CHASING FOOD DREAMS: Fly Me To Labuan Part 2 - Dorsett Grand Labuan Staycation

Let’s #CutiCutiMalaysia at Labuan…

Continuing my staycation at the glimmering Pearl of the South China Sea with my family, we were hosted at the only five star international chain on the island, Dorsett Grand Labuan. My family and I were so thrilled and was looking forward to checking out the hotel and Labuan as it was our first time here on the East side of Malaysia.

Picture courtesy of Ching YS.

The prestige and upscale hotel is located a few minutes away from the Labuan Airport and is only 10 to 15 minutes away fron the town centre of Labuan. With a few prestigious accolades of "Best Business Hotel Brand Malaysia 2014" and "Luxury Business Hotel 2014" as well as Certificate of Excellence 2015 by Trip Advisor, the 178 rooms Dorsett Grand Labuan is set with gorgeous views of South China Sea as well as views of the city.

We landed at Labuan airport half hour before noon with Malaysia Airlines and was greeted by Dorsett Grand Labuan airport transport at the airport. It was barely a 10 minute drive to the hotel itself. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the warm greetings of Dorsett Grand Labuan’s team with their welcome song! What a talented team…

After a quick check in, we headed to our rooms to unwind. For the three of us, we stayed at Dorsett Grand Labuan Premier Suite set with a gorgeous sea view. There are only 10 Premier Suites in hotel and these are all located on the corners of the levels. Prices for this suite starts from RM860 nett per night.

Our Premier Suite comprises of a master bedroom with a plush and extremely comfortable king-sized bed, a dining area with a basic kitchenette and an adjoining living room with an office desk. There are two bathrooms in our suite. One is the main bathroom while the other is just a restroom. Both master bedroom and living room also has its own 32-inch LCD television for personal entertainment.

Both master bedroom and living room is utterly spacious. Little D was literally jumping, hopping and trying to do cartwheels all over the room as soon as we got there.

The master bedroom has enough space to include an additional bed for D and still leaves us with plenty of room to move about. One may think that I am just being courteous but I am being honest because our king-sized bed is super plush and comforting. I literally didn’t want to get out of bed each morning and couldn’t wait to sleep at night while we were there. Even D snuck into our bed at night saying our bed is so awesome…

Did you know that there is even a selection of pillows available when one stays at Dorsett Grand Labuan? Choose from a selection of water pillow, magnetic pillow, medical stone pillow, memory pillow to musical pillow. D was literally having a ball with the musical pillow. Simply connect the pillow to your ipad or phone and enjoy a soothing background music as one rest away.

There is a separate area for luggage bags that faces the closet. The two closet space houses plush bathrobes, bedroom slippers, mini safe box, ironing board and iron, weighing scale, shoe shiner and extra pillow.

The main bathroom is spacious too, hosting a large bathtub that we used for a good soak every day and a shower cubicle fitted with rain shower head. I love this feature as I enjoy the soothing rain drops cooling off from head to toe. There are also plenty of bathroom amenities as well as hair dryer to cater to one’s needs.

The living room has a two-seater sofa and chairs plus the work desk completed with stationary set and all the information for the hotel and its surrounding area. Wifi is also available in the room and everywhere in the hotel so everyone is kept happy with their updates.

Since Labuan is a haven for seafood, the hotel also has a list of seafood available for purchase from the hotel’s reliable seafood supplier. The seafood are efficiently packed with ice and can withstand the journey of a few hours home. I bought some seafood and these were still frozen when I got home.

Fruit platter together with dainty chocolates and macarons makes pleasant extras since my D snacks all the time.

At the kitchenette corner in the dining area, there are coffee and tea-making facilities with a mini fridge stocked up. For ice lovers like me, I can also get my own ice bucket filled up with the ice machine along the corridor of the hotel.

To enjoy the sights at Labuan, our room has a balcony. Catching sights of the serene South China Sea waters and its ships is definitely a relaxing sight. It’s pretty much a well- equipped suite that is perfect for a family staycation!

We also checked out other rooms and suite available at Dorsett Grand Labuan. The one and only Royal Suite was located on the top floor of the hotel. A luxurious suite that owns a breathtaking view of the sea, it has a bedroom suite with a king-sized bed and a lounge chair. The whole suite is majestically spacious and includes a living area, dining area, office, walk-in closet, Jacuzzi equipped bathroom and pantry. Prices starts from RM5,000 onwards per night.

Decorated with grand dark mahogany wood trimmings against cream-colored walls, rich plush Oriental carpet and wood flooring, the whole suite epitomize elegance and class. The living room is beautifully furnished with cream-colored sofas as well as opulent chandelier and gold trimmings to accentuate the room. The dining room is decorated with minimal elegance, showcasing long wood table and chairs with gold ornate framed mirror plus chandelier.

The office also echoed the theme throughout the suite with lots of rich mahogany wood cabinets to the office furniture. On a personal note, it’s the spaciousness of the suite that made this Royal Suite a class of its own!

There is also the Executive Room located on the 7th and 8th floor which has its own lounging area that has a sofa and work desk as well. These rooms have access to the Executive Lounge on the 8th floor with complimentary coffee or tea from 7am to 10pm and evening cocktails, canapés and hors d’oeuvres from 4pm to 7pm.

Then there is the Deluxe Room at the rest of the levels of the hotel. These rooms have an option of king-sized bed or two twin sized bed that faces the sea or the city.

The grand lobby

A tour around the hotel revealed more about Dorsett Grand Labuan with its restaurant and facilities.

Dorsett Grand Labuan dining and entertainment includes Victoria’s Brasserie, Lobby Lounge and Fun Pub.

Victoria’s Brasserie, an all-day dining restaurant, is set amidst the lush greenery as well as near the pool for a tranquil dining experience. Opt for the cool dining area or the al fresco area when dining anytime of the day. Victoria’s Brasserie serves local and international dishes available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are plenty food promotions going on each month for a delicious dining experience at the restaurant.

Lobby Lounge is the perfect venue to unwind and relax with house signature drinks or enjoy a Hi-Tea with family or friends. One can also catch some sport actions on their High Definition (HD) Giant Screen as well.

Fun Pub is the place to really let loose and just dance the night away. Happy hours starts 6pm to 9.30pm. Did I mentioned that Labuan is a duty free island so alcohol is extremely affordable? There are in-house live band and talented DJ performing nightly.

Perfect Jam, a powerful Philippines band had all of us rocking the night away as we sipped our sangrias and move to the groove!

Dorsett Grand Labuan’s dining team also offers personal catering facilities for private functions. We were certainly pampered with the catering services as we sipped cocktails and mocktails by the beach to catch the sunset as well as quick and easy lunch after our outdoor activities. With the wind gently blowing and cooling the atmosphere, the sound of the waves splashing on the sand, the many laughter and chirps from nature and people, the refreshing and juicy cocktails with bites, our sunset experience by the beach simply priceless…

Stay tune in my next post for the food at Dorsett Grand Labuan’s dining outlets and its catering facilities…

We visited the hotel’s Meeting Facilities next. Dorsett Grand Labuan has 4 meeting rooms for business seminars or personal dinners and wedding ceremonies. The hotel provides business facilities such as Internet facilities, photocopy and facsimile services as well as a wide range of seamless multimedia equipment.

We moved on to the hotel’s Health and Fitness center where the gym is fully equipped with a long list of gym equipment for the health-conscious guests. This health and fitness club also has aerobics classes as well as personalized fitness programs with certified instructors. So if you need to sweat it out, visit the gym open daily from 7am to 11pm.

The next part of the hotel is everyone’s favorite, especially D! The swimming pool at Dorsett Grand Labuan may not be the biggest of the fanciest I have experience but is beautifully set amidst a plush garden surrounding the area.

A waterfall offers many a splashing good time and everyone seemed to enjoy congregating around this area. The pool has various level of deepness and is designed to cater to children as well. There is also a Jacuzzi pool to get some water massage to loosen all the body stress away.

D had an awesome time at the pool! I’ll let the photos do the talking…

In the evening, we enjoyed some cool breeze and caught the dark and glittering night scene from our balcony in our room. It was indeed blissful and utterly relaxing…

Picture courtesy of Ching YS.

Meet Susan Carlos, General Manager for Dorsett Grand Labuan and the efficient and elegant leader behind the hotel team… Susan is extremely approachable, friendly and always smiling. She is also very sporting and goes all out to provide the very best service Dorsett Grand Labuan can offer.

Dorsett Grand Labuan is a perfect getaway for anyone of all ages. Whether it’s business or personal, the five-star hotel is set to greet all their guests with warm hospitality and service with a smile. Personal highlights from the hotel includes their plush and cozy bed, their food and the best of all, their service with a smile from all the team at the hotel.

Thank you Dorsett Grand Labuan for your warm hospitality! It always feels good to be pampered when on vacation…

For more information on Dorsett Grand Labuan, check out their website or Facebook page.

Special Room Offer - Staycation with Dorsett Grand Labuan

Check out the Special staycation room package - Staycation at “The Pearl of South China Sea”. Dorsett Grand Labuan is offering RM550 nett per night in a Deluxe Room. Upgrade to an Executive Room with just RM100 more (rate at RM650 nett per room night) and enjoy a host of extra benefits for FREE.

Package inclusions:

- Complimentary breakfast and dinner (based on single occupancy). Additional person will be chargeable at only RM70 per room night

- 2 hours tour of Labuan historical sites

- Extension of stay with Best Available Rate (inclusive of breakfast) offered by the hotel

Package is available from 1 Nov 2015 till 29 Feb 2016.

To reserve the above packages or other hotel offers, kindly log onto www.dorsett.com

DORSETT GRAND LABUAN

462 Jalan Merdeka,

87029 Labuan F.T.,

Malaysia

Tel: +608 7422 000

Fax: +608 7422 222