Luxurious Resort In The Rainforest The Andaman Langkawi

For a luxurious hotel in the rain forest The Andaman, A Luxury Collection Resort, shelters a secluded section of Datai Bay fringed by an 8,000-year-old coral reef.

Luxurious. Gorgeous. Spacious. Private.

A little slice of heaven.

A paradise well defined by the engaging views of the sparkling blue jewel of the Andaman Sea.

Best described as a tranquil holiday up close and personal with Nature.

ARCHITECTURE

The architecture of The Andaman, A Luxury Collection Resort is based on a classic Malay House with timbers crafted into giant stilts supporting the main structure of the entrance foyer.

Impressive. The deep roof overhangs keep the sun out and offer shelter from heavy rains.

Completed in 1994, the vernacular architecture of The Andaman, A Luxury Collection Resort is relevant in today’s climate as temperatures rise; the resort is cooling even during the hottest part of the afternoons.

I had wondered quietly if I could meet the architect who designed this sanctuary.

Luxurious Resort In The Rainforest The Andaman Langkawi — Majestic. The large heights and layered roofs allow for cross ventilation, natural sunlight.

Wouldn’t you know, my wish came true!

Meeting the illustrious Dato’ Dr. Zainal Abidin Mohamed Ali, the architect of The Andaman Resort was a wonderful surprise indeed.

He was having his lunch at an adjacent table and popped over to say hello. Imagine that!

As a master storyteller, Dato’ Zainal fabulously weaved the tapestry of his first encounter in the rainforest, hiking deep in the jungle to discover the secluded Datai Bay, on the northwest of Langkawi.

His inspiration of the floor plan was actually based on the crab, not a hornbill as I had thought earlier.

“By sunrise, the crabs would have scurried back to their homes below the sands and the monkey would retreat back to the rainforest. And we humans would be none the wiser,” Dato’ Zainal said laughingly as he continues regaling us with more stories of his life, travels, and accomplishments.

”I used to watch monkeys going down to the beach before dawn to catch the crabs that scurry on the beach. The clever monkeys would break the crabs into two, rinse the halves in the sea water before eating.”

The rainforest is alive with the most incredible wildlife.

When we walk along the corridors of the rainforest view suites, we spotted flying lemurs, hornbills, long tail macaques, dusky leaf monkeys, monitor lizards, giant squirrels, kingfishers, kites, wild boar, tokay geckos, bats and all kinds of butterflies.

Surprisingly there are no mosquitos in the Andaman.

In the middle of the rainforest, the Andaman doesn’t use insect repellent or insecticides to get rid of mosquitos but rather rely on Nature to do the job. A single bat that flies around the triple height ceiling in the Foyer of the resort can eat up to 1,200 mosquito-sized insects every hour at night!

With Nature as his guide, Dato’ Zainal began to map out the resort designed with minimal disturbance to the site, building and weaving the free-form pool around the trees and keeping as many trees intact where possible.

LIVING IN THE RAINFOREST

Until today, the trees are not pruned in any way, leaving it to grow as trees do in the rainforest. When a branch falls, it is cleared. Any tree that has died or becomes a danger is fell and the wood is harvested and recycled as furniture. The respect shown to the original jungle inhabitants is proudly displayed and evident in the population of wildlife in the surroundings. There is even a sign that marks “Monitor Lizard Crossing” near the free-form pool. Which goes without saying, the monitor lizard has been using this pathway for centuries.

Footprints stamp the meandering concrete walkway perhaps as territorial marking and a gentle reminder that we humans are mere visitors here. We need to learn to tread gently as guests. After all the rainforest is our host.