Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia hotels recommended

[rakay]

What hotels are recommended for Kota Kinabalu?

We will be there for 1 night on the way to Sipadan Water Village, then 1 night on the way back home.

Thanks.

 

[dave martin]

The Shangri La was good. It was a short drive from the centre of town but the taxi wasn't pricey.
Dave

 

[pazz]

In March 09 I stayed at the Hyatt Regency hotel in KK on my way to and from Sipadan. (Hotel Sabah - Hyatt Regency Kinabalu - Hotel Kota Kinabalu)

At the airport, after I cleared customs and went out the doors into the lobby, to the left I found a currency exchange booth and an international ATM, which I used to obtain Malaysian Ringgits (MYR). Next to the ATM is a booth to buy a taxi ticket. I bought a 20 MYR ticket to the Hyatt hotel, went straight out the doors to a waiting taxi and was at the Hyatt in 15 minutes. I spent one night there going to Sipadan and two nights on my return. I can definitely recommend it. The price is right. Nice ocean (harbor) view room, decent breakfast buffet, a good steak dinner, very friendly staff and a great location to walk around KK. A lower floor ocean view room will pick up some street noise but to me it was just the sounds of a city with some life.

 

[Zippsy]

If you have one of those "arrive at midnight, depart at 6:00am" layovers, do yourself a favor and just stay at the airport hotel. If you have a day in town, consider the Jesselton Hotel. It is in town, walking distance to malls, dive shops, the night hawker stalls, etc. It's a old, very small hotel that takes pride in their place.

 

[Saltybeer]

If its anything more than a functional overnight stop - go to the Shangri La Tanjung Aru - its only 10 mins from the airport and has a great feel - its big, but real 5 star whilst staying a bit local in feel. Recommended.

 

[The Wolf]

If you have one of those "arrive at midnight, depart at 6:00am" layovers, do yourself a favor and just stay at the airport hotel. If you have a day in town, consider the Jesselton Hotel. It is in town, walking distance to malls, dive shops, the night hawker stalls, etc. It's a old, very small hotel that takes pride in their place.

1. There is no airport hotel. There are hotels nearby, depending on which terminal you landed at.

2. Jesselton is not a cheap hotel but a pricey boutique hotel in the middle of the CBD center of the city.

3. If you are on a short lay over, you can opt for Hotel Mega D'Aru (they provide airport pick up and send off if you arrange it with them ahead of time) and they are 3 minutes away from the air asia terminal and 15 minutes from the MAS/SILK AIR airport terminal where you catch the early morning mas flight to Tawau from.

Avoid hotels in 1 borneo; its at the other end of KK city and you need to allocate 30 minutes at the minimum to get to the airport whilst hotels in down town KK....ton's to choose from according to your budget and specific location.

I rate:

Promenade
Hyatt
Le Meridian

A host of backpacker lodges and budget hotels to choose from as well...

Avoid Kampung Air and Bandaran Berjaya area's as these are not very safe at nights.

 

[rakay]

We are back. We did stay at shangri la tanjung aru resort and spa. It was about 10 minutes from the airport. It was not cheap but it was a five star and worth the price. We had upgraded to the Kinabalu Club so we got a full breakfast in the morning, 2 hours of cocktails in the evening, snacks, juice, sodas through the day that was included. Separate check in and check out area so you can avoid the large front desk area. I would certainly stay there again and I would do the upgrade.

 

[The Wolf]

We are back. We did stay at shangri la tanjung aru resort and spa. It was about 10 minutes from the airport. It was not cheap but it was a five star and worth the price. We had upgraded to the Kinabalu Club so we got a full breakfast in the morning, 2 hours of cocktails in the evening, snacks, juice, sodas through the day that was included. Separate check in and check out area so you can avoid the large front desk area. I would certainly stay there again and I would do the upgrade.

Unofficially, the star is probably one of the best in south east Asia for it's experince and service. It def. Is the best in Sabah I reackon by a mile, with rasa ria not far behind.

 

[Zippsy]

1. There is no airport hotel. There are hotels nearby, depending on which terminal you landed at.

2. Jesselton is not a cheap hotel but a pricey boutique hotel in the middle of the CBD center of the city.

to clarify for the pedantic, it is correct that there is no hotel within the terminal. You have to go just outside the airport gate to get to one. And I stick by my recemmendation on the Jessleton after having stayed in tgat, the Shangri-la, Hyatt, Promenade, and two backpacker style places in town.

 

[The Wolf]

to clarify for the pedantic, it is correct that there is no hotel within the terminal. You have to go just outside the airport gate to get to one. And I stick by my recemmendation on the Jessleton after having stayed in tgat, the Shangri-la, Hyatt, Promenade, and two backpacker style places in town.

You mean the casurina hotel, the one thats 500 meters outside of the air asia airport, across the soccer field and across the main road with all your luggage and gear? And the same one thats run down????