Malaysia: In the heart of the rainforest

See a hotel in our photo? Take a good look, there it is, one of the world's most beautiful beach resorts, nestled in the heart of a 10-million-year-old tropical forest. The Datai Langkawi on the island of Langkawi, Malaysia, has chosen to preserve the bay from construction and integrate its buildings into the jungle.

It all began in 1991. Australian architect Kerry Hill and French designer Didier Lefort (founder of the French architecture and interior design agency DL2A https://www.dl2a.fr ) were commissioned to build a 5* luxury hotel in Langkawi. The setting is magnificent, with one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world (according to National Geographic), on the edge of a tropical forest. At a time when others wouldn't have hesitated to build directly on the beach, erecting opulent buildings visible from afar, the two architects decided to preserve this veritable treasure of nature. With great persistence, they succeeded in getting the owners to accept their vision: leave the beach untouched, move the buildings back and go 300 m further and 40 m higher into the forest.

"Apart from a golf course under construction a few kilometers away, there was nothing but jungle, not even a road," explains Didier Lefort. "We had to clear the land, partly with the help of an elephant, to bring the logs cut down to the site of the main body of the hotel, to be used, among other things, to make the posts for the Beach Club and the pilings for the Pavilion Thai restaurant, suspended in the canopy at a height of 25 m".

Nestled in the heart of exuberant vegetation, The Datai Langkawi resembles a magnificent ecolodge, imbued with authenticity, where luxury is hidden in every detail. Everything is warm, refined without ostentation. Considered one of the world's finest eco-hotels, it has been awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

In the heart of the rainforest

For travellers, the adventure begins just a few kilometers past the airport on the island of Langkawi. The rainforest takes over. The driver turns off the radio, and the only sound to fill the cabin is the discreet chirping of birds, so as not to distract attention from the spectacle of nature. From time to time, a sign warns of wild animals crossing the road.

This is an animal's world," explains the driver. It's up to us to adapt, not them." These few words, pronounced in broken English, perfectly express the philosophy of The Datai Langkawi, a hotel with nothing to indicate its presence. Except perhaps the magnificent golf course crossed by the road.

A passage through the forest finally gives access to the hotel, where luxury knows how to be discreet. The sound of a gong welcomes guests and accompanies their steps to the lounge, from where their gaze plunges into the pool before settling further on the Adaman Sea and, opposite, the mountains of Thailand.

At the center of the vast open space is a lily pond populated by tiny golden frogs. From time to time, a hornbill nesting in one of the site's venerable trees comes to peck.

To the right and left, the main buildings blend into the exuberant vegetation. This is where the hotel's (very beautiful) rooms and suites are located, close to the restaurants and swimming pool.

Electric carts take you to the magnificent villas in the heart of the forest. Built on stilts, they have been adapted to the vegetation, allowing guests to observe the flora and fauna from their balconies.

Occasionally, unusual little noises catch your attention: monkeys swinging in the branches near the terrace, passing over the roof, a gecko calling out. Walking along the paths at night is even more impressive, as the murmur of nature makes strange sounds. It's best to mark the location of your villa, as the paths have not been laid out in a straight line, but wind through the forest.

 

 

Make sure you always keep your doors and windows closed: the monkeys, as cute as they may seem, would soon cause chaos in the rooms! "They even know how to open cans," smiles one of the many employees who look after the well-being of guests, animals and the surrounding environment.

When luxury rhymes with ecology

The Datai Langkawi is Malaysia's first ecological luxury hotel.
From the outset, a special effort has been made to integrate the hotel into its environment, taking care to preserve the flora and fauna. The tropical wood and local stone buildings blend in naturally.
Rainwater is collected and wastewater treated. To minimize the impact on nature as much as possible, every effort was made during the renovation in 2018 (under the direction of Didier Lefort), to achieve the 0 waste objective. Almost all single-use waste and packaging has been eliminated. Water is offered in bottles that are recovered, cleaned and reused.

Everything is sorted and recycled on site: non-consigned glass is crushed for use as backfill and building materials, as is any plastic still present. Organic waste is composted, and meat scraps are distributed to neighbouring farmers. A local NGO recovers slippers and turns them into cushions.... Over 90% of waste is recycled in this way, with the remainder burnt in a small incinerator.

 

 

Living with nature

To explore the rainforest, there's no need to leave the Datai Langkawai site, which extends over 26 hectares in an area classified as a Geopark. Outings supervised by rangers reveal the flora and fauna of this magical place: 260 species of birds, butterflies and other surprising insects, adorable obscure semnopithecines, tiny deer, flying lizards, sea turtles, flying colugos, squirrels, geckos, snakes.... .

 

 

However, it is forbidden to venture outside the indicated perimeter at night: this is not a botanical park, it's the jungle! To satisfy your taste for adventure, simply walk back to your pavilion: at nightfall, you'll feel very small in this environment animated by unusual noises and sounds.

All the activities on offer focus on nature. Guided walks take you through the herb garden (it's impossible to grow fruit and vegetables, which are immediately eaten by the monkeys), the beehives with their tiny stingless bees that produce a very special honey, the tree nursery and the recycling facilities.

 

 

The animators invite you to workshops on making candles from used wax, soaps, objects from crushed plastic, making batik, painting, harvesting honey, exploring the sea.

 

 

A path leads down to the white sandy beach of Datai Bay. Although not a private beach, it is only accessible via this private path, and therefore only to hotel guests. Here, too, activities are in harmony with the environment: no motorized water sports, but paddleboarding, sea kayaking, windsurfing, planting coral cuttings and catamaran outings.

Nature is also omnipresent at the spa. A path leads to this haven of well-being, also nestled in lush vegetation. From simple massages using natural products to five-hour rituals, treatments take place in spaces that open onto the rainforest. It's magical!

 

 

The sense of wonder also extends to the food. The various restaurants cater for all tastes: Malaysian and international specialties, Thai cuisine and seafood dishes. The Pavillon's gourmet cuisine deserves a star, as does the incredible breakfast buffet.

 

 

The Datai Pledge

The Datai Langkawi doesn't just have a "green varnish". With the creation of the Datai Pledge - a word meaning commitment - the hotel has launched an extensive sustainable development program in partnership with local non-governmental organizations, social enterprises and local communities. To visualize it, Rémi Giromella, the hotel's sustainable development manager, imagined the Lab, a small laboratory hosting recycling courses. The first "course" is the building itself, constructed from 7968 glass bottles and lined on the inside with shredded and crushed plastic. This material is also offered to the villagers, who come to see what can be done with it.

Helping local fishermen practice sustainable fishing and farmers grow organic crops, cleaning up beaches, supporting craftsmen, helping to create jobs through recycling, educating children, raising awareness of sustainable development and language learning are all part of the vast and ambitious program.

Datai Langkawi is the perfect illustration of how luxury can rhyme with sustainable development. It's the perfect place for travellers looking to reconnect with nature, to get away from it all, while enjoying refined services. Nothing interferes with the feeling of experiencing moments out of time. The privileged location in the heart of this venerable rainforest is also reflected in the evening entertainment, where only an excellent singer and guitarist discreetly accompany conversations, without disturbing the contemplation of the tropical night.

Between the airport and the rainforest.