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Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort & Spa in Malaysia has a new nature ambassador, added luxury benefits and innovative packages to tempt guests. Abigail Healy learns more.
Shangri-La Rasa Ria has a major selling point. As well as a stunning setting on a wide stretch of golden sand, five international restaurants and a spa with treatments featuring local techniques, it also has a 64-acre nature reserve within its grounds.
Up until April guests of the hotel were able to visit orangutans in the reserve as part of a rehabilitation programme but in spring the programme reached completion and all the primates were successfully returned to the wild.
It’s a bittersweet story for the reserve’s new nature ambassador, Sail Jamaludin, who was born and bred in North Borneo and has been at the resort for 20 years, arriving three weeks before it opened.
“In some ways I am happy and some ways I’m sad,” he says explaining how he knew some of the animals as babies yet asserting the huge importance of the programme’s success.
With the initiative complete, the reserve is embarking on a two-year development plan that will include adding new guided trails. The Entomology Trail will bring guests to an area to see indigenous insects and the Herbal Trail will help them to discover edible plants and flowers that can be used as a food source or as medicine.
There is also a new Night-Vision Nocturnal Tour which will see intrepid visitors wear infra-red goggles as they are guided into the reserve to spot sambar deer, pangolin, bear cat, slow loris, kingfisher and purple heron, as well as numerous reptiles.
Jonathan Reynolds, the resort’s general manager, explains it was important to maintain its eco-efforts following the completion of the orangutan rehabilitation. “We didn’t want our conservation efforts to drift away,” he says.
For guests who are still keen to see orangutans, the resort offers a day trip to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan.
Beyond the reserve there are several new developments for the resort as it celebrates its 20th birthday. In September it launched a series of new benefits for its Ocean Wing guests. The premium accommodation option opened last year and guests can now enjoy daily pre-dinner cocktails and canapes and a bespoke Bath Indulgence experience.
Reynolds says: “Lots of city centre hotels have a club floor, which wouldn’t be appropriate in a resort like ours, but this allows us to give guests bit of added value – as well as an opportunity to meet with them every evening to make sure they have the chance to ask anything they might want to about their stay.”
He says the concept has been well received. “Guests are thrilled when they arrive at the resort and hear about the added extras.”
There are also new packages available, such as Adventuremoon for honeymooners looking for an active start to married life. Couples can enjoy a jungle trek with champagne picnic, horse-riding on the beach, paddle-boarding and kayaking – rounded off with a couple’s massage and a sunset river cruise.
Reynolds explains that the idea was borne out of research they had about travellers wanting a more immersive experience.
“It’s for those who have the GoPro and the adventure kit and want to get out and do things,” he says.
Reynolds also decided to introduce the Mount Kinabalu Climb in Style experience following his own trip to climb the iconic mountain. “It was on my bucket list so tried it, and the resort’s concierge set up the trip for me. It’s not a high-end luxury experience but it’s a lot easier to book with the hotel making the arrangements and we work with guides we know personally.”
Guests enjoy a few extra creature comforts en route too, such as lunch and snacks made in the Rasa Ria kitchen, celebratory champagne at the top, and overnight accommodation in a private room on the mountain. They then enjoy a well-deserved pampering muscle relaxation massage on their return to the resort.
Travel 2 offers eight nights at Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort & Spa on a B&B basis from £1,119pp, including flights and private transfers, based on two sharing a Superior Rainforest View Room valid for departures in May and June 2017.
