very friendly and warm. We were just walking around past all the 2/3 bedroom villas and we asked housekeeping if we could see how a 3 bedroom villa looked like. They allowed us to enter and even showed us around, even asking if we wanted a photo! 

The 3 bedrooms are really so lovely with two sun beds out on the balcony! The master bedroom toilet was ridiculous though. Despite being well furnished and designed, the tub was actually facing the main walkway. So, you gotta close the windows of course!

Will I be back? Yes, why not. It's a simple getaway and I will certainly try the 3 bedroom villa next time I come back with my friends. 

Will I go back for the spa? Never! It's just too expensive for the quality we're paying.