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The Jesselton Hotel welcomes business and leisure travelers alike with a central location in the heart of the city and an array of selection for places to visit; encapsulating the full lifestyle of a city life within a tropical haven. Located on 69 Gaya Street, the hotel doors open to a Sunday Market which has become the place to go on for some retail therapy. Another great place to experience the culture and the livelihood of the Sabahan families on a Sunday outing. The hotel is just a few minutes’ walk from the Sabah Tourism Corporation office, KK Heritage Walk and Night Market, Shopping Malls and about a 20 minutes’ drive from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA). The prime location also provides an easy access to a whole range of dining options including Italian, French, Western, Asian and fusion cuisines, which are all available within walking distance to the hotel. Experience for yourself this wonderfully inspiring one of a kind colonial jewel in KK!
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Classic
Historic Hotel
Languages Spoken
English, Malay
Location
69 Jalan Gaya, Kota Kinabalu 88000 Malaysia
The Jesselton Hotel
4 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We stayed in the Jesselton for two separate nights as part of a group tour with Intrepid travel. In summary, the hotel is looking a bit tired and some immediate improvements are needed to the first room we stayed in. We stayed in room 203 and the room smelt of stale cigarette smoke, and it is meant to be a non-smoking room.
The bathroom in our room was tatty with old, fraying towels. There was water leaking under the sink; possibly from the toilet, and the tiles by the shower had sunken in and were broken and grotty.
The safe in our room didn’t work and when we called housekeeping, someone came out and said there was nothing they could do to fix it.
One of the small windows in our bedroom had no handle on it and so we weren’t able to close the window.
The second room (115) was much better with no issues. The carpets and general decor in the hotel are looking a bit dated and the Wi-Fi was so slow and confusing with passcodes for different parts of the hotel.
The staff here were so sweet and helpful and made us a lovely packed lunch for breakfast when we left early one morning and kindly allowed us to leave our luggage when we went diving.
Sadly this hotel is a bit tired and dated and we wouldn’t come back as there are other options in KK at comparable rates.
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Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Renovation works going on 8am to 5pm. Quiet room promised by Exo travel, message not passed on. Eventually the suite was offered, which was very nice. T Vs not brilliant and little choice. Breakfast offered very limited, to spicy and so we left it
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Date of stay: June 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Make sure renovations completed and they are fully operation
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Marketing Team, Marketing at The Jesselton Hotel
Responded 1 Jul 2024
Dear FarAway00414636390, Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We apologize for the inconvenience you experienced during your stay. It's regrettable that the information regarding the renovation and the quiet room request was not effectively communicated to you by Exo Travel. We understand how important a peaceful environment is for a comfortable stay. We are pleased to hear that you eventually enjoyed the suite offered to you. However, we acknowledge your feedback regarding the TV quality and breakfast options, and we will certainly take this into consideration for future improvements. We hope that despite these issues, you were able to enjoy your time in Chinatown and the surrounding area. Your comments are valuable to us, and we appreciate your patience and understanding. Should your travels bring you back to the area, we would love the opportunity to provide you with an improved experience. Warm regards, Marketing Team
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed at the Jesselton for 1 night as were stopping over in KK between trips from Mulu to Sandakan.
The hotel itself was built in the 1940's after the war and retains many of these features which add to the charm of the hotel. Having said that the common areas and the rooms do all seem a bit tired and could do with a bit of a refresh. I do appreciate that the hotel has only recently re-opened following the pandemic and this could be a contributing factor.
The location is great and there are dozens of local cafe's and restaurants were we had a great bowl of spicy Laksa.
Breakfast was freshly made and served in a small room on the third floor...conveniently close to our room!
For a short stay in KK The Jesselton was fine and I much prefer these boutique type hotels to the main chain hotels.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Conveniently sited in the centre of the town, so you can walk to most places, or catch a taxi (called a grab ride here). There was work going on when we were there, so breakfast was very limited (3 choices only) and had to be chosen the previous day. The room was very nice, spacious with a nice bathroom and a safe.
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Date of stay: May 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Marketing Team, Marketing at The Jesselton Hotel
Responded 1 Jul 2024
Dear chaletaria, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We're delighted to hear that you found our hotel's location convenient for exploring the town, whether on foot or using Grab rides. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the renovation work during your stay, which affected our breakfast offerings. Your feedback regarding the limited choices and pre-selection requirement has been duly noted, and we will review our processes to ensure a smoother experience for our guests in the future. It's wonderful to know that you enjoyed the spaciousness of your room, as well as the amenities provided, including the nice bathroom and the safe. We strive to create a comfortable and enjoyable stay for all our guests, and we're glad to hear that these aspects met your expectations. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback. We look forward to welcoming you back and providing you with an even better experience during your next visit. Warm regards, Marketing Team
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Arrived at this hotel quite late for the first day and the male hotel staff named Daniel greet me and my friend warmly such a very helpful staff and good knowledge. After a very fast check in we going for walk to the API API NIGHT MARKET just infront of the hotel, such a crowdy market and many choices of food. We went to dinner at MAMASITA restaurant and enjoying live band music such a great place the hotel staff suggesting. After dinner we going back to our room and we get a Deluxe Twin Room nice comfy and spacious. But maybe the hotel can upgrade their breakfast and add up some menu. Definitly will visit this hotel again.
Bedankt tot ziens !
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Marketing Team, Marketing at The Jesselton Hotel
Responded 24 Mar 2024
Dear Explorer22279324096, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We're delighted to hear that you were warmly greeted by our staff, especially Daniel, and that you found our check-in process efficient. It's wonderful to know that you enjoyed exploring the API API NIGHT MARKET and that our staff could recommend a great dining spot. We're pleased that you found your Deluxe Twin Room comfortable and spacious. Your feedback regarding the breakfast options is duly noted, and we'll certainly consider adding more variety. We look forward to welcoming you back on your next visit. Warm regards, Marketing Team
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We stayed in the hotel for one night whilst we stopped over in Kota Kinabalu. The facilities were very good, clean room, very comfy bed, good shower and a fancy colonial feel to the hotel.
The location is really good for Kota Kinabalu,neaf Gaya Street and we were there during Ramadan when night markets populate the streets around there with incredible food. No complaints at all for the hotel - fully recommend.
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Date of stay: March 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jesselton Hotel offers several places of interest. For instance the Kota Kinabalu City Tour. It supposes to show the 7 wonders of Kota Kinabalu. Actually what the hotel does, it hires a taxi driver to drive you to the 7 wonders of the town. The taxi driver is not a tour guide, so information about the so-called wonders you dont get. One of the wonders was closed because it was under construction, another was impossible to visit because of rush hour, the other was nearly closed because it was already late in the afternoon, that was the Sabah Museum. Seeing the sunset, also included, I did that by myself. After an angry phone call the staff apologized and told me that the costs were theirs. Thats a nice suggestion, but my experience is, dont booked a day tour at the hotel desk unless a guarantee is possible to get an experienced tour guide and not only a person who is driving you around, you will be better off with a grab, and much cheaper!
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Dont arrange your day tours at the hotel desk, it will spare you a lot of disappointments and...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed 5 nights, strongly recommended if you are staying KK. This is not a very big chain hotel but very cosy and have a character.
Locaion: great! 10 min easy walk to Jesselton Point, 5 min walk to nearest shopping mall, 2 min walk to laundry (service wash Rm18, done by nice lady), in front of hotel for Sunday morning market & weekend evening food market, lots of eating places on the same street (most breakfast opens 7)
Service: 5 star! From the booking on line to the check out, staff was very kind and very attentive. Newspaper "Borneo Post" sent to the room every morning was nice especially not many hotel provide papers nowadays. In addition it was nice to know local news too.
Room: very clean and spacious. Room 214 was near to the traffic lights and could hear noise a bit.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
At the front desk , check in was a breeze, and we were assigned to rooms 101/108 and 301 for our stay from 24 – 26 Jan and 29 – 31 Jan respectively. Rooms are spacious and clean , it has fast speed wireless internet connect including a safe box and comfortably supplied with all the necessary amenities. It is a heritage boutique hotel , nicely decorated with colonial furnitures and fixtures .
The location of Jesselton Hotel is very central , it is right in the centre of town where all the tourist spots is located . A mere 10 mins walk lead us to the restaurants alongside the waterfront boardwalk , harbor for the ferries /boats to take passengers for cruises or island hopping, wet and dry markets and the handicraft market. There is a convenience store just opposite the hotel , and several food outlets and bars as well as shopping malls .
As our check out day happens to be on Sunday, the street in front of the hotel is closed for a market packed with all types of goods, food, live entertainment, etc which poses some conveniences as we could not park our car to collect our luggages!!! very pleasant stay and we plan to return in the near future to this hotel
Nevertheless the stay was very pleasant stay and we shall return !!!
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Date of stay: January 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This historic hotel is located at the end of a row of shophouses along the famous Gaya Street. A new annex is formed from the 2nd story of the next lot of shophouses which is where we had our room. It looked out onto the back street and further into a main road, and is reasonably quiet. The rates are very good value.
The room was very cosy, with good furnishings (open cabinetry) and fittings. The bed and pillows were very comfortable and we felt very much at home throughout our time there, considering this is one of the few stays we spent a lot of time in the room. Our stay was quite enjoyable and staff were very helpful especially when we had to extend another night as one of our party was not feeling well. Lots of channels and cable TV helped us tide over that too.
We stayed over the weekend and got to experience the night market and Gaya Street market right at our doorstep, which was wonderful. There are many restaurants and shops nearby for souvenirs, snacks and also medicines.
Thank you Michelle for dropping by to talk about the history of the hotel. We really enjoyed our stay and will love to come back again. Kudos also to your staff who were always very warm and helpful.
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Date of stay: December 2019
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello Velle_san,
Thanks for your enquiry. Yes, we do have connecting rooms available for the superior room category. You may check out our website for more information or contact us directly should you require further clarification.
Hello Rainbows1118,
Thanks for your inquiry. Yes, we do provide breakfast. Rooms with breakfast rate is only available on our official website, alternatively you may purchase your breakfast upon check in which is chargeable at RM25.00nett per person.
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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