Need to know
Rooms
121, including 12 suites.
Check–Out
Noon; earliest check-in, 3pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.
More details
Rates usually include breakfast (a buffet spread with an egg station and Western and Asian options).
Also
At the hotel's cooking school, The Dapur (it's Malay for 'kitchen'), the resident chefs will guide you on a culinary adventure, from picking fresh herbs in the permaculture garden to enjoying the fruits of your labour with a wine pairing. Classes start from MYR300 a person.
At the hotel
Incredible wilderness; beach club; Nature Centre; free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV; WiFi; air-conditioning; minibar; free bottled water; tea and coffee.
Our favourite rooms
Ask yourself this: are you a David Attenborough or a David Hasselhoff? If the former, opt for a wildlife-surveying Rainforest or Rainforest Pool Villa; if the latter, go for a Beach Villa – and dig out that lipstick-red swimwear.
Poolside
The Datai Langkawi has a trio of pools: one for adults, one for families (with a prime beachside setting) and one for toddlers.
Spa
Rainforests: pretty relaxing as settings go – but that’s no reason not to unwind even further with a spa treatment or two. The Datai’s luxurious spa harnesses ancient ramuan (Malay herbal) rituals; treatments star indigenous ingredients, many sourced from the rainforest. Add a splash of tropical colour to your hands and feet by swinging by the Bastien Gonzalez mani-pedi studio.
Packing tips
Bring something you can comfortably hike around a rainforest in – plus an itsy-bitsy bikini or beachwear for the pool and spa.
Also
There are wheelchair-ramps within the property, and you can be transported around by buggy if needed.
Children
Little Smiths are very welcome. There’s a family-friendly pool, a wading pool and immersive nature activities for the whole family; babysitting can be arranged with 48 hours’ notice.
Best for
All ages can come, but the hotel reckons it’s most suited to little Smiths aged six and above.
Recommended rooms
The two-bedroom Datai Suites are a safe choice; for maximum space, if your budget permits, opt for the Two-Bedroom Villa.
Activities
Budding naturalists will love the hotel’s wildlife walks and nature-immersion experiences.
Swimming pool
Water-babies are well catered to: there’s a family-friendly pool, plus a wading pool for toddlers. Parents who’ve booked babysitters can escape to the adults-only pool.
Meals
High-chairs can be provided.
Babysitting
Book babysitting at least 48 hours in advance.
Sustainability efforts
The Datai Pledge promises to make its business operations sustainable, regenerate the environment and community, conserve coral reefs and marine life, promote sustainable fishing, conserve Langkawi’s wildlife and regenerate the rainforests. Lofty eco goals indeed. A carbon offsetting program is in the works, with initiatives aimed at planting trees, rehabilitating corals and processing waste on site (so that zero goes to landfill). From 2019 to 2020, five artificial reefs were deployed in Datai Bay, 300 coral nubbins transplanted to Datai Bay reef, one hornbill nesting box was installed and over 100 seeds were collected and planted in the Native Tree Nursery.
The hotel has a no-single-use-plastics policy, greywater is used in onsite irrigation (there’s a permaculture garden that grows herbs, spices, fruits and veg) and the hotel works with local producers where possible. A local company provides the organic bathroom amenities, food waste is composted and the onsite Upcycling Centre crushes glass and shreds plastic for reuse, including in guest crafting workshops. In a recent renovation, villas were built around mature trees rather than cutting trees down.
The Datai Langkawi works with local NGO that provides single mothers with a route to economic empowerment via training programmes and buy-back deals; the hotel also sponsors two local schools through Green Growth Asia Foundation. Guests help fund all conservation projects through an optional daily contribution.