We had an all-too-brief two days here and should have spent several more. The lodge is lovely and the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful. Our safaris were really successful in finding lots of wildlife, both expected and completely new.
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We intended to be in the Danum Valley, however Kawag is actually on Kawag River, not exactly on the primary forests of Danum Valley as in Danum Valley Research Centre or Borneo Rainforest Lodge. However it is still nice and has many of the attractions. The hotel must put mosquito nets on the windows and balcony door.
I booked a tour with Borneo Refugia and stayed at Kawag for one night. I could not be happier. The experience of trekking in the jungle was amazing, and our guide Rob was so nice and knowledgable. We didn't see orangutans, unfortunately, but we saw other wildlife such as gibbons, red leaf monkeys, Wild pigs and wild cats, and leartn a lot about the rainforest. The accommodation was new and very comfortable. The staff were helpful and nice, and the food was yummy.
Overall, excellent experience, I totally recommend it!
A nice, fairly new place. Rooms are clean, but prepare for basic infrastructure. The dining area is lovely and friendly, enjoyable. Thanks for the chef, food is really good. You may find couple of trails but prepare for millions of leaches. Quit annoying to check your body all the time. They made hard to enjoy trekking.
But the staff, was very VERY nice and kind. I wish to meet all around such people. A big thanks all of you.
The resort has an interesting design which allows you to observe nature from an elevated boardwalk, you can even take photos of birds and other wildlife from your breakfast table. The service staff are very friendly, professional and attentive to your needs and the food was very good. My guide Rom was very knowledgeable in all aspects of the jungle and patiently explained all the interesting things we saw on the hikes and night drive. We saw lots of birds and small animals even though the region was in the middle of a drought. There were very few mosquitos at the lodge, probably because of all the small bats which come out at night to eat them. My guide was also happy to change my itinerary to suit my plans/interests.
On a slightly negative note, one of the other senior guides there seemed to have little understanding of wildlife observation etiquette - they were about 50m ahead of us on a jungle hike & we could hear him shouting and laughing, which would scare away any wildlife around. He also refused to let my guide and I hitch a ride with his vehicle one morning to travel to the forestry worker's quarters to look for an orangutan (even though there were spare seats), so we had to walk 20min or more to get there, by which time the orangutan had already left.
Hello wilcirrus,
Thank you for staying with us at Kawag Danum Rainforest Lodge and for taking the time to share your valuable review.
Concerned with your comments, we had made an investigation and would like to take this TripAdvisor reply corner to explain this little misinterpretation.
Wildlife observation etiquette – For this matter, a guide has their own way to entertain their guests and some of them presented their cheerful and energetic personalities to ensure that their guests will not feel bored during the jungle activities.
Refuse to hitch a ride – For this matter, we already communicated with our guides. We found that the issue here was on the time arrangement of the activity. The morning walk activity usually starts at 0500 hrs and our vehicle will depart at that particular time. As informed by our guide, your morning walk activity was re-time to later at 0600 hrs. Therefore, the other guide and his guests had left at 0500 hrs to use the vehicle.
Any inconvenience caused is much regretted and we will take these comments for our future improvement.
We stayed here for the 3D / 2N package. It was a great experience. The food was plentiful and good. Our guide for all the nature treks was fantastic, very personable and knowledgeable about all the life in the forest. We spotted a wild orangutan and gibbons in the forest with the help of our guide. Popular destination for serious bird watching. The rooms are simple but comfortable. It is very hot and humid so definitely recommend a room with air con. Free unlimited drinking water refills. Very limited wifi service so enjoy unplugging while having an authentic nature experience.
Hi Herbie
Thank you for choosing us.
We are glad to know that you had a great experience at Kawag Danum Rainforest Lodge. Thank you for taking a moment to recommend us to others. Your good ratings are greatly appreciated, and we hope you won’t hesitate to let us know if we can serve you again in the future!
