After months of being stuck in one place due to the MCO (and
all other CO that comes along after that) I was just itching to get out of
Tawau for some personal R&R. So I’ve managed to persuade my partner to
accompany me to (where else) Kota Kinabalu for a week long getaway, as well as
contributing to the dwindling local tourism economy (wink wink). And because of the latter, we discovered that one of
big name hotels in KK seems to be having a below average promotion of sorts
during our desired dates hence we decided to ‘splurge’ a bit for this trip
(notice the oxymoron). The internationally known hotel chain is located at
Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, within the Asia
City area (and directly
facing the soon-to-be opened Holiday Inn Express). It is also situated right
beside a Chinese primary school (the SJK Chung Hwa Kota Kinabalu) so you can
expect a bit of a congestion during the weekdays within said area (as we’ve unfortunately
discovered).
As we decided to be in KK for a week, my partner decided to
drive there this time around and we were glad to discover that the hotel does
provide complimentary parking to in-house guests within the building (but not
the valet parkings right in front of the lobby). As it was quite a while since
both of us stayed in a swanky hotel such as Hilton KK, we were blown away by
the spacious lobby area and their amazing chandeliers (yes again, very jakun of us). Initially, we did not
expect much at check-in since we arrived at the hotel around noon (before their
official check in time) but was surprised to be told that we can check into our
room right away. Well, in retrospect I think it was because we checked in
during a weekday so not that many patrons were there yet (especially since
foreign tourists were still barred from coming into the country).
We booked their cheapest available room at that time but
were very satisfied with what we’ve gotten. The room was spacious and pleasing
to the eyes, with a comfy sofa and separate fully marbled sink, bathroom and
shower area (which I loved but also very cautious about due to my previous '
'incident' at Le Meridien years ago). I
do like their free wifi service as well since it has a very wide coverage
(because me and my partner were
lepaking
one time right behind the hotel and I can still get a decent wifi signal from
them). Overall, a very nice room indeed. But there are also some things that
the hotel might want to take note on. For one, we were given a room which was
literally right next to the swimming pool’s main door so you can imagine all
sorts of noises of people coming and going from said area (our room number is
1128 by the way). It would be much better if they could ask us beforehand for
our room preferences. Also since the hotel has a Clean Stay policy (where they
frequently sanitized the room) they do not readily provide basic toiletries
such as toothbrush, shower cap etc but you can give their housekeeping a call
for those things. And speaking of housekeeping, they also have another policy
where they will not make up your room unless requested. It is very good if you
wanted privacy but can be a bit of a nuisance to tell their reception staff
everyday to clean your room. And if you’re planning on cosying up inside your
room for the entire stay, their smart TV only has FOX Movies and AXN channels
that are entertainment related, as almost all other channels were of sports and
news (a very business oriented hotel indeed). But do check out their swimming
pool facilities as well though as their sun-beds were very comfortable and
relaxing to lounge lazily on (like I did on most evenings). The pool is of a decent
size and opens around 6am till 6pm (last call is at 5.45pm during the RMCO
period).
All in all…
Type – King Guest
Room
Room – 5/5 (simply
marvellous and still fairly brand new)
Price – 4/5 (we
were lucky to be there during a promotional period but their pricing can be a
bit hefty during normal times)
Service – 5/5 (as
expected from a major brand hotel chain, as the staff was well-trained &
courteous all the time)
Décor – 5/5 (a
very modern décor indeed – complete with an eye catching chandelier at the
lobby)
Facilities – 5/5
(it also has several ballrooms from what I can see, as there seems to be a
couple of events going on during our stay)
Location – 4/5 (my
only peeve during the stay, as they aren’t immediately attached to any major
malls. The nearest is Centre Point and that also requires a 10-15 minutes walk,
depending on which path you’re taking)
*Below are pictures of the main entrance & lobby area...
.... our bedroom & its amenities...
... and the swimming pool area plus the views visible from the 11th floor (where the pool is)
Oh and not forgetting their parking area (which are on the 1st till 8th floor if I'm not mistaken)
