St. Regis Langkawi: Langkawi's first all-suite luxury resort opens

St. Regis has opened its first property in Malaysia, clocking up some other firsts in the process. The St. Regis Langkawi is also the first new luxury resort to open on the 100-odd island UNESCO-listed archipelago of Langkawi in a decade.

And it's the first all-suite luxury resort in Langkawi, offering 85 suites and four over-water villas, with no two the same. They do all have one thing in common though – unobstructed sea views.

Architects Gensler and interior experts GA Design were instructed to create something that interfaced seamlessly with the marine environment, the resort's most precious asset: a 600-metre fringe of white sand beach overlooking a 100,000-square-metre swimmable lagoon with the Andaman Sea beyond.

Design notes play to a theme of "elegant island living" with European and Middle Eastern influences reflecting Malaysia's colourful cultural history. For instance, Islamic arches, mashrabiya-inspired screening, and large private courtyards lead to a garden of date palms, allamanda and bougainvillea.

Though there are less than 100 accommodation spaces in the resort, it offers six food and beverage outlets, the flagship of which is Kayuputi, an overwater space designed by renowned landscape architect, Bill Bensley. It features an incredible antique collection that include century-old wooden doors and windows repurposed from the Dutch embassy in Yangon and 60 teak columns inlaid with camel bone from India.

Opening special rates from $US580 per suite per night. See www.stregis.com/langkawi