Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa

We stayed in this hotel for the first 12 nights of our honeymoon and it was excellent. I don't think we've stopped raving about it and Borneo in general since we came back (september).

Rooms- we stayed in the Kinabalu Wing, on the club floor, sea view. The room was a good size, modern and very comfortable, with fresh fruit and a lovely view from the balcony. We had rose petals on our bedspread which was a nice touch. The bathroom had a glass window/wall looking out to the bedroom and on to the sea, which was great, but it did mean you had to close the blinds if you were going to the toilet! One thing which we loved was the turndown service, so when you came back from dinner your little slippers were by your bed, with the bedside lights on and the bed looking inviting! A small thing, but made all the difference!

Kinabalu Club Floor- absolutely 100% worth the upgrade. I wanted to do this as it was our honeymoon, and thought it didn't matter if we didn't use all the stuff that came with it. But in the end, the cakes are very welcome in the afternoon, after all. It was great to have soft drinks all day. I think having breakfast in the club lounge is almost worth the price alone. The view from the balcony is superb and it is relaxing; the drinks and snacks in the evening are fabulous, the only complaint there is that we sometimes filled up and had to wait until later to be hungry for dinner! The staff in the club lounge were absolutely faultless. They were not just polite, but genuinely friendly and kind. I would like to mention Johnny in particular who once brought me out a piece of my favourite cake when we missed it! Second to none service here.

All restaurants in the resort were good- but our favourite was Coco Joes, if only because you could hear the waves and sit right by the water. That's what I want from a tropical holiday! Food good all round- surprisingly good Bruschetta! Don't eat at the hotel every night as there are so many nice restaurants in KK and even at the food hall, just a walk along the beach or the road.

The sunset bar was lovely, they could perhaps put more staff on here as it did take a while to get a drink. But we saw the best sunsets we had ever seen here.

The pools are nice, one seems to be more for kiddies which is fine. Neither are massive but to be honest, there is so much to do in Borneo you are unlikely to be lounging round day after day.

We went to Sepilok, a trip of a lifetime. We heard one person complaining that it was rubbish and there weren't good viwes. True, you get a far better orangutan encounter at the Rasa Ria. But we wanted to see Sepilok to see the older ones and to see the work they do to help rehabilitate them. We took it as a visit to a rehabilitation centre rather than a viewing 'zoo'. You cannot fail to fall in love with the orangutans themselves.

I recommend the Kinabatangan River trip, overnight, which was the highlight. We saw a crocodile, monkeys, snakes, and a wild orangutan among other things. We will never forget the morning mists over the jungle.

The Klias wetlands trip is great as well, although I did see a massive spider in the toilets at the jetty! Got to expected I suppose!

Personally we preferred this to the Rasa Ria as it was more handy for trips and town. Not a huge difference in the hotel style etc either. There is a shuttle bus between the two so you can use both facilities if you want.

The hotel is highly recommended and Borneo would be the place I would come back to if I had weeks to live.

Great hotel, best advice though is to upgrade to a club room as you get unlimited soft drinks in the club lounge during the day and free drinks and canapes in the evening from 5-7pm. Plus they serve breakfast in there and so you don't have to have breakfast with the whole hotel. Makes it a little more intimate, so great if you're a couple but not so good if your a family as kids are not allowed in the evening. Rooms are nice, well appointed with balcony, service excellent and friendly. Hotel is 10-mins from airport, town 5-mins in a cab. Great views and plenty to do, however book for activities when you get there as they get booked up. Beach is lovely, true picture postcard and plenty of places to chill out away from the other guests. Overall, one of the best hotels I've stayed in and I work in the travel industry, so says a lot.

We stayed at the Tanjung Aru for seven nights after four nights at the Rasa Ria (and three on a tour). The hotel is very convenient for the airport, though you never hear the noise during your stay.

The welcome was wonderful, the staff very friendly and attentive. We were told about the upgrade to the Kinabalu Club, which we decided to take (200 ringitts per night), although it was in no way a 'hard sell' - you were able to say no if you wanted. The upgrade was, in our opinion, well worth it, and it helped make our stay. The view from our room was awesome, of the beautiful islands and the room itself was huge, with a great bathroom, and all the extras you could need (free safe, bathrobes, slippers etc.). There were also nice touches like the turndown service and a paper left in your room. The club lounge has a lovely breakfast buffet, with a choice of hot and cold buffet, as well as a menu with waffles, omlettes, french toast etc you could choose from. In addition, there are free drinks every night 5-7, perfect for a pre dinner beer! Wine is also included, which was great as wine in general is pretty expensive. The staff were great, and nothing was too much trouble, with one helping us to get in contact with a tour operator regarding a trip we had booked.

The pool area is great and there are lots of sunloungers. We didnt venture onto the beach, which is not as impressive as the one at the Rasa Ria. However, the Tanjung Aru does have the proximity to Kota Kinabalu, and we had some good trips into the city, bargain hunting (the souvenirs are much cheaper than at the hotel shops) and also for food at the Waterfront area.

The restaurants are good at the hotel, especially the Coco Joe's BBQ, and we enjoyed a nice (if not expensive) meal at Peppino's, but on the whole the choice was probably better at the Rasa Ria (but I suppose it depends what you like!) At both the quality was excellent.

We also had fun using the facilities such as pitch and putt and I had a great massage and facial at the spa - again not cheap, but amazing - you have your own private bungalow by the sea, where you can also take a turkish bath - beautiful.

From the hotel, we did a number of trips to the islands, to Kinabalu Park and white water rafting, all of which we organised ourselves, though there are tour operators on site. Overall, this is a beautiful and luxurious hotel to come back to after a hard days sight seeing!

What can I say, Shangri La Tanjung Aru was amazing. We stayed here for 5 nights in September 2008 and we stayed in a Kinabalu Seaview Room which we had upgraded to. It is worth paying a little extra to stay in the Kinabalu wing as it is newer and seems to be a little further away from the pool etc so seemed more peaceful.

We originally were given a ground floor room in this wing and I requested to change as there was no sea view being on the ground floor, any view was blocked with palm trees!! We were then moved to the fourth floor and had a great view, the only thing I would say is that the ground floor room was a good couple of feet longer than the rooms on other floors, so if you dont mind ground floor you do gain some extra space!! Both rooms we stayed in were absolutely beautiful, the bed was so comfy!! The turn down service is also a lovely touch!!

We eat on the resort a few times and all of the food that we has was of a very high standard, I would deffinately recommend the Italian "Peppino's", the food and service was outstanding! We also went to the Cocktail bar at Sunset and this is a really beautiful thing to do, the view is spectaular! It is expensive to eat and drink on resort, the prices are very much on a par with eating out in the UK. On other nights we eat off resort either by going into KK by taxi which is RM15 each way or we walked along the beach in the direction of the airport and there are loads of little hawker style restuarants that you can eat in very cheaply, dont be put off, the food was brilliant and most dishes were in the region of RM5-6.

If you decide to go into KK there are loads of great restaurants on the waterfront, most of them at really reasonable prices, we tried an Indian called "Kohinoor" which was lovley and I cant remember the name but we also ate at a Noodle place close to the Indian and they did the best Chicken Satay that I had had all holiday!

The facilities are great at the hotel, we never had a problem locating a Sunbed, we never used the beach as it is very small and we prefer the pool. We did take a trip out to the Islands and this is worth doing both for the beaches and also the snorkelling. I also went parasailing and I think that this cost me RM180 for 15mins, it is woth doing as the views are spectacular.

We also did the trip to the Sister Resort Rasa Ria to see the Orang Utangs, this is an amazing thing to do, you can take the hotel shuttle bus. When we arrived at The Rasa Ria I was very glad that we were staying at Tanjung Aru as I thought that the entrance wasnt as beautiful and also whilst the beach is lovely the hotel didnt feel as spacious. The Rasa Ria resort is also very isolated and you have to eat on resort.

I will deffinately be heading back to Shangri La Tanjung when I next go back to Borneo.

We have just returned from a 10 day stay at STAR. My husband and I travelled with our small children (ages 2 & 4) and my sister. We had requested two adjoining rooms and a cot, for our family. Plus, a room close to ours for my sister. We had also requested a room near ground level away from the nightclub.

On arrival, we were offered a welcome drink as our rooms were not ready. However, after 20 minutes we were taken to our Mountain View rooms. Although less impressive than the other side, the rooms were very clean and spacious. All our requests were met except we were on level four, a little higher than I had hoped. The rooms were recently refurbished and I must say the room cleaners were excellent always stocking up supplies and leaving the room prefect each and every time.

The poolside and activities were well organized and kept the children and adults busy. Joining in was never a problem and we always felt welcome. The kids club was cleaner than any facility I have been to in Australia. I even watched the ladies clean the outdoor playground. My children always felt comfortable and free to explore the kids club and play anytime. It even has a lovely lounge for the parents to sit and relax and you can buy a coffee/cold drink next door at the gift shop.

The breakfast buffet was lovely and always fresh. We would sit outside and eat whilst watching the kids play in the playground. One day we stretched our breakfast out for 2 hours!!

I can’t say enough about this hotel and its facilities for young children. Each day Rohan, a staff member, would dress up and visit the children by the pool. My daughter would look forward to seeing him each day. All the staff were friendly towards us all and the kids pool area was well shaded and close to changing and toilet facilities. Two of my friends are already booking their next vacation at STAR.

The only complaint I do have is the price of the hotel food. I knew this before booking the hotel but was still amazed once we got there. We did, however, over time find ways to get around it buy buying meals outside the hotel and stocking up on snacks. Definitely, visit Sunny’s supermarket on arrival to stock up on drinks, beer and nibbles. We took vegemite and peanut paste from home and went out and bought fresh bread every few days to keep the kids happy. We are quite fussy eaters so we didn’t find too many restaurants in Sabah city however we did eat at Kenny Rogers and Little Italy and found them both clean and tasty.

We had a fantastic family holiday and would come back to this hotel again.

Just spent 5 fabulous days at the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru. We upgraded to the Kinablu Club and it was well worth it. The staff at the Kinablu Club are excellent and can't do enough for you. We had breakfast, high tea and evening drinks at the Club and I must say they had a fantastic array of finger foods, both at high tea and evening drinks (everything included in price of the upgrade). Again at breakfast there was so much to pick from - even the fussiest person is catered for.

The Hotel itself is superb. All staff from cleaners, porters, receptionists upwards are very well trained, friendly and helpful. Rooms were very spacious and clean. Fresh bottled water is supplied each day. The grounds, pools, etc are all very well maintained. There are plenty of activities to keep you occupied, or you can just laze around and totally chill out in beautiful surroundings. See the Beach Bums for any water sports you want to try as well as organising trips to several of the nearby islands.

The town centre (plenty of shopping malls) is only a short taxi ride away (cost is 15 ringitts). Taxis are available at any time from the hotel entrance.

We will definitely be going back to the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru

We stayed here for five nights in April and were so pleased we did. Check in was smooth and we were asked if we wanted to upgrade to a suite. We asked to look at both and the room we had booked was fab but the suite had two bathrooms, a separate living room/dining room and a huge balcony. It also included breakfast and all the laundry we wanted doing. After travelling for a few days we welcomed this. We are glad we took this as there wasn't anywhere else handy to have breakfast and it was fairly expensive in the hotel.

The breakfast was vast and a choice of everything you could reasonably want for breakfast. Again the service was faultless.

The pool is large with lots and lots of sunbeds. There are many areas around the resort if you don;t want to sit by the pool and there was always plenty of space. This may have been because the hotel was not full, it's difficultto say as it was so large with so many sitting, drinking, eating areas, perhaps being full wouldn't make that much difference.

The bar and food service was great but a bit slow. I don't think for one minute that this was bad service, just done a little bit slower than other parts of the world.

The public areas as well as our room were kept amazingly clean and the only fault I would have with this hotel was the price of drinks. They were about four or five times dearer than the beach bar just ten minutes up the road from the hotel. If you go out of the front and turn right, and along to the food/night market area, it's a really nice bar. The food is excellent there too. We ate for about £1- £2 per night each.

We got a cab into Koto Kinabula one evening to eat. Please be careful. There was a large area with dozens of restaurants and tables, chairs where you are accosted every two feet and presented with a menu with hardly any prices. The only price was the soup which was twice as dear as the meals at the beach bar. We asked about the lack of prices and were greeted with a shoulder shrug and a plate of peanuts which we were charged £2 for. Needless to say we refused to pay and left the exact money for the two beers we had. Then we got a cab back to the beach bar. I doubt that we were the first people this happened to.

The absolute best thing about our stay in Borneo was our trip to the Orangutan rehabilitation centre in Sandakan. This was amazing and probably the best memory of any holiday.

We have serioulsy thought about going back to this hotel but it is a long way from England. and five nights was definatley just about right for us. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it and doubt anyone will be disappointed with it.

My wife and I have just returned to NZ after spending 14 fabulous nights at this resort. From our arrival and check in to our departure everything was perfect for us. We stayed in a Kinabalu Seaview room on the 4 th floor. The view from the room and balcony was just amazing. The room etc was modern and spacious. It included a safety deposit safe. We have stayed in a number of hotels Bali, Thailand and Malaysia and found this 5 star hotel the best of all. The buffet breakfast provided everything and more. The staff throughout the resort were always friendly and helpful. We ate a number of times at Coco Jo's, although a little expensive the food was delicious. The drinks are also a little on the high side 23 ringett for a can of tiger beer. We never had a problem finding a space by the pool and enjoyed the daily visit by Rohan who dressed up each day in a theme costume eg Penguin, Ostrich, Monkey. Plenty of pool area for kids. Town is a 15 minute taxi ride 15 ringett each way. There are other suitable and cheaper eating places just down the road from the resort, a 5 minute taxi ride or a walk of 15 min (bit hot for that) There was a culture show on the night we went. These large restaurants are on the Tanjung Aru beach which links to the hotel. There is a 7 eleven store, about 8 min taxi ride to the Tanjung Aru Plaza, also a bit further (2 min walk from 7 eleven store) a local shopping area where I found the cheapest buying eg can of Tiger beer 4 ringett, and a little further down again a supermarket called "Sunny" which has everything including clothing upstairs. We did the trip to the Rasa Ria to visit the Orangutanns, this was well worthwhile. We would have no hesitation recommending this resort.

This resort has lovely rooms, excellent service, and beautiful grounds. The pool has a volleyball net and there is a ping pong table nearby, so we spent a lot of time at the hotel playing outside. The breakfast is excellent and the buffet dinner is also delicious (but expensive). The only downside to this hotel is that it is not located near the downtown area, so you have to take a taxi if you want to go anywhere. However, the resort is so nice that you might not want to leave. If you are looking for a big beach area, this hotel does not have one. The beach area is very small, but there is a public beach nearby (I didn't go there so I don't know how it is). I think the service and the resort landscape are the best parts of this hotel.

We stayed at the luxurious Shangri-La Tanjung Aru resort for three nights on the final part of our tour of Borneo.

The resort is spread out over a large area and situated right on a beach. The airport is only a short drive away.

We had a Kinabalu Seaview rooms that overlooked part of the golfcourse and the beach with its tiny inviting off-short islands. The room was absolutely huge and extremely comfortable.

We travelled in to Kota Kinabalu one evening for a delicious Chinese meal, but the actual town itself wasn't particularly attractive and didn't tempt you to wander around after dark.

We ate in the hotel's Italian restaurant one evening and had a lovely Malaysian meal on the remaining evening.

Drinks in the bar were so expensive we tended to walk along the small road that ran parallel to the beach where there were several open-air shacks serving beer and food that were ridiculously cheap.

We didn't spend any time sitting by the pool as we were too busy sightseeing, but would recommend getting up at dawn and sitting by the pool for the stupendous sunrise over Mount Kinabalu. This we experienced by chance, as we had to be up early to catch a 6:30am flight to Sandakan. There is also a wonderful view of the mountain from the plane en route to Sandakan.

The orang-utang santuary at Sandakan should be a compulsory trip for anyone staying here, even though the day is extremely tiring. The trip there will remain in your memory for a lifetime.

We also had a wonderful day at Kinabalu National Park and the park headquarters where the vast variety of pitcher plants and other wierd and wonderful species not found anywhere else in the world will fascinate.

If you have time, take a trip out to one of the off-shore islands - we picked Sapi. A local boat from the beach outside the hotel will whisk you there in half an hour. It's worth noting that the beach outside the hotel is not particularly nice.

A fantastic destination.

We stayed at STAR (ShangriLa Tanjung ARu) from 30 July to 8th August and had an absolutely wonderful holiday, I can definately recomend this resort in terms of facilities, quality and staff friendliness, especially if you are travelling with kids.

My husband and I and 2 year old daughter stayed in an Executive Suite in the Tanjung wing which was absolutely huge! Two bathrooms, two TV's, lounger & dining area all beautifully appointed.

Our friends with their 2 children aged 2 and 4 stayed in a Seaview room and also found the quality of accomodation excellent.

Our rate included breakfast which was a massive buffet with excellent food. Normally the quality of food is compromised at buffets but this was not the case with almost anything you could imagine on offer.

The kids club was fantastic and you can also borrow bikes to ride around the resort on. Pools are great!

The only thing I would say is try to have your breakfast included in the rate and then go outside of the hotel for other meals as prices are a bit steep. First beach is only a 5 minutes walk along the beach front and you will find well priced beer, cocktails and asian/seafood and italian restaurants. Pina Coladas at first beach about 13-16 MYR ($5 AUD). Yum!

Make sure you get over to one of the islands to go snorkelling...

Please feel free to ask me any questions as I researched the trip allot on trip advisor and am happy to pass on all I have learnt! ENJOY!

We stayed in the Kinablu Wing in a Deluxe room and upgraded to the Kinabalu Club.

Our room was spacious and pretty much immaculate with a very good sea view. Having upgraded to the Kinabalu Club we were able to enjoy a complimentary buffet breakfast, afternoon tea and cakes, soft drinks throughout the day and a two hour happy hour in the afternoon with free drinks and snacks all in 6th floor lounge area with balcony and views across the South China Sea. We were also allowed half an hour of complimentary internet access each day which was handy for checking on email from friends while we were away as well as fresh fruit in our room.

Our room came with the usual bits and pieces you’d expect from a resort of this calibre (mini-bar, room safe, TV etc) plus the option of complimentary DVD rental should you fancy a quiet evening in your room.

The beach area is fairly small but was clean and sandy and there was only one occasion when we were unable to find free loungers but there was always plenty of room around the pools. The hotel grounds are large and very well kept and all of the staff were very polite, professional and helpful when called upon.

The resort offers a number of restaurants and those that we ate in provided a wide variety of food that we were more than satisfied with. The lunches that we ate from the grill near the poolside were usually in huge portions that we’d struggle to finish (not that we’re complaining) so if you’re only looking for a small snack you may find that one meal between two is enough.

You can book tickets on a shuttle bus from here to the sister resort, Shangri La Rasa Ria, at the resort reception. The journey takes between forty-five minutes and an hour. Our chief reason for taking this journey was that the Rasa Ria has a nature reserve where, for a relatively small fee, you are able to view a number of young Orang-utan being rehabilitated. The Orang-utan are looked after here for about three years before moving onto the well known Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre. For us it was a far better option than a long and expensive trip to Sepilok given that we were already going on to the Danum Valley later. If money and time are limited and you have your heart set on seeing some Orang-utan then I’d definitely recommend booking the shuttle bus.

The resort is just on the other side of the airport so takes about 10 minutes to reach by taxi. Don’t be put off by the proximity to the airport though as we didn’t notice any traffic noise during our stay there, it’s just very convenient if you want to start your holiday as soon as possible after arrival.

All in all we were very pleased with the resort and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. If we were ever in a position to afford it again I’m sure we’d go back.

I just recently returned after spending 5 days at the Tanjung Aru. I was travelling with my wife and 11 year old daughter and we were all very impressed with this lovely hotel. We arrived at about 6.00 p.m. and were greeted warmly and check in went very smoothly. We had no trouble changing our room from the second floor of the Kinabalu wing to the 4th floor to maximise the fantastic view.

We were very impressed with the beautiful gardens of the hotel as well as its facilities. The rooms were very well furnished and the cleaning staff did an excellent job.

Coco Joe's restaurant near the pool was a very relaxing place to have a meal and the views across to the islands were stunning. We did find ( as expected) the cost of drinks to be absurdly high.

We were somewhat disappointed with the buffet breakfast during our stay. We felt the whole breakfast experience was a bit chaotic. I understand the resort was running at about 95-98% occupancy at the time and this obviously contributed to the noisy, rushed atmosphere at breakfast. We found that quite a few of the hot dishes were actually very cold and were not replaced. There seemed to be plenty of staff and all appeared reasonably busy but each morning our used breakfast plates and cups would remain on our tables for long periods and were often not removed unless we asked for them to be removed.

This was the only real negative aspect of our stay. We did find that because the resort was so full it was a bit of a challenge to secure a pool side sun lounge. However, there were plenty of sun beds in various parts of the gardens and service for drinks and food was very good.

We chose to eat out most nights and found some lovely food places about ten minutes walk back past the Yacht Club. The meals were great and a fraction of the cost of the meals in the resort.

The trip across to Sapi island was well worthwhile and there were plenty of lovely fish to see and feed. We took several bread rolls from breakfast and used them to attract large numbers of fish. The parasailing from the resort was great fun.

Overall, I would suggest the Tanjung Aru is close to being a five star resort, with five star views but the overall service, particularly breakfast staff was not yet five star standard.

It is a lovely place and is I recommend you give it a try.

Just spent a week at this hotel and it was fabulous. Upgrading to the kinabalu club was well worth it as the club lounge was one of the only air conditioned areas apart from rooms ,and a couple of restaurants. You could escape there at any time of the day for a cool drink or coffee and a cake. During the happy hour in the evening there were so many snacks to choose from you could almost do without dinner. Be warned if the men appear in shorts they will be asked to wear a sarong ( only applies in the evening). The hotel beach wasn't that good and most people stuck to the pool, jellyfish a problem too. A trip to the offshore islands is a must although they hype Sapi island up as being the nicest we preferred Manukan for the snorkelling. Get a picnic from the hotel but one is enough for two people . Hire of snorkel and fins etc costs the same on the island as at the hotel so save yourself the bother of carrying them on the boat. Taxis really cheap 15 ringitt into town. Went to the orang utan centre at the Rasa Ria, nice pool there. Good experience seeing the orang utans but very very hot. Do it in the morning if you can then you will have time for the pool after, we did it the other way round.

We just returned from this hotel, which was my third wonderful stay with them. The hotel has a standard of service and cleanliness which is hard to fault. The Cafe Tatu staff even remembered us from our previous visit. The Kids Club is really well run, and offered a good range of activities.

We bought soft drinks from Beach Bums just down the jetty, as the Hotel prices were (predictably) ridiculous. The Beach Bums boat rides over to Sapi Island for snorkelling is a lovely family day out, and fairly reasonable. The Sunday Gaya Street markets is also great fun. We went to the Rasa Ria to say hello to the orang utans, which was excellent, but we feel this hotel is not of the same standard as the Tanjung Aru - the property seemed dated & the pool was particularly overcrowded.

Breakfasts were excellent & we never had any trouble being seated. We did the dinner buffet a couple of times (easier sometimes with kids in tow) and particularly loved the array of desserts. The newly refurbed Kinabalu Wing is great (we had rooms 9408/9409) but I haven't seen Tanjung Wing so can't compare. Overall this Hotel is immaculatey presented but not at all intimidating. Very comfortable, relaxing atmosphere.

Sabah is an amazing place to go to. The Tanjung Aru is pricey but worth every penny. Room service is good but drinks are expensive in the bars. The staff were fantastic and nothing was too much trouble. Breakfast in Cafe Tatu was good as is early room service when you are catching a plane. Beach Bums are good for booking trips, we did Poring Hot Springs, enjoyable but a very long day, Menkabong and Monosopiad (very enjoyable but do not arrange to have pots sent to you after your visit to make them, they never arrive!) We really enjoyed our trip to Sandakan, we arranged it ourselves and got excellent service. The Orang Utans are great but the trip out to Labuk Bay to see the proboscis monkeys was unforgetable. We also did a river trip rather than the road trip out to Sukau, this was fantastic, we should have stayed another night to see more, night cruises are a must. We visited the Rasa Ria to see the Orang Utans again which was worth the trip but we were glad we had stayed at the Tanjung as it is very isolated.

We cannot wait to go back.

We have stayed at a number of Shangri La hotels and would like to say that this was our best experience so far.

We reserved the Kinabalu Wing sea front rooms and were pleased that we had chosen this. The view was fantastic and it was a pleasure to sit on the balcony and watch the world go by. Check in was extremely smooth with the staff doing their usual thing by placing us in really comfy chairs whilst they organised the paperwork etc. We arrived at 11.30am and were provided a room immediately.

The hotel staff (restaurant and front of house) were all extremely friendly, knowledgeable and generally warm and thoughful. We could not have asked for a nicer experience and felt very confident going around the city in taxies (very easy to agree a price - and you don't have to haggle and worry about being ripped off like in other places where there are unmetered taxies).

The resort has great facilities and a lovely swimming pool area. We felt that the Asian food here was not as authentic (it has been diluted to accomodate a blander palate) but it was easy enough to go into the Kota Kinabalu city centre to sample the local cuisine.

The rooms are beautifully appointed and housekeeping were extremely efficient. We would definitely return to this hotel when we revisit the area again.

This is really a great hotel with excellent facilities and location. The hotel has great pool, gym and spa facilities and has its own ferry service to the local islands which are simply stunning. The rooms are of a good size and are of high standards. Staff are extremely helpful and friendly. The hotel is located about 15 minutes by taxi from the city centre which is no problem at all. Its easy and cheap to get to, only 15 ringets (£3 approx). Would certainly recommend this as a great place to stay and has a complimentary shuttle to its sister hotel which is stunning as well!

Tanjung Aru was the perfect location for us. As a single woman, travelling with a male work colleague (seperate rooms people) - we just wanted somewhere to relax away from KL for the weekend. KK and the Tanjung Aru offered just that. It's set up really well for families and kids - but it worked really well for a us too suprisingly! The rooms were great: clean, beachy, roomy, a little luxurious and with all the little bits and pieces you need. There was a little deck outside the room, from which you could see the sea & islands - what more could you ask for! Have to say, the little extras really made the difference to make it oh-so-special: the lavender shampoo/conditioner/body lotion was divine; and I just loved the way the hotel gave you a bucket of ice daily. Perfect...

The nightclub in the hotel is the "in" place for local KK folk, trendy and dressed up people were abundant; unexpected for the beachy/paradise feel the resort had. Loved it though and we were rocking out to deep-house with the guest DJ every night.

The Sunset Bar was unavailable due to functions while we were there - but, the hotel thoughtfully relocated the 'bar' to the beach so patrons could still relax and watch the sunset with sand between their toes. No word of a lie, I took around 20 photos of the sun setting inbetween slurps of my cocktail. The famous sunsets from Tanjung Aru do not let you down!

Daytime activities at the hotel are abundant. For us, instead of piling onto a boat with a load of other people, we rented a speed boat from the jetty (part of the hotel) to take us on a couple of private tours. Really, we just wanted to play it by ear, rather than being stuck on a day long excursion. It cost around RM 200 per hour - and I can not say how much I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this...we packed a few beers (purchased from the very handy hotel shop) and sped around the place. This method of sightseeing is very liberating: we stopped and jumped in the water when WE wanted. It was just awesome. It also helped that we had a great speed boat driver (Russell) who just picked up on our vibe straight away (ie laid back, cruisey). It was paradise diving into crystal clear waters and doing a bit of snorkelling and then kicking back on the boat.

One good thing about the resort, is it's big enough for you to get away from everyone. One day I was really hung-over from the hotel nightclub that night (the friendly locals drank me under the table!) -and even with the kids, families around the place - I still managed to find myself a secluded spot on a deck chair under a coconut tree to sleep off the night before.

Food: the resort's buffet breakfast is simply awesome. They had a noodle station, fresh roti station, egg station and muesli station all at breakfast - not to mention all the local fare and the usual beans, chicken sausages / beef bacon you tend to get in hotels in this part of the world. I would go back just for the breakfast alone. Great value.

Another nice thing about the resort is the Health Club (great gym, spa and sauna). It also offers an affordable alternative to the high priced massages in the main resort spa (the main spa is gorgeous though, but a little over priced) - a full bodied massage at the health club is well worth it. I get massages a lot, and this is one of the top ones I've ever had. She really knew her stuff, it wasn't just an airy-fairy rub-down.

Finally, aside from the friendly staff and general attractiveness of the resort (you know the way: manicured lawns, wood carvings in the hotel lobby from Sarawak and Sabah; ocean breezes and lovely views) - the other noteble thing about the Shangri Lah Tanjung Aru is the MONSTER BURGER at the poolside eatery.

This is a burger bigger than my head. Ordering one topped off a perfect weekend in this slice of heaven, with slices of burger heaven. The burger was so big that me and my mate had to cut it into quarters just to get it down our gobs (a normal person would have cut it into eights by the way).... It was some serious eating, and I had my doubts that we would be able to finish it.....if you go to Tanjung Aru you need to try it - just don't order it alone!

Shangi-Lah resort Tanjung Aru is suitable for everyone, it runs like a well oiled machine and beautifully set. From inital reviews it didn't seem appropriate for a couple of singles - but it was so much more.

The moment we stepped off the bus from the airport we felt like we were in paradise. We were welcomed by a "Borneo bong" and the sound of the traditional Malaysian beats.

We were told the Tanjung Aru had been recently renovated, and this was clear. Our room at the Tanjung Wing (ground floor garden view) was absolutely superb! Gorgeous furniture, amazing bathroom with big separate shower, and a huge comfy double bed.

The staff were very friendly, would always says hello even when just passing in the corridor. They were very organised and even knew of the 3 trips we had booked with different companies.

There were a variety of restaurants, reasonably priced (although much cheaper outside of the resort). The room service was excellent we had breakfast brought to our room every day to eat on the balcony. We are glad we did room only because we could eat and drink what we wanted when we wanted.

The pool was very large. We went parasailing which was great fun and a good way to see the whole resort. The beach is small but never busy, and very clean with lots of sun beds available around the resort (towels available free of charge).

We also found the Blue Note night club on the last night (walked passed it somehow every evening!!). On our first evening we went to the bar on the bay where there was cultural entertainment which we loved and set our holiday off to an amazing start.

As a guide we spent approx £50 per day for all our food and drinks for the 2 of us, this was all at the resort.

The town is 15 minutes on the shuttle bus which runs frequently throughout the day. If you are big alcohol fans we would advise doing this at the beginning of your holiday for some very cheap booze!

Overall we absolutely love the Tanjung, and would definitely go back again it was very relaxing. If we had to complain about anything it would be the expensive drinks and noisy children but neither ruined our time at the Tanjung Aru.

After staying here we went to the Rasa Ria for 6 nights, if we were to compare like to like (Garden rooms) we would definitely go back to the Tanjung as the Rasa Ria is in a desperate need of a face lift! (Ocean Wing is a amazing 6 star different story....)

We stayed at the STAR for 4 nights in May 2008. The hotel is just 10 minutes from the airport and from Kota Kinabalu in taxi, with the First Beach complex about 10 minutes walk away.

The hotel is stunning - a huge and very impressive reception, a koi garden between the room wings and very well kept grounds. We opted for a Tanjung Seaview room. The room was very contemporary with a very comfortable bed and everything you could need and expect of a hotel of this standard.

The hotel facilities were excellent with several bars and restaurants to choose from. The quality of the food was fantastic, particularly at Peppinos. There was everything you could possibly want at breakfast. Prices were similar to the UK, but this probably seems expensive compared to what you pay outside the resort.

The one thing that does let this hotel down is the service at reception. We arrived at about 3.30 to find that 2 of the 3 rooms we had booked were not ready, and we did not even get an apology for this - we were just told we had to wait. We had also prebooked a visit to the Orang Utan sanctuary at the Rasa Ria, but were not provided with any information when we went to confirm that it had been booked. For example, were were just told to get on the bus outside at 10.30 but were not told that we needed to purchase tickets at reception. We also asked if everything bought at the Rasa Ria could be put onto our room bill and were told yes, but they did not tell us that this did not include the sanctuary which needed to be paid for in cash. Luckily these minor points did not affect our stay significantly but for others they could ruin a wonderful hotel.

We have travelled to Malaysia many times & although it is a long journey we have always found it to be well worthwhile. This was our first visit to Borneo & will not be our last. We stayed 5 nights in Kuching & 17 pampered nights in KK. We upgraded to club on arrival, stayed in room 9523 facing the sea & beautiful islands. We found all the staff friendly & helpful. From the first time we came out of our room the housekeeping staff were calling us by name!

We cannot speak highly enough of Brian & his tean in the club lounge, nothing was too much trouble. For example, one day I mentioned that I had tasted Dragon fruit for the first time in Kuching & the next day one was in the fruit bowl in our room & it was included in the fruit selection each day after!!

Although the beach was small it was very clean & no sand flies unlike the Rasa Rai.

We will return for sure.

We stayed here for 5 full days for our honeymoon, and we wish we stayed longer! We paid 750 Ringgits per night for our Seaview room, and got complimentary breakfast, dinner and laundry service.

The staff were always so kind, friendly and helpful and spoke very good English and Chinese (one receptionist could also speak Korean). We are both well travelled, especially throughout Asia, and this is the best service we have ever received. We felt thoroughly spoiled from the beginning to the end of our time there.

Also there are so many things to do both on and off the resort that it is impossible to get bored. The resort has lots of sports and leisure facilities, and packs each day with many different kinds of classes and activites, ranging from Malay language and cookery classes to sports tournaments and 'behind the scenes' tours. If you want to get off the resort you can book a day trip or excursion with an on-resort travel agent. If you are feeling adventurous, you can just get a map of the town from the reception desk and hop in a taxi.

It would have been nice if they made up for the small beach with a bigger pool, but as it has been said before, the facilities more than make up for it.

I would recommend this resort to anyone for any purpose. An excellent all-rounder with unbeatable service.

We booked this hotel for a relaxing break and to get out of the cold and rain of Wales UK. We decided on having the upgrade of the Kinabalu Wing which included the use of the Club facilities for breakfast, afternoon tea and a 2 hour cocktail session every evening.

The whole experience was very special and well worth the extra expense. Our rooms were in the best position in the hotel with fabulous views over the sea and the coral islands. The service at the Club Lounge was wonderful. The staff could not be praised enough for the attention they lavished on us. The three senior staff - Brian, Beatrice and Linda were extremely professional and warranted the highest praise for their efforts to ensure our comfort and enjoyment.

The pool facilities and grounds were great with plenty of shaded areas and lots of space. There was never a problem with loungers however late you wandered into the pool areas. Plenty of relaxed activity around the pool - aerobics, various demonstations and classes but never anything that was noisy enough to disturb your afternoon nap!

It's a long flight from the UK but we would thoroughly recommend the trip. We would love to go back again as this is undoubtely the best hotel in the Borneo. It may lack a large beach but it makes up for that in so many other ways.

My wife and I stayed at the STAR from the 4th to the 16th of April. We booked a Kinabalu Club room after reading recommendations on TA. This turned out to be a good decision - the room was as close to perfect as possible, the view of Gaya and Sapi islands from the window took my breath every time I opened the curtains each morning. The room was well furnished, and comfortable. The bathroom was a good size with separate bath and shower, and the nice feature of the window where you could enjoy a view of the sea whilst soaking in the tub. Everything was scrupulously cleaned twice a day by the housekeeping staff, who were efficient and charming in equal measure.

The Kinabalu Club is really good. A nice place to enjoy breakfast, again with great views, open all day for complementary soft drinks, with cakes in the afternoon and the happy-hour session with snacks and drinks in the early evening. The staff in the club deserve special mention, helpful, friendly, polite, efficient - you get the idea.

The hotel has a tour agent near main reception - the ladies here are very helpful and knowledgeable. We booked trips to the Klias wetlands, Sepiloc Orang-utan rehabilitation centre, and we rented a car for a day and drove to the Kinabalu National Park. I would recommend all of these - the fireflies in the mangroves have to be seen to be believed, the Orangs are just great, and driving is really easy ( on the proper side of the road).

I also had a great day scuba diving - the dive guide was brilliant.

We were very sad to leave the STAR - loved it and would definitely recommend it.

We stayed here for five days last week. Overall, it is a good hotel and we enjoyed the stay.

Likes

the resort is well-kept and well maintained. We stayed in the Kinabalu wing which was renovated a year or so ago. The room was nice and fairly fresh and housekeeping service was good, though there was nothing "special" about the room and it was quite standard for a 4/5-star hotel. No DVD or music player in the room. The standard of finishes (particularly the tiling in the bathroom) was pretty ordinary -- the tradesmanship is not good The gardens were lovely and there was plenty of space. Hotel at just over 50% occupancy but it felt much less

the buffet breakfast was really excellent and changed every day. Fantastic array of foods, lovely service and well-stocked right up to closing time (none of this "we say we are open until 1030 but after 930 we don't bother filling anything up and after 10 o'clock start taking stuff away")

the foyer is impressive and the bar was lovely, though the piano there desperately needed tuning.

The blue note bar/club is a really nice and attractive facility -- the only club I have ever been to where the drinks are cheaper there than in the rest of the hotel. It was a pity that the place is pretty much always empty

Dislikes

quite a few little things

the beds were like concrete. Housekeeping were very helpful at trying to soften it up with a second quilt underneath the sheet, but it was still not great. My wife woke up with great big red patches on her hips from pressure every morning. In fairness, we have found this in a lot of Asian hotels.

Room service was painfully slow. We like to have a glass of wine as we're getting ready for dinner in our room and I took a couple of nice bottles with us, but forgot the corkscrew. The hotel wouldn't put a corkscrew in our room but insisted we call room service to have our bottle opened and each time it took well over half an hour to have the Cork pulled -really annoying

It was nice to hear the sound of the ocean lapping in the resort, but the sea itself is pretty muddy and unpleasant. There is a village on stilts a few hundred metres up the inlet, and I can't imagine that their sewage and refuse systems are particularly efficient....

Kota Kinabalu is 10 minutes or so away. An hourly or so shuttle bus into town would be a really helpful addition that there is no other option but taxi at 15MR each way.

Some of the outlet food and beverages were very ordinary (but pretty pricey). the pool bar veggie burger was a triumph of Bland over taste and the Sunset Bar cocktails we tried were terrible but the same cocktails in the blue note bar were great.

We had booked a package which included a day trip to the orangutans which left very early in the morning. Our tour operator told us to get breakfast in the room as it was before the restaurant opened and it would not be charged. I rang reception to confirm this and was told it was correct, ordered the breakfast and of course........ was charged. They were quick to remove it from the Bill at checkout though.

Overall though we did enjoy the stay and found the staff generally to be very pleasant and helpful with fairly good English

Had an overall nice experience in Shangri La Tanjung Aru late October 2008. As a family of 4 we opted for a executive suite in the Kinabalu wing. This whilst offering all the comforts a the club facilities (a must add on) did not quite meet our expectations due to the size of the small living area in where our kids had to share a rather small sofa bed. Overall the service quality was good although as mentioned in some previous reviews the breakfast at cafe tatu in the morning was a scrum and waiting staff struggled to handle the crowds and demands for coffee and tea (again upgrade to the club and have breakfast up there) General facilites were good although the dive centre was poor.

worth a 7/10

Just returned after a week at the Tanjung Aru. The hotel is efficiently run and well presented. Staff are courteous,willing and friendly. We upgraded to the Kinabalu Club. I would certainly recommend doing so as it is excellent value for money. We paid an extra 150MR per night in total,approx. £25 at the then rate of exchange. Other reviews have stated the benefits received by Kinabalu Club members,so I shall not repeat them.

It may be more helpful if I said why I only give this resort 4 stars and not 5. To my mind,a hotel does not deserve 5 stars just because it is efficient and the staff are friendly. That is what hotels are supposed to do ! It's the details that are important in this regard,and that is where I had a few reservations. Firstly,the pool is advertised as being open from 0700hrs every day. In fact,the deep pool never (and I mean that) opened before 1000hrs. It was cleaned for two hours prior to 1000hrs. No objection to cleaning the pool obviously,just to the timing. The temperature at about 0900hrs is 30Cand very humid,so getting in the pool is almost a necessity ! Secondly,bearing in mind there are three pools and a paddling pool;why cannot the deep pool be for swimmers (of whatever age). Too often,parents with little toddlers would bring their rubber rings,etc..and proceed to push their babies around in the deep end. The result was that swimmers were restricted in how they could swim. Thirdly,service by the pool for drinks etc.. was poor to non existent.

Finally,there is the issue of prices in the restaurants. These are exorbitant. We never ate at the hotel. One or two previous reviews have said that the prices were acceptable because that's what one would pay at home in the UK. The point is that it is not the UK ,but a developing nation. Would you get a loan from a bank in the UK and pay an APR of,say,500% on the justification that the loan sharks in a country halfway around the world charged that rate ?

I do not wish to end on a sour note. Overall,we enjoyed our stay at the TA and would recommend it provided the above caveats were borne in mind.

Just 10 mins from airport, the recently renovated rooms are beautiful, from there, can watch the fantastic sunset. Friendly staff. Unfortunately, there is practically no sandy beach in front of the hotel. The sandy beach is just 70m long! The other sides are full of rocks. That said, you can easily take a scheduled boat ride (45MR return, 15mins journey, once an hour) to the 5 islands in front of the hotel. I saw nemos that are 10cm long! The corals are beautiful too (just snornel, no need to dive to see these, I was at Sapi island).

One recommendation, no need to pre-book the hotel limo, it is around 70 (or 80 MR), just go to the taxi counter at the airport, and the fare to the hotel is just 20MR.

Sought out this resort for a relaxing 10 night stay after a 2 week visit to UK and Europe. One of the main reasons for selecting this part of the world was access to the Orang-utans (great experience had). Pre-booked a Tanjung Executive Seaview Suite direct with hotel a couple of months earlier as travel agents and hotel website could only offer the standard array of rooms/packages. The suite offered much more in living space/luxury than other rooms available since our aim was to spend quality time in the resort rather than adventuring out all day/everyday.

We had some initial doubts about selecting this resort after reading some previous Trip Advisor contributors that the resort was a regional hub for chaotic people with young families and the noisy downside that goes with it. This sometimes turned out correct particularly with the "breakfast scrum" at Cafe Tatu buffet and poolside afterwards. Solace can be achieved by strategic selection of seating. Resort appeared heavily booked during the first half of our stay but tapered off before we left - perhaps its "seasonal" . Service from the meal staff ranged from non existent to superb.

Having said that, the food was good - particularly Peppino's (Italian) and Coco Joe's (seafood). The room was very clean, well appointed and comfortable. The resort location, gardens and sunset views were excellent. Chi spa was indulgent which we highly recommended (not cheap though).

All in all we finished up having a great and relaxing time at Tanjung Aru.

Despite the years that have passed by we still remember for positive reasons the days we have passed at this nice hotel. The pool scene was very good. The pools restaurant and the sunset bar. What did disapointed us was the beach, as it was artificial and was infested by alforrecas. By then it had 2 different wings and we have stayed at the older one, which we remember for the big rooms despite very old fashioned.

Stayed in the Kinabalu Wing and used the club facility in September 08.

This was a much better part of the hotel to stay at for those wanting some peace and quiet as it's a little further from all of the activities etc. The rooms are excellent and what you'd expect for a 5 star hotel. We stayed in a suite which was lovely and quiet. Staff were very nice and helpful. We did have a few issues with our room/package but they were sorted out eventually.

I was a little disappointed with the beach, it was pretty small but at the time of year that we were there it wasn't too crowded so it wasn't such a big deal.

The restaurants in the hotel are fantastic, I would recommend Peppino's (and the quattro dessert!) The staff were so lovely. The same for the Shang Palace. I am a strict Vegetarian and have to be very picky with standard menu's but this was not a problem and the staff went out of their way to accommodate me and made me feel that nothing was a problem - better service and understanding that you would get in the UK :)

We done the Oran-Utan trip to Rasa Ria which was good but very crowded. If wildlife is something that you are really interested in the Rasa Ria may be a better choice for you as there's lots of different options there. If you want to see more of the Oran-Utan's then I would suggest that you do one of the full day tours. We seen them for about 15minutes during feeding time

We didn't spend much time in the town of KK, it wasn't that nice from what we seen but the hotel has everything you need! The hotel is very close to the town and the airport so that's very handy!

Before we went, we couldn't decide between this hotel and the Rasa Ria. Once there, we felt we chose the best one for us. We visited the Rasa Ria for one day (to go to the sanctuary) and felt that it was much more of a "resort" hotel with loads more children, pool area was packed and we had trouble finding sun loungers. At the Tanjung, the pool area felt much quieter and we never had problems finding beds by the pool. There is a beach, which is fairly small and man-made but our three children spent many happy hours on it and again there were always empty loungers. Excellent facilities for children, although kid's club only really suitable for toddlers. Everywhere was spotlessly clean and we found the food to be very good in all the restaurants. Service did tend to be slow but always very friendly. Spa facilities were excellent. Went into the town one night and it really felt like a place for back-packers ie didn't see any other European families with children. We flew over to Sandakan to see the orangutangs and spend a night on Turtle Island - what a fantastic experience, but you need to book before you go as there's limited spaces. Totally loved Sandakan and hope to go again one day (when the children are older) in order to climb Mt Kinabalu and will definitely stay at the Tanjung Aru again!

This hotel is hard to fault really, having now stayed at half a dozen others in south east asia to compare with.

It is so beautiful aesthetically, from the gardens to the wall hangings, the fish pools and alleyways, the open air foyer. The rooms do not always fit the other parts of the hotel however as I think one wing is more updated than the other. My first stay there was in a room in I think the Tanjung wing and it was fine. The room was lovely and clean and comfortable, though not mind blowing (there are some great deals in Malaysia). On my second stay I was offered a fairly faded looking room to triple share in and was a bit horrified for the price. We upgraded to a suite for not a huge amount extra per person (with 3 it works out better) and the difference was extreme. Our suite was in the wing with the big goldfish pool and I can't fault the room or the rest of the experience at all. It was maximum luxury and everything was perfect. We had tons of space and a great outdoor balcony with lots of room and tables and chairs.

If you go for a basic room you can wind up with something ordinary for the price though I believe the rooms in the other wing are superior (forget which sorry). What you pay for here really is teh offerings of the resort which are many. Not just the activities but the spa, the pool, the restaurants and landscaped gardens. There is so much choice here it can keep you busy. The only problem for me (and it applies to all the big resorts in sabah) is that it can end up feeling like Bucklands Holiday Camp (remember hi di hi??) There are so many rooms and the resort takes ages to walk around. There are often little groups doing aerobics etc... If you want quiet secluded then this probably doesn't cut it.

Tips: The food in the restaurants (apart from teh brilliant buffet breakfast) is pretty average that I've tried for the high prices. The room service food is pretty good however and pretty reasonable if you go for the asian options. If you visit the sister hotel Rasa Ria by shuttle (45 mins), they have a food court thing outside in the middle of the hotel which does great food and it wasn't too expensive. Otherwise down the road is a little local food court thing which did great Tom Yum soup for $2 (4RM) and there are stacks of places to eat in town.

I visited the other resort to do a comparison (sad person that I am - in case I go there next time) but liked the Tanjung Aru a little better overall, especially the spa and fitness section which was much better at TA than at RR. I did like the food court and beach at RR better though but the Rasa Ria is a big hike from town while the Tanjung Aru is close to everything.

The shuttle service into town is easy and free.

This hotel is one I have wanted to stay at for ages. I know a lot of people who have stayed here, all of whom have absolutely raved about it.

I found the hotel itself to be beautiful.

I stayed in a "superior mountain view room", which is the lead in category.

The difference between this room type and the next category up, is mostly the view, and I don't care enough about the view to pay extra.

The room was fitted out beautifully. The furnishings were beautiful, the marble bathroom was great, and the view over Mt Kinabalu was nice. You can tell why it's a 5* hotel.

The staff were brilliant- always happy to help, and saying hello whenever you see them.

The 2 pools were nice, although we didn't like the fact that the pool closed at 8:30- there's nothing nicer than a late night dip!

The breakfast was quite good- although I have had better buffets. Room service was always prompt and nice.

The sunset bar and Coco Jo's were both great- really nice relaxed atmosphere and great views over the ocean and the islands off the coast.

My only gripe about this hotel, was that it isn't as central as I hoped. It's not really walking distance into town- and it costs a flat 15MYR every time you want to go in (each way). So thats approx $10 AUD for each trip into town- which adds up if you like to go in a couple of times a day (like me).

The advantage of this is obvious though. Being a few minutes out of the city itself means that the hotel is sprawled over spacious grounds, with great gardens.

It also has direct access to the ocean, so you can arrange all your watersports from the hotel. (If you were in a city centre hotel, you wouldn't be able to do this from your hotel).

If you like your big spacious resorts, and having access to the ocean for watersports, then you can't go wrong. This place is gorgeous.

If you're more of a city person, who likes to wander around town whenever you want, then it's likely to feel a bit isolated.

Overall though- I loved it, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

We have just come back from a 2 centre break 7 days of which was spent at KK and the Tanjung Aru. Before we went we deliberated for a while between this and the Rasa Ria. I am glad we went for the Tangjung Aru and would stay there again if we went back but I felt overall, having gone to the Rasa Ria it was a better resort. Cheaper food, better service, nicer touches which made us feel were were in a 5 star resort. But for me the Rasa Ria is just a bit too isolated and I like a town near by to eat, shop and experience local life; this is why the Tanjung would be my choice. If you want isolation and eat, sleep and drink the hotel, Rasa Ria every time.

I can always tell alot from the check in experience and this is always my first impression. When we got there it wasnt the grand drive up I thought it would be and it was like any other hotel. The foyer/reception area was crazy, there were people everywhere checking in and out but here was only 4 front desk taff to sort this out; not a great first impression for a 5 star hotel.

When we eventually got serviced it was by Betty who was probably the best member of staff we met. As we were travelling with our young daughter she asked if we wanted to large twin beds or a King with a fold down bed. She also offfered us the alternative of a Suite including breakfast and access to the executive lounge. We had booked a Tanjung Wing room but were curious how this would compare to the Kinabalu Wing. She was great and gave us a room key to see all three rooms types we were offered. Now, we deceided on the standard Tanjung Sea View Room. The reasons: The suite was lovely, it was huge but I didnt think it would be worth the RM250 extra per night (£40) as we would spend a great deal of time in there. For our total stay we would have paid £280 extra for the suite, which isn't far off what we spent in total when we were there!!!! The Kinabalu Wing had been renovated and you could tell this and it did look more modern. The rooms however were quite far away from the reception, pool, etc and closer to the Blue Note Night Club which can be noisy. The rooms and bathroom were also smaller that the Tanjung wing which for us having to fit a fold down bed into it was a consideration. In short the rooms are newer in the Kinabalu but I preferred the view, size and feel of the Tanjung Wing. Others I appreciate might have a different opinion.

Despite how good Betty was in showing us all these rooms we didnt get an explanation of the resort, what was where, what was complimentry and what needed paying for etc, we had to find this our for ourselves.

We only ate at Coco Joes and found the food good and prices compared to home were also good but expensive to Malaysian standards. The other restaurants looked nice but we preferred to eat more for less outside of the hotel. The convenience store was reasonably priced and they sold snacks, drinks, pastries etc.

The service however I would have to say was a big let down. The non customer facing staff, like cleaners, chefs, gardeners would always say hello or good morning/afternoon/evening. The bar, restaurant and front desk staff were not as friendly and didnt seem to enjoy what they did or realised how important they were to the hotel and holiday experience. We foudn the housekeeper key card left in our room one day and took it back to the front desk. Edwin took it off me and looked at it as if I had just given him a dead rat!! No thank you, or acknowledgment we took it back. On other occasions like requesting call tarriffs and a late check out Edwin was less than helpfull and would only offer a 1 hour extension on the check out, we were later to get 3 hours without any pushing from another member. When I checked out and got my bill there was a small charge form the business centre that wasnt mine. Russel who was checkig me out took some convincing it wasnt mine and even when faced with the actual signed bill from the business centre which showed it wasnt my signature still suggested that it was perhaps another occupant of my room. It was only RM36 compared to an overall bill of RM1000 but it was the prinicple and wasnt dealt with professionally as you would expect in 5 star hotel.

We did love the resort generally and many things did feel like 5 star. The grounds, the SPA, the pitch and putt course, the jetty where you could get boat transfers to the fantastic Gaya, Sapi, Saluga, Manutik and Manukan Islands, the Sunset bar, the evening ambience, the restaurants, the rooms and housekeeping all really good. We liked the pool and spent alot of time there but not a patch on the Rasa Ria pool and pool area, now that was 5 star! But I couldnt help but think that they rest on their Shangri-La laurels a bit. The staff uniforms looked ordinary again especially compared to Rasa Ria staff, the sunset bar is nice for one hour but then it goes empty. They could definately make this a bar with a great setting and atmosphere if they did happy hours or even had a better music system. There was a lacking edge which is a shame as this could be 5 star heaven with a little bit of effort. We didnt once have a senior member of staff come into contact with us. We did see a very tall european gentleman who we got the feeling was the hotel manager but it was only when the reception lobby was being decorated (which looks great) and during the shooting of a promotional video. We stayed in a 3.5 star Holiday Inn last year in Penang and it was great that the food and beverage manager and hotel manager would frequently speak to guests to get a feel for how their stay was and how they could improve things. This is what should happen in a 5 star hotel.

Go eat at the Promenade in KK great cheap food and nice atmosphere on the sea front.

We stayed at this hotel for 8 nights from May 13th 2008 in the upgraded section called the Kinabalu Wing in a sea view room.

I would like to say first of all this is not a true 5* hotel, but, I'm not saying its bad in anyway but its just lacking that something special. For example we also stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in KL during the same trip which is a true class act.

Right, I would strongly advise upgrading to the Kinabalu wing as its obviously newer than the rest of the hotel and thus in better condition. We walked round the corridors of the standard wing and they resemble a concrete car park...... Second reason is for the breakfast which is fantastic...... Thirdly is for the use of the Kinabalu lounge, i have put this last for a reason. Yes Bryan and his team provide a very good service with nice touches like remembering your name etc and the idea of free evening drinks is appealing but the complimentary beverage time is from 5 till 7 which can mess up your day a little as you gotta get back to the room and change earlier than you normally would to get there in time, also the dress code is rather strange! Jeans and a T shirt are acceptable but tailored shorts arn't? But, this is a very sociable lounge and we met some very nice people and got merry together every night :-)

The hotel in general is very pleasant with the grounds kept in very good order. The restaurants are very good too, Our favourite was Shang Palace and Cafe Tatu where it holds a seafood night every weekend which is very tasty. The beach is kept very clean so is the pool area and staff are extremely helpful. The sea is lovely and warm and we would advise doing the island trip from the jetti at the hotel - Here you will find the crystal clear water and powder sand.

The room was well kept and clean, we were expecting a sea view from the bath but its actually a window into the room so you can look out of the balcony but still a nice touch.

One tip we would give is when your ready for some lunch wander down the foodcourts just outside of the hotel where you can eat authentic Malay food which is very good at a fraction of the hotel prices - For example, in the hotel you will pay 39 MR for 12 Satays which are ok - Down the foodcourt we had (ready for this) Chilli Beef, Sweet & Sour Chicken, 12 Satays, rice and chicken noodles washed down with the best fruit smoothies around for 26 MR and its excellent.

There are also some restaurants and bars on the beach where we had some drinks which are also very good.

The town is pretty well developed and cheap - I would recommend trying the Koh I Nor on the seafront also the fish restaurant where they serve the best king lobsters.

My husband and I stayed at the Shangri-la for 9 nights at the beginning of May and through our travel agent had an upgrade to a seaview Kinabalu Wing room which was just perfect. The hotel is very comfortable, the rooms are spacious, there are excellent sporting amenities, two lovely pools and beautiful grounds with plenty of shade. Children are well catered for but their presence was not intrusive. All the staff are very friendly and helpful and the service is excellent.

Eating in the hotel is far too expensive and even adding breakfast to a room only booking is a ridiculous price. Eating around the pool is just bearable on the pocket but if you are willing to put up with cost, the choice of restaurants is very good and the evening buffet at Cafe Tatu extensive but in relation to 'in town' prices it is not even reasonable, especially for alcohol and soft drinks. There are two restaurants withing 10-15 minutes walking distance of the hotel that are far more reasonable and for the cost of a taxi at 15 ringgits each way into Kota Kinabalu there are plenty restaurants to choose from at the harbour front area or elsewhere. We found one unbelievable value one from an advert in the Sabah Magazine - Ang's Hotel Restaurant (Fatt Kee Coffee Shop) at 28 Jalan Pantai, opposite Wisma Merdeka Shopping Mall. Don't be put off by the appearance of the restaurant as the food is freshly cooked to order by three chefs slaving over very large hot woks and the feisty lady who takes the orders will explain the menu or adapt dishes to your taste. No alcohol is served (the mug of chinese tea is very good) but the food is delicious and the cost unbelievably cheap (3 dishes, rice and tea between 2 persons = 24 ringgits!!).

Trips organised by the hotel are also pricey but fortunately we took the advice of another couple, given on this website, to contact an independent trip organiser and we found him to be charming, knowledgeable and much cheaper than the usual operators. Anyone who might be interested can contact me for further details as we would highly recommend him.

Having spent a couple of days in Sabbah on a Kinabatang river/jungle 'trek', our party of 6 were ready for some luxury! The Tanjung Aru sure stepped up to the plate and on arrival, the hotel is stunning.

We did have a some initial disappointment as one of the rooms we had booked, bizarrely, was a "twin", though the rooms themselves (garden view upgrade option), were ultra modern and very comfortable (the King size beds were heavenly). The bathrooms likewise were excellent.

The pool was especially welcoming (after an energy sapping trek from Sabba) and once we had a pitcher of cold beer delivered from Coco Joes, all was well with the world again.

It is easy to recall the negatives when reviewing a hotel stay, though for me, the price of the hotel drinks were my main issue with the place. Getting on for £4 for a small beer is just too expensive, considering you can take a wander down to the vibrant ocean front and get x2 large 'Tigers' (served in ice buckets) for less.

Drink prices besides, the hotel is really very, very good.

The breakfast was excellent & plentiful - and having read previous posts, I have to disagree that finding a table was not a problem (not sure of occupancy levels though).

There were plenty of sunbeds at all times, the pitch and putt was excellent fun (though be wary of playing in the sun as it did bite us!), other facilities were also of a good standard and always available.

Food at Coco Joes was great & we had one meal at the signature Italian restaurant which was well worth the additional cost (the mushroom cappacino has to be tasted to be believed!).

We also took the opportunity to visit the sister hotel (Rasa Ria) and wonder at the orangutans in the sanctuary and based purely on the few hours that we were there, the Tanjung Aru would have been our preferred choice.

Like another previous poster, our key card failed every day and this was extremely annoying, though we were not a long walk from reception to remedy the problem.

Overall, you would not be disappointed with a stay here!

A 5 star hotel where after 3 days of an intended 8 day stay we told the duty manager of the day Jason that we intended to leave. We were on a golfing holiday, and first night in the Tatu restaurant we waited 45 minutes for a meal off the a la carte menu. The buffet in Tatu each night took priority it seemed. The next morning it took 3 phone calls to get our golf clubs picked up from our room to go to the waiting taxi. That night we waited 40 minutes for dinner in the signature Peppino’s Italian restaurant which has the same kitchen as Tatu's buffet. The next morning again the same problem getting our golf clubs picked up, so that I went to the concierge who had no message to do the job. In these same 3 days, our room keys regularly needed 5-7 tries to enter the room or refused to let us in. Keys were changed twice and tried by staff, and all agreed it must be the lock at fault. Maintenance would fix it on Day 2 – but did not. So Day 3 Jason had the ultimatum, fix the room key while we were out at golf or we leave and when we returned that afternoon it was fixed. As compensation for our wait in Peppinos we were also offered a free dinner by Jimmy the Restaurant manager who is a star. Jason also said to explain the non pick up of our clubs that our room phone directory was wrong and that dialing 1 as it instructed for services got us food and beverage people not service. Dial 0 he said, but later that afternoon, Brian in the Kinabalu club said we should dial 3 not 0 and that all rooms should have had new telephone sheets when the numbers were changed and that 477 rooms would need rechecking. Ours still showed the wrong number 5 days later. We stayed the 8 days. why? – simply because the Kinabalu Club staff were OUTSTANDING in every way. To Brian, Johnny, Linda and their colleagues in the club Ridzuan, Zarina, Natalia, and MD (the Doctor), we record here our thanks for a wonderful stay and for giving us a reason to return. They turned a 2 stars hotel experience into 5+. PS The Shang Palace restaurant was also excellent but we could not comment on Coco Jo's as it was raining almost every dinner time.

Stayed in the Shangri la in Oman and we were really impressed with that hotel but this was not nearly as good. Dont get me wrong, it is ok, rooms are big and clean and the grounds and facilities are good. However, the food was very average and so expensive for Borneo (ie UK prices). We tended to eat at the Mediterranean restaurant just up the road from the hotel - much cheaper and far, far better. It was packed with disgruntled Tanjung Aru guests!

Hotel great as a base for seeing the sites in Sabah but if you are just after a beach holiday stay in their hotel in the area - the Rasa Ria Resort.

Also, if you plan to see Mount Kinabalu and Poring hot springs dont go on an expensive tour - I recommend using Marcus a local KK resident who will take you on an amazing personalised tour of the area in his new Toyota for the same price. We got his deatails from the KK tourist info. His number is [--] or [--]. He also does trips to other local attractions!

Please, please also go to Sepilok Orang utan centre, such a worthwhile trip. They are so cute and you get to see them really close up on the feeding platforms. Bring walking boots if you want to go on one of the trails, and potentially see them in the wild, as they are usually muddy. The one at Rasa Ria was also great, the Orangs are a bit younger here and really characterful!

We stayed here for 5 days at the end of a three week holiday in Asia. The hotel is pretty good although no where near as good as the Rasa Ria for food, staff, entertainment, beach, wildlife, etc. Where it does win, is proximity to the town and short boat trips to the islands for better beaches and snorkeling. Despite the gripes on this site I didn't think the food and drink prices were that high. Compared with downtown, yes, but no worse that the other 4/5 star hotels that i have stayed in.

It's a fairly large hotel but there were always sun beds available and staff on hand for food and drinks around the pool.

There is not a huge amount to do in the hotel (sports, water sports, etc) so unless you like lying by the pool you might need to venture out for activities.

I'd go back for a few days, if I ever get back to Sandakan, but I wouldn't travel to Kota Kinabalu just to go to this hotel.

This was a lovely hotel, clean spacious and relaxed but just overpriced. It wasn't so much the cost of the rooms - which weren't cheap for this part of the world. It was the extras that were the rip-off - the restaurants, breakfast, bars etc were very expensive.

If you were happy to stay in the resort ,the location was fine - but being closer to town would have been good.

There is however a great food market just up the road which is walking distance where you can get some great, authentic malay food for not a lot of money - and which tasted so much better than the chinese restaurant in the hotel.

We stayed here for a total of 10 days as part of our honeymoon - in hindsight this was completely the wrong choice for a honeymoon destination. Unbeknown to us this hotel was a thriving family resort with screaming children everywhere and we wish we had done some more prior research into this aspect, as we would have chosen a more peaceful resort.

My main findings of the stay were as follows:-

1) Food and Drink - The hotel is a complete rip off and food and drink were more expensive than in any western country. We couldnt eat an evening meal there in any of the restaurants for less than £50 for 2 people (just one course each) and we just couldnt understand how whole families were affording to stay and eat there as it must have cost a fortune! By Day 3/4 we cottoned on that it was a fifth of the price to eat in town which you could get 2 starters, 2 drinks and 2 main courses for £10 so this is what we proceeded to do for the rest of the holiday - we tried Little Italy (amazing!), Meditteranean Bar (good), Rainforest Cafe and Kohinoor on the waterfront amongst others. Do remember though that 15% tax is added onto every bill in Borneo which can make a huge difference.

2) Activities - The range of activities on offer at the hotel is good - after all it is a family resort(!) but we were outraged when we were charged hourly (20RM) to play pitch and putt - surely this should have been included in a supposed 5 star hotel??

3) Service - Generally I would agree with previous comments on the service - the service is nowhere near 5 star and on many occasions we felt we were treated second class as if it was a huge privilege to stay in the hotel. Of particular note are the instances when we were put in a taxi by the porter and the taxi driver had no idea where we wanted to go and as we didnt know KK, neither did we - we just had the name of a place on a map. The porter still insisted we got in the taxi and that the taxi driver drove off - I thought this was appalling! We also saw several instances where women with chidlren were struggling with their luggage and the porters just did not help them. The only member of staff I could find who had what i could 5 star service was Ainon at Coco Joes who made a point of speaking to us every day.

4) Room - we had a kinabalu wing sea view room which was very large and did have everything you could wish for in a room. However there was an instance where we had put 'do not disturb' on the door and we were still disturbed by the housekeeping. As honeymooners we did get some black pearls, sarongs, champagne and a cake which was very nice but we were made to wait 30 mins on arrival as our room wasnt ready. Again I expected better for a 5 star resort, as they had known we were coming for months!

5) Surrounding area - my best advice is to go out and explore Sabah as there is nothing to do in KK. It is basically a central hub for backpackers. We went to Manakan island (opposite the hotel in the islands) and did snorkelling which was good and we also went to Sepilok to see the orang utans which again was an experience I will never forget. There seems to be a lot more to explore outside KK.

Overall I wont be going back to this hotel - we made the best of several irritating situations as we had to but it definitely didnt meet 5 star criteria and I also thought it didnt live up to the Shangri La's reputation.

We stayed at this hotel for 6 nights as part of a tour of northern Sabah. We were on our honeymoon, and after a week of traveling around, this was part of our organised relaxing trip. When we arrived, it just felt any other big hotel and when we asked about anything they could do for us as it was our honeymoon, the reply was, only of you pay alot of money to be upgraded. Very disappointing from such a large hotel. We got much much better service from other hotels. They did offer to send some 'goodies' to the room. We waited, in the end I had to go down three times and two days later we received some cake and fruit. We later stayed at the Shangri la Rasa Ria who were shocked that they didn't even offer a welcome drink or towel.

The rooms however were excellent, very smart and the general hotel was luxury. Food was reasonably priced but wine / beer was very expensive.

Overall, lovely hotel but very disappointed with the lack of benefits as honeymooners, that seems to be standard in other luxury or indeed smaller hotels.

Stayed 4 nights here had a great time its what you would expect from a shangrila hotel as is the bill when you check out ouch!

I've not said in a resort like this for years and year, in fact since I was about 13!

Some people love the fill on resort thing - family by the pool, eating in the hotel's restaurants, getting involved with the activities - but this was not for me.

Luckily, the hotel has its own jetty with hourly speed boat services out to 5 islands in the neighbouring national park. If I'd not been able to easily escape this hotel it wouldn't have been much fun.

That being said, the rooms were fantastic and very comfortable. Each has its own balcony with views either out to see or across to Mt. Kinabalu.

I wouldn't come back here, I'd much rather stay next time in a more independent eco-lodge somewhere more remote, but this hotel is very convenient. An excellent place if you want no hassles, but not somewhere to go if you value space, tranquillity and an authentic experience.

We stayed here for 10 days as a couple. The hotel is clearly geared towards children, which is does very well. The pool area is nice, clean and has enough staff around to keep your glass filled up!

Rooms were well appointed, although we did take their offer of an upgrade (including internet access, breakfast and laundry) to a suite, which may have influenced this. The room service (food) was excellent - far superior to the buffet or other restaurant food, which was generally overpriced for the quality.

The room make up service (both in the morning and turn down service in the evening) was sporadic and unreliable, although done very well when it was done. We had a turn down service provided on three of the 10 nights we stayed!

The location is pretty good, although expect to travel for a number of hours to see any of the local attractions (Kinabalu National park, Poring Hot Springs, etc etc).

Having paid a visit to the other Shangri-la resort in the area (Rasa Ria) to see the Orangu-Tan sanctuary, our impression was that this looked both newer and nicer, although this could be completely wrong!

We spent a week at this resort after being in Langkawi for the first week of our honeymoon and were more than disappointed by the drop off in terms of service, amenities and much more. The hotel is basically a massive hub for huge family vacations, convention/conference events and not very relaxing if you are seeking some peace and quiet. There are throngs of screaming and sobbing kids everywhere and the rooms are horribly soundproofed so you can't even seek refuge there at any time of day or night. The room we stayed in was clean but motel-like in terms of the decor and the comfort of the love seat which made watching TV anywhere but in bed very uncomfortable. Housekeeping was not very good and our room was not made up by 3 pm on the day after we arrived! Things improved after we complained about this but other things were still missed that proved annoying eg. not replacing towels in the bathroom, etc. This was pretty sad for a "5 star" hotel .

Restaurants at this hotel are egregiously expensive, even moreso than Western standards would suggest. We had breakfast vouchers and the buffet was pretty good but we had to eat all other meals at a local market food court about a 10 minute walk from the hotel to make the experience affordable. You can great a great meal for 2 for about $10 US and this is worth considering, although the menu is limited and the food is anything but gourmet. Nevertheless, a very authentic experience and nice way to be amongst the locals.

In terms of amenities, the hotel has no beach and the pools are constantly occupied by an army of loud kids - not a relaxing place at all. The business center charges 10 MYR (about $3.50 USD) per 15 mins on the internet!

There is really nothing else around the hotel to do if you don't want to do the typical watersport/snorkelling activities either. We ended up going to the Shangri La Rasa Ria to visit the nature reserve/

orangutan sanctuary which was absolutely spectacular and highly recommended - well worth the shuttle price and admission (total of about 150 MYR or $50 USD per person). This compares to more than double the cost and a great deal of travel time to the other orangutan reserves in Borneo.

We were pleasantly suprised by how much better the sister resort was in terms of layout, quiet, etc. In retrsopect, even though the Rasa Ria is more isolated from the rest of Kota Kinabalu, it seemed far superior to the Tanjung Aru. I really wish we had stayed there instead. The Tanjung Aru is more expensive and for reasons that don't seem justified at all.

Overall, a second rate experience...not recommended, especially for a honeymoon!

Stayed here on Honeymoon, had two stays sandwiched by a Dive Trip in between.

Our room was fine with all you'd expect - though the bath doesnt really have a sea view - unless you've got a 5-foot neck!! We were in the Kota Kinabalu wing, and you would need to be on floor six to get the better views as the trees block things out if you're any lower, and also the noise from the Blue Note Nightclub is quite loud if you're on Floor 3 or below. We didnt join the KK Club as we didnt feel it was worth it, and it would have restricted us too much.

The resort is advertised as family friendly but there really were too many kids running around and it was all a bit hectic for a honeymoon destination. The kids Club did seem to be very good though and all the kids seemed to be having a whale of a time.

The activities offerred were adequate but considering there were so many people there seemed to be far too few things arranged or facilities to cater for everyone. We were even charged for using the golf clubs on the tiny pitch and putt, which just seemed really petty and very un-five-star-ish.

The beach is quite small but wasnt crowded as people didnt seem to use it (it was jellyfish season though!), and the grounds and hotel in general were well kept and very clean, apart from the team of old women who were constantly on their knee's re-tiling the whole floor of the reception area!

The restaurants are alright, certainly nothing special considering it is touted as a 5* hotel, and are massively overpriced to the extent that you feel like you've been mugged - it worked out at £6 a pint of lager I kid you not! Breakfast was chaos, and the food barely warm and often not labelled. The staff were atrocious and just couldnt be bothered, we had to ask for tea and coffee, ask for our plates to be taken away and ask for cutlery on a regular basis. The service wasnt great in any of the restaurants and the fact that a 10% service gratuity is added to all bills means staff dont need to earn their tips by giving a good service. This woeful customer service seemed to be everywhere: The concierge's didnt know anything and seemed disgruntled if asked for anything, they hardly ever helped with luggage (families with kids in tow were constantly struggling with their cases) and people were rushed into taxi's and sent on their way even if the taxi driver had no idea where the requested destination was - potentially really dangerous. The check-in was poor, with different info given on our two check-ins, things that we thought were complimentary were not and vice versa. We were told wrong info (like there being no shuttle bus, when there actually was) and it all seemed a bit unpolished and definately not 5-star.

This seemed to permeate many areas of the hotel, being disturbed when the 'do not disturb' sign is on, balconies not being tidied, not enough tea/coffee in the room, staff not knowing the menu etc etc. Sometimes its the little things that are appreciated and make the difference!

Get down to Beach Bums and Adventure Scuba, just down the waterfront, as the diving is quite good and they also take you out to the islands and arrange various trips and activities. Manukan Island is definately worth a trip as its got some good snorkelling, but avoid the weekend when it can get too busy. Also, the Chi Spa is apparently "fantastic" as my wife purred - the best she had ever been to (its been voted in the Top Ten in Asia)

There is no entertainment of note in the evenings, so into KK it is. There are quite a few bars though none were particularly busy, there were quite a few backpackers about which just made us feel old !!!!! Theres a good range of restaurants, but definately make time for Little Italy as its fantastic. There's a BBQ bar close by thats got live entertainment, loads of booze, Shisha's and a good atmosphere. It is just off Gaya Street, which also has a market on a sunday morning. Its pretty good and worth a visit, although alot of stalls sell the same thing. The Waterfront has a couple of decent restaurants (Kohinoor Curry House worth a try!) though its not a big as I thought (hoped) it would be. KK is quite rustic and comes across almost as a 'frontier/outback' town, with alot of people passing through rather than staying there.

Tips:

Buy bottles of Coke etc in the Shop or down the waterfront at Beach Bums to save a fortune.

Try the room service as its cheaper and of very high quality - nice on the balcony watching the sunset

The sunset bar is great, but the view from the Pitch and Putt is probably nicer

Eat in town - at Little Italy!! - whenever you can

Visit the Islands as they have alot to offer

The Shangri-La reputation has taken a bettering here, the service is decidedly 3-Star and the price 6-Star! I wouldnt recommend this hotel to friends.