5-Star Hotels in Sabah, Malaysia

One of the standout features of this hotel is the efficiency of the staff. The check-in and check-out processes were super fast, which is always appreciated after a long day of travel. Additionally, the hotel provides free parking, a major plus for those of us driving in KK where parking can often be a challenge. The accommodations were excellent. Both the room and the toilet were spotless, maintaining a high standard of cleanliness throughout my stay. I also appreciated that they were generous with essentials—there was sufficient drinking water provided, so I never felt the need to constantly request more. Breakfast at the hotel was a pleasant experience. While the quality of the food was nice, I did find the variety a bit limited and hope they can provide more choices in the future to keep the buffet exciting. However, the absolute highlight of the morning was the fresh juice station. It is easily the best part of the breakfast service; you can request specific fruits, and the staff prepares the juice freshly for you right on the spot. It’s a personalized touch that really elevates the meal.

Service: Absolutely fantastic! They provide complimentary waterproof phone pouches, raincoats, eye masks, and other little essentials. Plus, there are free iced drinks and, best of all, free laundry service – perfect for a trip to Sabah! The laundry is super fast too, and the housekeeper is very responsive to guests' needs. Facilities: Not great, actually. The space is small, and the apartment design has some issues. The shower stall has a tiny bathtub that's neither comfortable for a bath nor spacious enough for a shower. And the sink is a nightmare – water splashes everywhere the moment you wash your hands, so it feels like you're washing your hands and feet at the same time. Environment: It's an apartment within the Imago mall. Plane noise is quite noticeable, so I wouldn't recommend it if you're a light sleeper. Since everyone takes taxis around here, convenience of transportation isn't really an issue. There's also a fish noodle restaurant in the mall that wasn't very good. Cleanliness: Good. It was clean and tidy, with no visible stains.

My stay here was incredibly satisfying. The hotel recently opened, so all the facilities are brand new and spotless, with a fantastic design throughout. Both the public areas and the rooms are perfect for taking photos. The buffet breakfast offers a wide variety of delicious dishes, making every meal a pleasant experience. The entire staff was very friendly and attentive to details. A special thank you to the front desk staff member named Lin and the restaurant hostess, both of whom speak fluent Chinese. The hotel's location is a huge plus, as Gaya Street is within walking distance, making it incredibly convenient. This is definitely the place to stay when visiting Kota Kinabalu!

I booked this Loft thinking it was like any other Loft that i’ve stayed before. But this here, exceeded my expectations by 100%! Le Meridien KK, thank yoy for the best stay i’ve ever had in my life. A very very big thank you to Natalie & Elvinna at the Club Lounge and to Herna for the swift and fuss free check-in/check out. I will be planning to try the executive suite on my next visit. Thank you!

The hotel and grounds are stunning! Beautiful pools and nice beach. The hotel room (Garden superior) was nice- with a big balcony. Water, coffee, insect repellant etc was refilled daily which was a nice touch. Daily cleaning was wonderful. The breakfast was perfect - Western and local choices- but trying to get coffee was terrible- long queues and unreliable coffee machines. Most days I skipped it and bought coffee from the pool bar. Happy hour 4-6pm daily is great with regular entertainment- fire shows and tribal dancing. Bar prices are obviously very high - £45 for a bottle of cheap wine. The biggest problem with this hotel is very slow service (hard working staff but not enough to serve the guests) The staff work super long hours so I felt bad complaining when I was waiting 45 mins for drinks each day. Also, all the restaurants stop serving food around 9.30pm then everywhere closes around 10.30pm which means the evenings can be quite boring- especially when there’s nowhere else to go as the hotel is far from anywhere. The spa is overpriced but I enjoyed my facial and hot oil treatment. My last gripe is the hotel day trips- absolutely appalling. The hotel is affiliated with Sabah travel company- poor communication, poor service, hugely overpriced and generally very bad. I recommend booking day trips through Trip.com instead of through the hotel. Allen the hotel supervisor was amazing trying to sort out the fiasco and I’m grateful- but I wasn’t offered a refund or compensation which is disappointing. I wanted to leave a poor review on the Sabah Travel’s website but they removed my booking so it wasn’t possible. I’d stay at this hotel again as the price is fairly reasonable but it def falls below the usual Shangri-la standards.

I was in transit for an international flight during the day, and my phone had no signal, so I couldn't add the owner on WeChat. When I arrived in Kota Kinabalu at night and resolved my internet issues, I still couldn't reach the owner. I had to follow the self-check-in guide in the confirmation email. What's ridiculous is that the key pick-up code was in a video that wouldn't open. All five of us, with our phones, couldn't open the video to get the code. We even tried using computer software to decode it, but to no avail. There's no front desk, and I couldn't reach the owner. I called Trip.com customer service, and they also couldn't get a hold of the owner. All the surrounding hotels were fully booked, so we were scrambling all night. Finally, we discovered a small gap in the key safe door. We had no choice but to have my slender-handed younger brother use chopsticks to retrieve the key for half an hour, and his hand was bruised. A group of old and young had nowhere to rest until 4:30 AM! The owner might say it's because they couldn't reach us or we didn't add them on WeChat. But I want to ask, as a hotel, shouldn't you consider issues like international travelers' network signals? For a self-check-in hotel, why can't crucial information like the key safe password be directly sent to the customer via a friend request message or email? If you know a customer hasn't checked in and can't be reached, shouldn't the emergency contact number be accessible? Why play these complicated games with videos that won't even open? I'm here to stay, not to play an escape room trying to find a key! Shouldn't it be as simple and convenient as possible?

I had a very comfortable and pleasant stay at Hilton Kota Kinabalu. The service provided by the staff was exceptional, and I truly appreciated their kindness and understanding in allowing us to check in early without having to wait until 1:00 PM, especially considering my child needed proper rest after undergoing surgery. The hospitality shown by the team made a challenging situation much easier for our family, and for that, I am sincerely grateful. The room was clean, comfortable, and well-maintained, providing a relaxing environment for recovery. The breakfast was absolutely excellent, with a wide variety of delicious options and great quality food. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my experience and would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Kota Kinabalu. Thank you to the entire team for making our stay so comfortable and memorable.

The location is excellent, just a 5-minute walk from Gaya Street and a 5-minute walk from the durian market (the durian night market is only open on weekends and gets really lively at night – remember to bargain!). Drawbacks: The room decor is a bit dated (though still clean); the floor-to-ceiling glass door doesn't open at all, so there's no ventilation (see picture 1). For rooms on the 5th floor and below, please pay special attention: #If you plan to stay here, be sure to request a room with an openable window at the front desk.

Honestly everything was incredible. Shoutout to all the staff and everything. The facilities are great, breakfast phenomenal, views impeccable. Special shoutout to Joshua and Chef Gary who were incredible. Thank you to all the staff also who were so attentive and caring.

I recommend booking directly on the Shangri-La official website, as this site is just an agent and not a partnership between Trip.com and Shangri-La. The room view I was given was particularly bad, and I booked this hotel specifically to watch the sunset. The front desk was very slow; I had to wait a long time to check in. Even though it was only 15 minutes before 3 PM, they wouldn't give me the room key early; I had to wait until after 3 PM. When I opened the door to my room, there was a staff member inside, which really startled me! She had closed the door and was doing something in the room; you wouldn't have known anyone was in there if the door hadn't been opened. She left only after she saw us enter the room. The breakfast, however, was plentiful and the most satisfying part of my stay. I hope the hotel improves its service.