Sipadan Water Village — Hotel in Sabah

This was our least favorite experience during our two weeks in Malaysia. We visited the jungle and reef first and were impressed with the staff’s friendliness and communication. This place stood out for lacking both. Many of the women at the front desk and in the restaurant were pleasant and helpful, but the overall introduction process provided very little information. At other places, you could purchase food from locals and have them cook it for dinner (e.g., lobsters or prawns). It was unclear if that was possible here—and asking felt intimidating. Any time we did try to ask questions, we were met with one-word answers and no real willingness to help. It may have been due to the language barrier (we don't speak Malay or Chinese), but we felt entirely out of place.||Now, what you came here for... the diving. IT IS NOT SAFE. The instructors do not communicate. You arrive at the dive center—no greeting, no explanation. My poor friend who was snorkeling was completely ignored. He had to push just to get equipment and was repeatedly told to “sit.” Then, when he entered the water, he realized everyone else had been given life jackets—he was never offered one. Safety is clearly not a priority. I was diving and was given a faulty regulator. I convinced them to swap it midday, only to find that the next day, they had reattached the same faulty one, assuming I wouldn't notice. They also gave me a half-empty oxygen tank—twice—at 6 a.m. You have to be alert and experienced, or this place could be dangerous. No dive timers. My first wetsuit had a hole. If you're used to Western levels of safety oversight, know that the instructors here do not have your back—and will even argue with you to use equipment you've already flagged as defective. It was hard to enjoy the diving knowing no one was looking out for us. I didn’t even complete my last dive. They also provide no towels after your dives, so you just sit freezing on the boat. There is zero concern for the customer experience.||Accommodations: The bar is sparse and usually unstaffed—likely because few people drink here, which I understand. However, about two-thirds of the rooms are in disrepair, visible as you look beyond the few that are still operational. Abandoned facilities dot the area. The rooms that do function need bathroom updates, and the power outlets are only partially working. That said, the rooms were decent—just not what I’d ever consider “fancy.” We had much nicer accommodations deep in the jungle for a quarter of the price.||Getting there: We stayed in Semporna the night before and had a lovely time at the Seafest Regency. It’s within walking distance to the boat office that takes you to the village. However, getting information about the pickup time was frustrating. We kept receiving vague answers and had to push to get clear communication from the hotel. We assumed they would pick us up in a car, but someone simply walked us over—which was actually a short and pleasant walk. Note: there’s no sunscreen available here, so try to pick some up at Watsons in Semporna beforehand if you can.||Actionable improvements:|- Provide a welcome sheet with the Wi-Fi password.|- Include guidance on standard prices for coconuts or dinner from local vendor boats.|- Share information about free snorkeling around the property.|- Clarify boat rental fees and snorkeling costs for those who want to join the dive boats.||Guest experience depends on helping people understand what’s available. Here, you're left completely in the dark.||This place has so much potential. We found it relaxing (when not diving), but it was simply the joy of doing nothing and soaking in the...

Before my friend and I decided to go with Sipadan Water Village Resort, we did a number of research and read a lot of reviews about Sipadan Water Village Resort. Generally, we read a number of negative feedback on SWV, generally on the quality of food provided. But, we really like the layout of the resort and the price offered was very attractive, so we decided to give it a try.||||I can tell you all... Go stay with SWV (Sipadan Water Village). We had such great time there. The staffs are so friendly that we have become friends, we even exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch. When we first arrived at Mabul Island, we were greeted by the staffs with great smile on their faces. They took every effort to make sure that we have wonderful time at home. ||||Let's talk about food, which a lot of people have been complaining about. Please kindly ignore those reviews posted before 2015. We were told that the management decided to change the chef for the restaurant and now the restaurant is managed under new chef. The result is unbelievable. Everyday, we were served with great and delicious food. I actually looked forward to hearing the ringing of the 'gong' everyday, which signals the restaurant is open and food is served.||||Our trip mainly focused on diving. We engaged SWV Dive Center for our diving experience in Sipadan/Mabul/Kapalai. I feel very emotional writing this review because right now when I pen this review, I am missing those guys back in SWV Dive Center already. They are amazing people! Cheerful and helpful. Everyday, after dive, we would spend time sitting around the dive center to chit chat, to joke, to share experience and of course to gossip (a little bit) as well! That was so FREAKING fun!||||I have no single negative feedback on SWV. The only small complain I have is...||||The resort is too nice and the people there are just so amazing that I actually felt so sad when I had to leave SWV... :( (so get ready to be emotionally unstable after you spend your time with SWV! hahahaha...)||||Highly...

This resort was opened in 2004, so it's about 20 years old. The grounds are actually quite beautiful, but a few things mar the experience (more later). ||For the good, the rooms are really big, even the standard ones. Some even have an extra bed. There's a sitting area and a small refreshment counter and a fridge. Bathrooms are large too. The shower units are fine, just that the door is a bit wonky sometimes - but nothing really splashes out. ||The catering was excellent when we were there. There's seafood every night, and also grilled steaks - fish, chicken and beef. The clams and prawns were plentiful and delicious. The drinks were also very unique, if sweet.||The resort has a few piers you can walk down into the sea from. It's also where the dive and snorkel trips go out from. You are free to dive into the sea - but just be careful of the boats. There are many large turtles in the house reef, along with interesting things like (for divers): squids, batfish, snappers, surgeonfish, ghost pipefish, large nudibranches, razorfish etc.||Now for the shortcomings: the resort is a little broken down in parts, though nothing too serious. When we were there, the guardrails to one of the walkways completely collapsed - they did fix it in a couple of days though. ||Some rooms had poor air conditioning (the coolant was spent), but they would gladly replace the room if there's availability and if you asked nicely. ||There were poisonous sea snakes along the walkways in the mornings and at nights - please be careful. ||The thing that really got to me was the garbage in the water. It looked fine when we arrived, but one morning, the tides brought quite a lot of trash from the village into the sea. They need to protect this beautiful place, and preserve it for many years to come. I hope the authorities can take action and provide resources for the villagers to deal with the problem. For now, it may be a good idea to bring your own water and decline the plastic bottles which they offer to excursionists - helps them...