Gayana Marine Resort — Hotel in Sabah

I booked Gayana Marine Resort for my boys to chill because they love the water. I booked it the last minute just as I booked last minutes for Maldives. Maldives gave me clear instructions how to exit the airport, and their coordination was very thorough from check in to check out. I am quite disappointed and was humiliated all thru out the check in process. ONCE I booked with Trip.com, and got confirmation, I instantaneously messaged the property in request for airport pick - up or best possible way to get to the resort. I got NO instructions from the hotel nor trip.com. They both left the 3 of using hanging for 2 hours at the airport! I called the numbers provided, no hotel answer 6 times. I got an email saying it's Malaysian Festival, and the King's birthday June 2...which has nothing to do with our arrival. Last min I reached out to trip.com are 11:45 am, I was told to get a GRAB and go to the ferry for 12:00pm boat departure to Gaya Island. With the traffic there was NO way I could make it to the noon departure. I wanted to cancel the reservation and book a regular hotel so my kids and I can settle. Its not cancelable...Trip.com said they don't see any other boat departure, but I knew it was going to a pain in bottom to get my refund of $193 usd back! So I took a GRAB down to the ferry. I was told upon arrival I missed the 12 pm boat. The check in guy at the dock looked at my reservation (2 adults & a child for 1 night), which blatantly said on my reservation which I showed it to him with reservation number and pin.I was looked at with being deceitful, like I am lying in my bookings. I knew there was 160 myr ringgit I need to pay for my child. I told the guy and still I was humiliated. We waited til 4:30pm for the last boat to the island....it just ruined our plans and affected our hype to be on a bungalow island. It literally sucks to be looked at as lying on the reservations. They giy called trip.com and I can hear the Rep asking him to look at the detailed payments (which I showed him from mya apps). HORRIBLE 10 min at boat check - in and NO apologies here. I was charged on the spot 160 myr without any apologizes. Who would travel with 2 children and lie on a reservation when you know they will most likely to ask for passports and you need to boat out to an island? Once got in on the island, I spoke to Mr. STEVEN, manager. He offered to allow us late check out and allowed us to stay on the island until til 5pm to exit on a boat with his workers. I spoke to my boys and they were too exhausted at this point to take the offer.I hope the Resort will treat people with more dignity and respect, and send check-in instructions even if it's last min. The resort is able to take my credit card money that fast, but Mr. STEVEN, MANAGER said bc it's last minute, it's difficult. In our room, there was 2 free souvenirs tumbler. We opened one up from the outside was washed partially of the resort logo...inside it was left over tea....I called it in to the receptionist late night...very unsanitary. No check-Out instructions either. My boys and I hauled out backpacks and luggage out from our bungalow. I would never recommend to my family...

WARNING: read all bad feedbacks on this resort before you book!||Our stay at Gayana Marine Resort was unfortunately marred by several disappointments, largely due to the management's lack of action and responsiveness. ||While the resort promotes itself as an eco-conscious destination with a strong commitment to marine conservation, our experience told a different story.||One morning, we woke up to find plastic and debris surrounding our villa and the resort's waters. Despite multiple reports to the staff throughout the day, very little was done to address the issue. The minimal cleanup efforts were limited to a brief attempt near the reception area, leaving the waters near the pool villas completely neglected. As a result, we were unable to swim for the entire day, which severely impacted our experience, given that swimming and enjoying the ocean were key reasons for our stay.||More troubling is that this seems to be a recurring issue, based on previous guest reviews. Despite this, the management has made no effort to inform guests or take proactive steps. One would expect a resort that prides itself on environmental responsibility to be transparent and take swift action. Instead, what we encountered was negligence, with little concern for the impact this had on our experience.||To make matters worse, after raising our concerns with Karl Sims (manager), I received no response after leaving the resort. I did send him documentation for the lack of solving the problem.|This lack of follow-up seems to be a recurring problem based on other guest reviews, further emphasizing management’s disregard for guest feedback.||While I appreciate that ocean debris may not originate from the resort, the complete lack of adequate response from management during our stay, coupled with their refusal to offer compensation or proper solutions, left us with a very negative impression of what is meant to be an eco-conscious resort. Only thing that matters is profit! The resorts solution to the plastic contamination, is waiting for the tide to remove plastic and other debris. ||Additionally, the transportation arrangement was needlessly costly. The resort insisted we take a private boat, despite a regular ferry being available, which felt like another example of the resort prioritizing profits over guest convenience and environmental impact. Cost for the boat MYR 305,-.|We were sailing alongside the normal ferry.|Additionally they advised us to take a prearranged taxi from the harbour to the airport. Price 170 MYR. At the airport we realised that a taxi via Grab would be 10-15 MYR. A price of a least 1/10 of what we paid. ||In summary, Gayana Marine Resort’s failure to address environmental issues and their lack of communication left us deeply disappointed. The inability to swim for an entire day, coupled with poor management response, detracted from what should have been a relaxing and eco-friendly vacation.||Being part of a big charter company, I stay on hotels for more than 100 days every year. |The stay at Gayana Marine Resort will be rated among the 10 worst...

My stay at Gayana Marine Resort was marked by significant disappointment, particularly due to the management's lack of responsiveness to an environmental issue we encountered. While the resort promotes itself as an eco-conscious destination with a strong commitment to marine conservation, our experience told a different story.||||Initially, the stay was satisfactory, aside from minor debris in the waters. However, one morning we woke to find plastic and debris surrounding our villa and the resort. Despite reporting this to the staff and being assured the problem would be addressed, very little was done throughout the day. The cleanup efforts were minimal, and no action was taken near the pool villas, where we were staying. Even after raising the issue with management, the problem persisted, and the debris only lessened when the tide receded— not thanks to any effort by the resort.||||The manager claims that the staff did try to solve the problem. Yes for 10-15 minutes. 10-15 minutes!! This is how much the resort cares for the environment. We never blamed the resort for the plastic and other debris coming from the sea, but we had an expectation that they would do something about it. Nothing! ||||More troubling is that this seems to be a recurring issue, based on previous guest reviews. Despite this, the management has made no effort to inform guests or take proactive steps. One would expect a resort that prides itself on environmental responsibility to be transparent and take swift action. Instead, what we encountered was negligence, with little concern for the impact this had on our experience and the wildlife of the sea. ||||The final straw was when we departed. The resort arranged a private boat for us, even though a regular ferry was available. When we questioned why we couldn’t use the ferry, we were told it was because we had "ordered" a private boat. The ferry was running empty - to collect employees in Kota Kinabalu - alongside our expensive “private boat”. This “private boat “ is by the way owned by the resort - according the driver. |||| This unnecessary arrangement emphasized what became increasingly clear during our stay: the resort seems more focused on maximizing profits than protecting the environment or ensuring guest satisfaction.||||In conclusion, Gayana Marine Resort’s poor handling of environmental issues and the clear prioritization of economic gain over eco-friendly practices left us disheartened. ||||Finally you will now see the manager (Karl Sims) commenting my rewiew in a negative way, trying to blame me. Do yourself the favour of reading his comments to the people giving just ONE STAR!||||I think these answers tell all you need to know about the management of the...