Review: The Westin Desaru Coast (Sea View 1 Bedroom Suite)

What benefits to expect when you stay at The Westin Desaru Coast Resort as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium or Platinum Elite member?

The property opened in 2019 with a total of 275 guest rooms.

This property is a Marriott Bonvoy award sweet spot. Purchasing and redeeming Marriott points is often cheaper than paying the cash rate.

Related: Best ways to redeem Marriott Bonvoy points

Location

This hotel is located in Desaru, Johor. It has a direct beach access, but not close to any external shops or restaurants.

• 1 hr drive to Johor – Singapore causeway
• 1 hr drive to Senai International Airport (JHB)

Arrival

As we had no large suitcase, we drove straight to the car park, before heading to the reception to check in.

I’d booked the base room, and was upgraded to the Sea View 1 Bedroom Suite, as a Titanium Elite member.

Sea View 1 Bedroom Suite

This room type is 92sqm (990sqft) in size.

The suite was spacious, with a good view of the sea. Membership recognition was also excellent, with this upgrade and welcome amenities.

However, it was pretty obvious that the hotel took a lot of (money-saving?) shortcuts in designing and furnishing the rooms of this property. The air conditioning did not work well too.

Unfortunately, this new-ish hotel gave me 2009 vibes, not 2019.

Notice the ugly air freshener on the right of the following photo.

I received an apple, soda, a bar of chocolate, mixed nuts and a chocolate cake, as it was a birthday stay.

The suite included an espresso machine, and JING-branded tea bags; items that some “5-star” hotels choose to cheap out.

Breakfast

Breakfast was held as a buffet at Seasonal Tastes restaurant.

Food quality from the buffet and live cooking stations was very good, for a hotel at this award rate.

Internet speed

The WiFi speed was good enough for light web surfing.

Other facilities

As mentioned above, guests have direct beach access from the hotel. The beach was beautiful, clean and not crowded during my stay.

My ratings

This is how I am rating my stay, after considering what I paid:

*Additional note: Unlike Hyatt and Hilton-affiliated properties, Marriott Bonvoy Resorts (like this one) are not required to have a Club Lounge (yes, just because there’s the word “resort” in the property’s name).

Bottom line

I enjoyed the overall membership recognition at this property, which included a generous suite upgrade, late check-out and welcome amenities (for a special occasion). The beach was really nice too.

However, for a recently-built resort with a nightly cash rate ranging from MYR 700+ (USD 155) to MYR 1,300 (USD 290), I wasn’t impressed by its built quality. Good thing I redeemed just 17k points (worth USD 102) for this stay!