Avani Sepang: Overwater Villas and Kids’ Fun are Closer than You Think, Mama!

Keen for overwater villas but don’t want to trek to the Maldives? Pregnant mama Nadia discovers Avani Sepang in Malaysia is just a short hop from Singapore

With June School Holidays approaching, and instead of looking for a long trip to to enjoy together, our family decided to do a few short trips across the month! We’d booked one mid-month and end of June, but were looking for another one in the beginning.

Since we were already spending quite a bit on flights for multiple trips, my criteria was to go to something close by, where a budget airline can fly at a low cost. It had to be a beach resort. And it had to have a nice kids’ club for my little 7-year-old.

I got connected to Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort and at first wondered where it was. I discovered that it was actually in Malaysia (not in Gold Coast itself!) and actually really close to KL! When I checked out their website, I got even more excited: OVERWATER VILLAS! Always wanted to stay in one! Sold!

We flew in to KLIA and it was only a 40-minute drive from there to the resort — really convenient to get to!

The reception we received was wonderful. My daughter warmed up to the staff immediately. The resort is made up of over 300 individual villas, spread out across the water in the shape of a palm tree. There was the “main trunk” of the palm tree, lined with their Superior Rooms (can accommodate up to 2 adults + 1 child). Then there are 8 “leaves” extending from the main branch, lined with their Family Villas and Two- and Three-Bedroom Villas.

Villa Accommodation

Since my husband couldn’t make this trip, it was going to be a great bonding weekend with just my daughter. We booked ourselves into a Family Villa so that we’d each get a bedroom (yay to luxe!). Since you need to go along the entire main trunk to even get to one of the “leaves” I was really relieved that they had golf buggy services (complimentary for all rooms) as well as bicycles for all to use to get to and from the rooms.

Now I know that when I say “overwater villas” you’re going to get the feeling that you can simply jump into the sea from you room. Just to make sure expectations are managed, I will have to share that this isn’t what you should expect here. The resort isn’t placed on a turquoise lagoon with steps leading from your room into clear waters.

However it does give you the overwater villa “feeling” and since you’re further out into the water than you would normally be at any beach resort, it will give you some amazing views of the sunset and make for nice long walks or bicycle rides along the stem & leaves.

Food Options at the Resort

I’ll dive straight into food options since lunch was the first activity we headed to upon unpacking.

With five dining options at the resort, so there’s really no reason to leave at all!

• Sepoi Sepoi: My first meal (our lunch) was here. It’s a sweet little cafe, right by the beach. We came back here at least twice more during our stay and always chose to sit on the terrace so we could see out into the sea. I ordered the Asam Pedas here and it was phenomenal. The fish was so tender and juicy. But one of the staff members also suggested I tried their Mee Goreng on another occasion. NO REGRETS. I kept dreaming about that Mee Goreng long after we’d left the resort!

• Bila Bila: This is where we went for our daily breakfast buffet. But they also have a huge dinner buffet. The highlight for my daughter was the satay grill station. I’m embarrassed to show you the pile of satay on her plate. The buffet selection is huge and when I thought I’d seen it all, I discovered another section with even more food. What’s more delightful than discovering that a buffet with lots of food had even MORE to offer.
• Hai Sang Lou: For a little change in flavour, the resort offers upmarket Chinese cuisine (specialising in dim sum) at this restaurant.
• Stimbot: Hurrah for hotpot. Pretty standard hotpot restaurant here with an option for flavour of your soup and a selection of vegetables, seafood and meat to go with it!
• Perahu: This is an international seafood grill – the only one I didn’t try but looks promising!

Pool & Spa

The next place we headed to was the spa. My policy: Never book a resort without a good spa! Pregnant mummies do be warned, though: they don’t offer any massage services if you’re preggo but happy to give you a body scrub instead or one of the other spa services. My little girl was pampered with a full body massage and a mani-pedi session!

Of course we also spent time at the pool — a must if you travel with kids. The resort has a gorgeous infinity pool with a beautiful view that includes a couple of the “leaves” lined with villas as well as the sea & horizon.

There’s also a gym and weights room for those seeking this.

What else to do at the resort?

You’re in good hands even if going to the spa, the pool and walking isn’t enough to fill your days. Firstly, I did go crazy in their shop, buying exotic batik dresses. But they also have a schedule of daily activities that include beach yoga, power walk, kite flying, batik painting, fruit carving, amongst others.

One evening, after dinner, we made sure to head to the beach by 9pm to catch an impressive Fire Dance performance. You can imagine how that delighted my little girl!

We also opted to go on some tours organised by the resort. I thought a Mangrove Tour would benefit a city girl like my daughter, and while she was very apprehensive about the wildlife in the beginning, before you knew it, she was pointing out mudskippers and monitor lizards excitedly!

Super Kid-Friendly

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to even mention the Kids’ Club! That’s how much there is to do at the resort. Sometimes mama needed a nap pretty badly and when my daughter asked to go to the Kids’ Club, that’s when I took my chance. She almost never wanted to leave the club and they spent time making beautiful crafts including some cool batik paintings!

You could also drive into Sepang town to explore a little. It’s only 10 minutes away. To be honest though, there’s not much to see there and there’s so much to do at the resort itself that it’s probably not worth the trip into town.

Getting There

AVANI Sepang is located 90 minutes from Kuala Lumpur city, and 40 minutes from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The resort provides complimentary return scheduled shuttle service to KLCC and Mitsui Outlet Park.

AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort, 67 Jalan Pantai Bagan Lalang, Kg. Bagan Lalang, 43950 Sungai Pelek, Selangor Darul Ehsan, MALAYSIA, Tel: (+60) 3-3182 3600, www.avanihotels.com/sepang