The rooms are clean and relaxing, with many decorations and items made from local, handcrafted materials, which is both eco-friendly and gives the hotel its unique character. The hotel owner and staff are polite and sincere, without any noticeable commercial vibe. The natural environment is quiet and pristine, and the hotel blends seamlessly with its surroundings. Most guests here are couples enjoying their time together; we were the only ones with children during our three-day stay. We really loved this quiet, non-commercial holiday environment.
January is monsoon season, so the winds and waves were strong. We tried snorkeling on two mornings, but it wasn't amazing. The ecosystem here isn't as vibrant as in Mataking, Semporna; we didn't see as many types of fish, and there were more rocks, making the snorkeling environment less friendly than Mataking. However, the hotel stay itself was truly comfortable, and we felt the energy of nature – a great opportunity to relax. The staff and owner were fantastic and even personally picked us up and dropped us off at the pier. Their service felt genuinely sincere, unlike Semporna, where there's a strong commercial atmosphere, and you don't feel the same genuine human interaction, but rather more commercialism, and the room rates are many times higher without the corresponding service quality.
We love this kind of hotel vacation experience. It's filled with the scent of nature everywhere, with streams flowing through the rainforest, integrating the hotel with the sea – a resort that has both mountains and the ocean.
Friendly tip: The hotel carefully prepares all three meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). The food provided is consistently delicious, and although the prices are not cheap, it's worth it.
- Cheliangjinzhan
We chose Japamala Tioman for our wedding anniversary and this boutique resort did not disappoint. Service was impeccable from the time we were picked up at the ferry terminal at Kampung Genting until the time we left.
Kudos to the manger Kenny and his team for their hospitality in making our anniversary memorable. Food was in general above average (dessert was fantastic) and some dishes were a bit salty as we don’t consume too salty food in our diet. We gave feedback and to our surprise the staff took it seriously as our subsequent dishes served weren’t as salty. The rooms are clean and the sea view fantastic, allowing us to take in the magnificent sunset views every evening.
Not much to do, as this resort is more for guest to disconnect. Hiking to Batu Permata and to Kampung Genting was doable. Canoeing and snorkelling by the resort was great.
Overall we enjoyed our stay there. Thanks Japamala!
- Guest User
