As we strolled along the deserted beach, a sense of peace and calm came over me – feeling the warmth on my face, hearing the gentle lapping of the sea and the bird calls all around, and seeing the little crabs running around at my feet. How perfect this little slice of paradise is.
I fell in love with this small stretch of coastline, the beautiful and untouched Desaru Coast in Malaysia, and the Mandarin Oriental made experiencing it in luxury even more special. So if you’re looking for a break to escape it all, I can’t recommend this hotel more highly!
Location of Mandarin Oritenal, Desaru Coast
The hotel is located a short 2 hour drive from Singapore, which is home to the closest international airport (Singapore Changi). It therefore makes for an absolutely perfect city and beach break combination international trip, or a perfect weekend break if you live in Singapore.
Alternatively, if you’re travelling in Malaysia, then the closest major tourist destination is Malacca, from which the Desaru Coast is a 3hr drive. In both Singapore and Malaysia, they drive on the left hand side of the road (same as in the UK), so driving was very easy for us.
Important: If you’re arriving from Singapore as an international traveller, you will need to complete arrival cards for both Singapore and Malaysia within the 3 days before you travel.
The Desaru Coast itself is largely a beach destination, and it’s still an up and coming area. It’s not full of attractions and day trips, but does offer some things to do beyond the beaches which may appeal:
- Playing Golf (Ernie Els has two golf courses here)
- Adventure Water Park
- Nature Walks
- Boat Rides and Water Sports
You can read more about getting to the Desaru Coast and things to do there in my post HERE.
Accommodation at Mandarin Oriental, Desaru Coast
The Mandarin Oriental is one of the most luxurious hotel options along the Desaru Coast, and it’s easy to see why straight away. Entering the door to our beautiful villa, we were presented with a courtyard with a small pool with two doors off of it – one to the bathroom and one to the bedroom.
The door on the left opened in to a beautifully appointed bathroom, with a double sink area, huge shower, separate toilet and a large soaking tub. Also in the bathroom were two large wardrobes which easily accommodated all of our clothes. I personally loved that the hotel offered proper bubble bath, not just bath salts or shower gel which never gives bubbles. I had a bath every single night!
The door to the right opened to a bedroom, which had a large double bed (and was incredibly comfortable), huge bedside tables, a sofa at the end of the bed and a large desk area (one of the best we’ve ever had in a hotel). Within the bedroom was also a safe, additional storage, and a complimentary mini bar (which included beer, wine, soft drinks and snacks).
Without a doubt, my favourite part of the room was to be found just off the bedroom. In fact, I’m sitting there now typing this very sentence. There was a HUGE terrace area with amazingly comfy loungers and a table. We spent hours out here when it was too hot to be in the sun, playing cards, chatting and reading. I’ve never had such a great space come with a hotel room before and I loved it. The blinds can be opened or closed and having them open meant a beautiful sea breeze coming in.
I found the room to be absolutely beautiful and one of the best we’ve stayed in. My only downside with it is that if you needed to go to the toilet in the night you had to walk outside through the courtyard – this isn’t too much of an issue but often there are bugs and spiders on the floor so it was important to remember shoes!
Housekeeping was also a little haphazard – on 2 days of out 4 day stay, our minibar wasn’t topped up. We also didn’t have any towels one day, and on one day we were delivered a baby bottle sterilising machine (obviously we didn’t request this), and despite asking for it to be taken away twice no-one ever took it.
Food & Drink at Mandarin Oriental, Desaru Coast
Eating and drinking was a highlight at the Mandarin Oriental, and I have to give thanks first and most importantly to the F&B staff. Attila, the man in charge of all food and beverage at the hotel, was great. He seemed to be in every restaurant, checking on guest experience – I think he’s Hungarian but he also spoke German and English and was just all around very welcoming and good.
The restaurant staff were also incredible. In particular Andy at the Ember Beach Club truly looked after us each night and gave us a free dessert on the final night, and Drahman (I may have misheard his name/spelt it incorrectly) in Ambara who looked after us at breakfast each morning.
There are a few eating options on site:
Ambara
The hotel’s main restaurant, right near reception and the majority of villas, serving Malaysian cuisine with some Western options. The Nasi Goreng and Pineapple Fried Rice were the highlights for us.
Ember Beach Club
A short 1km walk down the beach (or you can call for a buggy), brings you to Ember Beach Club which looks out over the ocean. The menu here is split in to Asian and Mediterranean and you can choose from either, or mix and match. All the food we ate was delicious, with a particular shout out to the Short Rib and Chicken Paillard.
Dusky Monkey
A nice choice for snacks and cocktails, dusky monkey has a few tasty light bite options on the menu – we loved the curry puffs which were delicious. There’s also a myriad of cocktails on offer and we sampled too many to remember them all, but didn’t have a bad one!
Amenities & Experiences at Mandarin Oriental, Desaru Coast
The main experience at the hotel is its access to miles of deserted beach. It’s just SO beautiful wherever you look and every day we took a stroll as far as we fancied and came back again. It was just GORGEOUS.
The centrepiece of the hotel is the main pool, a gorgeous 50m infinity pool surrounded by luxurious loungers. We spent many a happy hour here reading and relaxing. There is also a pool at Ember Beach Club with cabanas. We didn’t stay here long as this seemed to be where the children spent their days, so we went to the quieter main pool.
The hotel also offers a truly beautiful spa, which is set around a lotus pond pool and a HUGE 300 year old banyan tree. A huge thank you to Grace, who gave me two massages during my stay and really sorted my shoulders out – I left feeling like a new woman! The relaxation area in the spa is also gorgeous with wonderful views out to the ocean from some shaded loungers. I enjoyed reading my book there after my massage.
Another highlight for me was the hotel provided activities. Something is run each day, from yoga to body scrub making, to nature walks. We went on the nature walk and our guide Rahman, was absolutely brilliant. He is a marine biologist by qualification, and took us on a walk to learn all about the local wildlife. We saw hornbills and dusky monkeys, which were lovely to see!
The hotel also runs numerous paid day trips off site – whether hiking in Gunung Panti Forest, or river trips to see the fireflies, there’s something to suit everyone. We didn’t do any day trips as we wanted to spend our time enjoying Desaru itself, as it was only a quick visit before having to get back to Singapore for MTH’s work.
So what do you think of Mandarin Oriental Desaru Coast? We had such a wonderful time relaxing and resting before heading back to Singapore, and it was so easy to get there! And sadly from there, it was time for me to fly home. This was in April 2026, and I didn’t have another holiday (vacation) booked until September – so my upcoming posts are a series of more local summer adventures (mainly in England, with a little side trip to Ireland).
Let me know what you think in the comments and as always, stay safe and happy travelling!
Want to read more about Malaysia? You can check out my posts below.
- Kuala Lumpur 2 Day Itinerary HERE
- Thean Hou Temple (KL) Visitor Guide HERE
- Perdana Botanic Gardens (KL) HERE
- Batu Caves Day Trip Guide HERE
- Putrajaya Visitor Guide HERE
- Kilim Geoforest, Langkawi HERE
- Desaru Coast Guide HERE
- Hotel Reviews: Banyan Tree (KL) HERE, Ritz Carlton (Langkawi) HERE & Mandarin Oriental (Desaru Coast) HERE
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