Travel: Malaysia - Kota Kinabalu

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

[quote]hi thanks.. saw the tickets quite cheap now..think i will go ..any shopping to do there ??I am looking into buying some nice handicrafts or the Malay type of kites ...


Also,, any nice resort recommendation ?[/quote]I have been to 3 resorts in KK Sabah.

1. Nexus Karambunai http://www.nexusresort.com/new/
- location -> far & not very accessible to other places. Expensive ride to town.
- food -> yummy
- accommodation ambience -> nice, clean & acceptable
- staff -> courteous & friendly
- atmosphere -> A tad too quiet. Well, maybe I was there not during school holidays as I was on business trip.
- sea -> open sea, not much waves, level sand

2. Magellan Sutera http://www.suteraharbour.com/v2/index.php
Next time, I rather opt for the Pacific Sutera. It's cheaper on accommodation & seafood dinner buffet is to die for.
- location -> near to the airport, provide shuttle to town
- food -> yummy cause I walk over to the Pacific Sutera for dinner or opt to town for Pizza Hut or other seafood places. Breakfast in Magellan, yes, yummy.
- accommodation ambience -> grand feeling, beautiful & comfortable
- staff -> not friendly & service thumbs down
- atmosphere -> Beautiful landscape, with lots of swimming pool. Overlooking the islands & nice yatch pictures. Forget about the kids club. Either no kids or 2 miserable ones.
- sea -> very small, too much strong current & sand sloping dangerously.

3. Shangrila Rasa Ria http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/kotakinabalu/rasariaresort
- location -> far & not very accessible to other places. Expensive ride to town.
- food -> acceptable
- accommodation ambience -> nice, clean & spacious
- staff -> courteous & friendly
- atmosphere -> This one is full with families with kids. Not overcrowded but just the right family party mood.
- sea -> open sea, not much waves, level sand. Recommends to walk towards the right side of the beach. I'll post the pictures if I can find my sd card to show how beautiful it is.

Insect repellent: I use Mosquito Repellent Patch as I read that some has nasty bites after riding a horse. No bites so far. I forgot to paste one when I visit the island.

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

Souvenirs?


Dont think they sell any kites. You might need to visit Kelantan for the Malay type of kites called \"Wau\".

Here's the link to Sabah handicrafts: http://www.sabahtourism.com/sabah-malaysian-borneo/kadaiku/main_abtkadaiku.php?

[chixchix]

So anyone has any idea , since Firefly,is going to KK… how far is the KK airport to maybe Sutera Harbour ?


Oh yeah Firefly seems different from other airlines,.i mean the plane that they use…dunno whether safe or not .

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

[quote]how far is the KK airport to maybe Sutera Harbour ?
[/quote]About 10 minutes. It's very near.
[quote]So anyone has any idea , since Firefly,is going to KK.. [/quote]You must be referring to the Tigerairways or Airasia right? Can't comment on this cause I was on Silkair.

[Mrsbongz]

HiHI, KK looks very interesting… esp SHangri la… was wondering if the activities like horse riding and orang utan reserve was FOC or chargeable? DOes anyone know? THanks in advance!

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

[quote]HiHI, KK looks very interesting.. esp SHangri la.. was wondering if the activities like horse riding and orang utan reserve was FOC or chargeable? DOes anyone know? THanks in advance![/quote]
No, it is no FOC. I did ask for the break down of charges for the activities if I were to book under bed and breakfast. The total cost is more when compared to booking their featured offers. I took the X-Dream package. The selected activities offered in the package is FOC for kids under the age of 8 (either 8 or 10 I can't exactly remember). I choose half day Island Cruise (my kids FOC) and 1.5 hour of ATV Safari (kids not allowed). The horse ride, I paid for it but cannot remember the exact charges.

Please do note of the difference between Shangrila Rasa Ria and Shangrila Tanjung Aru. I stayed in the Shangrila Rasa Ria out of KK town.

[Mrsbongz]

Thank you for your assistance.. was thinking which SHang to book as my kids are sand fly magnets.. this info will be so useful for me..

[tree nymph]

has anyone gone there recently? any updates?

[Mrsbongz]

erm, I went in October last year, it's quite fun. n we plan to go again next March holidays.. We stayed at Shangrila Tanjung aru.. very good service, we took the standard rooms.. but they made up the sofa bed for our kids, breakfast was fantastic.. there were activities for adults n children.. very good resort.. In fact we plan to stay there again if the current renovations are completed by March.

[keenDaddy]

I was there just last month (Aug), with wife and 5 year old kid.


Stayed at Pacific Sutera Harbour for 2 nights. Island hopping was easy with the jetty just next to the resort... my boy enjoyed the snorkelling experience very much and the close encounters with the fishes... He also loved the pools with nice landscaping and slides at the resort.

Overall, it was a good getaway with plentiful of activities. We did day trips to KK park and Klias Wetland's River Safari (river cruise to see fireflies and proboscis monkeys).

Food was great with the seafood at Ocean Restaurant and Secko & local laksa, noodles and bah kah tea..

Recommended esp with cheap airfares via budget airlines!