Golden Palm Tree Resort, Sepang Gold Coast

Back in December 2012, the Boy decided to celebrate our 1st anniversary at the Golden Palm Tree Resort which was supposedly a five-star resort, and from the pictures we saw online, we were really quite impressed with the setting. So we thought, why not give it a go and stay a night. 

Equipped with a GPS and a modest sense of direction we reached the resort after a 2 hour drive. Hotel guests are required to park at an open area carpark which was right beside the Extreme Park. From there, a free shuttle service comes every 30 minutes from the carpark to the resort.

Preview of the resort.

As soon as we arrived, we were told by the receptionist that we had to wait for half and hour to an hour as our villa was not ready yet and she would notify us when it is. Due to the unforgiving weather, we decided to quench our thirst at Sepoi-sepoi, one of the many restaurants at the resort. Drinks were overpriced and there were flies everywhere. You'd think this place was Melbourne in the summer.

After an hour of waiting, with no sign of the receptionist, we decided to enquire. We were then told that the villa was actually ready much earlier, leaving me appalled at how irresponsible the receptionist was. Had we not enquired, we would have been left waiting, literally drying out like salted fishes in the hot weather.

Our room was placed at the far end of the resort, so we had to take one of the buggies which ferries resort guests to and fro the lobby to the far end of the resort where the pool and bar is located. As convenient as it was, there's always a queue for buggies.

One of the many buggies at the resort

The interior of the villa was no doubt clean and beautifully decorated. It's all good if you can ignore the fact that the view of the water from the balcony is greenish and not sea blue.

Couch with adjustable table 

Love em bed drapes

View from our villa balcony

On a positive note, I have to commend the convenience of accessing the food menu, details of sports activities and a vast array of music selection all at your fingertips from the room television.

The morning on the day we were supposed to check out, we decided to put the 'order-food-via-television' service to the test. We ordered waffles and an American breakfast set which consists of a bacon, half a tomato, hash browns and scrambled eggs, costing us almost RM60. Minutes later, we received a phone call confirming our order and our food arrived 30 minutes later. And so it works!
For a five-star resort and the high price we paid for a night at the villa, we would expect a certain quality of the food served. Let's just say that expectation was not met.

Everything you need from your room television

After settling down, we decided to check out the ATV ride at the Extreme Park. While waiting for our turn, we were provided with Crocs slippers to wear as we were not allowed to wear flip-flops due to safety reasons. The ATV track was filled with deep muddy potholes, probably due to the rainy season. So much so that my ATV got stuck a few times in the mud and the instructor had to give my ATV a push. Overall, was good fun, although felt that the track was a lil too short.

You can clearly see my ride has been through the mud and back

Our muddy, icky Crocs. A sprint to the water hose ensued after the ATV ride.

We did not try the go-kart but we saw alot of families queueing up for it. There were even two-seater go-karts as you can see in the picture below for those with little ones wanting to experience the fun too. Cute.

After the ATV ride, we took a walk down the beach accompanied by the scorching Malaysian sun. Did not partake in any of the water sports as we did not trust the water. It was green and murky. It did not even come close to how the water looked like on the official website.

The beach during mid-day

The magic only comes in the evening when the sun is setting. This resort is blessed with an amazing view of the sunset. I'll let the pictures do the talking here.

The view was so breath-taking that we even saw a couple who came just for the sunset for their wedding photo shoot. 

Taking a dip at the infinity pool with the sunset view stretching from the sea was amazing. Nonetheless, the pool was packed with tourists from the middle-east and kids screaming from over-excitement. Definitely would not recommend this place if you're looking for a quiet and romantic honeymoon resort.

 After having an over-priced dinner at Perahu (HORRIBLE service, very slow) and some again, over-priced drinks at the Selat Bar, we retired to our room. Popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate the occasion and just talked the night away at the balcony.

(P.S. bring a mosquito repellent) 

Night view from our balcony

Overall, I doubt that I would return to this resort in the future except to catch the sunset. A night at this resort is more than enough just to experience the sunset view. If I could summarize this supposedly five-star resort, I would say over-priced, over-rated, but blessed with a beautiful sunset.

Nitty-gritty details:

Address: 

Golden Palm Tree, Iconic Resort & Spa

No.67, Jalan Pantai Bagan Lalang, 

Kg. Bagan Lalang,

43950 Sg Pelek,

Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Official Website: http://www.goldenpalmtree.com

Email: info@goldenpalmtree.com

Contact: +603 3182 3600

Map: http://www.goldenpalmtree.com/v2/contactus/location.html