We first visited the Avillion Port Dickson in 2013 and wrote about it for this site then. We loved it so much we returned in late 2015 at which time we updated this Avillion Port Dickson review.

If there is one form of accommodation that I have always wanted to stay in, it’s a water chalet.

There is just something so luxurious about the idea of staying in a room above the water. Unfortunately, this is also an option that usually costs a lot of money so it was something I never got the opportunity to do – that is until I spotted the perfect place from the window of an Air Asian flight to KL!

The Avillion Port Dickson is quite noticeable from the air with its many water chalets. I had been thinking it would be nice to have a more beachy stopover later in our seven week Asia trip that was convenient to the airport and Kuala Lumpur, and when I saw the over water bungalows, I made a mental note to look it up later.

I went on Google satellite a couple of days later, and I actually found it!  The resort sounded great, but a bit pricey.  So I filed it away in my brain, and when everything changed when we left Taiwan early, I took another look at it and found the rates were cheaper when booking last minute.  I then was able to book it.

It was the perfect way to finish that Asian adventure and, 2.5 years later, it was the perfect way to start another one!

You can read about other resort options in Port Dickson here.

Avillion Port Dickson Review

We love the Avillion Port Dickson.

It is a lovely place.  There are fantastic facilities, everything is well maintained, and there are just so many nice little touches.  Like lots of little signs giving information on little things as you walk around the extensive (and very well maintained) gardens, and many little private spots with big chairs and great views.

There are also many small attractions in the gardens – from an orchid enclosure to a spice farm to a butterfly patch to a petting zoo. I very much enjoyed all these lovely little touches as an adult, and the kids enjoyed them even more, especially the petting zoo.

At 10am every morning, you can visit the petting zoo, feed the animals, pet them and pick them up. The kids absolutely loved this.

There are lots of other nice facilities here too – three pools, one of which is adults only and one is a kids one. There is also a water slide. What is a bit strange is that the water slide has a weight limit of 20kg, which seems made up to me and was annoying on our first visit when the kids were 1 and 2 and not old enough to go alone. And technically S was already too heavy anyway!

Additionally there is a lovely little playground and a simple kids’ room with activities that the kids both loved (at ages ranging from 1- 5.5). Note that there isn’t supervision at the kids room, although there are activities that the staff can help you with. Some free and some at an extra charge. There are also family movies twice a day with 4 different options at each session. There is a beach area at the end of the resort as well.

There are a few different restaurants and bars. With the kids, we felt limited to one, and probably the only problem I have with the place is that I would get sick of the food if we had stayed here much longer. It’s mostly western style and it is ok, but not brilliant. There is a posher restaurant and cocktail bar that look great. We also had room service. There is a day spa. There is internet, but it can be painfully slow.

The only thing the place is really missing is a shop. It would be great if there was a little shop with things like water and chocolate bars, so that there was no reason to leave the resort. It is, however, an easy walk to a whole string of restaurants and a shop with water.

It is a great place for families, but I would love to come here one day with just J and I. I think it would be the perfect place for a honeymoon or a romantic weekend.

Our water chalet

So enough about the resort, how was the water chalet experience?

It was fabulous!

Our chalet was a great size and came complete with a king sized bed and a “day bed” – basically a queen size mattress in an alcove by the windows surrounded by water.  It is a lovely place to sit while watching and listening to the water below and it is where I worked on this article! It also makes this room type a great option for families – the kids slept on the day bed and had plenty of space.

The room also had plenty of luggage space, a safe, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities and a fabulous balcony with chairs to look out over the water.

One of my favourite things about our chalets was actually the bathrooms! They come with open air bathrooms which I had never experienced before. There is a bathtub, but the best part is the massive shower which is right next to a big opening down to the water below (don’t worry, there is a like a balcony ledge so you won’t fall off!). It is lovely having a shower outside while watching the water below, and it is completely private.

Something I also loved about our chalets was how private they felt. There are rooms on either side, but they do not line up perfectly and with the high roofs, the spaciousness of the room and the sound of the water, it felt like we were alone.

The only downside was that in our first chalet, at low tide, there was no water below us.  This was not a problem on out second visit.

I had worried that it may be dangerous to stay somewhere like this with little kids, but there is a big sturdy balcony with railings and the kids can’t get out onto it anyway, unless we unlock the door.  The walkways to the room are very wide and I don’t feel there is any danger.  It is not like some pictures I have seen of resorts in this style where they have platforms from the rooms to swim from.  Nothing is open here for them to get through.

What did we do at Avillion Port Dickson?

Really not very much!  Which was the idea after all.

We hung around the resort.  We spent lots of time relaxing, I especially loved sitting on the day bed and enjoying the water below.  We fed the animals, spent a lot of time in the pool and the playroom.  We drunk some yummy wine on our balcony and by the pool.  The kids loved it, and they are generally drama free when we are taking it easy like this and only doing things they love.

I loved the attention to detail at this resort. Everything was beautifully maintained and we did feel like we were somewhere special – fabulous in this price range. It is a great place to go and just forget about everything.

On our second visit we were more active – you can read our list of things to do in Port Dickson here.

Getting to Avillion Port Dickson

We caught a taxi straight from our hotel in Kuala Lumpur.  There are also buses, but for only $50, we just couldn’t be bothered.  We are all about enjoying our last week in Malaysia, rather than worrying about money. It was very straight forward and an easy run on express ways.  The 1.25 hours passed quickly, and we were soon checking in and walking through the resort to our “water chalet”.

On our second visit, we came from the airport. A coupon taxi is RM94.  The airport is in between Kuala Lumpur and Port Dickson and about 50 minutes away.

Avillion Port Dickson cost us about AUD$140 a night for a water chalet in both 2013 and 2015! Click here for the latest prices.

You can also read our guide to the best hotels in Port Dickson here, our guide to things to do in Port Dickson or things to do in Kuala Lumpur with kids.

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