I stayed at the Holiday Villa for the LIMA week, and while most details was unchanged from before, they have certainly improved the lighting in the grounds at night- makes it look quite sweet.
In reality, the hotel is just a stone's throw over a hill from the Awana Porto Malai, and some of the warships and auxiliary vessels anchored off the Awana can be clearly seen from the hotel's beach.
Photographing them is a bit difficult, however- the heat haze and diffraction gets in the way. You also realise why warships are painted the colours they are- all the better so as not to be seen from a distance.
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| KD Kelantan |
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| Marshal Shaposhnekov |
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| Bunga Mas 6 |
Of course, the leisure yachts moored just off the beach are much prettier.
The huge swimming pool up front is as inviting as ever, when hit by scorching temperatures.
The sand on the beach is really quite fine- just a notch below that at the Andaman or Datai. Unlike the Awana, there is actually a beach, and a very good one too!
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| Holiday Villa's great sandy beach |
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| Going island-hopping |
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| Holiday Villa in the daytime |
Despite the dry weather, there were floral blooms everywhere. The gardeners must be working overtime.
I checked out the Cactus Restaurant just across the road as recommended by the reviews on Tripadvisor, and was pretty taken by the place.
True to its name, various cacti grow in the garden leading to the restaurant. I think accidentally staggering into them is not recommended!
Its decor is pretty eclectic- flags, postcards and T-shirts from various points globally, hung up as decorations below ceiling boards which also serve as a forum for whatever one wants to write.
Breakfast is very good:
The dinners are great too, with a selection of eastern and western menus that were quite expertly cooked.
There is a Russian restaurant just adjacent, but using the old method of going to where the crowd is densest, the Cactus was the obvious choice.
I have updated the photos on Holiday Villa to reflect the week I spent there , and the link is here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?cp8wfwwbxjhz8
Now, if they just tell us exactly when the dates for LIMA 2015 are, I might just consider an advance booking here!
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| A picture I obtained of the hotel off the Net |
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