The Datai Langkawi

On the north-west tip of Langkawi, where the Machinchang range falls steeply into the Andaman Sea, The Datai Langkawi has stood in the rainforest above Datai Bay since 1993. Kerry Hill designed it so that the buildings sit among the trees rather than in a clearing, linked by walkways through the canopy. Dusky leaf monkeys move through the branches around the main building, and the beach below is a long curve of pale sand backed by forest.

History

The resort opened in 1993, a few years after Langkawi was declared a duty-free island and began its development as a destination. It was among the first resorts in Malaysia designed to an international standard, and its architecture became a reference for building in the tropics. Hill worked with the French interior designer Didier Lefort, and their timber pavilions, stone platforms and deep roofs set the tone. After 25 years, the resort closed for a long renovation, again led by Lefort, and reopened at the end of 2018 with refreshed rooms, new villas, reworked restaurants and an expanded nature programme.

Architecture and design

Hill's buildings use dark timber, local stone and wide overhanging roofs, and they stay low so that the forest canopy remains above them. The main building sits on the hillside with views down to the bay, while villas are scattered through the forest and along the shore. Lefort's renovation lightened the interiors and opened them further to the outside without altering the original architecture. Trees were kept wherever possible during construction, and the paths bend around them.

Rooms and suites

Accommodation is divided between canopy rooms and suites in the main building, rainforest villas set into the trees, and beach villas near the sand, some with private pools. The Datai Estate Villas, the largest, have several bedrooms and their own pools.

Dining

The Dining Room is the main restaurant. The Pavilion, raised into the forest canopy, serves Thai cooking. The Gulai House, a timber house among the trees close to the beach, serves Malay dishes. The Beach Club serves lighter meals by the sea.

Wellness

The spa sits along a forest stream, with treatment pavilions open to the sound of the water, and its treatments draw on Malay traditions. The resort's naturalist, Irshad Mobarak, has led guided walks here for many years, and guests regularly see dusky leaf monkeys, colugos and several species of hornbill. A nature centre explains the ecology of the forest and the bay, and the programme extends to mangrove trips and night walks.

Weddings and events

The resort hosts weddings, usually on the beach at Datai Bay or in its gardens, with dinners in the restaurants or on the sand. Small corporate retreats and incentive groups also use it.

Location

Datai Bay is about 30 to 40 minutes by car from Langkawi International Airport, along a road that passes beneath the Machinchang range, where the Langkawi cable car climbs to the summit and the Sky Bridge. Langkawi has been a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2007, and boat trips through the mangroves of the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park are the classic excursion. Flights from Kuala Lumpur take about an hour, and ferries from the mainland reach Kuah, the island's main town. A golf course lies close to the resort on the same bay. For a luxury resort on Langkawi, The Datai has one of the most secluded settings on the island: there is no village on the bay, and the road ends at the forest.