Reviews of Gayana Marine Resort

The water quality improved in the latter half of the year, and everything else was pretty good.

Out of my entire trip to Malaysia, this hotel was my biggest regret. The tap water was yellow, so I didn't dare wash my hair for the whole two nights and three days. The room was dirty; I even found the previous guest's socks and snack wrappers. The sea was murky with very low visibility. The food was repetitive, overpriced, and the taste was subpar. Two of the restaurant staff members were stern, unfriendly, and impatient. Everyone else, however, would smile at you. The contrast was too stark. I wouldn't recommend this hotel for families with children; it's incredibly boring.

Beautiful environment and attentive service! Little monkeys woke us up at night! You can see large lizards and geckos from the balcony at night! The food selection was also good, and both kids and adults had a great time!

Much better than expected! I was quite worried after reading some of the reviews. But once I arrived, everything was great. The service and management are among the best in Kota Kinabalu. The staff are polite and enthusiastic, and the little hotel introduction before check-in was a nice touch. The hotel restaurant was also delicious, and the snorkeling and boat rentals were free and a lot of fun. Honestly, it's so much better than Shangri-La (which feels too commercialized)!

The water in the hotel's area is heavily polluted; it's so dirty that snorkeling is completely out of the question! The front desk staff were very perfunctory with guest requests and didn't follow through on promises. In the morning, we requested a private boat tour for island hopping and snorkeling. We discussed the time and itinerary with the dive center staff and finalized the price with the front desk. We even altered our subsequent travel plans for this. However, by 4 PM, we still hadn't received confirmation. When we called the front desk, they told us they couldn't arrange it. We asked several people, and got different explanations: first they said there were no boats, then that other guests had already been arranged for island hopping, and then that there would be a storm the next day (which turned out to be perfectly calm). I suggest the hotel improve its island hopping service. For those looking to dive, definitely don't consider this hotel! Also, the beach is incredibly tiny, barely palm-sized!

Booked an overwater villa, and it was so relaxing to lie on the balcony and gaze at the sea. There's a direct staircase from the balcony right into the water for swimming. We also saw monkeys, so definitely remember to lock your doors to prevent them from getting in and rummaging for food. The restaurants on the island were good. I'd recommend buying plenty of snacks and fruits beforehand to bring to the island, as there are no convenience stores to buy things from once you're there.

The room was spacious and clean, with absolutely stunning views. There were so many fish around, you could snorkel right at the hotel, which was comparable to going on an island tour. The hotel is surrounded by a nature reserve, so we saw wild monkeys up close – even closer than in the mangrove forests! It was hilarious when a monkey came into the restaurant during breakfast and stole some fruit!

Some of the facilities are a bit dated, but it's still pretty good for a resort built in a national park area that emphasizes environmental protection and low-carbon living. This is my second time bringing the kids here, and it's perfect for a one-stop family vacation.

The staff's service attitude was professional and enthusiastic, far exceeding industry standards. However, the facilities are a bit outdated. On our first day, it was quite windy, and a lot of trash had been blown onto the shore.

I stayed here once ten years ago. Coming back this time, it's just as good as I remember. I hope to stay here again ten years from now.

I never write reviews, but my stay here was such a catastrophic disappointment, I feel obligated to warn others. This was, without a doubt, the worst hotel experience of my life. Our ordeal began before we even arrived. Despite offering to pay for a private boat transfer (since our flight landed early), we were refused unless we paid for a previous night's stay—when we weren't even in the country! We were forced to wait for hours at the dirty Jesselton Point. The boat then departed late and the obligatory life jackets were all soaked. Exhausted, we arrived to be told the room wouldn't be ready until 3 PM. When we finally got in, the "luxury" began. The shower was ice-cold. They told us to flip a switch for the heater, but it was utterly useless. The shower flooded, the tiles were crumbling, and we had an unexpected insect safari with ants and termites as our guides. I genuinely asked the staff which century this hotel was opened in. The cleaning service was close to non existent. After three maintenance men failed to fix their ancient plumbing, we were moved to another room at 6 PM. This one had hot water, but the sink and toilet poured out yellow, dirty water. There's no WiFi in the rooms and barely any cell signal, isolating you completely unless you sit in the lobby or restaurant. The hotel is very strict about their rules but offers zero service in return. The restaurant charged us for a dessert we never ordered, and their wine list is a work of fiction—after I made a selection, they told me they'd have to "take a boat to a warehouse too far away" and only house wine was available. Then why would you bring the wine list to the table? Hotel staff are friendly and nice , but the entire place is dilapidated, broken, and profoundly overpriced. The water around the villas looks like the Ganges. Save your money and your sanity. This isn't a 5-star hotel; it's a 1-star museum.

Don't book during the rainy season, don't book during the rainy season, don't book during the rainy season. It's from Sep to Feb. I said 3 times it's important if you don't wanna ruin your holiday. We booked 3D2N in mid Sep. Our holiday turned out to be a staycation nightmare in the resort. We can't do all the water activities neither the jungle trekking. The water heater in our room is not working, we have to shower with shivering cold water in this kind of weather. Lots of big size anta inside the room crawling from the bathroom to the bedroom. Make sure you cleaned up for your snacks and drinks, tie up the garbage bag if you don't want these insects to come to your bed, There is also a landslide happening on our first night, luckily we are not affected as we stayed in the ocean villa. There is only one restaurant in this resort, food prices are the same as SG restaurant pricing, no cheap option here. In room dining needs to pay RM25 extra. Staff service is good but this cannot cover the several run down part of the resort.

I didn't end up staying at this hotel. I tried to cancel a week in advance, but they refused to issue a refund. The reason I couldn't stay was that the distance information provided was misleading; it showed 10 km from the airport, but in reality, it was a 200 km detour. We only needed one night as we had a connecting flight at 9 AM the next day. Even Trip.com tried their best to communicate with the hotel, but they still wouldn't refund. Eventually, Trip.com covered the refund for me. If you're planning to book this hotel, make sure to double-check your itinerary first.

This is a second stay after the honey moon with my wife as 2 guests 12 years ago. We returned back as a family with kids and everything was still excellent. The resort had been changed from Gayana Eco Resort to Gayana Marine Resort, while there was no more Alu Alu Chinese Restaurant and remained Macac Restaurant and Latitude Bar. Different from staying Ocean Villa previously, we stayed in Palm Villa for 2 days this time as we targeted for direct access to water with bigger room. Palm Villa was very comfortable and spacious with individual small swimming pool and non-framed ocean view. We loved the room so much. But the water level of my room was much deeper than Ocean Villa which could not stand. However this was particular good for taking a rest if we played kayaking for long time. Some guests were playing kayaking passing the room when we were sunbathing. This was interesting. The sea was clear and transparent to the rocks, but occasionally saw plastic bag and small rubbish. But overall it was still good for kayaking and snorkeling during my stays. What made us memorable included the quality of food and drink too. We had meal in all 3 periods from breakfast to dinner for 2 days, the general standard was very high that we experienced from Malay, Western to Chinese dishes. Ragu Pappardelle, Pizza, Chinese fried noodle, Malay Satay, breakfast set were superb. Thumb up for their wide selections of squeezed juice that blended freshly at bar without adding water, I especially loved the rare green apple juice and my kids watermelon. Semi-buffet breakfast also offered self-served orange juicer complimentarily so we could see 3-4 fresh oranges to 1 glass of juice. This was not common during my past experience. A special highlight was given to staff courteous and patience. All staff crossing or serving us would greet and smile, it contributed a lot to my memorable stay.