Outward Vacay: Showcase Hotel

I can honestly say that this is the first time that I've actually resided (slightly) outside of the KK main city area, mainly because I wanted to try out this particular hotel. Located at the Aeropod Commercial Square, overlooking the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), there are approximately 3 hotels within the area (apart from the homestay apartments available). But the one that I was most interested in was this hotel; the one most hidden from plain sight. You can easily spot the other 2 hotel's signage as soon as you entered the area. This hotel however doesn't exactly have an official lobby area but you can check in via their cafe Lugo on the 2nd floor (but do press for the 3rd floor if you're using the lift & it's advisable for you to take the lift that's in between Orange & Tealive, as it's nearest to the cafe/lobby). 

Now ever since I saw posts about the hotel's airplane view rooms, I became very intrigued. Watching the airplane landing and taking off has always been one of my fave pastime and being able to do so at the comfort of a room is even better. Granted, the room that we've been given were on the small side (tall people might have a bit of a problem with the bed setting), but I do like the overall comfy ambience. As I was mainly there for airplane spotting activities as well as to try out the daily food night market at the backside of said commercial area, I didn't mind the no channel TV. Also even though you do need a key card to enter the room area, the lifts leading up to the rooms were public so security might be a slight issue especially for women who travels solo. 

Type - Aero View Room

Room - 5/5 (again, it's mainly for the airplane view) 

Price - 4/5 (still within the 'reasonable' range) 

Service - 4/5 (appreciate their effort to guide us to our rooms, as the rooms.were not labeled) 

Decor - 5/5 (simple & comfortable) 

Facilities - 4/5 (haven't tried out their cafe but it seems to be frequently closed for private events which should tell you something) 

Location - 5/5 (the area is pretty self sufficient even though they are slightly outside of the main city area - plenty of eateries around) 

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Outward Vacay: Cottonhouz by Ayuhouz

I admit that the main reason why I eventually stayed at this relatively new boutique hotel was because of their eye-catching reception booth (yup, an actual booth rather than a lobby) in the middle of KK Times Square, Kota Kinabalu. The booth itself is located at the back of Dojo Nanyang Kopi House and adjoining to the Fishmarket Restaurant. But to access their rooms, you need to walk towards the staircase right next to said restaurant, where you will also find a lift. Although you can only access the room area with a valid keycard, safely might still be an issue going in and out of the place. Plus they shared the same floors as the Vibrant Hostel. Room wise, everything is still brand new & clean which was nice. Although predictably the sizing might be on the smaller side but there's still space for you to put your things. There's also a TV equipped within the room but with no available channels (unless you have your own Netflix/Prime Video account). And do be careful when using their shower/bathroom as the tiles were those slippery types. Also the hotel does not provide any free parkings (but paid public parkings are available) & they do required a deposit of RM100 per room upon check in. 

Type - Standard Queen 

Room - 5/5 (small but clean & still in its 'new' stage)

Price - 4/5 (affordable for its prime location)

Service - 4/5 (I appreciated the staff's efforts to store guest luggages within their very small reception booth)

Decor - 5/5 (again,key word here is 'new' so still very pretty la)

Facilities - 4/5 (at least they did provide a lounge area on every floor for guests to enjoy)

Location - 5/5 (walkable to and fro Imago Shopping Mall & just pin Dojo KK Times Square should you wish to use Grab)

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The Great Room @ Holiday Inn Express KK (KK FoodieVenture #261)

Our one night stay at the surprisingly satisfying Holiday Inn Express KK included a free breakfast at their lobby area (linked to their social media promoted cafe, the SignalHill Coffee) so it would be unwise for both of us to skip it. Plus I was kind of curious as to what their spread would be like and both of us were pretty happy with what we'd seen & sampled. There were ample selections of typical breakfast food such as nasi lemak, fried noodles, congee, waffles, breads, pastries, fruits on display, as well as a salad bar & soto station. All in all, me and hubby were very satisfied with what we'd eaten that morning. And it is also good to note that the food were actually pretty appetizing & tasty. It's just a shame that we don't exactly have time to try out their actual cafe. I mean, the brand literally promoted their chain of hotels as a 'coffee & breakfast' type of establishment so it's only fair for us to try them out next time right? 

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Outward Vacay: Holiday Inn Express Kota Kinabalu

Before we move on to my other KK food discoveries, I would like to squeeze in this hotel review first since I just noticed that I haven't posted it out yet. Man, getting old is definitely a struggle for my brain 😮‍💨

This was actually during me and my hubby's visit around early Dec last year (hence the Xmas decor) when we decided to try out this hotel since we were in town for only a night. I usually avoided booking this hotel since it sits quite far from any malls (it is actually located just across the street to Hilton KK at Asia City) even though they're a well known brand. I wasn't expecting much checking into the hotel but I was left impressed in the end. Check in was fast, the room might not be big but still of acceptable sizing & cozy, free parking were available onsite and most importantly they actually had an ATM at their lobby (a rarity in KK). Plus their breakfast spread were actually pretty good (more on that later) and we loved their free flow of welcoming drinks at the lobby. I was definitely won over by them so kudos 👍 And to quote from their official website, "Holiday Inn Express is focused on frictionless travel for guests with offerings like complimentary hot breakfast, a relaxing room design, and quality bean-to-cup coffee available 24/7" so if you're looking for a swimming pool, this hotel might not be for you. It's tailored more for business & people who wants a chill & relaxing place to stay. 

Type - Standard Room

Room - 5/5 (can we just talk about the Dove bath products for a second?) 

Price - 4/5 (not bad actually, considering we also got breakfast out of it) 

Service - 4/5 (swift & polite) 

Decor - 4/5 (classy vibes & still considerably new) 

Facilities - 4/5 (again, a pool would be nice but not exactly a deal breaker) 

Location - 3/5 (major malls might be a bit far from said hotel but still walkable to such places; nearest is probably the Centre Point Shopping Mall) 

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Outward Vacay: The Magellan Sutera Resort

Although I originally planned to post my end of last year KK trip earlier this month, but as usual life got in the way again. So now here I am scrambling to post this one out before the official end of the month (sigh..). 

So yes, I did went to KK again for the New Year's (like always) and this time me and hubby decided to splurge a bit before going back to good ol' Tawau. And that's how we ended up at The Magellan Sutera Harbour Resort for some 'healing' vacay. It was years since we'd last went to its sisterly resort The Pacific Sutera Harbour so we barely remembered was it was like staying within the luxurious area. Granted, there's the slight funny incident where we were directed to the wrong wing by the newbie receptionist, but overall our stay was very enjoyable & satisfying. The room that we had were spacious and very resort coded, with a nice balcony. No free snacks provided (like other big name hotels) but we loved the multi sized & types of pillows available. Although I do agree with some patrons saying that the place looks dated and has somewhat past its prime, but they do keep the resort well maintained. There's a lot of walking going around the resort due to its huge size (yup, even to your room) but there's a lot of things that you can also do within the resort that I don't think patrons would mind that much (unless you have leg problems, to which I sympathized). 

We were also a bit taken aback by their equally huge open lobby area (the biggest that we've been to thus far) as well as other facilities available such as the 4 or 5 dining places within the premises and 2 sets of swimming area (not including the pools at the Pacific, since you can also use the facility as an in house guest). But do take note that they specifically forbade guests to order any types of food delivery from outside so if you do not have your own vehicle, you would have to be okay to walked a bit of a distance to eat out or even for shopping, as the resort sat on its own land (right next to the Riverson/ KK Times Square area & across the big road from the Sutera Avenue buildings) 

Type - Deluxe Garden View King

Room - 4/5 (had seen better days but still very comfortable & I did mentioned about their pilllows right?) 

Price - 4/5 (the price might be a bit 'atas' but I personally think it's worth it) 

Service - 5/5 (staff were friendly throughout) 

Decor - 4/5 (again, a bit dated but still very classy) 

Facilities - 5/5 (loved the fact that you can use any facilities available, just as long as you're a legit guest) 

Location - 4/5 (might not be directly walkable to the main town area but they do provide scheduled shuttles to such places)

And here are also some pics of the lovely surroundings & other facilities...

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