Kota Kinabalu Marriott Hotel — Hotel in Borneo

Personalized Waterfront Luxury!

Most followers of my travel have constantly asked me why I am such a Marriott ‘Addict’, and keep exclusively staying at Marriott properties wherever I travel. The answer to this question has always been ‘Personalized Luxury’ - especially based on recent experiences at the MARRIOTT outlets of the chain in Macedonia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. This Marriott is one more addition to this lovely league of hotels that deliver Luxury not just in the form of materialistic things(like amenities, facilities, decor etc.) but also in terms of super personalized and highly attentive Hospitality(the tallest form of Luxury in my opinion). Right from the minute we arrived at the hotel to our departure, we were greeted, treated, and taken care of by folks who knew who were, and addressed us by our names. This happened probably because we are very unique Marriott loyalists, but I would like to assume they shower most of their guests with this kind of hospitality. A stay at this place was an absolute delight, and easily one of the top highlights of our recent trip to Borneo!

LOCATION: Beautiful location right on the waterfront with easy access to all the nearby bars, cafes, and restaurants as well as all key points of interest.

DINE + DRINK: Just like any other Luxury Marriott, this property comes loaded with multiple F &B options including the KITCHEN that serves excellent local, regional, and international cuisine. The highlight in my opinion was the stunning rooftop bar that comes with million-dollar views of the waterfront and nature. Great place for a sexy sundowner! The executive lounge(accessible to Elite members) also comes loaded with stunning views and an amazing Happy hour from 4:30 to 6:30. We were spoilt for choices during our stay on which place to spend our evenings at! Good problem to have during a holiday, no?! The Breakfast at the KITCHEn restaurant was an elaborate affair with the menu ranging from Malaysian(Chinese, Malay and Indian origin specialities) to International dishes. An indulgent meal absolutely worth waking up for!

ROOM: We stayed in Room 1340, which was an OCEAN VIEW SUITE, so this review is based on that; SIZE: Huge suite with a large separate living room(that comes with a nice dining area and a large couch) and a bigger Bedroom area (with a gorgeous corner couch where you can lounge all day long soaking in mindblowing views of the ocean). It almost felt like a luxury apartment home than a hotel suite!; VIEW: Spectacular views of the Sea and the picture-perfect islands floating atop the waters; AIR-CON: Perfectly functioning cooler that helped in setting the perfect room temperature; BED: Comfortable bed that played the expected part of putting us to sleep; BATHROOM: Stand-in shower; TOILETRIES: Excellent Spa quality Toiletries by THISWORKS brand.

FACILITIES: Compact but fully loaded Gym with a good range of weights, workstations, and Cardio machines by MATRIX brand - good enough for a decent workout. Lovely Infinity pool with sweeping views of the ocean and the pretty islands, great for a full-on aqua workout or chilled-out lounging.

SERVICE: Friendly staff that took care of all our needs with a smile and made us feel pampered and well taken care of like Celebrities! Special Shout-out to NAFEEZAH (the Front Office Manager) for a very warm welcome experience. ADRIAN (the Manager of the Club lounge) and his friendly team(Chef Rommy Romiu , supervisor KAI, and staff member Jamie Kong ) for hosting us at the lounge and attending to all our needs with a big smile. A big thanks also to REGINA at the KITCHEN restaurant for attending to all our special dietary requirements attentively!

HOW WIRED YOU WILL BE: Highly wired suites/rooms that are digitally optimized for modern devices with plenty of USB ports all over the room. Free Wi-Fi that works well all over the property, and the speed is around 25 Mbps. Medium-sized Plasma TV in each room dishing out a wide variety of channels spanning sports, news, music, movies, and entertainment in...

The Valentine Day staycation from 13th to 14th Feb at Marriott Kota Kinabalu was truly an excellent one. My wife and I had enjoyed every moment from the room to the menu to the service. The executive premier room was marvellous with breath-taking sea-view from every corner, and we were pleasantly overwhelmed by the gorgeous romantic lush decoration that had been tastefully arranged on the bed and bathtub. The dip in the infinity pool with the vast South China Sea against the backdrop was certainly stunning, relaxing and uplifting for us to capture lots of sweet loving photographic memories.

We had been so pampered by the afternoon high tea that was served in-room at our utmost comfort with the endless flow of evening cocktail at the lounge that followed. Despite the bad weather that had delayed our valentine’s day dinner, but the meticulous arrangement and thoughtful assuring co-ordination by the restaurant co-ordinator truly had not dampen our spirits for the romantic night. The service rendered by the hotel reception, the club lounge and the restaurant for the whole Valentine’s Day staycation package were undeniably flawless, top-notch and enjoyable to the fullest.

We would like to extend our warmest sincere compliments to a few of the remarkable Marriot staff that has been exemplary.

Mr Adrian who had welcomed us on the 13th with a very prompt and hospitable check-in. His warm and amiable interaction had livened us up in the hot afternoon to look forward to our splendid celebration ahead. And during check-out on the 14th, his heartfelt farewell left me yearning to be back again.

Mr Shah who had attended to us with our luggage was very pleasant and kind. Upon ushering us to our room, he had made us felt truly safe at ease with all our enquiries answered. And anytime he had been most willing to provide any assistance to be at our service. Coincidentally, he was at the lobby to chat with us once again while we were waiting for our car to leave for the airport. He had genuinely made us felt at home with such heart-warming genuine attentive attitude.

Last but not least was the great team who had hosted us during our wet but wonderful valentine’s day dinner. Mr Valentine K, as his name really matches the celebratory ambience and delighted us, his extremely polite and conscientious service was really applaudable. He had not only made our dinner event very lively with continuous engagement of cheerful conversations, but he had also diligently attended to us and accommodated to our request to run a small errand for us to the convenience store and changing our seating arrangement midway through the dinner from private indoor to the beautiful outdoor under the stars.

Despite we spent a really long time of more than 4 hours for dinner from 9pm to past 1am and had ask him to take his leave to rest his night first, he had impressed us with his patience and perseverance to wait for us unnoticeably until we really decided to leave the table for the night. His dedication, passion and positive attitude towards his job which such fine enthusiastic personality truly is commendable and had set an outstanding extraordinary role model for this tough hotel service industry. Together with him, my wife and I are very thankful and grateful to Chef Rommy and Chef Fazrien who had both delighted our tastes and senses with their skilful creations throughout the whole amazingly memorable pre-Valentine’s Day night.

With such fabulous and fantastic staff and service, Marriott Kota Kinabalu has definitely lived up to expectations and highly recommended not to be missed in...

The first of four nights in Sabah was at Marriott KK. Birthday trip meticulously planned by spouse for mom. It was also our belated birthday and anniversary month.

What a perfect choice!

What we LOVED: LOCATION Centrally located within walking distance to IMAGO mall (shopping/food/entertainment - live local cultural performance). There's even Godiva ice cream!

Inversely there are convenience stores, local market (wet/dry), Filipino market, seafood stalls and city centre just 10-15mins walk away.

VIEW Breathtaking waterfront view, especially at sunset. It was also our breakfast view. Found the random commercial airline planes flying above quite exhilirating and photo worthy.

ROOMS We were upgraded to room 1383. Although walking distance from lifts, it was perfect for us. Room comes with balcony, views all around especially from bathroom. Room is also spacious with a walk through closet.

Mil was assigned room 1236. Very apt as it is close to the lifts. No balcony however it is right above the pool area and views the sunset and waterfront. Comes with tub however bathroom is deeply ensconced within room for those who prefer a more private toillette.

TUB Strategically placed at an angle for that amazing view (Room 1383). Delighted to find bath salts and loofah kit! The only other place we have stayed which provided bath salts was FSKL. One of the "little things" that makes me happy!

POOL Rectangular infinity pool for that refreshing swim as well as the sunset view.

There is also a steam room however we didnt manage to spend time. Just need to have a chat with staff at pool area to enjoy the service.

Mr James and En Azrul. Mil had a friendly chat with Mr James post breakfast outside dining area, unbeknownst that he is a manager with hotel. When asked purpose of visit, she happily shared that it was her birthday trip.

Mr James quickly and discreetly had a chat with spouse to plan a surprise cake for her post chat.

A HUGE Terima Kasih to Mr James and En Azrul for making time to plan and deliver the surprise cake to mil's room despite their busy schedule, just before we checked out. It made her immensely happy! Priceless.

WHY only 4 STARS? Unfortunately despite the spread of food offered at breakfast, it was extremely disappointing.

This feedback is shared with the best intentions.

Food and especially breakfast is the most importantly meal for a traveller (business or pleasure) and tourists. It keeps us fueled for our planned day ahead.

Out of the spread, i only found the fried yellow and chicken soup noodles to be tasty. I normally only take a sampling of food when at a buffet. Even though sparing, i couldnt eat through what was on my plate and had to discreetly put the plate at the used plate corner myself. Too embarrassed at having to waste food i chose.

Also noticed a few tables with unfinished food. Although not rare however can be visual feedback to those receptive, especially if there are common food choices which seem to be left uneaten on most plates.

What was AWESOME though was the freshly squeezed pineapple juice 🍍! It was so good that it runs out as it is replenished. Most highly recommended!

Hope to someday have an opportunity to go back and be happily surprised to an improved (breakfast buffet) Marriott KK!

Terima Kasih team Marriott KK, we left with smiles in...