First & foremost, biggest compliments to the housekeeping team! We arrived in our villa around 2pm, went out around 4, and only returned at night after dinner to find: a mosquito coiled lit outside our door, bed has been made, coffee cups washed, rubbish bin cleared, how thoughtful!
The sight of the sea from the resort was superb, enhanced by the good weather. The welcome drink of calamansi juice with plum, aka Kitchai Ping as it’s known locally, was as good as my mom’s.
We initially intended to have the weekend hi-tea, but apparently it had to be pre-booked at least a day before. Thanks to that we got to enjoy happy hour instead, before having the weekend BBQ dinner that we managed to book a slot upon arrival. Bartender gave us extra kicks in our cocktails, thank you for taking our relaxation up a notch!
However we seemed to be unlucky with food serving. We booked for dinner at 6 but our happy hour session somehow made some miscommunications and delay. Food was good and a plenty, though we did notice satays were missing, but we were well fed. Breakfast order was also somewhat mixed up, kitchen must be overwhelmed with many guests, but we got what we wanted in the end.
Overall we are happy with our stay. We didn’t manage to explore the trails, perhaps we may return for a day trip in the future, and have that weekend hi-tea we missed.
Great resort. We stayed at ocean villa 30 for two nights. Well maintained and special place. The staff are truely amazing. A special thanks to Karl the resort manager for listining to our feedback and returning some good karma. Also many thanks to the restaurant chef for the best food we had so far in Malaysia. Some small improvements: - airconditioning is a bit too loud even in sleep mode to keep on during the night - during and after a tropical rainshower the plumbing could not take it anymore, we accept that, but not the smell it gave inside the room. The positive: - free water sports, kayak, subs - kayak to the mangrove, do it yourself - breakfast at your own jetty - very good food, best value for money - sevice orientated staff all around taking very good care of you - daily plastic cleanup from the resort. Remember it is not their waste. They do anything to minimise the plastic footprint, even providing your own drink bottles - very clean rooms, great beds, amazing bathroom - only a short boat trip from KK away Terima Kasih Echoresorts :)
We spent 3 nights at Gaya Island Resort and had a great time, I thought I would write a review because there are a few things worth considering before you go. Firstly, the place itself is amazing, the staff are super friendly and caring - probably the most professional I have ever experienced in my many years of travelling. So all in all it was a wonderful stay. The things worth noting are as follows: 1. The sunbeds, I think may have mentioned it and it's worth mentioning again - there are nowhere near enough. When you pay and arm and a leg to stay at a beautiful resort it is annoying that they haven't found a way to add more sunbeds. People get there early, throw on their towels and stay or disappear and the seat is gone for the day. This is a solvable issue and the resort should so something about it. 2. Check in is after 3 - could be later - and it's not flexible, so if you are arriving earlier be prepared to sit around waiting for your room. It would be nice if they could flex a little as waiting hours for a room without your bags is not a joy, but it is what it is. 3. Eating - you are on the resort, so you are eating in one of their restaurants - no other options available. There are a few restaurants so not really a problem (we did the hot pot restaurant and it was great), but good to be aware. By far the most expensive places we ate in Malaysia, but I guess given the quality of the resort it wasn't a surprise and the main restaurant is reasonable enough. 4. Activities - my wife and daughter did the cooking class and loved it, we did the night walk - which was fun and me and my son did the coral garden. The Coral garden was fun and I was lucky to see a big old shark. However there is a large amount of plastic floating on the surface of the water that is quite concerning and makes the whole place not feel so clean. The corals and fish look healthy so may be fine, but be prepared to swim through bottles and crisp bags to see the fish. The local resorts and local authorities should really work together to resolve and you pay the tourist tax, so not sure where that's going, but not to plastic clearance by the look of it. Hope that's helpful. all in all, it's a beautiful place to stay, could just do with a tweak here and there to make it even better
Very Good
174 reviews
4.1/5
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We stayed here as part of a group tour. The first impressions were great as the staff took our luggage to our accommodation and they gave us a helpful briefing about the island. We were also welcomed with cold towels and a cold drink which was very welcome. The island does get very busy, particularly on weekends with day trippers, but we liked that there was a beach specifically for hotel guests. The hotel also has a pool but we didn’t use this. Our room was really nice with a comfy bed and fluffy pillows and good air con. We had a safe, a fridge and kettle and tea and coffee, and the bathroom was nice and spacious. We also had sofas to sit and relax with a tv. The only point I would make is that there were no shelves to put your clothes on in the rooms but we got creative and took the ironing board out of the cupboard and created our own makeshift shelf. It was so sweet that the staff left us a weather forecast on a card for the next day, and some chocolates in our room. The restaurant on the island was really good with nice breakfast choices and dinner options. Breakfast was included and we thought the food options and drinks were reasonably priced. We were also serenaded by a band who played a few songs for us at dinner which was fun. We loved walking along the pier where you could see baby black tips, puffers, needle fish and shoals of fish - anchovies. There are a lot of sandflies and mosquitoes on the island and in our room we were given a plugged in repellant along with a candle to deter them which the staff lit for us. Even though we wore repellent at night (dusk and dawn), we got so many bites so it is worth covering up at night; especially legs and feet. We also got lots of stings on the snorkelling trip from sea lice, so if you are sensitive to bites and feel allergic, we would recommend that you wear a long wetsuit or lycra pants if you have them. We had a lovely relaxing time here and it was a very enjoyable stay for us.
The rooms are definitely not comparable to those in the main city, but you can see that the hotel has tried its best to provide facilities. First of all, the celcom network is OK, but the hotlink is basically unusable. Secondly, the hotel's wifi, which only covers the lobby, is not very powerful. The hotel even provides mahjong, projection and chess for guests to kill time on the island. Breakfast and dinner are both buffets, which are enough to eat. There will be many guests on the island during the day, which is quite noisy, but the service staff are nice.
Hotel near Kota Kinabalu City Center,Kota Kinabalu73.4% of visitors choose this area
AAdam Ashraff2024.12.20
I have never stayed as good as 5 stars hotel such this Hyatt Regency in KK. Starting from reception, buttler, and front desk- all are so good in order. The receptionist who check me in was very helpful. The room perfect. Hot water is good, room is very spacefull and stunning. The decorations are just perfect, migh be Merry Chritsmas is coming. Just next time, maybe i will stay sea view. Better as have great view of KK ocean view.
Hotel near Kota Kinabalu City Center,Kota Kinabalu73.4% of visitors choose this area
AAnonymous User2024.11.05
this is my more than ten time stay. the most convenient part of staying in this hotel is the free parking space. it's like you can spend the whole day in the mall without having to pay anything. the staff is very efficient and helpful. there's also a restaurant for having buffet breakfast at an affordable price - The Glass.
Hotel near Kota Kinabalu City Center,Kota Kinabalu73.4% of visitors choose this area
LLoleuy2024.07.31
The first thing to say is that it is not a hotel. They are small apartments in a huge building. The building is well located, it has a very good pool. The guy who greets you is very nice and kind, but you have to know that there is not always a reception, this guy is there at a certain time but then he leaves and no one else comes. The apartment is nice, it has a good view, it is spacious. Things that the owner should keep in mind to improve the stay of his guests: the mattress and pillows are very bad, the mattress is hard, it is not comfortable at all. The shower needs to be fixed, it leaks water everywhere, splashes, wets the entire bathroom. Cleanliness should improve. It is clean in general, but not thoroughly. And you should wait for your guests with 2 bottles of water because we arrived and we didn't have even a bit of water to refresh ourselves from the trip. The apartment has potential. We have to improve.
Hotel near Kota Kinabalu City Center,Kota Kinabalu73.4% of visitors choose this area
GGuest User2024.05.20
Good service offer over WhatsApp, swiftly response to answer my queries. Providing clear guide on how to do self check in, and returning keys. The room is clean and well maintained, spacious.
The only suggestion is why not providing WIFI, and the toilet ventilation can be improved, have no idea after toilet flushing, the sting smell stay.
Overall is good, especially good guidance and response. Ty!
The average price for hotels in Gaya Island is US$405 on weekdays, and US$406 on weekends (Friday-Saturday).
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