9
2017
Swiss-Garden Beach Resort, Damai Laut
*VIDEO*
During the recent school holidays, we took advantage to travel up to Sitiawan – the place I grew up after my father retired from the Navy. My parents have since moved to Melaka hence I’ve not been back here for almost 20 years.
We also made the most out of this trip to spend some precious time being close to nature. We stayed at Swiss-Garden Beach Resort, Damai Laut.
A hidden gem; secluded but not difficult to find, we were greeted with lush greenery upon arrival.
We stayed at the Club Floor located on the 5th Floor and this is the beautiful double view of the pool and the sea we enjoyed from the walkway before getting into our room.
From the balcony of our room, we were greeted with a beautiful view where the Sun meets the sea.
The pools are divided into 3 sections – a toddler pool, an infinity pool and a pool with water fountains.
The baby pool
This wading pool can be pretty crowded in the evenings. Babies and toddlers just love it here.
The infinity pool
This is a popular spot for couples to take a USIE, I kid you not. I had to wait till they close the pool at 7pm for me to get this shot otherwise there will be many couples photobombing my pool shot
In case you are not aware, USIE means “A photo of a couple, usually looking all loved up and very happy; taken by one half of the couple in the photo. It is then posted to Facebook/Instagram/Twitter to show everyone how happy the couple are together, and to make their single friends feel depressed about being single and worry about impending spinsterhood” as cheekily explained by Urban Dictionary
The Rock pool
This is our favourite pool.
It has such gorgeous rocky backdrops with refreshing waterfalls and fountains that it is perfect for photo opportunities.
We love sitting under the waterfall enjoying a free shoulder and neck massage.
This exact pool will also be undergoing upgrading works to transform it into a mini theme park pool complete with open loop body slides, water cannons, small and giant tipping buckets, natural jacuzzi pond and lots of fun-filled facilities including an additional pool with kids play structure and animal water feature playground.
The upgrading work is scheduled to be completed before the fourth quarter of 2017 and I really wish to return to check it out as I believe the boys will love it max!
Now let’s check out our room. We stayed in their Deluxe Club Room.
Our room is complemented by neutral wood toned furnishings and flouring. It has a private balcony with a panoramic view of the sea.
The new bathroom is accessorized with modern amenities – a huge walk in area with an equally sizeable mirror.
The placement of the mirrors here is amazing. It gives endless reflections that Lil’ Ayden is suddenly multiplied by infinity. LoL!
It becomes his favourite spot in the room as this little vain pot loves to see countless angles of himself
Whoever designs the bathroom is a genius to smartly use a compact area to include a bathtub in here as well.
Basic amenities includes body wash, body lotion, conditioning shampoo, shaving kit, sewing kit, shower cap and toothbrush.
The Club Lounge has a beautiful view of the pool with water drops by the glass panel giving a cool and refreshing feel.
DINING OPTIONS
Here at Swiss-Garden Beach Resort, we are encouraged to get creative when it comes to dining options.
CHEF’S EXCURSION BY THE PIER
One of the memorable moment we had here was having the specially arranged Chef’s Excursion by the Pier dinner. This special arrangement is held once every month and you can call the resort to make prior reservation.
We arrived the Pier to see such an elegant set-up against the setting sun.
Having been married for over a decade and staying at home taking care of the two boys, meal time has always been a rush for us that I’ve forgotten the feeling of being treated like a princess over dinner.
I was ushered to my seat, dinner napkin being placed on my lap, drinking water poured into my glass and food was served before me. I was totally lost in my own wonderland.
The ambiance was perfect with gentle sea breeze brushing our faces and the sounds of the wave serenading us throughout our meal.
For a moment there I actually forgotten I have my kids with me!
*VIDEO*
Let me show you what we had for dinner:
Beautiful isn’t it? The sky was clear and the moonlight naturally illuminate the area.
COOKING CLASS
We enjoyed dining by the pier so much that we craved for more outdoor dining by the scenic beach. We signed the kids for a cooking class as we get to dine by the beach once the kids are done cooking.
Chef Bakri guided our Little Chefs to cook Swiss-Garden’s award-winning Assam Pedas dish.
Once they are done, we get to have Assam Pedas for lunch.
Their Assam Pedas is simply delicious. No wonder it is an award winning dish. I’m so happy we got to bring home the recipe too!
Here’s is the video of the kids cooking by the beach experience:
*VIDEO*
Steamboat and Shell Out are also popular here at the resort. We opted to have steamboat as eating Shell Out with the boys will be too messy an affair.
4 dips to go with the steamboat.
Plain broth for the boys and Tom Yam for the Daddy and I. The Tom Yam broth really packs a punch, it was extremely satisfying.
THAI TASTE
If you are craving for Thai food, there is a Thai restaurant just by the pool and beach. We had our dinner here on our first night here.
Khao Ob Sabparob (Fried Rice with Prawns, Chicken Sausage, Cashew Nuts and Diced Pineapple)
Khao Pad Poo (Thai Fried Rice with Crab Meat)
Pandan Chicken. These pandan leaves wrapped chicken comes in huge chunks. We did not expect them to be so huge hence we ordered 10 pcs when in fact, 5 pcs will sufficiently feed our family of 4.
Mixed Vegetables in Oyster Sauce
RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES
One of the most important factor I looked for when planning a beach holiday is to ensure the resort provides various activities to keep the boys occupied.
Here, there are many activities lined-up for the entire family. There will be a schedule posted in the lobby daily and we just need to sign-up at the Recreational Centre for whichever activity we are interested to participate.
BEACH FUN FISHING
One of the most interesting activity we did as a family here was trying our hands at fishing. It was the boys’ first time fishing and oh boy, were they lucky as they caught 3 fishes (with one of them being a garoupa) in a span of less than half an hour!
They also have Night Fishing for those interested but it is not suitable for little kids hence we settled for this Beach Fun Fishing instead.
Here is the video of the boys fishing for the very first time:
*VIDEO*
ARCHERY
Unlike most other resorts that charge per game (arrows), archery here is RM12 only for 30 minutes.
We can play again and again and again until our arms tired like jelly
It was so much fun being able to take our own sweet time and to retry as many times as possible without being restricted to the numbers of arrows in hand.
Little Ayden did not want to miss out too and I managed to get a video of our archery game:
*VIDEO*
FAMILY TRAM RIDE
The resort also provides fun family tram rides to explore the entire resort. With a fee of RM7/adult and RM5/child, we get to go on tour to check out the entire resort. We were also driven past their golf course.
Here’s a video I took during our ride to give you a glimpse of the entire place. We also visited the lighthouse at the old jetty when people has to take boats to access this resort back in the old days before proper roads were built.
*VIDEO*
GUIDED-BICYCLE RIDE
We took the complementary guided bicycle ride on one of the evenings we were here. Our guide brought us up to the View Point to see the breathtaking view of nature, golf-course and its surrounding.
T-SHIRT PAINTING
It rained one morning we were here so I brought the boys to Kids Club to see what activities they have for that hour.
They did T-Shirt painting. I helped Ayden with his painting but Ethan did his all by himself. He took forever to complete it by the time he was done, it was already time for lunch.
SUNSET
We had a marvelous holiday here and made precious memories with the kids. We will definitely return especially after their pool upgrading works is completed.
In the meantime, should you wish to explore the resort and its surroundings, you may want to participate in their upcoming Charity Fun Run 2017.
“The Run Across The Most Scenic Golf Course” is a 9 km charity fun run at Swiss-Garden Beach Resort Damai Laut.
One of the main objectives of the event is to raise RM30,000 to which the amount will be donated to Pantai Hospital Manjung’s Charity Funds Allocation to help provide medical treatment for the needy residents of Manjung District.
For registration, click here -> https://
I end my holiday post with this video summary of the fun we had here at Swiss-Garden Beach Resort, Damai Laut.
Sitting under a waterfall always freaks me out. I always imagine a loose rock coming down over the edge with the water and dropping on my head. Eeeeeee!!!! :D
Heard so much about Sitiawan and its beauty. What a lovely resort. Bet you guys had a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday in the resort.
The double view is indeed beautiful! Wow, Ethan can do archery too!
This post is really enlightening to bring me down the memory lane……
My stint with my ex HKG advertising agency sent me to this place before this resort & golf club were built some 20 years ago. We had to hire a speed boat to reach the site as the roads were not cleared then. Later I took my wife there for honeymoon and that was 15 years ago. I really enjoyed reading your details and should visit there again.