Lato Lato Resort

Warning – total scam. Do not go there! We booked Lato Lato Resort through ebookers. After booking, there was no communication about the boat transfer. We only received a reply on the day of arrival, which is completely unprofessional. When we arrived at Lato Lato Resort, we were not assisted properly and were told the resort was overbooked. Without prior notice, we were simply moved to another resort. We later found out that the Agoda and ebookers accounts are managed by a boat driver, not the actual resort management. We were the only guests at the resort. The food was not edible – only the rice was acceptable. I actually lost weight during our stay. Meals were often served cold and it was the same food every single day. The room conditions were unacceptable: cockroaches, mold, bad smell, and no cleaning at all during our 5-day stay. Towels were never replaced. There were also periods without electricity. We felt trapped there. The owner gave a very strange impression and mostly hid in his office with the staff instead of addressing issues. Even worse, the resort does not care about the environment. There was trash in the sea, wastewater and shampoo from toilets go directly into the ocean, and boats drive over coral reefs. Anyone who loves nature should not support this place. We strongly advise others not to book here.

posizione sopra la laguna con la migliore barriera corallina vista in Malesia. Atmosfera familiare, camere davvero molto moltobasic.

Don’t really wanna give a review in case too many people going , and get booked out . Hahaha. And if you’re looking for a 5 star service like Sheraton. Go to Maldives! Not here Lato Lato is literally the best!!! THE BEST! Please undertand that Lato Lato is owned by local people, simple English or Malay will get you thru at ease . We had fun ,karaoke with the employees. embrace the lifestyle living on the water . it’s a big family vibe. Please only contact Lato Lato Resort via WhatsApp ONLY! (Due to language barrier) 1-2 day before your arrival to semporna , WhatsApp them to organise a boat to collect you from 7-Eleven Semporna with a price ( MYR 200/pp includes: Return boat rides island hopping 😍) it was such a good deal!!! Snorkels are also available to rent at MYR 10/ day from the resort. Note: Lato Lato does not serve beers, if you’re keen, please get some on the island to bring them with you. Bonus: a family of turtles living just below the resort . Ok not telling anymore , as we’re booking our next trip to Lato Lato. Bye

We booked for more than a month. Initially try to book directly but when called unanswered then we decided to use EXPEDIA. Then again try to call the resort just to reassure our booking got through. Again nobody picks up the call. WhatsApp messages were late response and information was not completed as needed. I would like to get information on facilities available which I cannot find when Google. When booked only 'Full Board' is available but not the 'Full Package'. I need to know about airport transfer, boat transfer, Island hopping, and any convenience store available should anything be needed last minute. No information was received. We have to call again and again for the resort to respond to WhatsApp messages. This situation worried me as I thought I got scammed. My entire month before vacation makes me restless. Less than a week before our vacation then only received WhatsApp messages from the resort asking us about airport transfer, boat transfer, and island hopping confirmation. 1 day before vacation in the evening the resort WhatsApp to inform on transportation payment which is cash only. Our flight the next day is early morning. Luckily we prepare some amount of cash already as we don't like to do everything at the very last minute. We also brought a first aid kit/dry foodstuff in case no convenience store. (We are right!!) Surprisingly from day arrival until day departure all went smoothly. Driver calls and WhatsApp where to pick us up at the airport.

The room and view is really really lovely and we actually enjoyed our stay here. The food is really nice too. The room’s aren’t too private though, you can see and hear the villas around you (wasn’t a problem for us). The staff really let you down though. They’re curt and rude and we felt like we were treated like outsiders for not being Malaysian the entire time (which is honestly surprising because we have been travelling around Malaysia for two months and have only ever encountered the loveliest people. As an example - We asked for kayaks and were just told ‘no’ and had to ask several people why before someone told us that the water level might be too low, which it wasn’t because we went snorkelling in it instead (which was really lovely). Also, our whatsapp conversations were vague in the lead up to our stay and they didn’t tell us which of the two jettys we would be picked up from, which caused chaos on the day. Another example - we kept ringing the bell for the bar and the staff member would refuse to come out and serve us. I just feel that as full-price paying customers, we shouldn’t have been made to feel that way. But i guess you get what you pay for. It’s the cheapest floating villa stay in the area and i would recommend it if you’re not looking for luxury and politeness. Bonus if you speak Malay :)