Hotel Hsiang Garden — Hotel in Borneo

I got to know about the hotel when I met the owner who was also the owner of Borneo Natural Sukau Bilit Resort when I spend my three days two nights there. I inquired about place to stay after the three days two nights at NSBR and he recommended the Hsiang Garden Hotel. Since I am a Single Independent Traveller and a budget backpacker, I opted to choose to stay at the dorm which is the cheapest rate at RM20/= per night. There are three seperate queen size beds in the room unlike in other budget lodges where they placed a two tier bunker type of beds.There is an attached bathroom, a single wall mounted swinging fans and a tv. The room cleanliness is good. I can live with staying in a no air-conditioned room, no refridgerator and no hot water as I've chosen to stay in the most cheapest room and I can save a lot more to go to many more places. The French backpacker guy who checked in one day after me really got a bargain and was charged for RM15/= per night only since it was a non peak period. The windows in the dorm overlook a forested hill. I don't mind since I'm using the dorm only to sleep and much of the time spend outside going to places of interest. There is a self laundrette situated not far away from the hotel and it charges RM4.50 for 4 kg of load, another RM4.50 for drying (it's optional) and washing soap can be purchase from the vending machine for RM1.50. If you think that it is a little bit of a hassle then send it to the hotel laundry services, but of course the price wouldn't be the same.The hotel has a restaurant but it closes at around 6.00 pm. You have a choice whether you want to go out and eat at Sandakan town or at the hotel. Vans or the local call it bus frequently ply the road to Sandakan. It's numbered 204 and coloured white and blue. The fare is 80 cents (malaysian).It's final destination is the Central Bus Station and from there on you can walk to Harbour Square about 100 or150 meters to have your food or go to the cinema at the mall 11th floor. Although Hsiang Garden Hotel is situated on the outskirt of Sandakan town it's adventurous when you go in the van that is going to Sandakan since you'll be sardine packed in the vans with the locals. That's third world kind of transportation. Finally I'll say that my stay at Hsiang Garden Hotel was satisfactory and the staff was friendly. If you are a Single Independent Traveler or a budget Backpacker that wants to save on places to stay and travel more; I...

The first day we checked in we were given a room on 4th floor for standard twin beds. The toilet flush doesn't work. The staff came up to have a look and left the water tank cover open for us to pull the cistern to flush! No hot water from the shower. Room has ants. We asked for floor towel and was told out of stock. The next morning we requested to change room for the remaining 2 nights. We were given a room on 2nd floor with no cupboard or hangers and we requested to change again. This third room we had - the bedsheets were stained, both bedsheets and blankets have NOT been changed by the look and touch of it. The floor was very dusty. We suspect the room has just completed renovation. The shower has hot water but we had to open up the drainage to allow water to go through or else the entire shower area is like a pond - water rise until ankle. No towel rack in the bathroom. The corridor and room has a moldy smell - I have to cover nose every time when walking at the corridor. At one time the corridor smelled like kitchen after cooking. The room phone cannot be used. The TV remote control does not function. ||||The room is a very basic room. No cups, no kettle, no fridge, no shampoo, there is a soap dispenser, bath towels provided, a small dressing table with mirror, a/cond is cold. The hotel is perhaps in an old building and away from town. It is probably the only big business operator at the building as the other shops were all closed and seems unoccupied. There are 2 grocery stores nearby, 1 halal eatery & 1 chinese eatery. We did...

For the price, this hotel is a good place to stay for a budget backpacker like me. The location, however, is a bit far from the city centre so it’s not very convenient. Luckily, you can book a Grab car directly through your phone app or ask the front desk to call you a taxi, which makes it easier to get around. There’s really nothing in the area where this hotel is located so no need to walk around here. It’s best to go to the city center for food & shopping. There’s one Chinese restaurant across the hotel, but they don’t speak English and the food is not very good. As for the room, I stayed in a Standard Room for 3 nights. For the price, this was great value. It’s quite big, but it did smell funny/moldy and on my last night, the bathroom sink plumbing started leaking a lot – I notified the front desk when I checked out very early the next morning. WiFi worked well in the room. There is an onsite restaurant but it didn’t look like it was fully open so for breakfast, they would just bring the food to my room. The front desk staff was helpful as they booked the Kinabatangan River day trip for me and gave me tips on visiting...