The 5 * "The Datai Langkawi" hotel is located at the north-western tip of the island of Langkawi in Malaysia, on the beautiful Datai bay, by the Andaman Sea, in the heart of a tropical forest of 10 million years.
The 5-star hotel, member of "The Leading Hotels of the World" and comprising 121 rooms, suites and villas, was designed in 1991 by the Australian architect Kerry Hill and by the French architecture and interior architecture design agency. DL2A .
This large 37,000m² project, on one of the most renowned sites in Asia, was awarded the "Aga Khan Prize for Architecture" in 2001. In order to find the original DNA of Datai, its Managing Director, Arnaud Girodon has chosen to call on the designer from the start, Didier Lefort (DL2A) .
After a complete renovation for an investment of € 55M and twelve months of work, it re-opened in early 2019. All the rooms, restaurants and public spaces have been renovated and redecorated with a new touch of modernity, which already originally characterized "the Datai". New spaces have been built such as, a fitness center, new pavilions in the spa, new conference rooms. The restaurants have been expanded. A 5 bedroom Villa with two connected swimming pools, the "Datai Estate Villa" has also been created.
The new "Nature Center", inspired by tribal "long houses", was built from bamboo. Managed by a team of naturalists and marine biologists, it offers customers the opportunity to participate in environmental activities and scientific research.
"Didier Lefort brings an unrivaled knowledge of the structure, history and environment of this exceptional domain, with a deep link to the original vision of the project which is perfectly integrated into this 10 million year old virgin forest "Said Arnaud Girodon, General Manager of the hotel.
With the renovation of the hotel "The Datai Langkawi", in Malaysia, one of the most exclusive resorts in Asia that he had helped to design and build in 1993, Didier Lefort, founder of DL2.A (Didier Lefort Architectes Associés ) is the winner of the “Versailles 2019 Prize” in the interior architecture category of the East Asia and Pacific region.
Photographer : Geraldine Bruneel