Holiday Dive Inn — Hotel in Borneo

The only reason we stayed here is because it was required to dive with guaranteed permits. I have been to a Semporna / Sipadan before and there is no way on earth I would come here without a permit “in-hand”. We booked 5 days of diving with 3 days of guaranteed Sipadan diving and a Sipadan Scuba was the only one offering confirmed days of diving ... but you had to take their hotel as part of the package. We completed one day of area diving plus our 3 days of Sipadan and walked away from the last day of diving and hotel which speaks for itself.||||Regarding the hotel, the place is a hole - you can choose your own adjective but I have no idea where the 4 star rating comes from or the “friendly”. The staff are a case study in indifference and that is only if you can get them to look up from their YouTube or video game endeavours.||||Positives first ... sheets were clean and the bed was comfortable enough. Air conditioning met the bare minimum standards of functionality but just, and to their credit the water in the shower could be made as hot as I could take it with enough pressure to be useful.||||The negatives - water from the base of the toilet seal leaked across the floor and ultimately down the shower drain. I invested in shower flip-flops for the first time in my life. The noise of the rats squeaking and running either between the ceiling and the roof (or on the roof ... we never did figure that out definitively) was a pain, and the internet DID NOT WORK in the room at any speed 99% of the time. We maintained two SIM cards for the duration of our trip to hot-spot our connectivity. The first kettle leaked water as fast as you could pour it in, the second worked about 50% of the time on the first attempt and if you chose to use the lid it flies off when you go to pour. Both kettles are still in rotation, but in different rooms from when I arrived. Futuristically, there are two USB plugins embedded in the outlet above the nightstand - that may be functional at some point in the future. Combined this along with the cigarette burns in the bedcover provide a bit of an indication of the general feel of the place.||||Which brings us back to the staff and attitude. I went down to verify the internet passwords (printed on the back of the door) as when in the room they kept coming back as incorrect passwords. Once shocked out of stasis, reception informed me that internet was not supposed to be used in the room and that it could be used in the lobby - which would have been great if I didn’t mind wedging myself in between the six, presumably connected, kids on the couches staring intently at their screens.||||We have been travelling for almost 3 months now and have stayed in worse hotels / hostels but in each case they have gone out of their way to be helpful, provide advise, and make the experience in their hotel and town the best it could be. Here, once they have your money any problems or concerns you might have are yours and yours alone assuming you can get anyone to acknowledge your presence. ||||Loved Sipadan itself, dive company was acceptable, dislike the hotel but as a previous reviewer said, if you stay in the docks area “you can avoid walking through the sewage...

The only reason we stayed here is because it was required to dive with guaranteed permits. I have been to a Semporna / Sipadan before and there is no way on earth I would come here without a permit “in-hand”. We booked 5 days of diving with 3 days of guaranteed Sipadan diving and a Sipadan Scuba was the only one offering confirmed days of diving ... but you had to take their hotel as part of the package. We completed one day of area diving plus our 3 days of Sipadan and walked away from the last day of diving and hotel which speaks for itself.||||Regarding the hotel, the place is a hole - you can choose your own adjective but I have no idea where the 4 star rating comes from or the “friendly”. The staff are a case study in indifference and that is only if you can get them to look up from their YouTube or video game endeavours.||||Positives first ... sheets were clean and the bed was comfortable enough. Air conditioning met the bare minimum standards of functionality but just, and to their credit the water in the shower could be made as hot as I could take it with enough pressure to be useful.||||The negatives - water from the base of the toilet seal leaked across the floor and ultimately down the shower drain. I invested in shower flip-flops for the first time in my life. The noise of the rats squeaking and running either between the ceiling and the roof (or on the roof ... we never did figure that out definitively) was a pain, and the internet DID NOT WORK in the room at any speed 99% of the time. We maintained two SIM cards for the duration of our trip to hot-spot our connectivity. The first kettle leaked water as fast as you could pour it in, the second worked about 50% of the time on the first attempt and if you chose to use the lid it flies off when you go to pour. Both kettles are still in rotation, but in different rooms from when I arrived. Futuristically, there are two USB plugins embedded in the outlet above the nightstand - that may be functional at some point in the future. Combined this along with the cigarette burns in the bedcover provide a bit of an indication of the general feel of the place.||||Which brings us back to the staff and attitude. I went down to verify the internet passwords (printed on the back of the door) as when in the room they kept coming back as incorrect passwords. Once shocked out of stasis, reception informed me that internet was not supposed to be used in the room and that it could be used in the lobby - which would have been great if I didn’t mind wedging myself in between the six, presumably connected, kids on the couches staring intently at their screens.||||We have been travelling for almost 3 months now and have stayed in worse hotels / hostels but in each case they have gone out of their way to be helpful, provide advise, and make the experience in their hotel and town the best it could be. Here, once they have your money any problems or concerns you might have are yours and yours alone assuming you can get anyone to acknowledge your presence. ||||Loved Sipadan itself, dive company was acceptable, dislike the hotel but as a previous reviewer said, if you stay in the docks area “you can avoid walking through the sewage...

I had to book this accommodation as a part of Sipadan Diving Package. Location wise its deserves all stars , centrally located and around have all dive shops and lots of restaurants , shops and pharmacy. Supermarket - Giant was within 150 m from Hotel.Bus Terminal to Kota Kinabalu was around 10-15 min walking distance.||||I booked the most economical room , was provided with Ground Floor room with no Window. Check in was fast and Lady at Reception was friendly to answer any queries with smile.In fact ,I found all the staffs were very friendly and ready to help you with a smile. During check in, I wanted to upgrade to upstairs room with window by paying the difference but, I was not allowed. Room , I stayed was smelly as no inlet for fresh air ,otherwise it was clean. Overall Condition of Room was not good , Floors and walls needs a major revamp.Toilet was clean with good water pressure and had Hot water. Room had two single bed , beds were good enough to rest after whole day of diving. Rooms were cleaned everyday.There was a TV and had only 3 or 4 channel , didn't seems to have cable connection ,so bit boring. No safety box at room , was provided with a locker located at reception area , big enough to store laptops. ||To me upstairs rooms looked better and had window. There are many better inns/hotels to stay at same price or paying little more.||On my first day I tried a restaurant at pier and didn't like the food. The one I liked most was located at corner once you come out of the hotel and turn left. Seafoods were very very reasonable priced and tasted excellent to me.||I took a bus on my way back from Semporna and almost took 10 hours to reach Kota Kinabalu. Roads are in good condition , most part of the journey had lots of twist and turns as it crosses few...