Top Kota Kinabalu Hotels

Kota Kinabalu is a nice town,only problem is the smell,drainage problem.Plenty of restaurants to eat especially seafood if you like it but theres always others to choose from.May is a nice time to go because it was harvest festival,plenty to see,cultural shows etc.The taxi from the hotel is the most convenient way to get around and very cheap and the location of the hotel is ideal for getting around.

The Mesilau trail to Mt Kinabalu is pretty tough. 2hours and 1.7km longer than the old route but the flora and view made it worthwhile. Pls refrain from removing any pitcher plants or orchids along the way, else it will end up like the old trail.

Borneo is fabulous and I urge everyone to travel through as much of the country as possible as the people alone make the trip a worthy one. The Mt Kinabalu climb is beautiful, but tough, do not underestimate its ability to reduce your muscles and mind to jelly. The surrounding area of the national park is beautiful and a stay at the Mesilau Nature Resort, which presents climbers with a different start to the mountain trek, is highly recommended. Poring is a welcome rest point after the mountain with its calming pools and hot springs. The canopy walk here is interesting and the staff are helpful. For a great meal here venture outside the Poring Resort gates and head down the road to the Tropicanna Restaurant for some of the best meals in Borneo.<br> <br> Sandikan is a city that gets under your skin and eventually brings a smile to your face. Agnes Keith''s House is a must, along with the Chinese Buddist Temple on the hill. The English Tea House is better with a group of people and the clean Mayfair Hotel in the city centre is fantastic (depending on budgets, this is lower end) for its friendly owner and his extensive range of Kung Fu DVD''s! I could go on but you get the idea - I will be going back first chance I get. The people in this country are some of the friendliest I''ve ever met.

We found Kota Kinabalu a good location in Sabah. The town wasn''t much, but the people were all friendly and good to meet. The hotel advised us of a restaurant in town serving Malaysian food which was very good - the 3 of us ate well for RM 85! We went on several trips including a 3-day 2-night trip to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley. This is worth more detailed comment. I''m sorry to say that this Lodge is very poor, and we felt it was totally self-serving. It was expensive. The food was very average (I can cook better!) and the accommodation (we stayed in a luxury chatel) was dirty, very poorly maintained and full of insects. It was an unpleasant place to spend 2 nights. The ''guides'' kept to set trails, and we found that they had absolutely no idea where the wildlife was!! Frankly, my wife was a better guide, and it was only with her that we saw a glimpse of Orang Utan.<br> <br> Parts of the trails were very wet and slippery, and the bridges and canopy walkways looked to me to be in urgent need of serious maintenance. The guide was very reluctant to use one bridge, and insisted that we cross one at a time because it was in such poor condition. Leaches were common and a continual nuisance. The Lodge provides no clothing or equipment. We found that they were totally disinterested in the guests. I asked the guide what he would do if someone slipped and was injured. He didn''t know. He had no mobile or radio, and I saw no signs of any awareness of first aid provision. This Lodge is a place to avoid!

Climbing Mt Kinabalu was the star attraction of the trip. Stayed at Berjaya for 2 nights...before the climb. Very close to city centre and the local jetty. Spent a day at Manukan Island, which was a disappointment...nothing close to other islands we have seen in SEA. Spent the evening shopping cheap T-shirts at Tong''s, Wisma Merdeka. Next morning left for trek to Mt Kinabalu.

We booked through the hotel travel shop a trip to the Orang Utans. The trip itself to see them in the wild is good, but I would not recommend buying a package from the hotel as it is incredibly over priced. Instead, a couple of days before you want to go to Sandakan go to Kota Kinabalu airport and book your flight at the Air Malaysia desk (checkout how much it is to upgrade to business, we paid 5 pounds per leg - well worth it). When you get to Sandakan negotiate with a driver to hire him for a few hours. The Orang Utans get fed once in the morning at 10am (I think) it is all over by 11am and you can be back on the 1 o''clock flight, so you need to negotiate a half day rate for a driver.

Do not miss the Fish restaurant at the Fish Market on the waterfront next to the filipino market. Go to the Restoran Sri Delima and Halal Restaurant. If you are not staying at the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort you should try its cusine! Sea or wildlife adventures are worthwile but climbing Mt Kinabalu is something to do. Use taxi.

Sunday market, Manukan Island trip, Kinabalu National Park and the Canopy Walk at Poring Hot spring were worth visiting. Borneo steam engine train was moderate, the stop at the market could have been longer. Go for the seafood located opp Centrepoint. Night markets are disappointing.

Check out the diving, a ride up the famous mountain, and a bit of chip and putt golf on the excellent 9 hole course. The morning sunrise and beautiful weather till 3:00 is wonderful. Rain is usual around mid-afternoon this time of year.

The Nature Reserve of the hotel is fabulous and worthwhile visiting. The tour operator "Wildlife Expedition" in the hotel can tell you a lot about the different tours and they are well-organized! In case you play golf, it is a "must" to play at Dalit Bay Golf, in our opinion the most beautiful golfcourse I have seen (and I have sen a lot!). No need to bring all your stuff yourself as you can rent everything (even shoes) at Dalit Bay! The equipment is OK! However, be careful while playing as there are some people (gardeners and others) who take your ball away and try to sell it back to you! (It happened to us twice!!)