 | Damai Laut Resort. |
Damai Laut Resort(also known as Swiss Garden Resort,Lumut) is located about 25 minutes from Sitiawan town by car. It is the closest thing to a 5 star resort in this district. It has its own golf course, beach, as well as a decent size hotel pool. The resort is pretty well landscaped and if you have kids, it is quite easy to keep them entertained here.
Getting there
The resort is located somewhat north of Sitiawan and one has to cross three long bridges after Sitiawan in order to get to the resort. On the last stretch of the road, one has to drive through 4 km of estate roads. This estate road was a laterite road and can be slippery if it rains. It is also unlit at night and one needs to exercise some caution when using it on rainy nights. Recent update: Some friends of ours visited the resort recently in September 2002 and informed us that the road has been given a coat of premix thus making travelling on it much safer.
It is possible to get to the resort without driving. Buses run to Lumut from major towns. On reaching Lumut, it is possible to get to the resort by ferry from the Lumut jetty. Note that you need to catch the ferry by 2 p.m. otherwise the next ferry will be at 7 p.m.. Should you miss the ferry, then you will need to take a taxi from Lumut to the resort. The cost of the taxi?...somewhere between RM40 to 60! (Negotiate the rate first.)
 | Map to Damai Laut Resort from Sitiawan. Click on the map for a larger, clearer version. |
If you do not know how to get to Sitiawan from Kuala Lumpur, you may want to refer to the map on our Teluk Rubiah page.
Rooms
Generally, two types of rooms are available; sea view and country view.. The seaside facing rooms are more expensive and have king size double beds. The country view rooms(not facing the sea) have twin beds. Parents travelling with children may prefer the country view room as there is more bed space on the two twin beds than on one double bed(but you may wish to confirm this with the resort beforehand). We took the sea view room, but most of the time we were not in our room to enjoy the view of the sea. At night, the sea was pitch dark so there was not much to see anyway. The rooms come equipped with a hot water kettle, hair dryer, tea and coffee bags, soap, shampoo etc. The water tasted slightly brackish at the resort so we drank mineral water most of the time. We did try to make tea with water from the tap and it did taste slightly funny due to the salt content. We do recommend that you bring a gallon or two of drinking water from your home before you come here.
Facilities
Although the resort boasts of lots of facilities, there are only 2 facilities that appear to be in use by the guests: the golf course and the pool. Most of the hotel activities appear to be centred around the pool. There is also a little-used gym somewhere in the hotel. Recently, a spa has been added.
 | Sitting by the resort pool. The sea can be seen in the background. |
The beach
The beach appear to be a private beach for the hotel guests. This beach is decently wide and the sands are clean. The water here has the same visibility as in Teluk Rubiah(about 2 feet) so one can forget about snorkelling. Clam digging at the beach appears to be a popular activity for kids and adults. The clams were small(half the size of "lala") but edible and plentiful. We met a lady from Penang who advised us to soak the clams in a pail of seawater for a while before cooking. Otherwise the clams may still have bits and pieces of sand in them. Although the sea is suitable for swimming, the base is not sandy. When standing neck high in the water, it felt like we were standing on clayey ground. This explained why there were not many people swimming in the sea.
Food
We found that it was more practical to eat at the resort for the first night we were there as we were too exhausted to drive out to Sitiawan for food after a such a long journey to the resort. The resort restaurant by the pool serves up a decently good buffet(comparable to K.L. hotels). On certain days, they have raw oysters on the buffet table. The price of RM46 per head is a bit pricey by Sitiawan standards. It is possible to buy a buffet voucher for RM30 when negotiating your travel package, but once you are at the esort, the walk-in rate is RM46 if you do not have a voucher. It is possible to order ala carte meals if you do not wish to have the buffet. (The same restaurant serves a really good Hainanese Chicken Rice.) Breakfast is also served buffet style, and is quite a decent spread. There are a few other restaurants within the resort grounds serving other types of food(including a small noodle house cum steamboat restaurant at the other end of the swimming pool).
If it is not raining at night, it is possible to travel to Sitiawan for seafood. One has to drive through 4 km of unlit, winding, estate road, and caution needs to be exercised in wet weather. The nearest decent seafood place is the Restaurant Chin Yih(20 minutes from the resort, roughly 18 km). Note that this restaurant is popular and it fills up with people quickly. If you want to get your food within half and hour, it is best to reach the restaurant not later than 7 p.m.. The speciality here is steamed fish, 'kai keok lor'(literal translation: 'chicken feet shellfish'), deep fried squid, sweet and sour crab. Those more adventurous may want to try the fish maw soup(this is a Hock Chiew soup and may taste slighly vinegar-ish. They will normally recommend the medium size fish as the flesh of larger fish may have a rougher texture. (Note that crabs in Sitiawan are small and cannot compare to the larger ones in Klang). Prices are unlikely to exceed RM20 per head.
Places to visit
Sitiawan
You will know that you are in Sitiawan when you see buildings will little holes in them . These are the so-called 'swift hotels'. There has been a lot of these 'swift hotels' sprouting in Sitiawan the past few years so the operators must have found it profitable to operate them.
 | A swift hotel
The operator plays taped chirping sounds to lure the birds(swifts) to nest in the building. The inside of the building is kept cool by ventilation holes. Later on the operator will harvest the nests and sell them for a hefty sum. Apparently, this is quite a lucrative venture and the operator does not even have to feed the birds! |
A visit to Sitiawan is not complete without visiting the famous cendol man outside the bank next to the Fajar Supermarket. His cendol has to be tasted to be believed(really out of this world).
 | The famous cendol man with his trademark bow tie. This stall serves the best cendol in Sitiawan. |
Just behind the Fajar supermarket is a row of shophouses. One of them(address number 64) sells Hock Chiew biscuits which have an interesting flavour. The onion ones sell for 40 sen each while the meat ones sell for 60 sen each. We thought the onion ones tasted really good. The biscuits are best eaten freshly baked. They can keep for a few days but then you may need to pass them through an oven for them to regain their original texture.This shop also sells packets of Sitiawan 'mee suah'(rice vermicelli). Both thick and thin types are usually available, but we prefer the thick 'mee suah'.
 | Making Hock Chiew biscuits. The onion ones are 40 sen each. |
Not far from the the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, just behind the Courts Mammoth store, there is a coffeeshop called Restoran Hwa Hing which is well known for its 'yu char koay'(also called Chinese cruellers). Frankly, I do not know what the fuss is all about but in the morning, there is usually a group of customers waiting to buy the stuff. This coffeeshop sells 4 different types of nasi lemak(pre-packed) in the morning and is a good place for breakfast. There is a signboard "Taffany karaoke & KTV" written on top of the shop. Right at the back of Restoran Hwa Hing, facing the backlane, there is a very small biscuit making operation. You may be able to see 2 or 3 people sitting around a small earthern oven and making 'tausa piah' and Hock Chiew biscuits as well as a few other types of biscuits.
While we were in Sitiawan during the fruit season, we had an urge for durians. So we headed towards the Jalan Senawi market(from KFC, head towards Magnum, then turn left immediately and you should find the market) and found an old man selling durians besides the field next to the market.
 | There are two markets in Sitiawan. The morning market behind Manjung Parade is not open in the afternoon. The Jalan Senawi market shown on the left is just behind the Magnum shop and is open all day. |
Of course, resort guests are not allowed to bring durians into the hotel rooms, so we had the old man open up the durians and place the contents into plastic tupperwares(yup...we brought tupperwares!). For RM10, we filled up our tupperwares and then brought them back to the resort. We ate the durians in the resort grounds and nobody was any wiser.
Lumut
Lumut is about 45 minutes by car from the resort. If you do not feel like driving, there is also a ferry service from the resort jetty to Lumut. The charge is about RM3 for a one-way journey and RM 5 return journey per adult. This service runs only at certain hours so you may want to plan your Lumut iterinery really well to avoid missing the ferry back to the resort. Don't miss the 2 p.m. ferry....otherwise its a very expensive trip back to the resort by taxi. Lumut is a place to shop for souveniors and dried stuff(ikan bilis, dried sotong, etc).
Pangkor
This is quite a nice little island and is suitable to see in a day trip. Please see our Teluk Rubiah page for more information.
Comparing Damai Laut with Teluk Rubiah Resort
Well, we have stayed at both resorts and both have their good and bad points. Teluk Rubiah is a 3 star resort whereas the more upmarket Damai Laut is a 5 star resort. Frankly if you have small children, it is easier to look after them at Damai Laut Resort. However, if seafood is your reason for visiting Sitiawan, and your kids are grown up and more adventurous, then Teluk Rubiah is a good option. Teluk Rubiah is near to Sitiawan and the seafood restaurants at Kampung Cina. The road is good and therefore, rainy nights will not impede you for going out to your favourite seafood restaurant.
The rooms in Teluk Rubiah Resort are not as well furnished as that of Damai Laut. The Damai Laut rooms have small refrigerators inside. They don't always work well but managed to keep the drinks slightly cool. It is easier to bring in durians to the Teluk Rubiah resort as the units are more isolated(just make sure you do not disturb the neighbours). The resorts normally throw in breakfast together with their rooms and Damai Laut's buffet breakfast is heaps more lavish than the simple bread or nasi lemak at Teluk Rubiah Resort.
The sea is better for swimming at the Teluk Rubiah bay due to the sandy bottom. The fishing is also better and silver whiting(ikan bulus) can be easily caught from the shore. Otherwise, you can paddle out in a kayak and try your luck further out in the water. We are unable to comment on the fishing at Damai Laut resort, but do not think that it can be better than Teluk Rubiah. However, there seem to be lots of clams on the shore at Damai Laut, so clam digging seem to be a popular pastime here(keeps the kids entertained). The swimming pool in Damai Laut is much better then that of Teluk Rubiah and if your idea of a holiday is lazing by the pool then Damai Laut is the better bet. At Damai Laut, almost everybody is in the well landscaped huge swimming pool and hardly anybody is in the sea. At Teluk Rubiah Resort, the opposite is true...everybody is at the sea and nobody is in the small swimming pool. At Damai Laut,there are always kids running around the pool, which makes it more noisy or more 'happening' depending on your point of view.
Pricewise, the rooms at Teluk Rubiah Resort used to be very much cheaper than that of Damai Laut Resort,(something like RM50 cheaper per night) but the price gap has narrowed much recently. This is due to Damai Laut's aggressive marketing promotion. You will need to check out their web pages for the price.Then call up their sales office to check if there is any room promotion on. Sometimes the sales office can give some decent offers not available on their web pages. If not, your travel agent can probably quote something better. Damai Laut Swiss Garden Resort advertises quite good deals in the newspapers. Those who visit the MATTA travel fair can get even better deals.
Whichever you choose, we wish you a pleasant holiday!
The official Damai Laut webpage is at http://www.damailaut.com/
Please visit our Teluk Rubiah Resort page for more information on Sitiawan, Lumut and Pangkor Island.
