Best Balok Spa Hotels

Firstly, I have to say, The Kasturi is probably my favourite place in Pahang. I first came here in 2018 - and it made such an impression that I couldn't wait to come back. Came back as soon as PKP was lifted (review here somewhere) and a tad disappointed. Husband booked a night's stay for our 18th wedding anniversary and I have to admit the service has improved by leaps and bounds. Check in was warm and professional - villa is clean and hubby had made arrangements for flowers and some refreshments in the room which was so appreciated by yours truly. Had same villa as previous stay - toilet is still wonky. Hand bidet in indoor shower compartment is still non functional and the fish keropok was left untouched this time (learnt my lesson from last time - pls get new supplier - I am sure there are many more keropok makers who can make better keropok sira) This time however, husband ordered food to be sent to the room - FYI, room service is limited to the asian food selection (not advisable to preorder western dishes as these will end up cold by the time it gets sent to the room) Loved the caprese salad and the fried rice. The seafood fried in batter was above average. The white rice and chicken was too sweet for our liking. Breakfast was served 'unlimited ala carte style' The variety was ok - choice of nasi lemak, western and chinese congee. Nasi lemak - much much better than the last time I was there - but had an issue with the sambal sotong, which I informed the staff. Saw that they offered 'DANISH' as part of breakfast - but we only received toast and baguettes - so I'm not sure if I was confused about the danish being pastries? Barista also needs to learn to make proper latte art. However, the F&B staff - Deedi was extremely friendly and warm. He looked like he knew what he was doing despite being his 6th day at Kasturi - thought I would make a special mention about him. Would I come back for a fourth time? Some improvements have to be made about the upkeep of the facilities in the room and definitely better improvements with the F&B - but Kasturi's one life-saving feature is definitely its location....

The first experience before has made me so excited to come here again. Everything remains tidy and clean around the resort. Friendly front desk, employees who helped us well. However, we are quite disappointed due to the condition of the room, which: 1. black moss in the bathroom that is not cleaned perfectly. The type of door is so difficult to get in and out (need to change another type). 2. The bed provided looks lopsided and seems almost broken. Very uncomfortable to sleep. 3. There is no closed path for the villa section provided. It's a bit difficult because it's raining and with small children. Please make sure the quality of the room is taken care of because the atmosphere here is very beautiful and peaceful. This comment is for improvement from a family that loves cleanliness and comfort.

My wife and I stayed here in October for an overnight staycation. For the high price paid, we expected much better. After all, the price is equivalent to a 5-star hotel in KL. The villas look quaint from the outside, but inside they are EXTREMELY dated - The decor is straight out of the early 80's, before my wife was even born ! The bathrooms are in a state of disrepair. You can't take a shower without the water backing up through the toilet and making loud glugging noises. The water took forever to drain from the sink, presumably clogged with decades of hair. Several lights in the room were not functioning and the safe box was totally broken. The only modern thing in our room - a large flat screen TV, is connected to an old-style Astro satellite box with only a few channels subscribed. Unfortunately the 'traditional' wooden sofa was as hard as a board, so uncomfortable to watch TV for long. The bed - set up as a mock four-poster - was fairly comfortable, mattress a bit too hard for my tastes; but we slept well, particularly with no outside noise. Luckily, the aircon was working very well . A kettle is provided, and there is a refrigerator in the room which (eventually) keeps drinks cold. Take note that only two small bottles of water are provided. Also provided are some sachets of no-name coffee, and tiny bottles of no-name shampoo/shower gel (it appears to be the same stuff inside each!); So make sure to bring your own. The small pool was adequate, dark, and actually resembled a fish/turtle pond rather than a plunge pool. The main pool of the hotel is a different story: It appears to have been recently modernised and is wonderful. Better still, we stayed mid-week so there were no noisy local families & kids. We had it pretty much to ourselves. Breakfast was nothing to write home about. A very limited selection compared with Holiday Villa Langkawi where we have stayed many times previously. Went for dinner in the restaurant, and our first choice for meals and drinks were 'finished already'. The satay was terrible, and the milkshakes were straight out of a bottle. I really hope that HV now spend some money to modernise these overpriced villa rooms, and improve their F&B offerings. Won't hurry back until they do.