Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu - REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

Last comment was from about three years ago...any recent experiences?

Also -- I should be back on the Diamond bandwagon by then...have people had decent luck with recognition at the Malaysian Hyatts or should I just fork out the $10 more for Regency Club?

Thanks. :)

update
 

Booked an ocean front conceirge floor room (non-smoking, king) since it was only slightly more than a normal room. Spent 2/23 and 2/24/06. Upon arrival at around 1500, room was not ready. Conceirge told me that it would not be ready until 1700. She tapped around on the computer and made a quick phone call and handed me the key card for room 540, certainly not on the conceirge floors since they are 12, 13 and 14. Clubroom is on 13.

Anyway, bellman and I make our way to 540. Hotel is U-shaped around an atrium. Elevators on one end of the "U" and 540 on the other end. We trudge all the way to the end of the third corridor. Certainly cannot get further from the elevator and finally reach a door with a sign next to it. Open the door and enter a living room with 1/2 bath off the entry. Bellman schleps the bags thru the living room, through the bedroom, makes a right hand turn and another to the walk-in closet and sets my 2 bags on the platform provided. Then shows me the bath, all marble, including tub and shower. Two sinks. Separate toilet room in marble with bidet and toilet. Now this is a "tanda". Fact is that this is larger than our master bedroom and bath and family room, and they are not small.

This certainly was a great upgrade for someone with no status at Hyatt. There was a glitch on my second night. I get back from rafting and take a shower. Ready for a nap and the phone rings, "we need your room now and will move you to one on the conceirge floor, now." This is pretty unusual that you get dumped from your room in the middle of the stay even if it is a hugely upgraded room. My experience is that once in a room, you stay there for the duration. It is also unusual to be told to move "Now!". So I explained that I was not dressed, was looking forward to a nap, and it would take a while to comply with the order. Person on phone said that they would call me to make key card arrangements. So, I start packing it all up including wet clothes and athletic shoes and get another call from reservations stating that I can come down to the front desk to get my new key. I suggest that that they send a bellman to help out and bring the key-I'll call them when I am ready. I call them a few minutes later and tell them I am ready. There is some confusion as to why I am calling so I have to explain that I am complying with their order.

The bellman arrives and loads up the luggage, dripping wet stuff and all. He even comments that water is dripping out of the laundry bags. As we are walking the long walk to the elevator, he tells me my new room is _ _12. Now I have walked the three corridors enough to realize that anything ending in 12 is a so-called city view, not the seaview reserved. So rather than going to the new room, bellman in tow we go to the club room. The same person who checked me in is working. I explain, calmly, quietly, that I reserved a seaview and certainly expect that. She states that all seaview rooms are now occupied on all three floors. A quick phone call is made and I am handed a new key card-for, of course room (suite 540).

Later, I go to the lobby to try to book an activity for my final day. The person who works at the desk in the lobby (it is a concession-not part of the Hyatt) is on their break. Actually they spend most of their time on break. As I am sitting in front of the desk waiting, a desk clerk had offered to find the offending concessionaire and had returned to tell me that they were on break, a very personable, competent member of the hotel staff approaches and starts a conversation. She essentially tells me that I can easily do what I want to do on my own for considerably less ringat. We move to another desk to discuss my plans and she hands me her card, "Sonja Peter, Front End Manager". I tell her the story of suite 540, which she does not find amusing. She is quite apologetic and without my suggestion thinks some serious staff retraining is in order.

Bottom line about this hotel is that it is excellent. It does compete with 2 Shangra La's. Staff are quick and handle problems with grace. Throw out all the extra space, does one person really need two tv's, 2 dvd's and 2 CD players plus all that marble, the bed was as good as any in a major chain. Duvet was a big plus. Good amenities, good maid service. Water bottles exchanged as they were used. Bellman did a good job and was apologetic about the screw up. Poor guy got to make the trudge twice with the dripping bags. Sonja is as good as any employee of any hotel that I have met in dealing with a problem. She even followed up the next day both on the move and on my excursion. Club room staff are good. Some of them are somewhat tentative in terms of service during the happy hour from 5-7 pm. Some quirks exist in terms of service but they are minor and are more amusing than irritating. Example, I drink diet coke (coke light in Malaysia) with ice. Each time I had one a dish with cubes was provided along with the can and a glass. After all this is a pretty small city in Borneo so I did not expect great service.

One negative laundry is outrageous, over $4 for a shirt and $5 for a pair of jeans.

The Hyatt KK is a pleasant find for about $65/night ++, Unfortunately, I never got to see a normal room to compare.

Many (if not most) people in Asia drink the soft drinks (and beers FWIW) warm. I know, it's gross and I hate it too, but that's probably the reason they gave you a dish of ice cubes along with your drink. Consider yourself lucky, they could have just given you a warm diet Coke.


Come on, that's not THAT unfortunate now is it? ;)

Wow, that's quite an adventure you had at the Hyatt KK (I'll have to be sure to remember to request room 540 next time I stay :D ). I've stayed there a few times, and would definitely recommend paying the extra for a seaview room over a city view room (and the Regency Club is worth the extra US$10 as well in my view). The regular rooms are a decent size, generally well maintained too. Generally found the staff quite friendly and helpful too, not always the most polished, but usually quite genuine to assist. ^

Stay at Shangri-La instead. Much much nicer. No matter what Hyatt might do, it still has the pool just over a wall from the beach road. Town is nothing to write home. No ambiance at all. The Shangri-La near town is great - we upgraded to a concierge room for little money and had fabulous treatment.

I'm debating between the Hyatt, the jesselton and the brand new Meridian for my stay next week.

asiarooms and some other sites are discounting the hyatt, offering room with breakfast for less that hyatt offers for room alone. And the new Meridian is offering rooms for about the same price as the hyatt

just a short follow-up
 

I had some trepidation about booking the KK Hyatt, because I am aware that the JB Hyatt is pretty much of a pit. I considered to the two Shangra-La's but rejected them because they were significantly more expensive and the Rasa Ria is more than 30 minutes from town. The little that I saw of the Rasa Ria-lobby, grounds and pool, said that if I were with my wife, I would stay there. Reminded me, somewhat, of the J.W. Marriott-Phuket, our favorite hotel in the world.

I also wanted to be in town because of choice of restaurants and quick access to necessities if I ran low. Also thought I'd find laundry less expensive at the Hyatt since this was a planned laundry location after having one night consecutive stays at Hilton Batang Ai, Miri Marriott, Labuan Sheraton, and the awful Jubilee Hotel in Brunei.

The Club floor has light snacks from 6-8 p.m. and breakfast (certainly lacking compared to most South East Asian hotels in the same category). Alcohol and beer are available complimentary during the evening happy hour.

The conceirge recommended a seafood restaurant-Portview (the one in walking distance) which is Chinese. Excellent recommendation, choose your own live seafood and they prepare it how you want. 3 of us had' as memory serves, 1 kilo of steamed clams with garlic, two black crabs in sweet and sour sauce, 4 soft shell crabs (one kilo) deep fried with garlic, one 600 gram sea bass, rice and one order of bak choy with garlic-sense some sort of theme here. Never did see a werewolf in KK. The bill came to 180 ringat. The service was great and the place was packed at 8:30 p.m. (It has two large dinning rooms). The girls changed plates when they were full of discards and service for a casual place was close to impeccable (and prompt). We asked if service was included (I believe 5% was the number) so we decided to leave some extra for the 2 servers. What followed was a whispered conversation that we should hide the tip rather than leave it on the table because the proprieter did not like tips (or maybe grabbed them for himself). So while the girls observed, we lifted the napkin container and left the bills under it. They seemed delighted that we would think of them.

Edited to add: the coke light was served cold. They would normally ask if I would like ice.

In my bias opinion, I would highly recommend the Le Meridien KK. (I've not stayed in the Hyatt KK though). Especially if you are SPG Plat., I was upgraded to a deluxe suite :D The view from the Club lounge is fantastic. The sunset seaview is breathtaking. It's also located closer to the Broadwalk restaurants, shopping centres and Philippino markets.

Having stayed at both the Hyatt and Le Meridien, I recommend the Le Meridien since it is almost new, modern, good staff. I was happy with the Hyatt, but LM has it beat.

I'm planning a trip to Malaysia and I will probably stay at one of the two Hyatts. Any recent experiences here?

The rates seem really low for August and rooms kind of basic. What room do diamonds get upgraded to? What about if I were to use the suite upgrade?

I booked a point-redemption reservation for the post-Christmas week. As the date approached, I received an email:

Well, I don't know what the rooms looked like prior to the renovation, but my city-view, Club-floor room was stylish, spacious, and very comfortable. Floors are bare, except for carpeting extending a couple of feet from the bed, and the wash basin is built onto an island separating the sleeping area from the shower/bath and toilet.

My king bed was perfect; just the right firmness and topped with quality linens. There's also a couchette near the large windows.

The large, flat-screen LG television was properly nestled into a wall-recess; about twenty channels on tap. A DVD player was also available. Nearby was a panel to accept connections from other electronic components, similar to the one found at most Hyatt Places.

When I presented my Diamond card at check-in, the Director of Rooms was summoned; he welcomed me and escorted me to the Club Lounge to complete my check-in.

The Lounge now serves cocktails from 1700-1900. There were always two hot food items, plus a tureen of soup/stew. Food selection/variety was good and promptly replenished when supplies ran low. Staff did an excellent job tending to guests and keeping the tables cleared.

There are two PCs available in the Lounge. When both were in use, I had no problem finding an open PC in the ground-floor business center.

In my estimation, this is one of the better Regency locations I have visited.

Any updated info on car parking costs (if any) and any airport transport?

The hotel has an airport transfer option for RM48 each way. The car advertised is a Proton sedan but in my experience, it was not the case. Not that it mattered though. This airport transfer service is outsourced to a local travel agency.

I had a bad stay early last month. The hotel looked rundown from outside, and felt dated and very tired inside. Even though it was recently renovated, it didn't feel fresh at all and the workmanship is quite shoddy.

Staff is polite, as in most Asian properties, some are friendly, and some are just borderline clueless and incompetent.

Not going back anytime soon for sure.

I was there this past weekend, and had a nice stay. The hotel building is old, and outside looks old, inside (rooms) are nice and modern. Its in the center of town (the older part of town), near some small cafes and restaurants good for local food, had one room facing the bars on one side ( 3 sides, city view/ocean view/ and partial ocean-city view (the ones facing the bars) are a little bit more noise. For us, it was nice to visit night marketing and other city items durning the day, and sightsee outside of the town durning the day.

Diamond and/or club-level amenities
 

I have a two-night stay there in a few months and am wondering what the Diamond and club-level amenities are. Particularly curious about the evening drinks/hors d'ouevres. Thanks.

I was able to find the welcome letter from a past stay. Here is the partial text of the welcome letter I received in 2012:

My most recent stay at the Hyatt Kinabalu was in May 2013, so if you have any other questions, let me know.

Thanks! That was very helpful.

Do you think the Hyatt is a better hotel than the Le Meridien (I'm SPG plat)? I'll be in BKI with my partner for 2D/2N (before embarking for Sandakan) for leisure.

I am only SPG Preferred, and as a Hyatt Diamond I have chosen to stay at the Hyatt rather than the LM for my visits to KK, so I don't have much basis for comparison. Both the hotels are centrally located, so that is not an issue. The Hyatt was renovated just a couple of years ago, and both the suites and the regular rooms I've stayed in are new and very comfortable.

Definitely, although I do like the lounge in LM.

Both hotels are nice with different atmospheres. You have a very good chance of getting a suite at the LM as a Plat. At the Hyatt, you'll have to use a suite ug or use more points for a suite award.

Has anyone taken a taxi from the airport to the Hyatt recently? I'm wondering how much the hotel's upcharge is - their cost is 80 MYR or about 24 USD.

It's been awhile since I took a taxi to the Hyatt from BKI (I usually have friends pick me up and drop me off), but taxis from BKI operate on a fixed price ticket system. To and From the Airport (which is useful but frequently out of date) says the cost should be about MYR 20, so figure about MYR 25-30 now. Either way, MYR 80 is two or thee times what you'll pay at the airport.

Brief review
 

Stayed Dec 30 – Jan 1 (on the way to Kinabatangan River, a must!). The hotel is adjacent to a mall and across the street from several bars and restaurants. It’s also across the street from the water, affording it a great location. I used a suite upgrade certificate for the two nights. The suite was big, but nothing special (aside from the huge, dead cockroach we found stuck to the floor). In the bedroom, the a/c vent directed air to our heads as we slept. Hopefully, this is just the case in #509. Check-in handled at the club. Friendly service. Evening spread included chicken, vegetable samosas, “sushi”, cheeses, deserts, and soup (cream of asparagus, I believe). Self-service bar. Breakfast was fine – breads and pastries, cheeses, cereals, fruit, congee with fixings and made to order eggs. My only quibble with service is that there was no Diamond recognition. I had to ask about the amenity. There’s a taxi counter at BKI where a voucher to the hotel costs 30MYR.

Prefer points plus cash of 2500+$45/night...
Staying next week, don't have high expectations but cheap and a good base for a short break to see the orangs.

I checked in last night for a week-long, and my first impressions are extremely favorable. The staff with whom I have interacted so far have been very warm, gracious, and helpful.

Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu - REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

I really loved this hotel and its warm, hard-working staff. I hope to return soon. the lounge staff were really cool with food-sensitivity issues. if anyone needs to eat gluten-free for serious medical issues, the restaurant chilli vanilla a block away is awesome.

Agree re the CD. However, the hotel's Japanese restaurant is pretty good for a gluten-free diet too (as long as careful with order).

We had a great stay, although it felt too short. Fantastic value for money or points. Review to follow shortly.

I returned to this hotel twice since my first posting and continue to love the place. The staff is outstanding across the board, and the town is great in general. I totally sounds like a plant but genuinely enjoy the hotel.

Maybe posting a couple of things which you like would be better?

Also, did anyone experience any issues with noise as there are some renovations going on there?

per the website:
"Hyatt Regency Kinabalu will be undergoing major renovations works to upgrade its restaurants from December 2013 to year end 2014"

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.

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.

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.

Nice stay, but underpowered AC on top floor suites
 

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.

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!

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

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.

Staff at KK HY are caring and take pride in there work
 

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