Sandakan hotels & places to stay

It's far from the airport because it's in the city by the shore but easy to get transport through the grab app. We were allowed to check in early because the room was ready. It has what you expect of a hotel room, towels, soap, shampoo, tea and coffee. Came to Sandakan to rest and glad I picked Sandakan Hotel. They had fox movies so we stayed in the room during the day because the weather was too hot. Breakfast was RM12 per adult which is cheap and it was good. They have a coffee machine and a chef to cook you eggs the way you like them. Overall it was a very nice place to stay and the mall as well as eateries are within walking distance.

this charming little hotel on the sea in sandakan is just a jewel...yes the rooms are small, but efficent. but the service and great restaurant with killer food makes up for the room..heck you aren't in the room that much anyway. also they have books to borrow (my kindle ran out of books?!). we originally had plan to ferry over to zamboanga, philippines, then ferry back to sandakan. well...that didn't go so well. we left luggage in sandakan, because we were coming back. the long ferry ride (24hrs), extremely uncomfortable trip made me refuse to go back that way. there is no air service, unless you go to manila, fly to kk, then to sandakan an expensive alternitave. so it was up to the swiss inn people to get our left luggage to us. not an easy or pretty task, but they were up to it and when we left singapore on the 11th of march, after a month in se asia, we had our luggage. i can't say enough about the swiss inn and miss nur! in a few years we plan to go back to sandakan and see them again. not the biggest hotel in sandakan or fanciest, but definitely the best placed on the water for roaming around.

Out of all the hotels with pools in Sandakan, this one would be the best one for a whole group of family with small children. The slides at the pool are great. Also the jacuzzi. The single beds in our room are big, able to fit 2 adults comfortably. The room is spacious. Mini bar is there for you to keep food in (as of this review, non of the hotels with pools have a mini bar in the room). Didn’t really try the food, but breakfast is normal enough. The gym is good enough. Even though the hotel has been around for a few decades, still one of the best hotels in Sandakan, especially when you manage to get promo rates for the rooms!

This is one of my favourite hotels in Sandakan. Cozy, quiet place, great value for money. It was better when it had an in-house restaurant and room service, but it still holds up its worth now. Grab is easy to hail from the hotel and there are several good restaurants nearby. The beds are very comfortable and can surpass several SDK hotels with higher rates. Very easy parking. Large bathroom. Always clean. Staff are always friendly no matter when you check in or check out. I ended up extending most of my stays here because I did not want to leave the bed! No view to speak of, but if you just want a quiet, comfortable place to spend the night in in Sandakan with great value, this is it. Just bear in mind it is located a little out of the way. I hope their restaurant re-opens sometime soon!

Newly open hotel in Sandakan. However our shower drainage was clogged, but the staff quickly tried ask their maintenance team to fix it up. It's near to food centre area. You might need to consider to have your meal outside as their breakfast is beyond my expectation. Very basic breakfast and if you late for a bit like 7.30am, less food already. Above all, I would love to stay here again and making antoher review in the future.

When I saw this was a one star I thought it was expensive but booked anyway because of location, but when we got here I was blown away, the reception staff were happy, friendly, professional. Our room was quaint and quirky loved the outside extra shower, there is an internal shower as well, beds comfortable and rooms provided bug spray a bonus. Bar staf super nice and food ok but bit expensive but that's because of remote location. Faboulous location and wild life we booked for one week but stayed for nearly two for the peace and tranquility. Resort organized our excursion to turtle island and river, also booked taxis for us to go to arm in sandakan town no worries. Please bring cash as no card facility's here

The services and facilities offered are beyond expectations based on the price rate even though you book directly with the hotel. I am grateful that they double confirmed with guest whether guest prefers smoking or non-smoking room before they place you in the room. Most budget hotels nowadays do not have such etiquette. The location of the hotel is slightly further from the populated area at Sandakan's Mile 4 (Area of the hotel). Tourists who never been to Sandakan will have to expect some walking before reaching most eateries and stores but the price is definitely worth it.

We went to Sepilok Jungle Resort for a 3 night stay (after reading both good and bad reviews online). As a family (1 adult with 3 kids) we had a great time and I would recommend this place to my friends!! We had 2 connecting rooms, comfy beds, clean bedding, kettle for a cuppa, and hot shower. Towels were changed daily and beds made up promptly. Breakfast was included, and it was substantial - eggs/toast/fruit/drinks (one minor critique was that juice could have been included as a choice for the children rather than tea/coffee). The location of the hotel was brilliant for us to walk to the Orang Utan Sanctuary and the Rainforest Discovery Centre, both of which we enjoyed immensely. We also got a taxi to Sandakan one day for a bit of shopping, and it was easy to find a taxi back to the resort. We took two of the tours that were offered by the hotel. The first was very good (Proboscis Monkey Centre) but it was WAY overpriced in my opinion! One of the hotel staff led us to believe that it was 45 mins drive away, but in fact it was under 20 mins and could quite easily have been accomplished independently by taxi. I wasn't very impressed with this. The 2nd trip made up for my disappointment. We took a one-day river trip, which included a 2.5 hr bus ride to the river(comfortable) with a Guide (knowledgeable and very helpful). We then had afternoon tea and took the river boat for around 2 hours. The time flew by - we saw a croc, many monkeys and many birds. Our Guide was knowledgeable about conservation, animals and birds and made the river trip all the more interesting. He even had a bird field guide with him, so we could read up on the birds we had seen. Highly recommended trip.

we travel using our own car. so there will be no problem for us to travel around sandakan. Near the hotel also have many shop especially for young adults at night~ got place for singing and beer. At the morning also have restaurant to enjoy nice seafood!!! overall is good. hotel is very neat and comfy with a big room as we travel with 5 adults and 3 children. we booked a room with triplet and a double room. <3

I never normally give 5 star reviews as a general rule. This place blew me away. We booked it thinking it was just accommodation. When we arrived we found out that because of its location they include all meals and organise tours. We had a couple of tours on the boat and at night. Everything was wonderful. The only negative was the some people were overly excited and loud when we did see wildlife (in the boat). I wish people were told to not make noise when animals are spotted as some animals will dart away because of the noise. The accommodation was amazing. We stayed in one of the private cabins. And I mean AMAZING. I was blown away. Luxurious beds, amazing toilets, showers and the room was air-conditioned which something you'll need if you're used to cooler weather like us in New Zealand. Everything was spotlessly clean and the cabins were tucked away amongst the forest area. It was quiet and serene. We had monkeys wandering around our cabin and birds all over the place. If you are considering staying here, or at another place in this location, stay here. You won't regret it. And don't make the mistake of staying just one night. You'll want at least 2 to 3 nights here. We rented a private car to get here and back and that's how I'd recommend travelling. It gives you the flexibly to coming and checking out when suits you and they're very flexible with check out times. We have a rule that we don't visit the same country twice, but we made the mistake of only staying one night here and now might have to create an exception just to come back and stay longer. I loved this place.

Impression of this hotel from the agoda website was not really good. But when i arrived at the location, i was truly impressed by the great service and strategic location of this hotel. There are just so many restaurants and cafes around the area (walking distance) and it is really near the airport (RM8 to Sandakan airport by Grab). You will never get hungry there, food is just around you. The room is really clean as well. Definitely come back again when im in Sandakan

After reading other’s reviews, I was skeptical at first, but I was there several years ago so gave it a try. I used to stay in an expensive hotel in Sandakan, yet, I now preferred this hotel! There were complains about the air in the room was musty, so I opened the window for a while. The smell was gone! Water drainage?, I turned down the water. No problems. Flushing problems? I held the flushing button and no problems. With these tiny irritations, (no hotels, budget or otherwise, are spared) the prices, cleanliness, size of the rooms etc is well worth it! The management should, however, air the corridors and rooms for a few minutes everyday to get rid of the musty smell. This alone will bring back more customers. I will definitely be back!

Having stayed at a home stay the previous few days in Sukau without running water or even a fan, this was heaven. That said, it is in Sukau, fabulous for wildlife but nothing else, so they did a great job creating such a nice, modern place. The food is pretty good, too, and they even have cokes and beer available! We didn't use their boat guide, but given the area, you will have to see great wildlife here (we saw proboscis and macaque monkeys, along with orangutans and elephants in the wild, and lots of birds etc), which is the only reason anyone comes to Sukau. It's a couple of hours from Sandakan, on the river, and isn't for people who think it's a nice day trip to a zoo (go to Sepilok -- they do good work, it's close in, and you can see the orangs up close, but it's not the wild), but it's fantastic for people who appreciate truly wild habitat and respect the creatures living there.

This lovely family run B&B can only be recommended... They welcome you with a smile, have nice and super clean rooms where you can easily feel well... The Best is that they care of every single trevellar and not only want to sell their fixed packages like other more expensive hotels. You can come to sukau on your own (for example also late at nigth) and book tours right up on arrival and on your own needs. even if you fell like skipping one tour, it's no problem!!! Best service ever!!! And the tours are top... we even saw the pygmy elephants... Just amazing... If you go to kinabatangan, go with greenview...

Sleeping in tents with bed! Waking up to. Chirping birds and sound of water surrounding mangroves. If you want to see turtle hatchlings without the hassle of other tourist crowds then book walai penyu resort. I liked having pleasant conversations with the staff from trekker's lodge and the honorary warden. Food is fantastic! Please bring mosquito repellent and portable fans as it can be warm in the tent at night. If you have a great sense of adventure the rain in the island at night or early morning can be a good experience. Peaceful vacation! Also recommends hiking towards the village in the island. :) Kudos to the staff here! Cheers!

We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. We'd booked 2 dorm beds in an 8 bed dorm which turned out to be a 6 bed dorm to ourselves the first night which was nice. The rooms are big, airy and immaculately clean. As were the bathrooms that first night. Big shower/toilet rooms compared to other shared bathrooms in Malaysia and they're technically open air (they're under a roof and have walls) but still private . Everything looked brand new. The only downside was the water pressure which was crap. The best I could get out of any of the showers was a steady dribble and a cold one at that. Had a power cut one night (forgiven as it is in the middle of the jungle) but weirdly the lights and hot water worked in the gents bathroom so I stole a shower in there. Still no water pressure though. The following morning the water ran out but luckily I was one of the first in for a quick shower so it didn't bother me. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Shop on site is quite well stocked. Included breakfast is amazing! Restaurant was a bit pricey for dinner so we only ate there once but it was gooood. This place is amazing if you're lucky enough to have it to yourself. It's only the other guests that ruin it.

First of all, I got a great value for money for this hotel from Agoda. The room was good and comfy. But the Complimentary buffet breakfast could be better as I have stayed in several hotels in Sandakan. Normal stuff like Omlette or Teh Tarik was not availible. The only thing I was really disappointed about the whole stay was, I brought my 2 kids this time and purposely chose this hotel due it had a childrens pool. When we were going to swim found that the Kids pool had no water. I had to look for the staff and then they started filling up the water. I ask about swing at night and they said that the pool was close at night for cleaning. Fair enough. Next morning, wanted to swim again and the pool was closed for cleaning. I ask them why not done at night and they started buzzing around and started to fill the pool again. So my kids did not get much swimming where we chose this hotel for that purpose in the begining. Rest of the things, Staff, rooms, bathrooms, pillow, aircon all were good.

We had the best time here! The lodge contacted us with a package to add to our hotel room and it turned out to be fabulous. For three nights, we received six boat tours, two day hikes, and three night hikes, although one night hike was rained out. Our guide was beyond friendly and knowledgeable and really went the extra mile to help us spot animals and have a great time. We spotted orangutans, proboscis, crocodiles, macaques, hornbills, snakes, monitors, a gibbon, and a myriad of beautiful birds. The food that came with our package was delicious. The lodge itself is rustic, but that only adds to the feeling of actually being deep in the jungle away from civilization. The room was clean and the bed comfortable. No wifi, but that turned out to be a bonus. We will definitely come back some day!

We were very satisfied with our time at Prima B&B. The staff were helpful with directions for local buses to various sites, resturant recommendations in the immidiate area and they were also able to drop us off at the long distance bus terminal for a small fee. The facilities were as advertised on the web site and in the photos. The bed was comfortable and the bathroom large with good water pressure and hot water (in the private double room, I cannot comment on other room types). We liked this better than our previous accomidations in central Sandakan. The CBD of Sandakan has a lot of resturants that close by 8 or even 7pm, so there weren't many dinning options there while here in Prima Square that wasn't an issue. Prima Square is also well connected by transit options to all major sites in the area. The staff can also book tours for you, but we didn't use this option. Finally, Wi-fi signal was strong in our room and worked well. Note, despite being called a B&B they do not servce any breakfast (seems like a common missuse of the term in Malaysia).

I've stayed here twice now because the value for what you get is just too good to pass up. Pros: - cheap - facilities were great: air conditioning, comfy beds, private bathrooms with hot showers, tv and fridge - great restaurant with cheap food in the lobby - very friendly staff Cons: - it's a bit out of the way, about a 15 minute walk to central Sandakan - not much to do around the hotel, however there is a night market about 10 minutes away I'd recommend this place to any type of traveller looking for cheap accommodation that has everything you could want from a hotel.

BNL is located in the rainforest. The package include 2 nights accommodation, 3 meals a day, 3 boat trips into the rain forests with guide and transportation to and from Sandakan city. The lodge is new and clean. The food is ample and decent. The guide is very knowledgable and all the staff are genuinly friendly. We saw many different types of monkeys, hornbills, kingfishers, put vipers etc.. The Bornean rainforest is mystic and fascinating. It's an experience of life time. The area is not very touristy (yet), maybe due to lack of direct flight to overseas. The palm oil plantations are eating into the rain forests.- although the government has set up a wildlife sactury. We haven't been so relaxed, yet excited for long time. Would highly recommend this trip and this lodge to anyone loves nature.

We have had an excellent two days. The staff is super nice. The meals were home cooked, simple but so delicious. We will be Bakx next year. We walked around in the village and this really seems to be the nicest place. The rooms are simple but comfortable. Yes the pillows are a bit hard, but you will survive. It’s called Sakau Backpackers, perfect for us :) It does better than what it says on the tin to be fair. But most of all, make sure to do your boat tours through the guest house with Jann and please please please say hi from Virg and Fin!! He is so I knowledgeable, a sweetheart, a legend :) Thank you Jann!!!