This year's Raya holidays seemed to stretch aross a long weekend because both days fall on Saturday & Sunday. Not long after that, we have another newly declared holiday this year which falls on 16 September which is a Thursday. Seeing the opportunity to take some time off, WL's family booked a few rooms at a Port Dickson resort. I was invited to join in the fun & I graciously accepted their offer.
I haven't been to Port Dickson for ages & the only thing I could recall is the dirty beach & the seemingly haunted rented bungalow that me & my family almost stayed for the night. Fast forward more than 10 years later, here I am back at the signature dirty beach for a Raya getaway. Together with WL & his brothers' families. XD
It was only 1 1/2 hour drive from KL but even then, I was fast asleep throughout the entire journey. When we arrived, the building & surrounding looked decent & clean though not particularly grand.
Sad to say that the compound surrounding the resort is pretty bare with not much greenery view. The next drawback is that it doesn't have beach. Can you believe that? -_-" At least the resort looks pretty good in a way with little homes built on both land & stilts. The landed area does give a modern, homey neighbourhood. Plus point for that! =)
Each home has an indoor swimming pool about 4 feet deep. Too small a pool for swimming but good enough to get wet & relax within the comfort of your own room. It has a mini fountain shaped of a frog shooting water out of its mouth. The fountain seems to operate on itself by refilling the pool as & when it detects the water level falling below minimum.
I quite liked the spacious room which is capable of accommodating 2 queen size beds. There's a kichenette equipped with microwave oven, kettle, cutleries etc for a quick meal preparation. The bathroom is just next to the kichenette; incorporating an open concept with the shower area, toilet & sink separated from each other. I personally prefer to have them combined together to be a proper bathroom so that I didn't have to tiptoe around in my wet condition after shower to use the toilet. Too bad. :/
A glimpse of other facilities such as the cafe & public swimming pool reflects a decent & simple environment. Quite disappointing to say that the buffet breakfast menu lacks variety & even a dish as simple as omelette failed to give out its fragrant & savoury taste. On the other hand, the pool is generally divided into 3 sections - adult's pool, children's pool & mini size pool. Although I'm not much of a swimmer, I believe it's obvious if the pool was not properly maintained ie not cleaning regularly hence causing the water to look a little murky. Eww!
There is no recreational activities to do in the resort besides swimming, cycling, going to the gym & playing ping pong at a miserable location near the toilet entrance. Apart from the free breakfast for two, there ain't any restaurants to dine which means driving out for meals is a must. Driving out to look for food is literally useless at a dead town like Port Dickson cuz very scarce eateries can be seen. Imagine driving out to search for a local coffee shop but ended up lunching at KFC -_-" Bicycles are available for rent within the vicinity but trust me it sure ain't an enjoyable ride. They were poorly maintained - chain gears not oiled & probably left out in the sun for too long that the cushion seats had hardened.
I guess, it's who you travel with that determines how enjoyable the trip would be. =) Otherwise, any posh hotel or beautiful beach would be equally dull & less meaningful.
But if you asked me, I doubt I would visit this place again reason being it's a little too pricey for a few night's stay with hardly any activities to look forward to. I guess I'm the type of guest or tourist who seeks for something to do instead of just spending the entire day in the hotel room in a deep slumber. Perhaps it's not my perfect idea of winding down & getaway.
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