We visited Sibu Island Resort with two other families on a 5N6D trip from Singapore. There were 14 of us altogether and the children ranged from 5 to 12 years old.

The hotel organised a coach to pick us up in Singapore at 6am. After changing coaches (why?) and breezing through customs we were 2 hours early for the ferry which left at 11am. The ferry terminal was dirty, full of flies and not the kind of place you want to spend 2 hours entertaining 8 overheated children! I would advise taking the car. The trip was very straightforward and by all accounts the terminal is safe to leave your vehicle. The ferry only took 20 minutes to get to the resort.

We all had Layang Layang Suites which had a double bedroom, twin bedroom, shower room and living room. They provided extra mattresses for my friend with 4 children. The rooms were small but clean and adequate for our needs. The shower room looked fairly new. The beds were very comfortable. There was a mini-fridge and tea/coffee facilities. Wifi was free. There did seem to be a bit of a smell outside our room after it rained.

The island itself is very beautiful. There are three beaches altogether maintained by the resort but other coves to explore. The beaches are clean with quite fine sand. They are great for collecting lots of varieties of shells. Beach 2 is good for snorkelling although not as good as Tioman. The fish here swim up to your face! They must be used to being fed all the time. At low tide you can swim quite a way out and still stand in the water. This is great for the children. You can hire snorkels and life jackets are provided if you want them. The hotel seems to cater for large and corporate groups which do activities altogether so it can seem crowded if you are with them but the resort is big enough for you to find your own space.

The hotel provides lots of activities, some are complimentary, some you pay for. If there is a large group staying you will of course have less of a opportunity to participate as much as you would like to. Saturday and Sunday were busy with large groups but after the weekend it was quiet and we enjoyed exclusivity on some of the activities like the flying fox and archery. The guys running these activities provided a very good service. We also went on a jungle trek (not for the faint hearted), played volleyball, trampolining for the kids and went banana boat and flying fish (hair raising!) rides. The fishing trip was a great success too. The hotel chef kindly cooked our fish for lunch on our return. Note you cannot fish from the island because it is a marine reserve.

The pool at the resort is small and there is a small slide behind it which the younger children loved. There is a pool bar which does not look as though it has been used for years. There is no poolside service. We just bought our drinks and snacks from the shop. The only alcohol the resort sold was 3 kinds of beer from the beach activity centre and you had to fetch your own if you wanted it with dinner! I think you could bring your own if you wanted wine but you would have to check with the hotel.

The service in the dining room was pretty awful. Most staff found difficulty speaking and understanding English. We had organised a package whereby food was included which meant buffet food. I thought it was ok. My husband said it was better than he had expected for a 3* hotel. The tea and coffee were lukewarm from urns. When we asked for a fresh pot of tea we were asked what was wrong with the tea from the urn and then reluctantly given a fresh pot. There was a general reluctance to help in the dining room which was in contrast to the service everywhere else in the resort. We ordered pizza on the last night and even though they took an hour to come they were delicious. I would advise ordering from the a la carte menu rather than the buffet and going to the dining room early when there are large groups staying.

On the whole if you want a get away from it all holiday not far from Singapore with the option of activities in a good quality 3* hotel this is the place for you.

My wife was in her 8th month pregnancy, and we have our 2 yr old with us.
Wanted to find a safe and nice place to relax, and yet not too far or tiring to travel.

Sibu island turned out to be a correct choice:
1. Near to mainland, 20 mins by catamaran
2. With attached medical room, the medical staff is very helpful when my daughter had a cut when she fall onto the floor.
3. Safe parking in Tg leman, our car is still there after 3 days, and the Wilson Parking sign reassured us of the safety.
4. Very professional staff, especially the manager for the restaurant, very attentive and entertaining chap
5. Some activities to occupy us on the island, archery, animals, trampolin, etc.

If you are expecting to see a lot of fishes like those you see in Lang tengah or redang, forget it. You need to take the boat ride out, we opted out for the boat ride option due to the pregnancy.

In all, a very nice place for family with young kids.
And did i mention that it is ran by singaporean management? so it meant that their service level is way better than what you expect from a normal msian resort.