Learn more insights from Wanderboat AI.
Having recently stayed here for two nights, these are my thoughts.
Firstly, if birds are you vice, then this is the lodge for you as you're very well cattered for.
All the staff, including Chef Hamid and his team did not disappoint. The food was utterly delicious, easily the best on our two week trip. The rooms are large, clean and comfortable, however what's with the lattice fence blocking the view of the surrounding vegetation.
What wasn't so great you may ask?
To get to this lodge you need to drive 45 minutes from the main road through a palm oil plantation, the lodge is on the border of Tabin reserve and the plantation.
I did not sign up for an evening safari through a palm oil plantation looking for wildlife, it was very distressing to see the amount of habitat loss.
Whilst my guide was nice, there was plastic waste around the lodge and on our nature walk that no one collects or cares about. I even pointed out a very large plastic bag in the sea when looking for dolphins and suggested we collect and dispose of it. This fell on deaf ears .. are you eco or not?
Lastly, we all need to stop buying goods with palm oil, only we the consumer can drive change and stop this horrible practise rate of deforestation. Purchase responsible products and help save the forests of Borneo...
Read more
This one’s a tough review. We did the 5 days / 4 nights nature tour — starting at Sukau Lodge, which, let’s be honest, blows you out of the water even when you’re firmly on land. Arriving here feels different: smaller, quieter, deep in the jungle but brushing up against a palm-oil plantation. Makes you wonder if you really need half the things in your bathroom, right?
The wildlife is shyer here. You cover less ground than at Sukau — mostly along one looping road and a stretch of delta where life hides more than it shows.
Still, there’s a killer pool waiting to cool the day off, cold beers that redeem the heat, food that borders on divine (yes, that satay…), and staff who make you feel like you belong here.
The guided jungle walk is worth every minute of the trip out — packed with stories, sounds, and that sense you’ve stepped off the map. The night walk? Fantastic. I just wish the walkways stretched further, to really hit that “yeah dude, you’re walking in the actual jungle” vibe.
It might only get four out of five — but that’s mostly because Sukau Lodge set the bar somewhere up in the canopy. This is Borneo stripped down: quieter, rawer, reflective. Civilization, mercifully, still close enough to pour you...
Read more
New lodge opened in July. Deluxe Accommodation was luxurious, spacious, clean with good air conditioning with a ceiling fan and staff were exceptionally helpful with wet towels on every return from tours. Excellent 3 meals and early morning coffee before the sun rise river cruise and tea were included. Bookings were through Adventure Life. Beautiful Lodge, few rooms, safe, intimate and surrounded by nature. We were on a Big Five tour for 6 days and 5 nights with Adventure Life and at Utan we spent 3 days and 2 nights in a group of 4. The guide was experienced and took us on nature walks, night safari and river cruise to spot animals and birds. We saw the dolphins, food bats, civet, marble cat, cuckoo and beautiful birds. The guide was very accommodating taking us on additional nature walks to see animals and/or birds missed. Food and desert fruits were excellent with variety, with plenty of delicious mangoes. Laundry was reasonable with 24...
Read more
