Redang Mutiara Beach Resort

First of all, this is one of the best budget beach vacation I've booked. Besides the pleasant company, I think I owe it to the resort staff and facilities too. Pre-trip, Kimi have been friendly and helpful in managing the booking. The speedboat transfer is from the Redang Mutiara Check-in Jetty in Merang (see photos), not to be confused with Marang Jetty or the main Merang Jetty. If you are taking a bus from KL, you can stop at Kuala Terengganu and take a shuttle or taxi to Merang. From there, the resort staff fetched us to the check-in jetty which is about 5 mins by car from Merang Jetty. The speedboat transfer is about 45 minutes. I loved the ride and would choose it over the 1-1.5 hour ferry ride from Syahbandar Jetty anytime. Upon our arrival to Mutiara Resort, the staff offered to carry our luggages by motor cart. My first impression of the area was that the beach was pristine and the water was very blue. Despite booking the vacation in monsoon October, the weather remained kind to us, only raining at nights. Check-in was fast. We got the quad room for the two of us. The a/c was cold enough to beat the outdoor heat. For the quad room, it was a chalet with an attached bathroom. Bear in mind that there is no hot water and don't expect high pressure water. We went for the snorkelling trip after check in, lunch and a stroll on the beach. It was amazing, saw a lot of fishes and corals. The boatmen brought along fish food to attract the school. After the snorkelling trip, we went for the additional turtle point trip. We got to swim with some turtles upclose and feed them. Adorable animals. After that, they brought us to an off shore sand bar nearby for sunset. Great views from there. On the second day, we woke up early to catch the sunrise and chill on a picnic blanket on the beach. After breakfast, we built an "epic" sandcastle. We went for the noon snorkelling trip after lunch. The staff offered to bring us to the nearby island town which we agreed to. We took a short stroll around there, checked out the health clinic there and went back to the resort. In the late afternoon, we did our PADI refresher course with RODC the dive center at Mutiara Resort. Zul, our dive master was chill and friendly. We had a great time doing the refresher course and checking out the house reef. Saw some clownfish in their anemone too. We swam around and chatted with some of the staff in the evening until sunset. On the last day, we hung around at the dive center until our speedboat arrives. Check out was fast and easy. For the price we paid, this vacation was worth every penny. We spent most our times outdoor enjoying the ocean and beach. Any shortcomings of the room itself were overcome by the friendly staff, amazing beach, connectivity to nature, awesome snorkelling trips and excellent diving experience. P.s. kudos for delicious dessert (bubur pulut and doughnuts) The whole trip only coat the both of us RM 680+90+300 (3D2N full board off-peak+add

TERRIBLE SO TERRIBLE!! How this resort tagged as 4 stars? Maybe 10 yrs back was 4 stars but for 2023 don’t deserve any star. ROOM, SERVICE, FACILITIES, EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE!! You only can see the reception staff during check-in and after u got the room keys, they missing and any issues raise like “non of my business”. Everything must pay even request change room due to cleanliness issue ALSO MUST PAY! The reason got government group will be check-in but till c/out I didn’t see any group arrival. THE BEST PART WAS THE ROOM OCCUPIED BY THE STAFF TO SLEEP! ***!! They just think about money instead of taking care the current guests which is PAY FOR THE SERVICE. Snorkelling time delayed without any notice, BUFFET DINNER FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, really?? Don’t be fooled with BBQ dinner, It's not really BBQ, just grilled food. The restaurant and food preparation really dirty! Nothing special to stay here, its a nightmare for us and others group. The management claim got 16 yrs experience in hotel industry but they don’t know how to handle guests satisfaction, they only know how to make money only. I don't influence you’ll not to stay here but think more than 10 times to stay here. PLS THINK CAREFULLY OR COME BACK FROM VACATION WITH FULL OF STRESS AND NIGHTMARES!!