If I could just take the sunset home

Stayed here for 7 nights in June/July 04 and it mus be one of the best hotels in the world, why?

1. Staff are friendly, always seem happy to help. I put in a compliment about how helpful some of the staff had been and next thing I know I had a large bowl of various exotic fruits in my room. In general the people in Sabah are extremely friendly.

2. The view is amazing, with all the little islands just off the coast, and the amazingly clear sunsets and sunrises, you won't get a better 'picture postcard' moment

3. The rooms are excellent. very spacious and I wanted to take the bathroom home, and the balcony, and the bed, and the view, and Borneo............

4. It's a 5 minute ride from the airport, 5 minutes from Kota Kinabalu which is an interesting little town (The Beach nightclub right next to your local Irish pub)

5. Price. Its a top class hotel, probably one of Shangri-La's best and the price is not extortionate, so go there....NOW

Without Doubt the best Hotel I have stayed in

My wife and I normally manage to get away ourselves in October of each year and 2004 was no exception. We try to go somewhere different and believe me Sabbah fitted the Bill.

It was a long Journey for us, flying Glasgow to London, London to KL then KL to KK and we arrived shattered. Our reception however could not have been better. We had booked through Kuoni and although we had not requested Private Transfers that is what we got. With the Driver running to get the car.

On arrival at the Hotel we were taken upstairs to the Horizon Club Tanjung Wing where the Host arranged drinks and snacks while we were booked in. The room was not quite ready for us however in a short time he led us to what I can only describe as the best Hotel room I have ever seen and trust me I have seen a few.

It was a delightful stay although the first couple of days was spent around the pool area "chilling" and also going for massage therapies.

I walked along the beach for miles in the direction of the town and met so many friendly locals and no other tourists. I found a small bar on the beach and the wife and I returned to it that evening and found to our delight that it was transformed with food stalls serving the most delicious and cheap food. Not another tourist in sight! Our entire meal cost about £3.

KK itself is pretty run down in places although a lot of work is being undertaken to build large shopping arcades. We spent time finding out where the locals ate and had great nights in their company eating fresh seafood including huge Lobster for about £10.

The Horizon Club Rooms are well worth the little extra. The club has a snacks and Drinks event every night totally free of charge. In addition any time you might want a soft drink or Tea/Coffee at any time you just need to ask, again free of charge.

Its a great venue for speaking to other guests from all corners of the globe.

The grounds of the Hotel, the Staff and the management can not be bested I am sure.

We will certainly return.

Not bad at all

Firstly can I just say before starting this review that my partner and I arn't really resort type hotel people, however we wanted to visit Sabah and all the quality accommodation appears to be of that type.

Overall the Hotel was fine - we were upgraded to a full suite in the newly refurbished Tanjung wing upon arrival and I'm glad we were as I think we may not have enjoyed the trip as much if we hadn't. The grounds were very attractive and the sunsets pretty spectacular (although not as atmospheric as they had been in Langkawi earlier in our trip).

Overall the hotel seems to cater largely for those on organised tours or for business men on conferences. The public areas are spacious but then with 500 rooms they need to be and the pool area can get crowded during the day.

With regards to food - the Italian Restaurant was first rate and extremely inventive whereas the rest were fine but nothing special. All the local dishes were less spicy that one would normally expect - a reflection of the chefs "tailoring" the recipes for western tastes, which was a little annoying.

Also annoying was that in spite of having a suite we did not get any free internet access, which we did throughout the rest of our trip in Malaysia.

Overall though a good, if not great, hotel with friendly, helpful staff handily located close to the airport to facilitate further exploration of Sabah. Would we stay there again? I don't know, maybe but I'd prefer to do some more research and see if we can find something more personal.

Stunning views

After spending a disappointing stay at the Shangri La in KL which was undergoing a very noisy refurb, we arrived a little jaded at the Tanjung Aru but we're greeted by incredibly friendly staff, accommodation was amazing, food so good and so cheap and best of all was the breathtaking view from our balcony looking out at the cluster of islands.

Pure Heaven

I have to say from the very first moment I set foot into the Tangung Aru I loved it. Whilst that was a few years ago, I decided to make a return trip 2 years ago and boy was I still impressed. I took the decision to upgrade to a Delux suite and it was well worth the additonal expense. The room was definately the most lavish I had ever stayed in. The hotel staff are very friendly and always willing to help, just walking round the hotel the staff always make the effort to smile and say hello. I was soo impressed with my last trip, that this years trip was already decided. Yes I'm returning to the Tanjung Aru once again, my third visit. If you want a relaxing holiday in great surroundings, this is definately the hotel to choose. 10 out of 10

Loved Shangri La

Wow, what can I say!! 8 perfect nights, an amazing hotel, a stunning location and the hotel staff!!! We have never felt so spoilt, all service with the biggest and most genuine smile I have ever seen. The room in the Tanjung wing absolute perfection from the balcony view to the luxurious feel of the highest quality room I have ever stayed in. The facilities were superb and the scuba diving although not difficult, the diving was excellent!!

Would recommed the Shagri La to anyone and someday will return!!

Beautiful, luxury hotel!

Wow, gorgeous hotel, utterly luxurious bedroom and beautiful food.

The hotel was doing some great offers whilst we stayed (50% off meals) so we were very lucky and the food was of an excellent standard.

Beach was disappointing but it really didn't matter due to the fact you could get a boat to the coral islands nearby. Also the pool area was well maintained and there was enough space for all!

Sunset bar was spectacular and had a great half price happy hour there every night from 5 to 7.

Lovely lovely place!

The best holiday ever!!!!

I have just returned from the Tanjung aru resort and what an amazing holiday!As soon as we arrived at the hotel we were treated like royalty,given fresh face towels a cold drink as the weather well lets say I had to take my top off straight away.We had booked a tANJUNG WING DELUXE room and is well worth the extra £12 supp per nt, The rooms were huge,the bed big enough for 6(and thats no lie)We did so many things in the 12 nts we were there,Jungle treks,(try spot the yellow bird!) and the most enjoyable had to be the orangutans(we went four times it was breathtaking and my partner even managed to feed a boby one with a bottle)The food excellent and to a very high standard drinks are very expensive at around £5-6 for a beer,entertainment very low key so if you are looking for nightclubs this will not be the holiday for you! We were in bed most nights for 11pm-12 as with alot of the excursions you are up at 6-7am,we stopped in singapor on both ways(we met a couple whom had not and done the full journey 20hrs from uk and they said they wished they had booked a stopover so I would advise this very much) We have booked to go back already in march it's that good! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Loved it !

I stayed at the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort in Dec 03 & Jan 04. I was in the Tanjung wing of the hotel which was fantastic. Fresh, modern, large rooms with great attention to detail. I was made very welcome by all the staff at the hotel and found the food to be superb, especially the breakfast buffet. Travelling from the hotel to tourist spots all over the island, including flight arrangments was so easy. The hotel facilities were clean and excellent although the private beach was a little small. The buzz of the Chinese New Year events happening in the hotel gave a great atmosphere. Boat trips across to several small uninhabited islands, which can be seen from room balconeys and the sunset bar are very cheap and well worth it especially if you like snorkling. Borneo is a great holiday destination and finishing my holiday off in this hotel seemed to wrap the whole experience up nicely.

Great place, mixed feelings about hotel

Visited the hotel in may 2003.

Our room was in the Kinabalu Wing because the Tanjung Wing was being renovated. The Kinabalu wing decor is now beginning to show it's age, with stains on the carpet & furniture etc, but I believe the plan was to renovate this wing next, so perhaps it's already began.

Food excellent at the beach bar, staff great, drinks expensive but they do have happy hours. Beach was a disappointment, but do try the sunset bar in the evenings, took some of the most fantastic pictures here.

The hotel is close to the airport and the town of KK which is great for shopping and getting to see a bit of local culture. The hotel has frequent shuttle buses running into KK town and the other shangri-la hotel on the island.

A must, when you are here, is to visit the orangutans, it's the most amazing experience.