Good question.
Most of the places that have a reasonable night life have don't have the best beaches (such as Penang that always seems to have a jellyfish problem).
There is Langkawi but it is supposed to be quite sleepy and to dive you seem to have to take a boat trip to a special area),
I am not sure about Borneo but from what I have read it seems to be boat trips to small islands for diving.

Thanks for your reply rickt. From the research I have done so far the Perinthian Islands are supposed to be good for diving - can anyone confirm that?

Have you had a look at Redang Island which is supposed to be good for diving. People I have spoken too say the Perhentian islands are pretty good as well.

Of the resorts I have been to in Malaysia - Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Pangkor and Kuantan...only Penang could be described as lively although Kota Kinabalu has plenty of activities and reasonable shopping and diving in the nearby marine park.

Thanks Sunbear. Yes, I was thinking of Redang Island - I will have a look into it. So which part of Malaysia did you enjoy the most and would you recommend any hotels?

Hi Sashakins

To be honest I enjoyed all the parts of Malaysia I have visited...Langkawi and Sabah probably most of the beach resorts....KL and Taman Negara of the non beach destinations.

Hotels in KL ...the Mandarin Oriental followed closely by the Sheraton Imperial.

In Sabah we stayed at the Tanjung Aru...no great beach as such but easy access to beaches on nearby islands. However I think I'd be happy at any of the Sabah hotels we tend to see in UK brochures although I found the Rasa Ria (Tanjung Aru's Sister hotel) a bit remote for my liking.

In Langkawi I liked the look of the Tanjung Rhu...on a good beach. But we only had a meal here and used the beach...we were staying at the Sheraton Perdana a fine hotel but on a poor beach.

Pangkor was on a good beach but I was a little disappointed with the hotel.

I'm so confused!!! It seems as though you can't get the best of both worlds with the hotels. I was looking at Kuantan or Redang hardly any brochures include these resorts which makes me think that they're remote. We wanted to stick to the east side because of the weather. I did like the look of some of the hotels in Langkawi such as the Pelangi but reviews weren't that good and they said the beaches weren't suitable for swimming because of the amount of jelly fish! argh!

Kuantan is not all that remote, but is a proper working Malaysian town. We stayed at the Swiss Garden a few miles out of town, an acceptable 3 star resort...the beach was OK but not what I would call a paradise beach. We visited the Hyatt Regency...this had a few local bars and restaurants around it...again was on an OK beach. Not sure what the diving is like around Kuantan as it did not seem to feature highly in the area. Tourism in the area is pretty low key.

Langkawi as you say might not be the best area to head too in August. The Pelangi is generally regarded as a good hotel. Seemed quite lively when compared to the Sheraton we stayed in, when we visited for a look round and a cocktail.

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Kuantan a couple of years ago, a really nice hotel with the beach at one side and jungle at the other (lots of colourful birds flying around) we went into town for shopping and eating or used the few restaurants around the hotel. Although the beach was attractive, it wasn't (as Sunbear states) paradise.The hotel offered Jungle trips but I didn't see any sign of diving. I was only there a few nights on my way south and wouldn't have wanted to stay longer, though I liked the more laid back atmosphere, quite different to the West Coast.

If you are staying in KL for a time I would recommend staying in a hotel near the Bukit Bintang area (where it crosses Jalan Sultain Ismail) as there is lots to do and has a monorail station to get you all over the city.

I have thought about staying at the Manderin Oriental as it looks very impressive but it seems a bit on its own other than it being right beside KLCC.

Does the beach part of your holiday have to be Malaysia? From KL it is easy to fly to other parts which will not be affected by wet weather in August, eg Bali or Lombok.

With regard to the area around the Mandarin Oriental, there are plenty of bars and restaurants to keep people going for a few days...the area by the Petronas Towers is reasonably lively of an evening with many Malaysians out for the evening. If you need to get around from there taxis are your best bet.