Resort is a bit of a misnomer. This is a great place, but you need to know that it is more glorified camping. We really wanted an ocean view and were fortunate to get a bungalow right on the beach toward the end of the row of bungalows (otherwise there is a hotel complex around a large pool, not what we wanted to see or hear). The rooms are spartan, but clean. The AC is good and very necessary (we were there in August). There are nice outside verandas - good for early morning and after a swim when you are feeling cooled-down. We had read from other reviews that the staff did not come to clean the room, and that was so with us too, though as I left I saw someone’s door with a door hanger asking for maid service - oops, maybe that was the other side of the do not disturb card in the room that I didn’t turn over...
The ocean beach out front is a bit rocky, but good for cooling down - the water feels wonderful! The pool is great, though you’ll be sharing it with people doing scuba training - not a problem because the pool is huge. We usually didn’t opt for the pricey breakfast buffet, though did so once and enjoyed it. Instead, for most meals we’d wander down the beach just a bit and eat at another restaurant that was less expensive. We enjoyed the jungle trek (starts just at the end of Arwana - do it in the morning before too hot) and seeing the “other side” of the island. Look for the large Monitor Lizards that are in the stream at the beginning of the hike! They were impressively prehistoric looking. We also used the attached dive shop - Leisure Divers - for a Discovery Dive. They were wonderfully patient and thorough - getting us up to speed and then taking us on a great first dive. We saw a wide variety of fish and some lovely coral. We are now hooked on diving, and would like to return to see more of the many dive sites that you can access around the island.

To be fair, we were in a hurry and didn't have the luxury of shopping around. So we wound up at Arwana Perhentian Resort.

What's bad about it:
1. The beach isn't very good. Arwana is on the mangrove side of Perhentian Besar so naturally instead of sand it's clay. Once in the water, the visibility is limited. You'd have to swim out 40 or so meters to get to clear water. There's a small reef in front of the resort with some live coral but it's nothing to write home about. Walking along the beach, you'll see a lot of trash.

Swimming's only possible during high tide.

2. The lobby looks a bit runned down--flickering lights, missing ceiling fans, large dead roach smack in the middle (I noticed it took a couple hours before someone actually picked it up).

3. The pool is filthy. Lots of sediment and even saw phlegm and all sorts of viscous stuff floating. In the morning someone comes to 'clean' but I suspect his definition of 'cleaning' was warped.

4. The room is substandard to say the least (see pictures I took). I reckon we could have stayed at a cheaper place and gotten our money's worth. (A) The bed and pillows reeked of sweat--don't turn off the AC because it gets worse. (B) The shower fixture was broken so I 'fixed' it with duct tape. (C) Water pressure was weak. I had to turn on both shower heads to get sufficient water. (D) The faucet leaks. (E) The water the goes down the sink drain leaks onto the floor. (F) The leaking on the bidet is stronger than what comes out of the bidet itself. (G) The door has no lock (!). Instead you need to lock the door from the inside with a key. This made no sense. If you leave the room you have to lock the door which effectively locks in anyone in the room (I can think of several scenarios where this could be dangerous). (H) The floor is filthy. People who 'make up the room don't clean anything except to leave fresh towels. The floor had smudges and dried blood. (I) Toilet paper holder was missing (why not?). (J) They use an ashtray for soap dish. (K) The mangrove out back is full of trash. (L) Last but not least, our room was by the speaker playing the call to prayer at 5 am (honestly, though, I didn't mind this). (M) The room had a weird fuse box with a sign telling you to press the green button when the electricity craps out--never did understand this.

I've traveled around Asia extensively and have stayed at both luxurious hotels and very 'humble' ones. And that's fine. What really gets my goat if when a resort pretends to be something it's not. If I had to do it over again, I'd stay at the other (better) side of the island and give this place a wide berth.

What's good about it:
1. The monitor lizards in the mangrove forest out back. Some of them are huge and the kids loved looking at them.

2. Front desk staff are friendly. But friendly is never enough to make a good resort. Competence does. I feel people at Arwana have just stopped caring about maintenance and cleanliness.

3. Nobody got sick from eating the food.

4. Our AC worked.

It's right by the jungle trail. It's a 30 minute walk to the other side of the island where upon arriving you'll wish you stayed at instead.