Gayana Marine Resort♡

Living in the lap of luxury

8.0

This is one of the quieter places around Kota Kinabalu. Priced in the lower luxury segment, it offers beautiful water chalets, the cheaper ones facing the jungle, the more expensive ones facing the lagoon. Unlike other resorts, this is not all-inclusive; breakfast is included, but you have to pay for dinner and lunch. Food is exceptional. The huts are gorgeous, large, king size beds, firm mattresses, sat TV. There is internet, but intentionally only in the restaurant and the reception space. The resort has an office at the end of Jesselton pier, which will organise your trip across the bay. They have a few free boats, others you have to pay for. Pre-arrival communication was smooth and quick. Activities include jungle walks, diving, kayaking and a hands-on experience of their ocean research centre, focusing on coral rejuvenation and giant clam species. Watch out for the macaque monkeys, they can be aggressive. This is a plastic-free resort, so don't be surprised to be asked to leave any plastics behind. Depending on the tide, the water can be quite dirty though, despite the resort's best efforts, they cannot always hold back the plastic tide swilling over from Kota Kinabalu. There is a swimming pool, though, so you can use this instead.

A beautiful resort, but our experience fell far short of “luxury”

6.0

We stayed at Gayana Marine Resort in September for my husband’s 30th birthday. Unfortunately, our weekend happened to fall during an unexpected period of extreme rainfall, which caused flooding around the region and clearly exposed some serious issues at the resort. We originally booked the Palm Villa, the most premium and expensive option, expecting a relaxing and memorable stay. However, within just two hours of arriving, our villa began leaking heavily, and the bathroom started flooding due to rainwater pouring in through the windows. For the price we paid, this was extremely disappointing. After three hours of repeatedly chasing staff and management, we were downgraded to an Ocean Villa with the promise that we would be moved back once maintenance fixed the issue. The next morning, after breakfast and with a rare window of sunshine, we asked for an update. Despite the good weather in the morning, we weren’t moved until 2pm, meaning we spent less than 24 hours in the villa which we had paid for two nights. By the time we finally moved back, the weather had turned again, and we had missed the only opportunity to enjoy the private pool and deck we’d specifically chosen the Palm Villa for. We requested a refund for the first night as we had been downgraded, which is something no guest should reasonably expect at this price point. Instead, we were offered a 30-minute spa treatment and one free meal. While appreciated, this compensation didn’t come close to the value of the villa or the experience we had lost. We also asked for a late checkout to make up some of the time we missed, but were told it wasn’t possible as the resort was fully booked. Despite this, we weren’t required to check out until 12:30pm (instead of 11am), and we were told we could take the staff boat back to the mainland at 5:45pm, the only free option. The regular guest boat schedule wouldn’t allow us to leave earlier unless we paid an additional £50 fee. We didn’t want to stay on the island all day after an already disappointing stay, but we also didn’t feel comfortable paying even more money. This left us stuck waiting around for hours, adding further frustration to what was supposed to be a special birthday trip. Another frustration was transportation. Despite the high cost of staying here, guests cannot leave the island outside of limited boat schedules without paying extra. Even when the boat returned empty to the mainland, guests were still not allowed to travel unless it matched their check-in/checkout window. For a luxury resort, this felt unnecessarily restrictive. Overall, I’ve given Gayana Marine Resort 3 stars. The setting is beautiful, and the staff were polite, but the management’s response, villa maintenance issues, restrictive transport policies, and lack of proactive care made our experience far less enjoyable than it should have been – especially considering we paid nearly £500 per night. Whilst we appreciate the resort cannot be held accountable for the weather, a property charging this price point should absolutely be equipped to handle adverse conditions without major leaks, flooding, or significant disruption to guests’ stays. A resort of this level should offer better flexibility, support, and service when things go wrong.

Nice relaxing place

8.0

Very relaxing place to spend some days sunbathing, snorkeling and kayaking. Beautiful very spacious and well thought through villas, we had the Ocean villa, with direct access to the reef. Staff is exceptionally nice and made us feel very welcome. One restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner with some nice food and drink options. I loved the healthy drinks. But, Hotel is nearly 20 years old, and there are signs of missing maintenance, which could be fixed. Restaurant is nice, but prices for Malaysia too high and more vegetarian, vegan or gluten free options would be great.

Absolutely Perfect

10.0

This was an absolutely incredible experience!!! Small, quiet resort. The staff was amazing, every staff member was polite, helpful, ensuring that all of my needs and requests were met. Every staff member went above and beyond every time. Previous reviews mentioned garbage in the water; there was none of that. Stunning swimming area around the ocean rooms, no garbage in sight. Having stayed in similar resorts from the Maldives to Africa, this is hands down one of the best. Recommend 10/10

Very enjoyable stay in September

10.0

We stayed at Palm villa for four nights in September and loved it! The villa is well maintained and all amenities are as you would expect from this level of accommodation. (Bear in mind this is provincial Malaysia and not Maldives who specialise on luxury). The view from the villa is amazing. If you are lucky to get villa No 87 you will have a fantastic view of Mount Kinabalu.The staff are extremely friendly and try really hard to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. The food at the restaurant was top notch and the singanure massage was excellent.

Hotel by the ocean

6.0

We had To Come To this hotel,because Bungaraya hotel was suddenly closed due To bad,rainy weather caused some problem with waterpump. The staff In this hotel is the friendliest we have ever met anywhere,they are super!! Food is also tasty. Room itself is big,clean and nice. BUT the view from our room was a big disappointment: balcony was towards the forest. I see no sense To build a room towards forest In a place like this. In the pictures on booking com website there is no real pictures of the view. Second disappoinment was the beach In front of the main building: It is terrible. We got a free dinner for our unhappiness, which we appreciate,but anyway I believe we would have been happier In Bungaraya hotel