The Ritz Carlton Langkawi, Malaysia 🇲🇾 – one huge villa all to ourselves

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi is the perfect place for anyone looking for luxury and relaxation right by the sea. Our dream villa with its own pool and breathtaking view is a wonderful place to stay – can the breakfast keep up? Read for yourself.

This is hotel review #22 out of a total of #31 reviews

Location

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi is located in the west of the island near Kuala Teriang and within sight of the airport nestled in a bay including a private beach.

Getting there

Most guests arrive by plane from Kuala Lumpur and land at the small international island airport. In addition to the domestic flights within Malaysia, there are also a number of international departure airports. These include Singapore and, seasonally, Dubai.

There is also the option of taking a ferry to the island from Kuala Perlis or Kuala Kedah.

How to get to the resort

We arrived by cab from our previous hotel, The Datai, in the north of the island. From the airport, however, you can be at the Ritz Carlton Langkawi in just over 10 minutes. From the ferry port in Kuah, it’s a good half hour to the hotel.

Check-in

After the obligatory check at the gate, we were greeted in a friendly manner at the driveway, our luggage was stored for us here and we were directed to the gong, which Fabi struck for us as a welcome ritual.

We were then taken to a kind of welcome lounge where check-in took place. Here we were warmly welcomed by the Balinese Guest Loyalty Manager Lalu. This man is a force of nature, full of good humor and positive energy! He handed us his business card straight away and asked us to contact him as soon as we had any questions or wanted to make a reservation or anything similar.

A very friendly member of staff also checked us in and gave us information about the resort. We were also given tea, cookies and scented cold refreshing towels.

During check-in, as Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite guests, we were given an information letter with an overview of all the benefits of our status:

• Welcome drink for a maximum of 2 people
• Breakfast for 2 people if selected instead of points
• 20% discount on the second spa treatment
• Nature Walk for a maximum of 2 persons
• one ice cream scoop per child and stay
• one tree plant per family and stay

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi at a glance

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi is located on a headland and has a roughly triangular layout. In the center are several public areas such as the lobby, reception, Langkawi Kitchen and the store. Villas 1 to 17, which are divided into Rainforest and Ocean, are located on the coast and behind them are the 10 buildings that house the rooms and junior suites. Villas 19 to 28 are located directly on the beach and have direct access to the beach. The two pools and restaurants are located on both sides of the beach.

The Villa

As usual, we booked a standard room. For our stay, we used two of our suite night upgrades from the Marriott Bonvoy Program. This gave us an upgrade to the 300 square meter One Bedroom Larger Villa right by the sea!

Our villa number 9 is accessible via a small jetty. You then arrive at the door behind which the actual villa and the private outdoor area are hidden. Down a pergola you will find yourself in front of the actual villa door. Directly opposite the first entrance door is the villa’s own private pool.

In the villa itself, the living and dining areas, bedrooms and bathrooms are lined up next to each other and all offer huge window fronts facing the ocean with a view of the sea and some greenery. The individual rooms can be separated by floor-to-ceiling sliding doors. The building is built on stilts right by the shore area, but offers no access to the sea.

Welcome

A welcome gift was already waiting for us once we arrived at the villa. We were given macarons and chocolates, as well as fruit and a handwritten letter. A member of staff briefly showed us around and shortly after that, our suitcases were delivered.

Living room

A combined living and dining area awaits you behind the entrance door. In front of the window front is a spacious sofa with table and behind it a round dining table with chairs. We were also able to work wonderfully here.

A sideboard is set into the stairs, so to speak, which also contains the minibar (for a fee), a real wine fridge and snacks. The coffee machine for tabs, the kettle, all the necessary ingredients for tea and coffee, as well as water were also available here.

Of course, there is also a large TV installed on the wall. From here, two sliding glass doors also provide access to the pool.

Bedroom

The large bedroom has a king-size bed with a comforter and a total of four pillows. On the two bedside stands you will find the telephone, a pad with pen, the remote control, as well as a book and a radio (alarm clock). Sockets and light switches are hidden behind each of the two tables, which can be folded out into the wall.

As in the living room, there is also a large TV mounted on the wall, which can be fully folded out so that you can watch TV from the comfort of your bed.

And from the bed you have a magnificent view of the sea. Who wouldn’t want to start the day like that?

Bathroom

Inside the huge bathroom you will find a washstand with two washbasins right in the middle of the room. Here you will also find all the necessary care products and a really nice little cloth bag in which the remaining amenities – from Diptyque, by the way – are hidden. Opposite that and directly in front of the window a stylish bathtub with a view of the sea is installed. On the stool in front of it are bath salts and a Loofa sponge.

At the end of the room is an open rain shower with a fully glazed hand shower option. From there, another glass door leads into the room built in front of the window front. Behind the shower is the toilet with Japanese toilet, which even lights up at night!

The built-in cupboard is located at the back of the washbasin. As usual, you will find an iron and ironing board here. Slippers, bathrobes, everything for the laundry, shoehorn and brush. The Ritz Carlton Langkawi also provides straw hats, a beach bag and beach towels. The safe is housed in its own small cupboard.

Turndown

Of course, there is also a turndown service at the Ritz Carlton Langkawi. It’s not quite as extensive as at The Datai, for example, but at least the comforter is pulled back, slippers are provided and all the shutters are closed.

Villa Pool & View

The villa’s own private pool can be reached from the entrance, but also through a sliding glass door from the living room. As an infinity pool, it merges seamlessly into the ocean as far as the horizon. Relatively large, it offers the opportunity to swim a short lane and, above all, to cool off. The unobstructed view extends across the sea to the airport opposite.

Two sun loungers and an umbrella are available for you on the adjoining deck. There is a couch and a dining table with two chairs placed inside a gazebo. The cuddly toy tiger is supposed to keep the monkeys away. At low tide, we even had a small sandy beach right in front of the villa.

Resort activities

Horizon Pool

The two resort pools are located at opposite ends of the bay. The Horizon Pool is at the southern end and overlooks the ocean. As an infinity pool, it merges directly into the ocean and the only difference between the two is the slightly different color.

Sun loungers and cabanas are available at the pool. During our stay, the resort’s occupancy rate was quite high and yet at any one time, no more than half of the sun loungers were occupied.

You can simply help yourself to the water and sun protection provided.

Beach Grill Pool

The second pool, located at the northern end of the bay, is adjacent to the Kid’s Club and also offers an integrated children’s pool. It overlooks the bay and beach and is located right next to The Beach Grill restaurant. A number of sun loungers with parasols are available here.

Beach

You can reach the beach from both ends, or of course from the pool villas with beach access. Interestingly, we never saw any guests on the beach and never spent any time there ourselves. Somehow this really beautiful part of the resort seems more like an accessory and as if they didn’t want guests to stay here. As far as we know, there are no sun loungers there either.

Fitness Center

The rather large and well-equipped gym offers various fitness equipment spread across two rooms, as well as a course room. Opposite the Kid’s Club is the tennis court for free use.

Spa

The treatment rooms of the famous The Ritz Carlton Spa are beautifully situated in the iconic “eggs” of the resort that feature in most pictures. The reception area is modern and has great views of the sea. As a hotel guest, you can use the spa facilities for up to one hour per day and enjoy the gender-segregated saunas and the open-air Jacuzzi.

For more really great shots, check out our YouTube video by Fabi.

Kid´s Club

The Ritz Kids area is huge and has its own small pool right next to the Family Pool. Here kids can let off steam and have lots of fun.

Tours

Ritz Carlton Langkawi is the ideal starting point for a trip to SkyBridge. You can get there by car in just 10 minutes. When we visited, there wasn’t much going on at all and everything went really quickly.

From the top you have a great view over the entire bay. Unfortunately, we were super unlucky and just as we got to the top clouds started gathering and ultimately it started to rain really hard.

Nevertheless, the experience is great and we can only recommend the excursion.

Special features

Every evening at 5:30 pm there is supposedly a fire dance show by the beach, which we unfortunately missed both times. Several guests nevertheless have told us that it is really worth seeing.

Restaurants

In addition to In Villa Barbeque, Ritz Carlton Langkawi also offers three other dining options.

The Beach Grill

Here, next to the family-friendly pool, you can enjoy snacks and pool food during daytime. In the evening, you can choose from delicious grilled specialties with a view of the bay.

Horizon Lounge & Bar

As the name suggests, the Horizon Pool and the bar of the same name are right next to each other. Here, too, you can choose from a small menu of snacks during the day. In the evening, you can enjoy dinner with a view over the ocean.

The integrated Horizon Bar invites you to enjoy a drink at sunset listening to a live DJ. We redeemed our voucher for a welcome drink here. You can usually get beer, wine or sparkling wine, but as we asked nicely, we were also served two excellent Amaretto Sours.

There are various seating areas and a great view of the sea and the sunset from all of them. Just be warned that some places get very hot right at the end of the day. Just after a few minutes we moved from a great spot with a view to the bar because it simply was cooler there.

In the afternoon we had a wrap and a burger here of which both were delicious and fresh.

Hai Yan

The Fine Dinig Restaurant at the Ritz Carlton is a Chinese restaurant. Located right next to the spa, it mainly offers indoor seating. But there are also a handful of tables outside placed on a narrower terrace.

At the far end is a separate room that can be booked for larger groups or families. Here, next to a some sofas, there is a large round table for having dinner together. There is also an outdoor area at the very back for smokers or to enjoy the sunset while having a drink.

The entire restaurant is beautifully designed and superbly equipped. Which led us to the following questions:

• Question one: Why isn’t the restaurant also used as a breakfast restaurant? This location is so unique! Dear Ritz Carlton: why not use it as an a la carte only breakfast option in addition to the actual breakfast or as a breakfast option for status members? That would be the absolute WOW effect that would leave every other hotel on the island envious.
• Question two: Why isn’t there also a bar here? It’s so nice to sit outside on the terrace of this restaurant. A third bar that could be used to ease the flow of guests some more would be a great idea in our oppinion.

As you can see, we are passionate about the restaurant and two dear fans who recognized and approached us – greetings to you! – assured us that they had a really great meal there.

We were sad not to have eaten there and will definitely make up for it next time.

Breakfast

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi serves breakfast in the Langkawi Kitchen. The elongated room is vitrified all around and offers slightly elevated larger tables and smaller tables for couples on the opposite side. Three covered platforms have been added to the outdoor area facing the valley, where you can also take a seat.

The buffet in the rear area is very extensive and includes a number of live cooking stations as well as a champagne bar. You can also choose from a small menu and of course, drinks are served at the table.

The food was all good, but unfortunately not really outstanding. The same goes for the service. Everyone was real nice, but very good service as we expected it was simply not given.

In addition, the room is rather unfavorably divided. The tables for couples in inside are all arranged along a relatively narrow corridor that all guests have to pass through when seated either further back or on one of the rear terraces. There’s not really any privacy or peace and quiet at breakfast.

Although there would actually be enough space to arrange the tables differently Management chose this form. So as you can guess unfortunately, we didn’t like that allcation at all.

Check-out

During Check-out is probably the only time you will enter reception area during your stay – at least that was the case for us.

The large air-conditioned room offers the opportunity to check out at two tables. In our case, everything was well prepared by the staff and the process went smoothly.

Costs

We booked Ritz Carlton Langkawi using 110,000 Bonvoy points for two nights for the standard room and got the villa with two suite night upgrades.

In addition, we only had to pay for the spa and food. The stay itself was therefore free of charge for us!

Departure and onward journey

Of course, we were asked at check-out if we needed help with our departure – but we had already booked a grab for the short ride to the airport.

The very small Langkawi airport is well laid out and can be reached from the Ritz Carlton Langkawi in a good 10 minutes by car. On site, everything was pretty well organized and modern.

We flew back to Singapore on Scoot and stayed overnight at the W Singapore Sentosa Island. Stay tuned for that review – I promise it´s worth it!

Conclusion

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi is a really nice hotel. A lot is done right here!

Unfortunately, the hotel had the disadvantage of being the last of the 4 really excellent luxury hotels on our Langkawi trip and in direct comparison at all times. We were able to hold 3 experiences against it for each part of the evaluation. This meant that there was very strong competition in some areas, which clearly influenced the rating. If we had started our round trip here, the rating would certainly have been different.

Nevertheless, we got assigned to a huge villa for two nights. The bay is beautiful and the spa is truly unique. Unfortunately, the breakfast was quite disappointing all over, but all in all the stay was very, very nice!

Lalu made his own contribution in making our stay a success and even contacted us after our departure asking whether everything had gone well! The rest of the staff on site were also very helpful, always friendly and smiling!

This property is a very good option in redeeming your points!

Maybe next time we would choose one of the villas with direct access to the beach – just to be able to make a direct comparison.

Hotel Homepage

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi

Rating

We assign the Ritz Carlton Langkawi 9 out of 10 possible points for this stay.

We deduct half a point each for the not so great breakfast experience and the rather okay view from the villa towards the airport.

Recommendation

We can recommend the Ritz Carlton Langkawi for all target groups. Solo travelers, families and couples all get their money’s worth here.

Go there?

You can do very well. The Ritz Carlton Langkawi is approved by us!

Langkawi Rundreise

The Ritz Carlton Langkawi is the last hotel on our Langkawi round trip. We have tested the four best hotels on the island for you. You can also read reviews of the St. Regis Langkawi, Four Seasons Resort Langkawi and The Datai on this homepage.

And I can tell you this much: it’s really worth it! All the hotels are really fantastic! So stay tuned!

YouTube Review