Casa Del Mar, Langkawi – A Romantic Haven and then some…

What’s the first thing one does before booking hotels in today’s day and age? Check the mammoth that is Trip Advisor – over the years we’ve learnt to take both good and bad reviews on Trip Advisor with a pinch of salt. But what if a hotel has hundreds of reviews (all positive!) and has won a number of Trip Advisor awards as well? You nod in astonishment, book yourself a room, and decide to check it out for yourself? Well that’s what we did anyway….

On reading more about Casa Del Mar, Langkawi, we found out about the La Luna experience – it comprises a dreamy meal with a specially designed menu on a deserted beach. It seemed to be perfect for a romantic night out on our anniversary and expectations were high!

We arrived in the island paradise of Langkawi, Malaysia late one night and were greeted by a big smile at the airport. Casa Del Mar’s representative immediately ushered us into a waiting car. Once at the hotel, we were checked in over glasses of refreshing lemongrass tea. We took a walk around the hotel to get a ‘feel’ of the property – it’s a ritual we’ve come to cherish over the years and one that helps us settle in quickly. Look at the views that greeted us – needless to say, we didn’t have to try to hard to feel at home here 😉

We were shown our beach-facing room – I remember marvelling at it, not because of the size of the room (incredibly spacious!) or the bathroom (very large) but the amazing attention to detail – organic bath salts next to the bath tub, bars of the most scrumptious smelling cinnamon soap, a coffee-machine with plenty of coffee-capsules next to it, loose-leaf black tea (no bog-standard tea-bags here!), jazz playing on the radio, and my personal favourite – a scented bookmark and a sachet of potpourri from the Spa Team by our pillows 🙂

Next morning we woke up with rumbling tummies – jet lags and skipping meals don’t bode well with us. We were at the breakfast buffet at 7 am, before anyone else. There is a wide array of home-made preserves, pastries, breads, sushi, cold-cuts, and freshly-squeezed juices. But I confess I let out a squeal of delight when I saw a whole section dedicated to healthy juices. Now you know how much I love my green juices – I’ve even confessed to lugging around my Nutri-bullet on longer holidays (it’s an addiction, what can I say?!), so you can imagine how happy I was on seeing entire bottles full of cucumber and celery juices. If green is not your colour, there’s also sparkling wine and Bellinis – who can say no to bubbles at breakfast? 🙂

But wait we aren’t done with the breakfast spread just yet – there is an array of hot Malaysian and Continental dishes to choose from – we’ve written an entire article about how Malaysian breakfast food – Roti Canai, Nasi Lemak, Mee Goreng – does all sorts of crazy things to us, so we were all over Casa Del Mar’s breakfast menu.

Despite what you might think, we weren’t there just to eat. Casa Del Mar is an intimate property with just 34 rooms, over 32 of which are reserved only for adults. So there’s never more than 50-60 guests on their expansive beach. This is the part we were most excited about – turns out, all those Trip Advisor reviews were right! Casa Del Mar is just perfect for a lazy romantic holiday in Langkawi.

The limited number of guests meant that we were always addressed by our first names -a  little touch that made us feel immediately comfortable. It also meant that we were on first name basis with all the staff members by the end of our first day at the hotel – Patrick must be the friendliest manager in town, Hidayah at the reception told us about all the local street-food gems, Halim was always around with a smile at the restaurant, and the bartender Mo (who has some serious swag and likes calling himself Jack Sparrow!) ensured we got tipsy each night. He likes to keep serving potent cocktails with his punchline ‘You’re on hoooooliday’ – we’re not complaining!!

Casa Del Mar’s in-house restaurant, La Sal, is famous as the most romantic restaurant in Langkawi. The al-fresco restaurant overlooks Langkawi’s Pantai Cenang beach and it’s dreamy location is bound to leave you starry eyed. We never left it once to go visit any other restaurant on the island and that’s a rarity for us! Every evening we would linger at the bar and watch the sun go down and follow it up with dinner (Try the Malaysian tasting platter – it’s mind-numbingly scrumptious!!).

When it came time to leave – we just didn’t want to. Jazz and scented book marks every night? We could get used to that

Random things we love about Casa Del Mar, Langkawi 🙂

• We love the turn-down service – it’s amazing to come to a room decorated with candles with jazz playing in the background after dinner every night.
• On our first night there, a local shop-owner told us Casa Del Mar serves the best cocktails on the island. Turns out he was right. The best part? You can have them served straight to your sun-loungers while you’re chilling at the beach during the day 🙂
• The view from La Sal Restaurant at sunset – oh.my.god!!
• Its exceptional service & all the endearing smiles from the staff
• The quiet beach and intimate ambience, which ensure an idyllic romantic getaway.

Fact File

• Casa Del Mar is centrally located. It is a ten minute drive from the airport and five minute walk from Pantai Cenang, where all the action is!
• Rooms start at £80/ppn. We highly recommend the beach-front rooms.
• More information on their website :- www.casadelmar-langkawi.com (you have to check out their photos of a romantic picnic on an uninhabited island – we couldn’t experience it this time around (damn you high tide!) but will definitely go back for it. It looks lush! 🙂 )

 ***

Looking for Things To Do in Langkawi? We have the lowdown 🙂

Have you read our post on attending at a Chinese Wedding in Malaysia yet?

Planning a trip to South East Asia? Don’t forget to read our tips on accommodation, street food, and sightseeing

We were guests of Casa Del Mar in Langkawi, Malaysia. We are two extremely opinionated ninjas – so all views (good and bad) are entirely our own. Click on to read our full Disclosure Policy