DoubleTree by Hilton Damai Laut Review: One Stop Getaway For Parents and Kids

Rojak Daily was invited to experience the new hotel and I was lucky enough to bring both my parents and children to review all the hotel had to offer. While the place is also remote and perfect for couples, this review will cover what the experience was like for families.

You can easily search for it on Google or Waze but get ready to drive quite deep into Lumut. To get into the premises it's a 5km drive towards the coast that's windy and filled with road bumps. Before you can enter a guard will verify where you're going and take down your details.

There's an exclusive golf club there as well but currently there are no package deals for hotel and golf with DoubleTree. This may change in the future, but at the time of writing, the establishments are on friendly terms.

Because of the lengthy drive in and its relative seclusion, I don't recommend driving out for lunch or dinner.

One thing I appreciated after that long drive was the welcome during check-in. Each guests checking in gets a welcome drink and DoubleTree's signature cookie, still warm. I wondered if it was only warm because I was part of the media but the Guest Service Manager Mr. Jeffery told me that there's a warming drawer hidden behind the reception that keeps the cookies warm.

The cookies are also made fresh daily at 4am and they are not kept for more than a day. DoubleTree's cookie recipe is the same worldwide so if you've had one in New York, you'll taste the same great cookie here.

There are 3 blocks with 294 rooms between them and each room has been completely refurbished with modern fittings and thoughtful additions like USB charging on most electrical ports as well as smart placement of light switches that are labelled. Please, hoteliers, label your lights clearly with letters. The switches at hotels are always a frustrating guessing game but DoubleTree's label on each switch is a human-focused design that just made me so happy.

Instead of bathtubs in the old establishment, each room now has a separate rain shower and toilet and a grand marbled sink. The room I got was the Executive Seaview Room at Tower 2 and it's one we would recommend if you want to see an unobstructed view of the sea and catch the sunset.

It's also located away from the pool and it's quieter throughout the day. Sound insulation is good so you won't hear footsteps or doors banging in the night. Besides that, you'll be greeted by DoubleTree's signature cookie plushies on your bed and a gigantic LCD TV (shame there's nothing to watch on it).

My room was able to fit my family of four and the hotel provided a sturdy babycot as well. As far as the room goes, it was quiet and comfortable. Tower 3 is on the other end of the hotel (to the right if you're facing the hotel) and that faces the golf course.

The main draw of the hotel has to be its pools. There are four pools in total: the adult pool, the waterpark-like pool area for bigger kids, a smaller baby pool with slides, and a big jacuzzi for kids and adults.

The playground kids pool is for kids who are at least 1.1m in height so parents with babies under 5 might want to head to the smaller kids pool. I tried out the highest slide myself and it was quite thrilling. All throughout the day you'll find children by the pool here and parents lounging.

The baby pool slide is safe for children aged about 2 to 5 years old as the water is very shallow so even babies can stand easily.

Since you can spend a day in there away from your hotel room easily, there are lockers available here with a huge changing room and shower room. Makan Kitchen, its signature restaurant is located next to the pool so you can order food and snacks to eat by the pool as well.

Overall, the variety of slides and structures is truly amazing and it's not something many hotels offer. You might get away with one poorly maintained slide at most hotels but here each slide is properly taken care of and the water features all function well.

If your kids are old enough you might get away with leaving your kids here for half a day, go for a massage (the spa is under construction now) and come back just in time to feed them.

One thing that might be a bummer for adults though is that the pool is closed at 7pm and even the adult pool is closed. It's dangerous for kids to play at night, but there should be a way to allow adults to swim at night at least till 10pm.

Speaking of leaving your kids behind, the Kid's Club is another standout feature of the hotel.

First of all, it's open on most days till past 8pm, depending on how many guests there are in the hotel, and there's trained staff in the Kid's Club to assits the children if needed and even conduct classes on occassion.

The club is fully stocked with pretend play toys and different segments like kid's mart, cafe, workshop, doll house and even a police lockup. There's also a library if kids are interested in reading or learning and the staff are trained to assit kids who want to learn from the books.

My favourite however, are the PS4s. There are 4 PS4s with 2 controllers each with a good selection of non-violent age-appropriate games. To top it all off, there's a dedicated toilet for the kids and a cinema room.

The facitiliy is free to use and you only need to sign in as a parent and sign a waiver form. When I was there the staff made origami airplanes for the children who wanted them.

I don't recommend families to drive out for meals as the trip will take at least 2 hours to and fro and if you have young babies who aren't patient, the drive to the nearest good restaurant is significant.

If at all possible, I do recommend having all your meals at the hotel. That said, there's no all-inclusive package available on their website. There are only breakfast bundles or breakfast and dinner bunldes so you'll need to settle at least lunch by yourself. I asked the hotel if the hotel provided an all-inclusive service and they recommend guests to call ahead to negotiate a package deal with food.

There's only 3 eateries, the central Makan Kitchen is an all-day dining restaurant, Hotpot is an intimiate steamboat restaurant that opens for dinner only, and Axis Lounge serves snacks and liquor. I managed to sample their tea time Tete-a-tete high tea at the Axis Lounge for RM80 available from 3 to 5 pm and I think it's quite affordable for what is on offer. The salmon, burgers, and ham croissants are enough to make you full and the side of premium tea was refreshing.

For dinner, book a table at Hotpot if you'd like to dine indoors while facing the sunset. As the restaurant isn't very huge, it seats guests at 2 time slots, 6.30pm and 8.30pm. You can stay past your time slot but it's on a case by case basis, depending on the load that day.

The seafood steamboat buffet is priced at RM88 nett for adults and RM44 nett for children which comes with one serving of tiger prawns, chicken fillets, and seabass fish fillet at 80g each. Refillable items are the noodles, fish paste balls, and vegetables.

There's a selection of premium meats but they cost extra and are calculated based on weight. The seafood was fresh and the fish in particular was tasty. The only downside is the amount of food you get for the price. Premium items like crab, clams, and beef is not available as a set and it will be pricey once you've added those items to your menu.

Head to the buffet at 7.30am to get a seat outside while its still cool and you can eat on the patio facing the sea. The seabreeze and crisp morning air is perfect for a getaway.

Depending on the time of year the sun can come up to your table quite quickly so aim to finish eating before 8.30am if you want to eat al fresco.

I enjoyed the traditional roti bakar station that uses charcoal to burn the bread and accompanying half boiled eggs. The egg station is always a good idea and there's also a live noodle station.

Try their signature teh tarik as well available in the morning and request for kurang manis if you're the health conscious type. Overall, breakfast is a good, if standard, affair.

​I was fortunate enough to come during Ramadan so the Ramadan buffet was available at night.

The Ramadan buffet on the other hand boasts plenty more live cooking stations with authentic Perak dishes on offer. The staples like the kambing bakar are present but so is a lok-lok station and a daging rendang tok kawah station which bring a unique change to the usual buffet fare.

If you don't mind the heat, sit outside where the live cooking stations are to get the best options. The signature food that's available inside is also available out here by the pool so you'll have quicker access to the best the buffet has to offer.

During this dinner I especially enjoyed the curry fish station that cooks your fish fresh as you order. The seafood remains a standout throughout the hotels menu and you don't want to miss out on the fried seafood station that is always being emptied as soon as it arrives. Fried squid, prawns, and clams are served straight from the frier and they are *chef's kiss*.

On the topic of seafood, for lunch, head to Makan Kitchen during lunch time for the best fish head curry around. The Dulang Lunch Delights sells for RM100 per set of half fish head and 7 dishes for 2 pax. I'd go for the RM200 set for the full fish head even if it's just the 2 of you. I had the set with 4 adults and it was more than enough.

The team shared that the fish supplied to the hotel is caught locally by fisherman with fishing tackle instead of nets and that the fish used is either red snapper or jenahak. I can confirm that the fish is super fresh.

Besides the set I only managed to try 2 menu items (because we were so full all the time) the satay pizza and nasi goreng warisan with soft shell crab and prawns which costs RM45 and RM52 respectively. Nasi goreng warisan is an elevated nasi goreng kampung while the satay pizza has peanut sauce for the base served with chicken satay and cheese. You'd think it would be strange, but the pizza was another standout dish in the hotel.

The beach at Damai Laut is a private beach so you'll enjoy some privacy here and the condition of the beach is clean. Mr Jeffery shared that the beach is cleaned every morning and I visited in the morning as well as the evening and found the beach to be really clean.

The sand and water is not the most pristine, but there's plenty to do here thanks to the vendor Sea Moses on the beach who provides plenty of water activities, snorkeling excursions, and on-ground activities.

I managed to ride in the ATV and UTV on the beach in a private course that's well taken care of. I'd recommend this ride for children aged 3 and up and I can also say that the UTV ride is safe for grandparents above 60. The terrain is fitting for a UTV ride and provides a mild challenge for first timers.

I asked if there was decent snorkeling around Pangkor and Mr Richard, the titlular Sea Moses told me that coral reef conservation activities have only just begun two years ago so while there are corals, you will need to temper your expectations.

Overall, the beach is a good place to take in... the beach. If you want more privacy, you can head to the other beach for a more quiet experience. You can say that beach is more suited for couples while the Sea Moses hut area caters to families.

Like I said, there's really something for every age here at DoubleTree.

To round out activities, there's a tennis court, basketball court, outdoor playground with slides, and the gym facing the ocean. The gym is located right next to the Kid's Club so it's convenient for parents with young children too.

Perhaps the biggest thing that makes DoubleTree standout is its attention to detail in every facility they provide and in the attention of the staff. Being secluded from the city, a resort getaway lives and dies on its ability to whisk its guests away to another place and DoubleTree does that well.

Staff are attentive to guests, they're helpful and they provide extra service for customers who need it. Speaking of extra service, don't miss the fireworks show every Saturday night at 8.15pm that you can view from the patio of Makan Kitchen.

The fireworks is a tradition carried over from the previous establishment and regular guests at Damai Laut will know that it is one of the highlights of the hotel.

All of its efforts add up to an exceptional getaway that's well worth the 3 hour drive from KL in my opinion. As a parent of two, the variety of activities that are friendly for children available is truly amazing. You can also see how that in a few years the same parents can return and the children who are teens can now find other things to enjoy at the resort as well.

At the time of writing, I managed to find a King Guest Room with Balcony for RM373 (RM405 with breakfast and RM527 with both dinner too). I'd say that's a fair price for the amount of amenities included and the personalised service you receive.