5 Star Borneo Holidays

Lex Soog

It is a very big hotel and it actually feels like that the Garden wing and Ocean wing are two separate hotels. I recommend the ocean wing. The breakfast not only offers à la cart options here, but it is much calmer and better food. The pool is also nice and generally there are a lot of amenities, particularly for families with kids (kids club is nice too). The room is awesome and the bathtub on the balcony is perfect to enjoy the sunset. The team is very pro everywhere and make you feel actually staying in a smaller hotel. I'd recommend certainly.

C W

Absolutely exceptional visit - worth the stay, especially the Ocean Wing! Staff were phenomenal and catered to every need before you even knew you needed something. Everyone smiling and happy to help. Food, grounds, room, views second to none. A wonderful trip. The General Manager, Fiona is absolutely incredible and you can see and feel that she leads by example.

basti jae

This hotel near Kota Kinabalu is very nice. The staff is always very pleasant and supportive. Even though it is a bit expensive, I would always recommend it. It was the best hotel experience we’ve ever had. The location is nice and not too lively. You can reach most of the interesting destinations in Sabah by taxi (Grab) or hotel shuttle.

Joost Mehrtens

Location is probably the only downside. But they hotel has a lot of entertainment with other options near. The service off the bell boys and at the reception is second to none. Late night check in was very smooth and fast. ( although during the day it was just fine) Rooms are clean and large (ocean wing) Buffet restaurant is good. Japanese could be better. Spa was great. Atmosphere around the hotel is fantastic.

Mahmood Salloo

Amazing hotel. Loved the staff from all departments. From checking in to the cleaning staff. The hotel has an excellent atmosphere especially with all the trees amd hills around the hotel. We stayed as an in all inclusive package so we had the luxury of trying out loads of different meals. Also included extra activities in the hotel such as sunrise hike and nature walk. They had loads of kids activities as well all located within the boundaries. The whole place seems so safe. The food was really good. Had loads of options and the buffet meals had loads of variety. The pool were of differnt sizes esp the deep was 2.2m with lifeguards always there. We had an amazing stay.

K DG

Gaya island resort was incredible! Stunning views from our luxurious room, friendly staff, lots of varied free activities on offer (yoga, private beach trips, nature walks), and great sea-life right out the front of the resort (we brought our own goggles and enjoyed exploring the coral reef). Pool was great too, especially for our toddler. Fantastic buffets on offer with so much variety (you pay a premium but it’s worth it!). Love, love, love this place!

John Oakey

The staff here has by and large been awesome. So friendly! Things are pretty nice overall. I have to say though, particularly coming with young children, they charge A LOT here. I guess it’s my fault for coming to an island but it feels like a bit of an expensive trap in that sense. I’ve been to more expensive island resorts that don’t charge in such a petty way so it doesn’t feel so bad. But if you want luxury and still see amazing Borneo wildlife, this is a cool place if you’re willing to pay a lot.

Michael South

Beautifully located resort on a tropical island. Our huge room, #823, was perfect, with a spectacular view from it's veranda. It was higher up the hill, so may not be suitable for someone with mobility/fitness issues. The food in the 'Feast Village' was very good, and the food in its formal restaurant 'The Fisherman's Cove' was excellent. Staff were, without exception, genuinely friendly and very helpful. Any issues were very quickly dealt with. Enjoyed a wonderful Malay massage at the spa, in a very pretty setting. Only used the private beach which inlvoved a short boat trip, but well worth the effort. Quieter than the hotel beach, which was mainly used by families staying in the resort. Mangrove kayaking was enjoyable and informative. Highly recommended.

Hannah Gray

We had an incredible stay at Gaya Island Resort. We stayed for 3 nights which felt like a good amount of time to do some of the activities, lots of swimming and relaxing as well. The resort offers a range of activities - many require a fee but a few are free including daily yoga, meditation and walks around the National park near the resort. We brought goggles and swam every day, there are SO many fish to see right in front of the resort! We stayed with our 1 year old and overall it was very baby/family friendly. They have high chairs, a little baby pool in the shade and the buffet has heaps of food options for babies. We stayed in a Kinabalu Villa and the views were absolutely spectacular! You can see KK across the water but that doesn’t detract from the view at all in my opinion. We couldn’t get over how amazing the view from the villa was. The villa itself was so spacious, way bigger than the photos depict. Bed is amazing, shower/bathroom is amazing. Staff were so friendly and the whole resort was always immaculate. We had the best stay and would highly recommend to anyone wanting to experience the coastal beauty of Borneo.

Erna Naresa

Overall beautiful resort but definitely a 3-4 star hotel at best with ample room for improvement when it comes to customer service. Activities: They provide a packed schedule of activities that you can book, although at an additional cost. They do have free activities such as snorkel gear, kayaking, even ferry to their private beach which is nice. There is no need to pay extra for a “guide” for such things as they advertised as can easily be done by yourselves, so do take note. There is not much to do in the evening except have dinner, take a walk around the resort. Rooms: Rooms are beautiful. We took the villa and had a nice scenic view of the waters. Only note is the lack of privacy, sometimes the staff could just come to your front door and see everything happening in the room. NOT IDEAL. Food: Food was ok but the food management was terrible. No room service provided, this is shocking especially since they claim to be 5 star. Staff on day 1 advised us not to order room service as it will be cold, thought this was really odd. Also discovered that if we wanted to order from their lunch menu for dinner, we had to make order way in advance. So basically if u want to eat at the resort, you have to time your meals and plans in advance because you have to make booking for everything. Service: Definitely not 5 star service, more like 3 star. Some examples, call reception many times and nobody answer. Ask for room change at first (we paid for villa with water view and that view was blocked by a tree) and immediately was told not possible because they claim all rooms were booked. Had to check booking.com only to find out that there are rooms available and fight with manager to get a better room - we managed to get a better room in the end. Their attitude overall seem to be saying no to everything at first before trying to help, which is not matching to a 5 star hotel. Location: Beautiful location. You take a 15 minute ferry to reach the resort, thought this was a nice touch. Resort is beach front, facilities are very nice as well. Though bear in mind that the ferry transfer is additional charge.

Simon

Family-Friendly with Room for Improvement. A great spot for a family vacation – the staff were consistently attentive, helpful, and full of smiles, which made the stay warm and welcoming. The resort offers a relaxing atmosphere and plenty of activities for all ages. However, the facilities are showing signs of wear and tear. Some areas clearly need maintenance, and the room wallpaper was peeling, which detracted from the overall luxury feel. While the experience was okay overall, it could have been much better with improved upkeep. Still, the hospitality and family-friendly vibe make it worth considering.

Steve C

Recently stayed 5 nights. Overall a great experience. Pros The staff - every interaction we had was great. Everyone is warm and caring and seems trained to solve customer issues on the spot. The staff are probably the strongest aspect of the resort. Horizon club - book this if you go. It's worth it just to avoid the breakfast rush hour (see later) Location - short grab right into town, perfect sunset view, marina on location to allow for island visits. Very good setting for such a hotel. Cons The hotel is large - you do experience a bit of crowding at key points of the day like breakfast, sunset bar at sunset, the pool on sunny afternoons. Some guest behaviour during buffets was not great, but hard to see what the hotel can do about that. Overall a great family resort, good to see modernisation work planned soon - if the staff performance stays at this standard it will be quite an amazing place once work is completed.

Faiq Radzali

I got the package with snorkelling trip. Have their own private boat & jetty. Nice experience & ambience. Room was okay, nothing fancy, but no complaints since everything is clean. And breakfast is great.

Christine Yapp

Disappointed by What Was Once a favourite Resort I recently stayed at Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort with my two children, a place I’ve always held in high regard. This resort has consistently exceeded my expectations in the past — which made my recent experience all the more disappointing. From the moment we checked in, things felt off. The process took longer than expected, and to add to the frustration, the concierge sent the wrong luggage to our room. The warmth and attentiveness I’ve come to associate with the Shangri-La brand seemed to be missing — the staff, while professional, weren’t as friendly or welcoming as I remembered. Our breakfast at Café TATU was one of the most underwhelming parts of the stay. The buffet was poorly executed: some of the food had discoloured due to overheating, and the fried rice my son had was unfortunately undercooked. The atmosphere was far from relaxing — it was loud and chaotic, largely due to a group of very noisy guests. I raised my concerns and was later contacted by the Guest Service Manager, Muhammad Zharif. I appreciated his willingness to listen and his effort to make things right by offering us a complimentary dinner buffet, which I politely declined. Instead, he invited us to have breakfast at the Horizon Lounge — a quieter, more refined setting with better food and ambiance. While the experience at Horizon Lounge was certainly an improvement, our final morning brought more disappointment. A staff member was openly using her phone instead of attending to guests, and another allowed someone to enter the lounge wearing pyjamas and slippers. For a 5-star resort that prides itself on luxury and standards, this felt like a serious lapse in maintaining both professionalism and atmosphere. It was disheartening, especially as I had talked up the resort so much to my children — praising the food, the service, and the experience. Unfortunately, I walked away feeling like I had overpromised based on memories that no longer reflect the current standard. That said, the resort itself remains stunning — just as beautiful as I remembered. The surroundings and views are still breath-taking. But beauty alone can’t make up for underwhelming service and disappointing food. Will I return? Maybe — but with lowered expectations and more hesitation than before.

Oli H

Nice place to stay, with nice swimming pools and access to a private beach. The rooms were luxury, if a little dated in places. Largely serves and Asian audience, so the food is weighted in that direction (the main restaurant is Chinese) and quite expensive. The food quality was very good and the staff both professional and friendly. Good spots to watch the sunset from the beach and dedicated sunset bar. Enjoyed our stay.