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Booked flights to Kuala Lumpur. 15 years ago we visited KL, Langkawi, Penang and Pangkor Laut, but focused mainly on nice hotel/resorts. Now we have two teenage kids so we wish to explore more. We have 9 days in the region in which we wish to visit Hong Kong too. I have been thinking we cover KL (2 days), HK (are 2 days enough?) and keep about 4 days in Kota Kinabalu. There, we are thinking about 2 days of exploring/adventure and 2 days in a nice resort before we fly back to KL and then back home. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. We need two rooms so don’t wish to spend too much except for when we are relaxing in a resort for two days. Anyone tried the Hilton in Kota Kinabalu? If there any other places or highly recommended hotels in Malaysia/Borneo please do share.
For reference, I am a Hilton Diamond, GHA Platinum and Marriott Gold. Staying with a local family and experiencing their food etc. type of experience is not an option as my child has intolerances so we usually stick to well-known brands.
On the advice of those on this forum we stayed at the Hilton KL for 2 nights in August. We’ve a 10 & 11 yr old so had two connecting rooms that worked perfectly. Nothing bad to say about the hotel. It’s access from the airport is perfect as it’s connected to the train station that the KLIA Express train deposits you at. Staff and general service were superb and the kids especially loved the pool and water slide complex. The other half of the building is the Conrad so you get to use their pool as well. We found it a good base in the city for getting to all the normal sites (Batu caves, Petronas Towers etc etc) on the excellent metro system or via Grab.
For Kota Kinabalu, I (and plenty of others on here I’m sure!) will always recommend the Shangri-La Rasa Ria resort. It’s perfect for relaxing by the pools, on the beach, doing water sports, cooking lessons or exploring their jungle reserve. Combine with normal fantastic service, rooms and food and it’s reliably excellent. We’ve been 5 or 6 times and never been disappointed.
On the advice of those on this forum we stayed at the Hilton KL for 2 nights in August. We’ve a 10 & 11 yr old so had two connecting rooms that worked perfectly. Nothing bad to say about the hotel. It’s access from the airport is perfect as it’s connected to the train station that the KLIA Express train deposits you at. Staff and general service were superb and the kids especially loved the pool and water slide complex. The other half of the building is the Conrad so you get to use their pool as well. We found it a good base in the city for getting to all the normal sites (Batu caves, Petronas Towers etc etc) on the excellent metro system or via Grab.
For Kota Kinabalu, I (and plenty of others on here I’m sure!) will always recommend the Shangri-La Rasa Ria resort. It’s perfect for relaxing by the pools, on the beach, doing water sports, cooking lessons or exploring their jungle reserve. Combine with normal fantastic service, rooms and food and it’s reliably excellent. We’ve been 5 or 6 times and never been disappointed.
Fantastic info, thanks! I used to have status with Shangri-La before, but hopefully I find a good deal. The activities you mentioned are exactly what we’d like to do. Kids really wish to see orangutans and I think I read there is a sanctuary there too.
The Cordis in HKG is a very pleasant 5* with quad family rooms in a very buzzy area!
Anyone tried the Hilton in Kota Kinabalu?
I did a week there as part of 3 weeks in Borneo summer 2023.
Used points for the basic room and got an upgrade to what I think was a 105sqm suite.
Massive breakfast selection.
Lounge was a bit meh though.
Main downside was the persistent spitting into the pool. Hotel couldn’t/didn’t stop them as this particular nationality made up the bulk of the guests (unfortunately, this is a theme we experienced throughout our stay across Borneo).By the way, I don’t think you are allowing enough time for Borneo.
In my opinion, there is enough to see & do in Sabah state to justify at least a week (we did 2).Anyone tried the Hilton in Kota Kinabalu?
I did a week there as part of 3 weeks in Borneo summer 2023.
Used points for the basic room and got an upgrade to what I think was a 105sqm suite.
Massive breakfast selection.
Lounge was a bit meh though.
Main downside was the persistent spitting into the pool. Hotel couldn’t/didn’t stop them as this particular nationality made up the bulk of the guests (unfortunately, this is a theme we experienced throughout our stay across Borneo).By the way, I don’t think you are allowing enough time for Borneo.
In my opinion, there is enough to see & do in Sabah state to justify at least a week (we did 2).Thank you, if you could list some of the best things to do there, we can possibly drop HK and focus on Borneo. We don’t drive when we travel so will need to see if we need to book tours.
Thank you, if you could list some of the best things to do there, we can possibly drop HK and focus on Borneo. We don’t drive when we travel so will need to see if we need to book tours.
Tanku Abdul Rehman Park (TARP) – this is the marine park just offshore from KK city. We did 3 * daytrips.
Mari Mari Cultural Village – half day. Was a lot better than we’d expected.
Kinabalu National Park – best to overnight here, can then do the Poring Hotsprings the next day.
Fly to Sandakan in order to do a 2 or 3 nights river safari on the Kinabatangan (a lot of animal sightings – Crocs, Orangutans, snakes, other monkeys etc)
2 or 3 nights in Sepilok (The rainforest discovery centre is unmissable)
1 night on Turtle island (Selingan Island)
And there’s more that we didn’t do further east in Sabah.I also stayed at the Hilton in KK with my 3 teenage kids last summer. Would return.
Unlike Aston100 didn’t see people spitting in the pool (but did see that in Vietnam in 2019 and I became rather ill afterwards with some kind of RSV, so it happens). I didn’t enjoy the breakfast in the main restaurant at the KK Hilton but really liked the lounge. KK is very easy to get around, with Grab (Uber equivalent) well served. However it was hopeless once out of town, so don’t plot a journey off to the Orangutan reserve or cultural village without knowing how you’ll get back. We ended up getting a lift back with one of the staff members! The TAR Marine Park was also a lovely day out.
I would also suggest you spend as much time in Borneo as possible. KL underwhelms me now it’s been largely smartened up and the Coliseum cafe has gone. There are some amazing tours to be done out of Sandakan, covering the whole price range. Maybe try to do 5 nights in Borneo and only 1 in KL (assuming it’s an overnight night flight back)? We used Mr Aji – utterly brilliant private tour and dirt cheap. Judi Dench did a series called “wild Borneo” that’s still on ITV-X and well worth watching, staying in somewhat higher end places. You can also fly nonstop from Sandakan back to KL.
One other option might be to stay at the Shangri La Tanjung Aru instead of the KK Hilton, which lets you get the fancy resort hotel and the KK bit done together, but it’s many years since I stayed there.
My proposal would be…
Day 1 & 2 – HK
Day 3 – fly to KK (Air Asia, suck it up, pay for exit row seats)
Day 4 – KK
Day 5 – KK
Day 6 – fly to Sandakan early, arrange a 3D/2N tour to fit your budget
Day 8 – fly to KL
Day 9 – Fly out of KLHaving stayed at the Rasa Ria with the kids on 3 occasions now, it did feel on this last trip that they were getting a bit old for most of the activities on offer. Still a nice resort to escape to for a few days, but I’d say it’s best for families with kids under 10.
Tony, I’m 50/50 that our paths crossed.
Are you a Liverpool supporter?As Aston100 says, i would also suggest dropping one of the cities in favour of more time at KK. Even if not going to KK, 2 days is too little time anyway for the cities, especially HK.
When it comes to driving, i’d suggest engaging a local driver with good reviews. Though the roads are briliant, heard some horror stories where foreigners are blocked on deserted roads and things stolen. Its not as safe as SIN or HKG.I haven’t been to Borneo but my advice is that you need more time in HK.
I think also that the nationality who were spitting in the pool are not travelling in the numbers they were previously. It should be a lot quieter too😉
Tony, I’m 50/50 that our paths crossed.
Are you a Liverpool supporter?No, not a Liverpool fan. We were in KK over the last weekend of July.
Not sure I’d agree with BBbetter’s assessments of the roads being brilliant, especially once you get away from the cities and even more up into the Kinabatangan. But cars, petrol & labour are all cheap by European standards so transport costs are unlikely to be high. We also toyed with getting driven from Sandakan to the Rasa Ria – seems as if our decision to fly was an infinitely better one.
I think also that the nationality who were spitting in the pool are not travelling in the numbers they were previously. It should be a lot quieter too😉
I saw that in 2019, but Aston’s experience was from last summer. I fear that the sensible travel window 2022 (and to an extent 2021) offered us has closed once again.
Sorry but I would absolutely not recommend this! Sounds like your 9 days is 8 nights. Appreciable chunks of 2 of those days will be taken up with regional flights as schedules between BKI and HKG are not in your favour. In addition, your arrival and departure tinms on bon days 1 and 9 may also be unhelpful. With a tight itinerary like this you are also much more at the mercy of delays too. I think you would be safer and better satisfied to do HK and KL, or KK and either HK or KL but not all three.
Agree, you’ll spend way too much time travelling. I’d do KL and KK. + 1 for a couple of nights at Shangri-La Rasa Ria (not sure at the moment but they often do 3 4 2 offers and you can book via Emyr for some benefits)
THANK YOU ALL! I am so overwhelmed by the detailed replies. The 9 days I mentioned were basically solid, full days excluding arrival and departure days. Reading the above information, I will keep KL to 1 day and allocate time as per the advise. My children will be 15 and 18 by the time we travel so I am a bit doubtful about Rasa Ria if its geared more towards younger children. One thing I have been wary of is paying for expensive hotels, but then being out from early morning till night on tours as that kind of wastes the money I’ve paid for the hotel. For fellow HfPers above who have recommended hiring a driver or taking an overnight trip or 2-3 days trips, how did you manage that when you were at Rasa Ria, for example? Did you check out and then take 2-3 days trips?
If you’re happy to share, where are you flying into on day 0 and out from on day 10, and what are your arrival and departure times?
Rasa Ria is out of the way, so treat it like a destination in its own right. We haven’t done day tours from there.
With kids that age, your agenda isn’t too much traveling if they’re like mine (18, 16 & 13) who expect to be “doing stuff” all the time.
As I see it you have:
1) A city hotel in Kota Kinabalu gives you access to the day trips I and Aston100 have mentioned.
2) A resort hotel like the Rasa Ria gives you a beach, pool & international resort feel
3) A lodge/tour in the Kinabatangan or similar gets you out into nature.
I’d pick two of those three. As mentioned you can swap the Rasa Ria for the Tanjung Aru or similar to blend 1 & 2. I’d also highly recommend getting out into nature for a few days – that time invested at the start and end of this part of the trip will make a massive difference. We saw very few other tourists on the Kinabatangan, but it was also grounding to see the damage humans have done to the environment up there with palm oil plantations. It’s proper “out there” stuff, rather than a “trip to the zoo”. I think short of renting a helicopter you will struggle to get off the beaten track (and back again) in a day from KK.
We did 1 night Singapore, 3 nights KK, 2 night tour out of Sandakan, 2 nights Rasa Ria and 3 nights back in Singapore on our trip. A bit longer would have been nice but it worked and we got back in time for the A level results.
If you’re happy to share, where are you flying into on day 0 and out from on day 10, and what are your arrival and departure times?
Arrival into KUL – 2nd Aug (around 4pm)
Departure from KUL – 13th Aug (around 2am) – That’s why I haven’t counted 12th and 13th as we’d fly back in to KUL on 12th.Rasa Ria is out of the way, so treat it like a destination in its own right. We haven’t done day tours from there.
With kids that age, your agenda isn’t too much traveling if they’re like mine (18, 16 & 13) who expect to be “doing stuff” all the time.
As I see it you have:
1) A city hotel in Kota Kinabalu gives you access to the day trips I and Aston100 have mentioned.
2) A resort hotel like the Rasa Ria gives you a beach, pool & international resort feel
3) A lodge/tour in the Kinabatangan or similar gets you out into nature.
I’d pick two of those three. As mentioned you can swap the Rasa Ria for the Tanjung Aru or similar to blend 1 & 2. I’d also highly recommend getting out into nature for a few days – that time invested at the start and end of this part of the trip will make a massive difference. We saw very few other tourists on the Kinabatangan, but it was also grounding to see the damage humans have done to the environment up there with palm oil plantations. It’s proper “out there” stuff, rather than a “trip to the zoo”. I think short of renting a helicopter you will struggle to get off the beaten track (and back again) in a day from KK.
We did 1 night Singapore, 3 nights KK, 2 night tour out of Sandakan, 2 nights Rasa Ria and 3 nights back in Singapore on our trip. A bit longer would have been nice but it worked and we got back in time for the A level results.
Brilliant stuff, thank you! We are also flying back in time for A level results which will be released on 15th August 🙂
+1 for going across to Sandakan (easy AirAsia flights from KK) and up the Kinbatangan river. We did this on one of our trips and had an amazing safari seeing orang-utans in the wild and whole host of other wildlife. We stayed at Suku Rainforest Lodge who also arranged all transfers and a stop off at Sepilok sanctuary on the way to the lodge.
Thank you, if you could list some of the best things to do there, we can possibly drop HK and focus on Borneo. We don’t drive when we travel so will need to see if we need to book tours.
Tanku Abdul Rehman Park (TARP) – this is the marine park just offshore from KK city. We did 3 * daytrips.
Mari Mari Cultural Village – half day. Was a lot better than we’d expected.
Kinabalu National Park – best to overnight here, can then do the Poring Hotsprings the next day.
Fly to Sandakan in order to do a 2 or 3 nights river safari on the Kinabatangan (a lot of animal sightings – Crocs, Orangutans, snakes, other monkeys etc)
2 or 3 nights in Sepilok (The rainforest discovery centre is unmissable)
1 night on Turtle island (Selingan Island)
And there’s more that we didn’t do further east in Sabah.Very informative Hfp-ers.
@Aston100 – would the activities above be suitable so 2 and 5 year olds ? TARP looks to be manageable but is the Kinabalu national park and Sepilok a bit challenging for young ones ?is the Kinabalu national park and Sepilok a bit challenging for young ones ?
The national park – I would say no, mostly because of the amount of walking / hiking involved. And that’s without even thinking about the mountain itself. The dairy farm might be of interest, but overall I’d skip the national park area with kids that young.
Sepilok – definitely do this with a 5 year old. The Orangutan and Sunbear sanctuaries are fine. The rainforest discovery centre might be a bit challenging but don’t rule it out.
Kinabatangan – I am unsure how you’d manage with a 2 year old on a river safari. We didn’t see any babies during our 3 days. It was VERY humid when we visited and that alone would deter me from brining young children.
I did a walk in the rainforest adjacent to the river and was totally drenched with sweat. I have never sweated so much in my entire life. Mozzies were a constant problem.Tony, I’m 50/50 that our paths crossed.
Are you a Liverpool supporter?No, not a Liverpool fan. We were in KK over the last weekend of July.
Hey that overlaps with my visit.
Hmm… in the lounge, do you remember one evening there was a fabulous looking chap, very handsome? yeah, that was me sitting a couple of tables behind him.Hmm… in the lounge, do you remember one evening there was a fabulous looking chap, very handsome? yeah, that was me sitting a couple of tables behind him.
Well, that handsome fellow was obviously me, durrrr…… 😂
Agree with the idea that a 2 yr old on a river safari would be challenging. I’m wondering if Kuching might be a better bet for younger kids as you have the national park (short boat ride away), the cultural village and the orangutan sanctuary all close to the city, but even then I would question what a 2 yr old would take from it. Our experience was that Singapore proved great for kids of that age, mind, and made for a very easy travel experience as parents.
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