Bilit Rainforest Lodge is located beside the Lower Kinabatangan River in the village of Bilit, approximately 2 hours drive from Sandakan. It is a set of amidst lush tropical forest and offers comfort and peaceful relaxation as well as a base for easy exploration of the incredible diversity of plant, mammal and birds at the Kinabatangan region. All chalets and the restaurant are made from local hardwood material and are designed to blend into the nature giving a unique local native ambience. The rooms are very spacious and comfortable with a minimum of 600 sq.ft. for standard chalets and 800 sq. ft. for VIP permier chalets. A boardwalk connects the jetty, restaurant and all the chalets.
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
Mid-range
Charming
Languages Spoken
English, Chinese, Malay
Location
KG Bilit Seberang Jalan Sukau, Kota Kinabatangan 90200 Malaysia
The accommodation is in individual wooden lodges on stilts accessed from the river and dining room on an elevated wooden boardwalk. The room itself was very spacious and had a separate wet room and toilet in addition to outside seating on a verandah. A kettle and coffee making was provided as was a safe. Bed large and comfortable with ample U.K. power sockets and effective AC. Dust and cobwebs prevailed throughout our accommodation and lighting over the bed with no bulbs! Our room was not made up (did we forget to put the ‘please clean our room’ sign outside the door?
During our two night stay we had three riverboat trips with informative and helpful guides. All meals were buffet style and there were choices available. There is a bar and a TV room but not much else to do beyond the riverboat trips so be prepared to amuse yourselves.
Torches are not provided but lighting along the boardwalk at night was perfectly fine. Guided day and evening walks, binoculars and leech socks were available to hire but the main purpose of coming here is to experience the wildlife along the river bank. Staff incredibly friendly and helpful. Beware some of the resident monkeys can be aggressive but they were soon shooed away by one the cleaners and her broom! Lots of wildlife is available to see on the doorstep.
This has all the ingredients to be a really excellent place if they invested in some help in upping their game in customer service and housekeeping standards whilst preserving their unique authenticity.
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Date of stay: September 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Bring things to amuse yourself in between river trips and your own plug in mosquito repellent
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 booked 3d/2n package with visit to Gomantong Caves. Upon arrival we were greeted by friendly staff and lunch was waiting for us. After a quick refresh off we went onto our fist river cruise. I was hoping for some wildlife but was surprised how much we saw during our short stay! Proboscis monkeys, macaques, crocodiles, many birds species including a few specious of king fisher, no luck seeing an orangutan but luck seeing a pygmy elephant approaching a river bank and crossing river just in front of us! We were able to follow the elephant for some time until it decided it had enough bathing and cooling off in the river and climbed onto to the other river bank and went off. Such an amazing wildlife encounter, we couldn't stop smiling! Overall the program is packed but it increases chances of spotting wildlife from boat at different times during the day and night. We also opted for a jungle trek to nearby ox-bow lake to stretch legs. They guides here are really friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable.There is hardly any light pollution and I loved the night skies, absolutely amazing. Food served buffet style was varied and tasty, staff were really friendly, polite and helpful. Filter water was available all day. Our room was spacious with working fan/aircon, safe and beds were comfy. We enjoyed relaxing in hammocks between the river cruises. We had a wonderful experience with some amazing wildlife encounters to remember.
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Date of stay: March 2020
Location
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.
Response from AB_Customer_Care, Public Relations Manager at Bilit Rainforest Lodge
Responded 21 Apr 2020
Hi Xenie67, Thank you so much for your awesome review! We're so happy that you enjoyed your tour with us at the lodge! Spotting wildlife in Sabah is almost a guaranteed experience and it's wonderful you got to see a pygmy elephant cooling itself by the river, which is not something one sees often! And it's true, the night skies as seen from the lodge as well as around it is stunning and it's great that you got to experience it ~ We hope to see you staying with us again soon! For now, please stay safe! Until next time, cheers!!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Our two night stay at the Bilit Rainforest Lodge was one of the highlights of our Borneo trip. An unfortunate victim of the pandemic, the property was occupied by just our group of seven and one family. Most of the rooms are individually standing and spacious with everything including air con. and tea making. Rooms could do with extra cleaning for example, cobwebs around the windows. No wifi in the rooms and the wifi in the dining area did not work much until our last night. Breakfasts were nice with a young lady cooking eggs as ordered. Lunches and Dinners were delicious buffet style with a meat dish, usually fish and a couple of vegetable choices and rice or noodles. The main dishes were repeated on the two nights. The dining area is outdoors so make sure you have insect repellant although we did not experience a lot in three days. Soft drinks and alcohol is available but with very little choices. The river cruises would have been excellent but we were unlucky with a boat that had problems on two of our three cruises. Staff were excellent and attentive even though they were obviously bored with so few people to serve.
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Date of stay: December 2022
Value
Rooms
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.
What a great stay we had, very spacious room with very comfortable beds. Air conditioned so kept nice and cool. Fairly basic room and bathroom was not the best, but you appreciate your surroundings and the reasonable price paid. The night-time acoustics outside were magical, we went for a walk around the boardwalk and could not believe all the different noises we heard. The meals were really tasty and very well cooked, mainly served as a buffet. The river trips were fantastic and the guides were very knowledgeable and they were so good at spotting even the smallest critters.
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Date of stay: October 2022
Location
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.
The location is prime along side the river and the tours conducted from the lodge were amazing with experienced and very knowledgeable guides (Abud) covering both fauna and flora. The accommodation is basic and in some instances required better cleaning as evidence of mold covered the side of the toilet extensively as well as other areas of the cabin as well. Basic meals and limited beverages.
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Date of stay: December 2022
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.
Comfortable, spacious, free-standing villa. There are a few inside stairs with the bedroom and living area upstairs and the entry, bathroom and separate toilet downstairs. Slip-on shoes provided for guests to use inside. Tea/coffee making facilities included too. Heaps of wildlife around the resort: monkeys, flying squirrels, squirrels, goats and birds. Lots of jungle noises of a night! Easy walk to the dining area. All meals were terrific and the staff were friendly and efficient. Wifi at reception or in the dining area worked faultlessly. Riverboat staff and vessels were very good.
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Date of stay: October 2022
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.
We stayed at Bilit on nights 3 & 4 of our visit to Borneo. Whilst the resort was very quiet we still had a great time on our cruises- of which we did 3 over the 2 days. We were given their "honeymoon lodge" which was very spacious and had the best shower we enjoyed in the whole of our trip! The lodges are well kept yet they are not luxury- but what would you expect when your right on the river- literally 50m away! The food was served buffet style and could have been hotter and more choice would be better! The staff were great and whilst the main area and surrounding are very rustic, this place is good enough for a couple of nights if you want to be right in the heart of the wildlife! We say plenty of Probiscis monkeys, Macaccs, gibbons amogst countless birds and reptiles.
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip 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.
We stayed here as part of an organised tour and it surpassed expectations. The rooms were large and comfortable, two double beds, wardrobe with safe, a separate toilet and shower room. The shower was a bit pathetic power wise but you're in the middle of the jungle! We were happy the water was hot. Breakfast lunch and dinner are served buffet style, with only a handful of selection. Meat and veggie were catered for. There were a couple of vegan options too. We really enjoyed the food. You have to pay for WiFi, we chose not to so can't comment on that. The river cruising was amazing, we did get rained on a lot so a poncho is an absolute must. We saw loads of monkeys, crocs and birds. No orangutans or elephants for us, but that's wildlife for you. Can't predict it, gives us an excuse to go back!
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Bring a poncho and mosquito repellent!
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.
I visited Bilit lodge alone as part of a longer trip in Borneo. The lodge is set right on the river and I was able to enjoy day and night rides to see a plethora of wildlife with an expert guide, Azman who knew all the best spots and had a wealth of experience.
My lodge was beautiful with great air conditioning - a blessing amidst the humidity. Food is served communally and was local and delicious.
Visits to the Sepilok orangutan rehab Centre, Sun Bear sanctuary & a canopy walk were also included.
I loved this trip so much that I’m already saving to come back.
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Date of stay: February 2024Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip: I wish I’d booked a 2 day trip rather than just an overnight
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.
So lets start with the positives. I have read many reviews about crap guides uninformed. Our guide Jon was the most amazing guide and spotted for us all sorts of wildlife including Pygmy elephants. Eagles. Kingfisher snakes crocodile hornbills. His English was brilliant. His knowledge was amazing and we loved him. This was our time once off the hotel edge and on the boat. Unfortunately that’s where it stops. The rooms are basic beyond belief. Not clean We had no hot water initially and then a Luke warm trickle. No making any beds up or any room service. No milk for coffee in the room no fridge. No WiFi in the resort offered at all. Then there is the food. The first 24hrs we got given plates of food No choice at all. Oven chips and s scoop of rice. With some accompliments. The second evening the food was better and came out in a buffet style. This was an improvement but to be honest couldn’t have got worse. We were lucky as we had moved our orang-utan visit to the day. There isn’t much going on in the day and I was so glad to be out of the accommodation. After a cold breakfast before leaving you are given the guest book. Bless us brits are so polite…. Nobody mentions the accommodation which is below a french refuge standard. My 18 year old son might not mind if he was back packing. Sorry guys. But people need to know what they are heading into. It was our 25th Wedding anniversary on Tuesday night. What a hole to be in ! Leaving on a positive. Did I mention Jon our guide was AMAZING !!!
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Date of stay: June 2022
Value
Rooms
Service
Room Tip:Â There were only four guests and yet we still got a rubbish attached chalet. There are detached...
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.
Hi, I’m Hadley from Bilit Rainforest Lodge.
Mosquitoes normally appear more during rainy days, while there’s too in normal days but not much. I would like to suggest you to bring along with insect repellent, otherwise you can purchase directly at the Lodge. Thank you :)
Hi Darryl. Bilit lodge is a few hours drive from Sepilok where the Orang u tang sanctuary is. If you want to stay near the Orang Sanctuary- try Sepilok Jungle Resort - we loved it. Bilit lodge (loved this place too) is on the river and it does include the boat rides along (2 one at sunset - one at sunrise)the river to see birds, crocs, elephants, several kinds of monkeys. one of the guys does a night jungle walk - which you pay extra for - I think it was about $10 Aus. and you can buy beer :) and snacks at the lodge. the overnight fee includes your dinner and breakfast (which was good) don't expect 5 star at either place, there are 5 star places as well. up to you
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