Temple Tree by Bon Ton Langkawi

The Bon Ton Resort in Langkawi is my favourite resort in the whole wide world, it's my little getaway where I feel like I am "home" even though I am on vacation. A few years ago, Bon Ton grew with the addition of it's sister resort called Temple Tree. This would be my first "official" stay at Temple Tree. I say "official" as I have stayed at the Black & White house and also the The Straits Club on a previous trip but at that time the resort was still under construction, so that didn't count!

Temple Tree is named after a large tree on the property that is used as a place of worship. It is a collection 70 to 110-year old antique timber houses from different parts of Malaysia. The houses were once homes to Chinese, Malay, Indian, Arab and Eurasian families and now they continue to bring comfort and shelter to travelers from all over the world to experience Malaysia of yesterday. The 8 homes or villas have been turned into 14 unique, eclectic and luxurious suites. They represent a small part of Malaysia's architectural history that is vanishing fast.

During my 4 day stay, I was in the Chinese 2 suite which is more than 100 years old. Originally a farm house located in Batu Pahat, Johor. This report is just about this particular suite.

Chinese 2 suite is on the 1st floor

This beautiful building has generous timber-decked verandahs on three sides, on both floors. The Chinese 2 upstairs which comes with a bedroom, ensuite bathroom, a living room, private mahjong room & library and a little pantry.

This verandah is the perfect place to while away the hours

The verandah is also where I have my breakfast every morning enjoying the fresh morning air. At Temple Tree, a simple breakfast of bread, yogurt, fruit, cake, juice and fresh milk is placed in the fridge every evening. So all you need to do is prepare it yourself in the morning, with the toaster and kettle provided in the suite.

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

The entire house has the eclectic design style of the resorts owner. Every item in all her properties has her signature personal touch and this suite is no exception, the interior has a rich colour palette of reds and black and it is accentuated by period pieces that are either original or reproductions that truly set the scene for style, luxury and comfort.

The living room

The majong room / library

The bedroom is a simple and elegant room with a queen size bed framed by mosquito netting. A Chinese inspired cupboard and other well chosen furnishings fill up this comfortable room. In the evening when the staff come over to stock the fridge with the breakfast items, they will also set the mosquito net and prepare the suite for sleep.

Airy and bright bedroom with queen size bed

The bedroom

             

The bedroom after the turndown service

The bathroom is large with double sinks, one with a shaving mirror. The shower has hot water and the highlight is the wooden bathtub. Surely a place to soak and relax after a day of sight seeing on the island.

 The attention to detail by Temple Tree is evident by the many items placed in the room for our convenience. There is a safe, flipflops, umbrella, sarongs, basket for your items when you go to the pool, fridge, kettle and toaster. The room also comes with complimentary coffee and tea. Unlike other hotels, here they place fresh ground coffee and also instant coffee plus a selection of teas. They even have a french press and a tea pot for you to make your beverage of choice the way you like it. Much care and thought has gone into everything from the mosquito repellent right down to the small bottle of Minyak Gamat, a famous local product that is placed in the bathroom.

Wear them during your stay or buy if you want

The famous Langkawi Gamat

3 kinds of tea and both fresh ground or instant coffee

The soap and shampoo are from their in-house brand Indochine

Temple Tree and Bon Ton are indeed little jewels. They are not your cookie cutter resort, and that's why I love them, they don't take things too seriously and have a lovely informal air but at the same time, does not compromise on service standards. I ensure you, by day two you will be on a first name basis with the staff. Temple Tree is even pet friendly. If you don't have your pet with you, don't worry as there is also an animal shelter in the compound for you to find a new friend.

Children? Yes they are child friendly, they will even arrange baby sitting services with 24 hours advance notice. There are 3 lap pools on the property that are just perfect for lazing away the hours. Due to it's layout and size, you will never feel crowded.

 The Straits restaurant at Temple Tree opens daily at 10.30am, so if you do want a hot brunch, they can whip it up for you and they remain open for the rest of the day for casual dining. The other restaurant is the famous Nam next door at Bon Ton and their food is the best of the island.

                                                  A bowl of my favourite Nyonya laksa at Nam  
Staying at Temple Tree and Bon Ton is an experience that is truly unique. You wake up to birds singing outside, squirrels on the tree branch next to your window, water buffaloes by the pool and the feeling of being wrapped in history and heritage.

I made a short video of Chinese 2 and you can watch it here 

Temple Tree and Bon Ton have given life back to these old homes and allowing them to continue to provide comfort, shelter and protection to another generation.

Firefly to Langkawi

It's been a while since I visited Langkawi and I was invited to host an event there. I managed to get a zero fare return ticket and only paid for tax and admin fee for a total of RM85.

A few days before departure I received an email offering the extra seat for RM15 per sector subject to availability and will be informed of the result 4 hours before departure. They used to partner Optiontown for this service but now they have gone on their own.

Just as I was about to leave for the airport I received an email saying that I failed and that no extra seat was available. During the online check-in I was auto assigned a window seat that I didn't want.

At the baggage drop off counter, I mention to the staff if it was possible to change to an aisle seat. She checked and said the aisle seats were only available at the Preferred Seat rows. She called her supervisor, who overrode the system and assigned me a seat at row 17 which was a Preferred Seat row. Once onboard I noticed that the Preferred seat rows were empty but the normal rows were all occupied.

The busy SZB apron

 The flight was operated by an ATR72-500 series aircraft 9M-FYE. Boarding commenced 15 minutes to departure and we pushed back right on time.

The cabin was in need of a good clean. The overhead bin once had advertisment but have been removed but has left the bins stained. The cabin does look a bit tired.

Dirty and stained overhead bins

  Legroom was tight but bearable for the short flight. The seat pocket had the inflight magazine, safety card and sick bag. The inflight sale list was missing.

The empty Preferred Seat row

The window of the aircraft was filthy! I could not take a decent photo because of the condition of the window.

In flight service was the usual for Firefly, polite but nothing outstanding. Drinks were a choice of Manggo juice or Soya milk and snacks were a choice of peanuts or muffin.

We landed on time and overall it was a pleasant flight, affordable and comfortable. After a short walk to the terminal, waited about 5 minutes for the first bag to arrive.

The baggage hall of LGK

Firefly has always been my first choice for domestic flights as I prefer flying out of Subang rather than KLIA. However since Malindo came into the picture I have flown with them too. They have newer and cleaner planes and Firefly better start improving their product or they will loose out to Malindo.

The newer 600 series at Subang on my return flight

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