price123

We stayed here in February on cash+points+suite upgrade and had a wonderful stay. We were not bothered by noise at all, but I wouldn't recommend having a massage as the treatment rooms are just beneath where the work is being carried out.

The hotel reminded me somewhat of the ex-Hyatt Regency Warsaw, in that it was a great example of a Regency branded Hyatt. It could never be a Park or Grand, but they don't aspire to be. Instead, you have a reasonable hard product and great service. In fact, the service was some of the best we have experienced staff seemed genuinely pleased to help.

We received a Regency Executive Suite with a sea-view, but also saw the slightly smaller Regency Suite and the standard/club rooms. It was great watching the busy harbour below and the stunning sunsets either from our suite or the club lounge.

The club lounge had a decent spread for breakfast and dinner, with a good choice of wines. One night we ate in the japanese restaurant, which I highly recommend - really good sushi and reasonable prices.

Activities wise, we took a day trip to Sandakan to see the Proboscis monkeys and Orangutans (Air Asia fly out at around 07:00, returning 19:00). If you need somewhere in Sandakan to relax, the Four Points by Sheraton is cool and has an ok restaurant, although they had little of the menu available. The market just outside the hotel is nice for a browse. Our top tip would be to go to the harbour directly outside the hotel and book a boat and skipper for the day (around 150 MYR - we didn't haggle as felt cheap already) to go around the marine park. The hotel will prepare a picnic for you (good quality, quantity and price) and you can sit on a deserted island (Sulug) in the sun.

Our review with photos of each room type and most of the hotel is here.

abitlost

Sure thing.

- Wonderful staff, especially in the club lounge. I never thought to inquire about anything with the concierge or tour desk and just bounced questions off whoever was working in the lounge at the time. Everyone in the lounge speaks pretty perfect English. I cannot evaluate their Mandarin but heard them speaking it with many guests.
- Amazing views from sea-facing rooms.
- Proximity to good bars and restaurants. I highly recommend El Centro for drinking and Chilli Vanilla for eating. A market with many seafood vendors is almost directly in front of the hotel, and one can select the fish, mollusks, and shellfish of one liking and specify their preparation. One can purchase creepily enormous tiger prawns there.
- Proximity to the pier from which the affordable group ferries to nearby islands leave.
- Proximity to genuinely good malls with diverse offerings.
- Genuinely good cover band in the hotel bar.
- The city itself is very compact and walkable.
- Super easy trip to and from the airport, which is sleek, modern, and functional, though bland and lacking in places serving alcohol.
- Nice, super clean, and recently refurbished rooms. I have only stayed in a suite, but the standard rooms look generously sized.
- Pleasant pool area in which lounge chairs were always available when I looked.

I don't recall any noise from the renovation. I heard one gentleman complain to the front desk of the noise from the hotel bar band. He was given an extra room on a high floor for the night in which to sleep and did not have to move his stuff from his 2nd-floor room. I think that is excellent customer service and was not personally bothered by the noise despite residing on the third floor.

danger

http://www.travelzoo.com/au/local-de...z_adid=1776130

vespa7

we stayed here while in KK . i booked a hyatt club room, with points. we thought it was a good deal, as the food & wine in the club lounge were very good. the staff were helpful and friendly. the bed/ bedding/ room was a very comfortable stay.

we didn't notice any construction though the website says it will be on-going till Jun2015. they were regrouting the tile in the lounge when we came in during the afternoon, but nothing significant that we noticed as far as noisy construction.

Jaimito Cartero

This is my second trip here, and it was again a very nice stay, except for air conditioning problems on top floor suites.

Booked two rooms, P+C, and used 2015 DSU's on them. Arrived after midnight. Had a nice bowl of fruit, and a generic welcome card. Diamond benefits were never explicitly explained. How hard would it be for a real welcome letter, including these details?

13th floor lounge, 5:30-7:30 evening drinks/food was pretty good. Our favorite lounge attendant from last year, D, got in a motorbike accident, and was still recovering. Decent food, with some Indian dishes, sushi, breads, and a hot item and soup each nite. A few dessert items, fruit, etc.

Breakfast downstairs is from 6:30-10am. A really large selection. Some excellent juices, too.

The staff here is really good. Very friendly, and always looked out for us. Diamond recognition was very good.

We ate at all the restaurants here, and enjoyed them all. The weekend brunch in particular is top notch. Such good chicken and beef satays.

The only major issue was the air conditioning. It just didn't keep the room cool in the afternoon. I believe this is only an issue with suites on the top floor. (5th floor on waterfront building, 14th floor in main building).

In our original room 551, it got up to 28 celsius during the afternoon. Two different maintenance guys came, but it didn't help. We eventually moved to the Presidential suite, room 1410, but still had problems to a slightly lesser degree.

We couldn't even leave the drapes open during the day to see the beautiful water view, because it would heat the room up more.

Restaurant manager David, and Club lounge angel Charisela were so helpful, although almost every staff member were nice.

I appreciated that the swimming pool had stairs and railings so that it was easy to access. Lots of North Asian tourist groups here, while we visited for a week.

I wouldn't recommend changing much USD here. Rate was a 5.5% hit. You can find moneychangers in the malls nearby, for less than a 1% forex loss.

They do take Hyatt USD certificates. You lose the 5.5% on them, but if you got them on sale, it's not so horrid.

EHAM1

Currently staying here on a 5 day p+c rate.
A true sweetspot as the hotel is a cat.1, so that is 2500 points a night and 50 USD.

Breakfast downstairs very good, better than many higher end Hyatt's!

Club Lounge is nice, sufficient food in the evening for a diner. A different soup every night, some salad, various deserts and some sushi. Staff is very polite. Beautifull views on the south Chinese Sea.

Kota Kinabalu is not so spectacular, but the hotel is nice for a couple of nights!

SNA_Flyer

Wow, hope he gets back to his feet again. Was there this time last year. Really good guy and an amazing lounge attendant.

Ver Jaina

Hello all, I'll be visiting KK again on October mainly for Mt Kinabalu expeditions.

Any new reviews lately? I'm thinking of staying here instead of LM & redeem DSU. Both Hyatt & SPG had promotions currently & it's a matter of which points i want to collect more.

My last stay at this property was last year in September. it was my very first stay with Hyatt using corp rates with no status. Although first timer, but the service i received from the staff leaves a very lasting impression. I had few trips to KK before & after the stay but usually will go to Le Meridien because i still have SPG Plat status. by default Plats will get the auto upgrade to suite. Their renovated rooms was nice but that's about it.
I find HR KK bfast was better in taste & presentation. The building & surrounding might be old outside, but the room is quite cozy even at the lowest category.

lovtofly3

talfred

Checked into HR KK today on DSUs. Happy to report that the suites are well appointed and loving the large bathroom. Great value overall

wolf72

The vast majority of the HR staff at KK have been with the hotel for on average, I am told, 15 years or more. A lot of people join the hotel but don't leave and that could also be why they have such a good group of employees.

Ver Jaina

Wow, such loyalty...reminds me of the staffs of Dorsett Labuan, most have been there since the Sheraton days.

Already booked 5 nights here & redeemed DSU via their facebook messenger. Very efficient, my booking was changed within an hour and the room was upgraded into the exec suite. from the description in the booking, the exec suites are on low floors but slightly bigger than the regency suites. and extra kitchen table...hmm.

wantan

how did you find the stay ? is the renovation completed ? and from the posters above seem cocktail hour offerings are good ... how different is it to the Le Meridien ?

sorry for the bullet questions

Ver Jaina

Lol i've just replied in the LM KK thread

Hyatt KK is highly regarded by the locals & frequent guests, mainly for the food, better buffet breakfast taste. Their Ramadan buffet was also a hit among my friends & colleagues.

The building is old, there could be some ongoing minor renovation but i didnt hear any noise. Aircond works well for seaview room, kept the room cool. The suite was nothing to shout about, it was clean, no moldy or ciggy smell (window can be opened so there is no dedicated smoking rooms). The view was good, standing at the window admiring the view as passer by also admiring the view of your room...lol The best is the staffs, really sincere & proud to work for Hyatt. I've learned that the employees did enjoy the benefit of 12 nights free, it was the most generous compared to other hotel company.

carrotjuice

Recently had a stay here. When you make a DSU redemption, do call or email the hotel ahead of time to request a NON-SMOKING suite. They have limited number of Regency Exec Suites available and may otherwise put you in one on a smoking floor.

The suite itself may have faint leftover smoke which can be cleared with a de-ionizer that's brought to the room... but walking through the corridor on the smoking floor to reach your suite can be quite choking!