We arrived into Tioman from Singapore using Berjaya Air. Good flight which took off and arrived early. Tony, our resort proprietor, was already at the airport waiting to transfer us by boat to his hotel. A beautiful ride along the shoreline to Minang Cove and help was at hand on our arrival to deal with our luggage. (I don't travel light, as I take my own scuba gear on holiday). Sarah, the Manager, could not have been more helpful, and dealt with all our minor requests (eg extra towels, soap, coffees for in room coffee maker) very efficiently and speedily. Nothing was forgotten or requested a second time.
Minang Cove is a beautiful resort which Tony has very carefully developed. The rooms are much nicer than the website photos show them. We had an oceanfront room with veranda over the sea. (I had my best sleep ever out on this veranda on one of the great wicker loungers with the waves lapping beneath). This is a no shoes, no time watching resort. A little bell is sounded at mealtimes and afternoon tea and this was a great way of meeting up with other guests either in the dining room or out on the beachfront terrace. On occasions the monkeys would try to help themselves to whatever food they could lay their hands on much to the amusement of all the guests. It was possible to walk tthrough the jungle to the next village but other than this, and the resort organised activities there was not a lot to do - which was exactly perfect for us. My husband enjoyed snorkelling from the beach and house jetty - he was very excited to see the monitor lizard and later during our stay we saw a juvenile on a rock); and I had some really great diving during this trip. Ollie, an English dive instructor, took me on some brilliant dives and I have to say he is the best dive guide I have ever met. He took really good care of all the divers - not that there were ever more than 4 of us and was brilliant at pointing out all the iinteresting stuff. There was a small wreck sitting just off the beach. Dives were not too far from the resort and the boat was really easy to get on and off. Sarah organised snorkelling boat trips, round the island boat trips, night fishing trips and Ollie took us on a guided snorkel along the coast. We were happy to play cards, scrabble, etc in the evenings. There was no internet - great because we came to relax and that is exactly what we did. Tonly very kindly arranged for all the guests to attend a local wedding on another part of the island and organised the boat transfers to and from at his own expense. That was a particularly interesting and memorable experience. We were very happy each day just watching boats go past the resort and looked forward every evening to seeing the sharks being fed with food waste, from the resort's jetty.
The food was delicious and plentiful and the chef was only too pleased to share his recipes with guests. Different choices every day for dinner. Breakfast and lunch choices were from a menu. Afternoon tea varied every day.
All the staff were delightful and helpful. Tony's two children were around during part of our stay as it was their school holidays however they were not intrusive and when his son joined us on one of our snorkels he was really good at pointing out things we had missed.
At one point we were the only guests at the resort because numbers rose and fell as guests came and went - however, guest numbers were never high - it's only a small resort and this gave a lovely intimate feel to the place.
We really hope that we will be able to return one day as this resort certainly offered a huge "wow" factor. I should also mention the resort's booking agent who did an excellent job in arranging our accommodation. She was always very prompt to answer any questions I had prior to our visit.
- Minang Cove Hotel
- Minang Cove Pulau Tioman
