Bunga Raya Island Resort is about two years old now, and not surprisingly, is beginning to show it’s age. Not that many resorts are built within a tropical forest yet preserving the surrounding natural ecology. Approaching from the sea, the villas of the Bunga Raya island resort are hardly visible, as they are so well tucked into the primary forest. It must be a constant challenge to maintain the buildings at peak condition and protect them from the harsh elements (hot sun, wind and rain) and the tropical jungle. So I was delighted to learn from the GM that more maintenance work will be done to spruce up the place with repairs and re-varnishing in the coming months.
From the Jesselton Wharf to the Resort jetty, we were accompanied by one of the Resort staff. There were no problems even though our reservations were done weeks ahead via Internet to stay from 2nd to 6th September 2011. The check-in was courteous and swift. We were given a buggy-ride tour of the resort through winding paths and sharp bends before ending at our two-room villa. The rooms are very spacious, with high ceilings and equipped with the usual amenities: split unit air conditioners and ceiling fans, bathrobes, bedroom slippers, room safe, umbrellas and torch light, ironing board and hairdryer, electric mosquito burners, and ample storage space for clothes. There’s a wall mounted Samsung TV with a DVD player and a Bose radio set in each room. Tea and coffee making facilities, a kettle and a well-stocked mini bar offering complementary canned soft drinks including Tiger beer!! Only the wines were chargeable. Yes, complimentary Tiger beer! The supply of bottled drinking water was generous, and towels, soap, lotions, hangers etc. are ample. There’s so much verandah space, along the villa perimeter that the jungle trees appear so close all around you. Rooms are cleaned every morning, and there’s a nightly turned down service. Sleep quality is very good. There’s free Wi-Fi in the rooms.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served at The Koi, and lunch and dinner at the Pantai Grill. Between 6 to 7 pm every evening, there’s happy hours where the first alcoholic drink is free, and the second at a 50% discount. Food prices at the BR resort are not overly expensive. However, often, the ingredients are not available. Eg. Scramble eggs on rocket leaves and focaccia bread, served minus the rocket leaves! The eggplant on the menu was not available two nights in a row! We noticed that the quality of the fried rice is not consistent! The prawns, sliced fish fillets, were not fresh.
They have a very well stocked wine cave below The Koi restaurant, but the wine is far from cheap! You’d be better off bringing our own bottle(s)! The coffee each morning during breakfast, is served per individual in a Lacafetiere for three cups! These are also provided in the rooms.
We took the boat shuttle to the Guayana Eco resort for two of our meals and found the food at this sister resort more tasty and the seafood fresher. There, we had a dinner at the Alu-Alu restaurant and lunch at the Macac.
Daily activities are planned from cooking classes to bow pipe lessons to napkin folding. There is a small gym, a ping-pong table, snooker table, DVDs for loan, wine tasting etc. For the more active, there’s jungle trekking, kayaking, snorkeling, diving, and jet skiing (which I don’t think is eco friendly!) And of course the mandatory spa, found now in almost every resort!
We enjoyed the sea - the snorkeling, swimming and kayaking in the clear water. We did the jungle trekking, which even though it was only 2 hours, was fairly strenuous. But it was a learning experience to discover muscles in you, you didn’t know existed!
But most of all, we liked the jungle, the strange sounds, bird calls, the wild life, and the wide variety of Hibiscus plants and flowers which the resort takes pride in having grown over 50 varieties. And because the resort was not fully occupied, we could experience the tranquility and quietness of the place. The Resort staff is to be highly commended for their warm and very friendly service. They were welcoming, obliging, and very polite. Names like Jerry, Patricia, Yosef, Justine, Khai, and Walter come to mind. They have certainly made an impression, a good one for the resort! The “can do” attitude of the staff is excellent. The overall service very good. We had no TV reception for the last two nights after a tropical storm, and were told it was a cable problem. The maintenance staff did their best to resolve this, but in vain. Thanks guys! Keep this up!
If you want a quiet place, explore and enjoy the tropical jungle, the calm sea and have the option of doing nothing or exerting yourself with some physical activity, this is a good place. Every morning about 6.30 am, a basket of orange juice in small bottles and a plate of muffins, is delivered to your villa. I find that much of this goes to waste, so it would be better if the guests were asked from the very first day, if they wanted this facility. It’s the same for the cookies at night.
Would I come back? Yes, if the price is right!
Tip: Visit the Marine Ecology Research Center, (MERC).
