British Expat Visits Desaru — Tunamaya, Tanjung Lompat & Els Club
Source: SHEDtalks on YouTube · embedded, not re-hosted
Watch this if you’re coming to surf or kite-surf, or you’re weighing the older outside-the-gates resorts — and you want a blunt, non-tourist-board take.
by SHEDtalks
What’s in it
- A rarer non-Singapore angle — a British expat family driving from the KL side (~4 hours via the E2/AH2); load your Touch ’n Go card, tolls ran ~RM 200–300.
- Stayed at Tunamaya, one of the older outside-the-gates resorts — ~RM 350 for a deluxe room (a king plus a single, good for a small family); dated 1970s–80s décor, but right on the beach.
- The key surf insight: the calm resort bay is not surfable — the surf and kite beach is the next cove north, around Tanjung Lompat, where you drive straight onto the sand. Two surf schools there hire and store boards and run lessons.
- A tip even non-members can use: eat at the Els Club clubhouse — dinner and breakfast were a trip highlight, with a view over the course.
- The One&Only is firmly private — gates closed, no casual visit or meal (it has since rebranded; now Mandarin Oriental as of 2026).
- Honest negatives: they went in January (monsoon) — rough, brown sea, red flags (no swimming) and noticeable litter on the public stretches; locals said the sea turns blue around April.
More from this video
The drive took about 4 hours each way (left at 11 a.m., arrived around 3 p.m.); the return was slightly longer at 4 hours 45 minutes due to traffic. Fill up with petrol before leaving Desaru — the garages on the AH2 are packed around 1–2 p.m. on Sunday.
At Tunamaya the standard room has a queen bed — fine for solo travellers, tight for a couple. They upgraded to the deluxe room (RM 350) which added a king bed plus a single, making it workable for a small family.
Blue-bottle jellyfish were strewn all the way along the public beach on arrival — worth checking conditions before letting young kids loose on the sand. The walk from Tunamaya to the Westin along the beach takes about 20 minutes.
The only accommodation right on the surf/kite beach is the Tiara Desaru Residences — an apartment-hotel where reception rents out individually owned units. If your priority is being a short walk from the water for an early session, that is your option; every other resort is in the next bay and not surfable.
Our take: The most useful video for surfers and for the older outside-gates resorts — it pins down exactly which beach the surf is on, and is refreshingly blunt about litter and monsoon timing.
Where this lines up with our guides
Embedded from YouTube and the property of its creator — we don’t re-host or re-edit. The summary is our own, cross-checked against primary sources and last reviewed 2026-06-01. Creators are also credited on our attributions page.
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