Pulau Pelangi Resort

The island has lovely beaches, with warm, clean water, and I slept on the beach. We spent our time snorkeling among the nice coral and beautiful fish around the island. The sand felt a bit rough for my taste, but I still enjoyed it. It's a beautiful island that needs cleaning and tidying, and I hope the resort gets turned around soon. The people working there were nice and accommodating, though management should train them better to maintain the facilities. After two years of COVID restrictions, the place was rundown. Our first room had a toilet that didn't work, and the bathroom tiles were coming apart, like the rest of the room. The second room was somewhat better, but not by much. It needs a lot of renovation to recover from its rundown, third-world-motel condition.

The staff were very friendly, and the resort has three pet cats: Magrib, Joyce, and Oyen. There are two lovely wide beaches that are peaceful and clean, plus a good range of water activities, including snorkeling, diving, banana boat, canoe, and paddle. Still, I wouldn't pay more than the regular listed price. We went just before New Year's Eve for two nights and had planned to stay through the new year, but the surcharge was far too high for a place this poorly maintained. The facilities need renovation. Our room was old and dim, with leak marks on the wall and a battered wooden desk. They provided one thin, single-bed blanket for a queen bed. Food was bad: of the seven meals I ate, I liked only two, and once they served uncooked rice. Bring snacks if you come. Lunch is at noon, the coffee-break snack isn't until 5 pm, and the snack shop closes at 9 pm. The bicycles we used didn't have fully working brakes. The ATV wasn't available during our stay because it had been rented to another resort in the Thousand Islands. We also had several power cuts at night, each around ten minutes, which worried me. The owner should renovate the resort and touch up all the facilities. Visitors could also use some guidance. The island is mostly lively forest, and I would've liked to know what to do if I came across wild animals. During my stay I saw a snake and a big spider, and heard monkeys. Some guidance could also help keep visitors from leaving litter on the beach.

There was no customer service to speak of. Staff made no effort to help with what we needed. When we asked about advertised activities like fishing, biking, kayaking, canoeing, and others, they said they weren't available or were broken. The only canoe was pink, had no proper oars, just a broken stick, and wouldn't balance. The website pictures are old, from when the resort first opened. The island looks very different now, and most cabin roofs are caved in and unsafe. This place felt like a ripoff, and the price per person was very high. Our cabin was filthy, as if it hadn't been cleaned in years. The sheets were stained and dirty; the towels seemed used, then rolled up as if clean. The AC and lights kept going out, the restroom leaked, and we could hear rats in the roof at night. We woke up covered in bites from the dirty beds. The windows wouldn't close, and a big spider crawled in through one. At checkout, staff arrived with no cleaning supplies, made the bed, and took the keys to prepare the room for someone else. We were disgusted, wondering how many people had stayed in that same uncleaned room. Breakfast was spicy spaghetti every day, so children who don't eat spicy food may go hungry until noon. Lunch and dinner were exactly the same each day, too. Please don't waste your money here.

The beach itself is beautiful, and the island could be so much better, but this was nowhere near a paradise stay. We didn't get the welcome drinks we were promised, and the dining hall was in shambles. Staff didn't seem oriented toward customer service; as guests, we felt more like an obstacle than anything else. The whole facility was dirty, and management needs to teach the team how to look after it. The owners also need to invest in the buildings, infrastructure, and equipment. The resort should close until it can be fixed, because it wasn't worth what we paid. The rooms and cabins are in terrible disrepair, with things broken and dirty everywhere. They need a complete remodel or to be demolished. Most advertised activities weren't available: bike rides, banana boats, kayaking, fishing, and others got a "no" or a response that the equipment didn't work. Snorkeling and diving were the exceptions. There was only one battered canoe and one small, battered kayak, and the submarine boat wasn't operating either. Meals were poor. They served spicy spaghetti for breakfast every morning, so children may not eat until noon. Lunch and dinner were also the same food each day, which is a problem if you don't like it.