It was always our dream to stay at the most exotic Marriott. When we
planned our Malaysia trip, we saw the time was right to go to Miri. We
used Marriott Rewards points for our stay.
Everyone we have
spoken to in Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu was surprised about our
choice and couldn't believe we hadn't anything to do with the oil
industry and wanted to spend three nights in Miri, located on the island
of Borneo and the State
of Sarawak. "It's not nice; it’s boring and just an oil town." was what
we heard quite often.
Intrigued we went to KK airport for our
flight. A delay of an hour was announced. We used the time to explore
the facilities. The Malaysia Airlines ATR turbo prop plane arrived
earlier than thought, so we were boarding half an hour after we should
have left. The flight was smooth and enjoyable.
As always we bought a taxi voucher at the arrivals hall. Again it cost 30 MYR (ca. 6.95 Euro or ca. 9.40 USD).
At
the hotel the taxi's doors were opened for us; our luggage was taken
and we received a warm welcome from the door man and bell captain.
The
lobby was partly open air and had a tropical flair like the whole
resort. We liked the natural air conditioning, the fans and the fountain
in the middle. There were also a lot of seating spaces, the business
center, the Lush Bar, a tour operator and the Borneo Baking Company.
On
the
lower ground floor were the Zest Restaurant and the Mandara Spa. There
was also an exit to the pool and gardens with the Matahari Pool Bar.
The lobby also offered stunning views over the pool scape and the South China Sea.
At check in we received a welcome drink. The staff was friendly and the check-in process was quick.
The bell captain brought us to our room. There were two wings the main building called Seahorse Wing and the Hornbill Wing.
We
stayed at the Hornbill Wing in the Orchid Section. The location was
very quiet and when we opened the door to our terrace we could hear the
sea, birds, insects and the wind. It was very romantic.
The room
was large and tiled. We received twin beds and had a large TV,
comfortable seating area and a writing desk. The colors were held in
brown tones and dark furniture. Our terrace was furbished with two
chairs and a coffee table and overlooking the garden.
The TV channel
selection was the smallest we had so far in Malaysia, but since we were rarely on the room it didn't matter.
The
bathroom was large with a bath tub/shower combination, a sink, toilet
and Aroma Therapy Essentials by Marriott amenities. These should be
exchanged by now with Thann Native, a Thai company.
There is also 24 hours room service available.
After
making us familiar with the room we went to the lobby to book two
tours. Unfortunately the tour operator had already closed, even though
it stated they should still have open. While I was on the look out for
paper and a pen to write down the phone number and call the agent, my
better half met the Operations Manager Gilbert Webber, who called the
operator for us and organized the tours we wanted.
He took a few minutes to chat with us and asked if we were going to the Mulu Caves.
The
Miri Marriott has three types of guests - business (from the oil
industry - we saw
for example a meeting of Petronas), tourists, who come to see the
natural wonders of Sarawak like the Mulu Caves and Bruneians including
expats, staying for a few days.
Mr. Webber told us also a secret. Marriott is going to open a hotel in Mulu at some stage this year.
Mr. Webber is a great asset and a fixer, so if you should have ever problems during your stay go to him.
After
having solved this we had coffee, watermelon juice and cheesecake at
the Borneo Baking Company. It was delicious and the staff very kind and
interested in where we were from. We paid 69 MYR (ca. 16.00 Euro or ca.
21.60 USD).
During our stay we had room service and tried
different dishes like Nasi Goreng Kampung, Telur Dada with onion and
chili, a Malaysian egg dish served for breakfast, Spaghetti Bolognese
and much more. Our in room breakfast cost between 107 MYR and 116 MYR
(ca. 24.80 Euro to 26.85 Euro or ca. 33.45 USD to ca. 36.25 USD), while
the
most expensive dinner was 146 MYR (ca. 33.80 Euro or ca. 45.60 USD).
The meals were all scrummy and of high quality. The portions were huge
and sometimes it seemed they were made not for one, but two or more
people.
On our first full day we went in the morning on the Miri
City Tour and returned in the early afternoon. We were hungry and
wanted to try Zest. A large group was already in the restaurant and
taking part in the buffet. One member of staff told us no a la carte
menu was available. We were disappointed and after a short discussion
with the staff decided to go to the Borneo Baking Company again.
Enter
Gilbert Webber. He had a short chat with us and the Maitre d, not the
same person as the one telling us only the buffet was at our disposal
and soon we were sitting in Zest and were handed the a la carte menu. We
spent a very pleasant time at Zest and enjoyed an Energy Booster, two
Natural Beauty cocktails, one Pizza Salami and one
Ikan Masak Lemak, mackerel with coconut turmeric sauce.
The
spices of the fish dish were well balanced. The pizza was also very good
with a lot of cheese. It was yummy. The cost was 142 MYR (ca. 32.90
Euro or 44.35 USD).
If Mr. Webber hadn't saved the situation we
might have gone away with a negative impression. In this case we would
happily return to Zest.
Later in the day we spent time at the
free flowing pool. The water was warm, the sun was shining and even
though the pool was used by others including kids, it was peaceful and
quiet. There were enough loungers available and they were comfortable.
We also used the swim up bar.
On the other full day we went on a day trip to Brunei, which was our second visit to the Sultanate.
When we arrived at around 8 PM
back at the Marriott we were told the electricity was out and the bell
captain apologized profusely. It seemed it had been gone for most of the
day. Unlike at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur it didn't influence the key
cards. We could enter our room and it wasn't too dark, because the
emergency light was on. The telephone was also functioning. The room was
nicely cool, too.
Having had an early start we were tired. I had
caught too much sun and felt unwell, so I wasn't hungry, but my better
half wanted something small to eat. It proofed difficult, because nearly
all his choices were not available. Finally we found a dessert he had
always wanted to try, but not managed to order yet.
The electricity was back on even before room service arrived.
Check out was efficient and warm. We received cookies as good bye present. A very nice touch both of us appreciated.
Having
experienced Miri by ourselves we can say we like the city. It has a
beautiful park. We had the chance to see the Grand Old Lady - the first
oil well in Malaysia - and the largest Taoist Temple in South East
Asia beside many other things. The city is manicured and very clean. It
reminds us a bit about Bandar Seri Begawan.
Before I forget to
mention it, the Miri Marriott has also a fitness center and tennis
courts and there are daily activities for children and adults as well as
film nights.
Should our travels take us to Miri again we will
definitely stay again here, because the staff tries really hard to make
your stay a memorable one for the right reasons. They are genuinely
interested and seem to be proud to work at the Marriott. The resort is
exotic and the rooms are in top condition, if not the most modern.
©2014
