Just as a lot of couples didn’t manage to celebrate Valentines Day this year ( coz it HAD to fall on the first day of CNY!), I didn’t either and instead, I was in Jakarta, collecting Ang paos and did nothing but eat and sleep. So, as a belated valentines surprise, Ming planned for a surprise romantic getaway 2 weekends later…
A 20-minute boatride away from Jesselton point of Kota Kinabalu, we arrived at Bunga Raya resort on Gaya island. The view as we arrived at the jetty was breathtaking! With mini huts on stilts that lined both sides of the long wooden walkway and crystal clear blue waters underneath us, my jaw dropped and I was mesmerized!
Tucked away on a secluded part of Gaya island (Gaya is a HUGE island, and currently has 2 resorts, by the same owner, Gayana & Bunga Raya), Bunga Raya is new, very new. With an eco-park concept, the resort sits on a cove and 88 species of hibiscus (bunga raya) have been planted around the area. Out of the 47 villas, only 3 were occupied (that included us!). Our villa was strategically located near the beach and a 5-minute walk from the “main building” which consisted of the Koi restaurant, ballroom and pool. It claims to be a 5-star resort but the service and food is nothing but. The staff are friendly but poorly trained except for two or three “brighter” ones. The food menu selection was limited and due to the low occupancy, they didnt even have some of the choices available.
Other than the slow service and mediocre food, I absolutely loved the place! Our villa had a private plunge pool which was super romantic especially taking a dip under the stars and bright moonlight. This part Steve would love – the soft drinks and tiger beer in the fridge were complimentary and refilled everyday! PLUS (I especially love love love this part!), complimentary pre-dinner drinks – wine on the house!
On the first day we arrived, we pampered ourselves with a 3-hour “Water Harmony” spa treatment which consisted of a foot bath, scalp therapy (super relaxing!!), body scrub and an aromatherapy message. I must say, the spa treament was superb and certainly was of 5-star quality!
My G9 stopped working since Day 2 as we dropped it from moving some “furniture” around so I relied on my trusty Iphone, which I’m perfectly happy with!
Check out the fishes!
View of the jetty at night. We hung out at one of the little cozy huts that night…
Day 2 – we slept in and had a late lunch by the beach bar. And the food selection and taste was by far a whole lot better than that of THE KOI restaurant! We were ecstatic! That afternoon, we took a boat to Gayana resort, a 10 minute boat ride from where we were, situated on another cove of Gaya island. It was a completely different atmosphere here -crowded with many guests, and wayyyyyyy more water activities, the air was lively! While Ming took a short dive, I snorkeled. There were a ton of fishes, including nemo, some psychedelic fluorescent ones, and a whole lotta other kinds (I’m no fish expert!)… huge clams, anemones, corals and sea rambutans lined the sea bed and I even saw a poisonous fish ( Ming said it was) hiding behind a huge coral.
My favorite time of the day is between 6-7pm where wine is served. We hung out by the bar and got a little bit wasted before a very “healthy” dinner of fried EVERYTHING at the Chinese seafood restaurant. (The food and service at Gayana is a lot better than back at our hotel, probably because the staff are better trained and more experienced) As we refused to take the 6:30pm boat back to Bunga Raya (how could we miss our pre-dinner drinks?), our next boat ride was at 10:30pm. With almost 2 hours to spare after dinner, we went for foot reflexology and a head & shoulder massage!
This is Gayana Resort…
Day 3 – No more wasting my time sleeping in, I woke up early to tan by the pool. And the good thing about being the only other guest at the resort (the other couple had left the day before), we can pretty much do what we like, including having breakfast sent to the pool!
Having some fun with my iPhone’s Quadcam!
A last look at the beautiful jetty…
All in all, It was a great romantic getaway, too short as all beach holidays are but still, really nice and I had a wonderful time! Big hugs to Ming for the fantastic weekend!
So for those of you who’s wonderig if I liked Bunga Raya more than Pangkor Laut Resort, here’s the verdict: In terms of rooms and ambience, food and service, PLR wins hands down. In terms of beaches, sand and sea, the waters at Gaya are a lot prettier – crystal blue with tons of fishes! I also really enjoyed my spa treatment at Bunga Raya which was quite reasonably priced as well. The good news is – YTL is currently constructing an Eco-resort on Gaya island too and is expected to be ready by the first half of 2011! So you should have the best of both worlds then! Keep a look out for it!
