Of hotsprings, limestone caves, and lush rainforest..
So, as promised, I spent the last two days resizing, going through (1000 odd photos) and narrowing them down to the best ones for this blogpost. It was actually kind of nice looking back at the photos and seeing what we got up to at The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat.
Personally, I feel that The Banjaran is a great weekend getaway. It is a 2-hour drive from KL (not too far) into a gorgeous location in Tambun near Ipoh, Perak, filled with beautiful nature, lush rainforest, 260 million year old limestone caves and geothermal hotsprings. I would definitely recommend this place if you're looking for something unique and different from the usual beach destinations. And the villa is absolutely fabulous! (Wait til you see our villa!)
The Banjaran is the first eco-luxury wellness and spa retreat in Malaysia and encourages healthy living. Since we were only staying here for 2D1N, we didn't really get too much into the healthy living part, though we did enjoy soaking in the geothermal hotsprings which is said to be beneficial to health (detoxifyingetc!).
As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by a smiling, young lady who escorted us to the reception area for check-in. We were served a lemongrass drink with a cold towel before being ushered to our Water Villa via an electrical buggy (which is part of their eco practice). You can quite ea! sily get around the whole resort by foot but for hot afternoons, the electrical buggy is possibly the better choice ;P
Reception area
Welcome drink
Beautiful lotus pond next to the reception area
Electrical buggy
On our way to our water villa
Guests have a choice of 25 exclusive garden (16 units) or water villas (9 units). We did not get to see the Garden Villa during our stay so I'm not sure how it compares, but you can always look on their website for photos. We were very impressed with the dcor in our water villa, which is Balinese inspired. The villa was very luxurious and I knew I was going to enjoy it very much here already!
Each water villa is equipped with a plush oversized king-size bed, outdoor terrace with a private plunge pool and a sunken jacuzzi which can be filled with geothermal hot spring water. We enjoyed many dips in the sunken jacuzzi!
Water Villas rest on the banks of a water canal
Our villa for the next 24 hours ;)
Was sooo impressed when I walked through the doors and saw how spacious the villa was and the decor was right up my street! I had some quiet time here, while enjoying a cup of TWG chamomile tea and listening to music from the Bose sound system. There is also a 40" LED TV but there is no time for TV here since I would much rather be out taking photos of nature or soaking in the geothermal springs. Oh and they have wireless access throughout the resort!
As part of nature conservation, the villa's roof is constructed using palm leaf thatching, which I feel looks really good and blends in well with the surroundings.
Outdoor terrace with a plunge pool
Very comfortable oversized king-size bed. The fan is so cute!
Use of locally made, natural skincare range as well as amenities made from cornstarch material instead of plastic. It's a really green resort.
< b>Ceramic containers instead of plastic bottles
Jacuzzi in action!! The geothermal hotspring water is piped directly from the source everyday! This is nice if you want privacy, but do not miss out on the real thing! Head out to the geothermal springs (see first photo).
The sky above
Private outdoor rain shower
Small dining area (not used at all during our stay hehe)
Bose sound system
B! tw, that green band around Hubby's wrist is the keycard to our room! You just wear it everywhere, even in water... great idea since you won't need to fumble for it in your handbag or worry about losing it.
Naturally cooled drinking water in a labu sayong - glossy black carafe in the shape of a gourd assists the cooling of water. Minerals in the clay used to produce this is believed to be able to cure ailments such as cough and fever.
A game called Khun Phaen left in the room for us - but we had no time to figure this out!
Outdoor deck/ balcony overlooking the water canal
The view of the limestone caves
The water canal
Greenery everywhere :)
Hope you enjoyed this review on our Water Villa at The Banjaran. Still have more photos to share from around the resort as well as our other meals in the resort. (I have the photos sorted, so that will be soon!)
See previous reviews here: Madam Lawrence Aboucaya organic event, Lunch at Pomelo Restaurant.
Price: Rate is usually RM1800++ for villa only. There is currently a Facebook Fans special package which includes 1 night villa, daily breakfast for 2 pax, 60mins aromatherapy massage for 2 pax, anti-oxidant therapy or hydro bath treatment for 2 pax for RM1888. See here.
Location: The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, 1 Persiaran Lagun Sunway 3, 31150 Ipoh, Perak. (please exit at Ipoh toll)
Tel: 05-210 7777
Website: http://www.thebanjaran.com
GPS Coordinates: 4.63082, 101.15617
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