Stunning hotel, stunning location, stunning rooms, stunning food. Best of all, the nicest staff we have ever come across in a hotel. If the Rasa Ria is typical of this hotel chain, then we will look for a Shangi-Las first time, every time. Salinah, the Ocean Wing manager, Lilya on reception, Anderia who looked after our room, and our 2 favourites, Bobby and Jefferey in the Sampan bar made this the most memorable holiday we have ever had.

We stayed for 3 nights (split over 2 stays ) - Yes the hotel is under going renovations, but they all have to at some point don't they? We booked a rainforest room but on arrival were upgraded to a brilliant deluxe seaview room instead, a lovely surprise as it was a great size and really well decorated and equipped. DInner at Tepi Laut was excellent (have the Beef Rendang, but leave room for the desserts)!! We left early the next day so were treated to a lovely boxed breakfast to see us through. The staff were polite, warm and courteous at all times without being intrusive. On our return 3 days later we were welcomed like family and were treated this time to a super deluxe mega wow ocean view jacuzzi awesome suite (If that isn't its name it should be) which ranks now as joint top on our list of Hotel rooms we've stayed in (See Larsons Camp, Samburu, Kenya). Everything was once more brilliant and we had time to indulge in visiting the Orangutan reserve which was a treat not to be missed. At the feeding platforms a crowd of about 30 were treated to the antics of two incredibly cheeky and adorable juveniles who wowed us with their gymnastics and associated antics, but the best bit was seeing Ten-Ten, the 18 month old baby Orangutan who won everyones hearts with her face pulling and spinning skills!! I'm sure there was much more we could have done but we relaxed, swam, slept and ate as much or as little as we pleased and it was all pretty much perfect!! The setting is amazing, the staff are incredible, the accommodation is fantastic......UNBEATABLE

The resort is a solid destination stay with a few caveats ... (1) The website says all Ocean Wing Premium rooms have sweeping views of the South China Sea. This is not true. A number of such rooms have no ocean view. (2) The ongoing renovations make the resort look slightly unappealing and a number of the facilities are closed. Make sure you know what specifically is being done while you will be staying, or better yet, visit after the work is done. (3) They say that there is wifi in all the Ocean Wing rooms, but this is also not true so bring a device with an Ethernet connection to be on the safe side.

The hotel is nice but compared to other parts of Asia it is very expensive. There are much cheaper places in Asia with the same level of luxury.

Luckily we didn't book a Garden view room as a large proportion of the rooms are one big construction site. The staff were all very friendly.

Wouldn't stay longer than 3 days - you have to travel 45mins to get anywhere!