Backyard Vacay: Promenade Hotel Tawau

I know I have mentioned this particular hotel in a couple of my posts before but this time around, I'm covering the actual hotel. I finally found time (and some 'moolah') to have one of my personal 'pampered-yourself-as-if-there's-no-tomorrow' day. And thanks largely to the National Day holiday, I've finally managed to book myself a room at said hotel (har har har - happy day my friends). Now a reminder to all future patrons of the hotel; the hotel charges the room per person so if you're a solo traveller (such as yours truly), it might be worth mentioning this earlier as they'll give you a lesser pricing for the room. So now onto the review...

I did drove myself to the hotel so if you're bringing your own car, it is advisable to park inside the Eastern Plaza parking area (the hotel is attached to said mall) as there's limited parking right in front of the hotel and they'll charge your per night (as oppose to the mall parking, which was free). After sometime, I was quickly assigned my room, which was on the 11th floor. But I do wanted to mention that the hotel lobby eludes this sort of 'shagadelic' feel to it (I kept picturing Austin Powers bursting into the area in a dramatic way). So when I open the door to my room, I was a bit taken aback to see that the room was also a bit retro but with a classic twist in terms of design. Satisfactory in size but definitely looked groovy with brownish hews. I'll admit that it wasn't what I was expecting but for some reason the room made me feel relaxed and safe, which was definitely a plus. The room came with a view of the vast Tawau city area (I think I got lucky), so that puts me in a better mood. The bathroom has the necessary amenities and is still pretty adequate to me. I might sound a bit critical towards this hotel, but only because I was expecting the best since it's been totted as the current numero uno hotel in Tawau. Sadly, the hotel doesn't have its own swimming pool (but you can go to the apartment building next door to use theirs) but they do have excellent ballrooms (been into them several times for weddings & dinners), gym and cafes (see my previous post).

Overall however I say...

Type - Superior Room 
Room - 4/5 (at least I felt comfortable throughout my stay)
Price - 3/5 (do expect it to be pricey by Tawau's standards)
Service - 3/5 (a little annoyed when I was asked to wait until 2pm for check in, when I arrive at 1.30pm)
Decor - 4/5 (groovy baby!)
Facilities - 3/5 (really wish that they had a swimming pool though)
Location - 4/5 (just mention Eastern Plaza and you're there)

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