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Joanne L
London, United Kingdom

Family holiday Easter 2015

4.0 of 5 bubblesReviewed 3 May 2015
In my 15 years of travelling, this was one of the best holidays I have ever taken. Borneo is a vast place to visit and we were disappointed that we wouldn't be able to see the whole region with little ones in tow, but the Shangri-La Rasa Ria was the perfect base to see the best of Sabah over two weeks.
In terms of rooms, I am a creature of comfort, and I found the rooms to be sufficiently luxurious, cleaned to a high standard regularly throughout the day, perfect temperature, well-equipped with modern cons, and spacious. The bed was very comfortable and with a firm mattress. My husband and I shared the queen size bed and the pull out sofa was more like a divan which was big enough for our two children (4 and 8 years) to share comfortably without being too cramped.
The facilities were fantastic - there were lots of activities to keep us busy throughout the day. The water sports were particularly good - we boogy boarded (free), water biked (free) and sailed the mini catamaran (free) and for a small extra fee went on a banana boat ride (about £8 per person for a 15 minute ride). The swimming pool was amazing - it had a massive waterslide and baby slide which was covered and so provided sun protection. There is loads of water provided throughout the day in rooms, pool side etc so one never risked being thirsty.
The beach was expansive - beautiful white sand but became very hot during the day! Most of the guests chose to hang pool-side, so it felt great to have the beach to ourselves most of the time!
I would also say that this was a very secure and safe resort. Children walked around freely.
The activities next to the resort were also amazing - the children loved the nocturnal jungle walk and got to play rangers to the orang-utans.
The food was also amazing - better burgers than I've had at nice gastro-pubs in London even! Catering to all tastes, palates and nationalities. A lot of western choices at the breakfast buffets and also the Malaysian fare at Tepi Laut restaurant was varied, delicious and fresh. We had dinner at Tepi Laut most nights over our 12 night stay and didn't get tired of it at all. If you like a little variety, then the Coffee Terrace restaurant has good international fare. The food is not expensive compared with how much it would cost a la carte at a comparable 5-star resort. The burger I mentioned came with a large side of chips and a salad and would have cost £20 elsewhere but was only about £10 room service price. Most dishes a la carte were about £10-12 for mains but I suggest you do half-board.
If you are staying I would suggest you take a few excursions outside the hotel. We did a visit to the base of Mount Kinabalu and went snorkelling to a few islands outside Kota Kinabalu centre. The snorkelling was amazing - up close to all sorts of fish, crystal clear waters, you could feed the fish even and it was very safe and shallow water that was well supervised. I felt completely safe with my 8 year old.
Finally, the staff were really friendly and Bethany) one of the managers was amazing at helping us relocate rooms when a large Asian wedding party that partied late into the night threatened our nights sleep.
All in all, a wonderful holiday and we can't wait to go back again!
Date of stay: April 2015
Trip type: Travelled with family
4.0 of 5 bubblesValue
4.0 of 5 bubblesService
4.0 of 5 bubblesSleep Quality
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    Reviews (7,572)
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    Reviewed 3 May 2015 via mobile

    From the minute we arrived to Borneo, we were amazed by the beauty of the place, our smile was not wiped after we arrived to Rasa Ria.
    Swift checking in ensured we still managed to make it to dinner that night ( we arrived at the hotel at about 21.00 and hadn't booked dinner beforehand) .
    As we got to the hotel late at night and it was dark( sun sets at about 6.15pm in April) , exploring the hotel the next day in the daylight was great.

    Pros:
    1. Choice of restaurants to eat in( 5 to choose from) ;
    2. Location of the hotel( beach on one side, Tropical rainforest with orangutangs , Macaque monkeys and other various species of animals and insects living there on the other),
    3. Things to do outside the hotel which are accessible by taxi, hotel's transfer bus and tour companies' busses if you book a tour);
    4. Things to do in the hotel( we tried and enjoyed parasailing, kayaking, Night walk in the tropical rainforest , Orangutang viewing, table tennis, Pilates class , blowpipe competition,lazying by the pool and jacuzzi pool, swimming in the sea) . Of course, there is also golf, spa , gym and watersports available as well as activities in Nature Centre.
    5. The atmosphere of the hotel. I would say that this place is for relaxing, exploring and enjoying the nature around you as well as enjoying delicious food, attentive staff and quiet evenings in the hotel lobby listening to great cover singers.
    6. Resident birds ( Scarlet Macaw, Hornbill and a family of owls) , who live freely in different parts of the hotel.

    Cons:
    1. The sea water is not clear because of the nearby river. Still perfectly fine to swim in but just cannot snorkel there. We did know that before we got there so it was not a surprise , so we went to Sapi island twice during our 8 day stay in Rasa Ria to snorkel.
    2. Mosquitos after it rains! I only got bitten on the last day as that day I didn't apply DEET 50 properly for the first time during our 8 night stay) . Don't make that mistake!

    As you can see, I cannot fault the hotel on anything that they can change , so all in all the experience of this hotel and Sabah was just magical and we cannot wait to be back.

    P.S. Do request a room on a higher floor as the view is beautiful . We stayed in Ocean wing and I can thoroughly recommend it.

    P.P.S. We were originally hesitant about booking this hotel as thought that there would be too many children running about. It was not the case at all , we didn't see many children and the ones we did see behaved beautifully in the restaurants and pools. Might be different in high season but this was our experience.

    The trips out that we took were :
    1) Proboscis Monkeys and Fireflies;
    2) Sapi island snorkelling( snorkelling, seeing monitor lizards and we saw a wild boar there as well ). We took hotel's transfer bus to Kota Kinabalu and then a boat from Jesselton point ( about 30MR return) to Sapi i.e. Didn't book a tour.
    3) Mari Mari cultural village tour ( interesting introduction to life of the tribes on the island not so long ago). Set in the jungle , so can also see beautiful butterflies flying past and other interesting insects and plants) .
    Recommend them all . Bookable through hotel's tour companies' agents or online through different tour companies like we did.

    Date of stay: April 2015
    Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    11  Thank happytraveller123440
    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.
    Reviewed 3 May 2015

    The resort has various activities and events from Monday to Sunday.We did the parasailing, jet ski, horse riding and firefly viewing, however, there's still a lot of actities we haven't try. We saw the Orangutan and certain rare birds like scarlet macaw and toucan. The staff who take care of those anminals and birds are very knowledgeable and thoughtful. They were pleased to introduce anything we would like to know and invited us to feed animals and view the bird feeding.
    In addition, the music of the lobby lounge and Italian restaurant is also nice. There's different bands playing everynight. Overall, we had a great stay and it was truely an amazing experience. I certainly will come back!

    Date of stay: March 2015
    • Trip type: Travelled with friends
      • Value
      • Location
      • Sleep Quality
      • Rooms
      • Cleanliness
      • Service
    Review collected in partnership with shangri-la.com
    Thank Fiona_lf2015
    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.
    Reviewed 2 May 2015

    We arrived 30 minutes earlier that the regular check-in time and our room were not ready. We had reserved a jungle view room and got a garden view. We didn't have the energy to argue and went to the pool area where we thought we would spend a couple of hours in peace. The amount of families with small children at this place is crazy. You cannot find a quiet spot here, not even far away from the pool since there are children and their parent running around everywhere. Not even the beach is a peaceful place, because there will be a Euro-trash disco in the afternoon every single day. The Indian restaurant was ok, but not more that that. The breakfast was a disappointment. The poolside restaurant staff seemed so confused and disoriented. The whole experience was such a disappointment!

    We left Shangri-La Rasa Ria resort as tired as when we got there!

    Date of stay: April 2015
    • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
      • Value
      • Sleep Quality
      • Service
    3  Thank Mina_Billing
    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.
    Shangri-LaRasaRia, Resident Manager at Shangri-La Rasa Ria Kota Kinabalu, responded to this reviewResponded 5 May 2015

    Dear Mina B,
    Thank you for taking time to write a review about your recent stay with us. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience and disappointment that you did not have a peaceful time at the resort during April Easter school holiday season. We hope that you will return to our shores and give another opportunity to redeem ourselves and regain trust in Shangri-La.

    Best Regards,
    Alfons Olim
    Resident Manager

    Report response as inappropriate
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
    Reviewed 2 May 2015 via mobile

    The resort is set up so there is basically a family side and a coupes side and you can do all kinds of activities on either side. It is very clean and nice, good food, easy beach, good activities, including a climbing wall, archery, pool table and bicycle rental. We went with a two year old, and had a great time, but we would have had an even better time had our child been at least six. I would say it's amazing for slightly older children who meet the minimum age to do all the activities. Also, if your child needs to sleep in a separate room and there are no suites available, they will give you a room with an adjoining room at half price (just so long as only children and not adults sleep there). This was an awesome arrangement for us! No matter what the ages, you certainly won't be disappointed. The dinner buffet with traditional dances is a little expensive, but for great food advice entertainment. Gorgeous sunset.

    Date of stay: April 2015
    Trip type: Travelled with family
    2  Thank GwynethF
    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.
    Reviewed 1 May 2015

    We stayed here once in September 2014 and once in April 2015 and both times were perfect
    Facility and rooms are so clean and comfy and the turndown service makes you feel so happy after a day of swimming and watching the sunset
    It's surounded by green hills and a little forest where the Orangutan sanctuary is and just makes it feel wild
    We had a slight problem with the second time where we booked in the new Ocean wing and our room AC wasn't working well but they gave us another room on a higher floor and we were happy as can be
    It's so safe for families with chilren of all ages and the staff are so friendly towards the kids so feel safe

    Restaurants
    We tried the Oceano Italian rest. Wasn't too great but then again it was a soft opening so maybe they will be better later
    Also we liked the Tapi Laut and their cultural night with music and dancing and the food all is great it's a buffet
    And we liked the all day dining in coffee terrace
    And we loved their fancy rest. Coast that was a great place and the food so delice!!

    Room tip: Choose floors higher than 3
    Date of stay: April 2015
    • Trip type: Travelled with family
      • Location
      • Rooms
      • Service
    Thank samawimaui
    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.
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