Covesign Suite, The Shore Kota Kinabalu City Centre

Location: The hotel is in a prime location near major attractions like the sea front, local markets, and shopping malls. It's just 15-18 minutes from the airport and close to dining spots, making it convenient for both first-time visitors and those familiar with the city.(based on 53 reviews)

The place is in a prime location. Everything's walkable – sea front, local market, night durian market, lots of shopping malls nearby, and Gaya Street are all just a stroll away! The only issue is the lift – super crowded with long queues. With the room on level 8, sometimes I had to wait 10mins to board. Otherwise, great base in Kota Kinabalu.

This is our family trip to Malaysia, and we have two elders and a baby with us. Considering the check-in time was 3 AM, we booked two days so we could enter early in the morning and rest. Honestly, when you’re traveling with family, you just do whatever is most convenient as long as it’s affordable. The apartment has a great location—literally 15–18 minutes from the airport. All the food spots and supermarkets are within walking distance. It’s just an all-around great package for a first-time visitor to the city. It was easy to sign in at security and get access to the apartment. The elevator is a bit slow because there are many residents in the building, but it’s acceptable. Once we entered the room, the AC was already on—what a breeze to welcome us on arrival. The room was clean, everything tidy. There were even clear instructions in the shower on how to use the water heater, which made things a lot easier. My in-laws took a nice hot shower after a 3-hour flight delay, and it was such a relief. Later in the day—maybe because of the red-eye flight and the massive delay—the fatigue kicked in. Plus, we’re not used to the humid and hot Malaysian weather. My father-in-law started having a fever. I had Tylenol and other medicines ready in the bag, but we clearly needed a plan B. I reached out to the owner immediately. My father-in-law was feeling cold even after the fever subsided. The owner contacted his friend in the same building right away and got us an extra blanket. Plan B was to cancel our driving trip to Mount Kinabalu the next day. Since my father-in-law was sick, having him in the car for a 2–3 hour drive wouldn’t help his rest. And if things got worse while we were up in the mountains, he wouldn’t get the medical attention he needed in the middle of nowhere. It was better to cancel and stay in the city. So naturally, if we could extend the room and let him rest another day, he might recover enough for us to continue the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, the room was already booked for the next day. The owner told us we could book another room and he’d try to let us check in earlier to make the transition easier. After we booked the new room, I believe he made some arrangements behind the scenes. He later texted us saying we could stay in the same room tomorrow—no room change needed. I’m really thankful to such an understanding owner, someone who genuinely cares and makes the effort to help a random visitor like me. I told him I’d write down this positive experience to share with others. Hopefully, it brings him more business.