We enjoyed a 6-night stay at this property in an ‘Over The Water Chalet’ the week prior to the COVID Malaysia country wide lockdown – Our stay was during very low occupancy, which was certainly more pleasurable than the full house experience we might have other wise been subject too!

On departure morning we were promptly picked up at our hotel in Sandakan and brought to the dock a few minutes drive away. The trip over was in calm waters, plain clothes security were on board and we were accompanied by a police boat part of the way. On arrival we noted a Malaysian Navy boat sitting off the island. On the island there were Military personal behind blinds at numerous points on the island. Our Chalet was equipped with a panic button and red light all of which contributed to our safety while on the island. While there have been no terrorist kidnappings in the area in almost a decade, we felt very safe with the necessary security noted!

On arrival we were promptly herded into the main building for an initiation session by an employee who rhymed off a spiel which was hard to understand, outdated, mostly irrelevant and he was unable to answer questions which were outside of his written practiced spiel.

After the induction we were sent to our ‘East Facing Chalet’ meaning we had morning sun followed by shade in the late afternoon which meant the room stayed cooler and the deck was a cool respite at the end of the day. The west facing Chalets would provide the opposite experience.

Our Chalet was spacious and comfortable with the main area air conditioned which really only provided relief at night due to the fact the Chalet ceiling is mostly open to the outdoors and the door to the outdoor washroom did not close.

We were given an Internet log in code for the main building, which provided spotty, slow as molasses service. We inquired of the strong internet signal showing up in the chalet and were told this was for employees only and required a Purchased Voucher available only to employees.

After some discussion with the manager Cyril the girl at the front desk who had initially refused to sell us a card, agreed to order an internet card allowing us to use the internet point in the room. Unfortunately, it did not arrive until our second last day, however we found the connection was faster, reliable and much more convenient to have a connection in the room.

We would run into numerous instances of disconnection with staffs – Fortunately when we could get the ear of Cyril the manager, a solution was always instantaneous.

Examples: The door lock on our chalet would not turn and lock or unlock with out force and multiple attempts. Reporting to the front desk went no where until Cyril became involved. Complaints of guests smoking inside the main building next to dinners eating a meal went ignored until we could track down Cyril

Initially we would go to the front desk and ask to speak with the manager, the girl working the front desk was always more interested in Facebook on the computer and grudgingly indicated he was not here; however, he was somewhere on the island but could not be reached. We were told that possibly he would be back at 3:30 PM which was not the case when we returned at the appointed time.

The next day we insisted on leaving a message for the manager. Out message indicated we needed to speak with him – Cyril did track us down and told us that was “Total BS” as he could always be reached 24 hours a day via the radio he always carried!

Snorkeling was very good. We would take a boat snorkel in the morning to various spots close to the island and in the afternoon, we would snorkel off the shore for a different experience.

We would be ready and waiting in the dive office well before the appointed time. Staffs were very vague and there was an evident disconnect as to when or if the snorkel boat would be going out. Direct questions were always met with “wait over there”!

One day after a wait of 50 minutes and staffs ignoring us and refusing to acknowledge or update us, we decided to leave – half way back to the Chalet staffs came after us yelling to come back, they were going now, almost an hour late!

Perhaps these and other unmentioned examples of disconnect were down to a very laid-back cultural approach, or perhaps there is some sort of disenchantment by certain staffs in their work creating a lack of empathy and enthusiasm for their work contributing to a negative customer experience in what is a high potential, beautiful, serene and exotic location.

Snorkeling is a highlight here. Fish, sea snakes, turtles, huge parrot fishes & lots of coral were only some of the fascinating underwater life conducent to the island

Food was average and daily selection was consistent with what one would expect on a remote island location…. Basic & edible but not gourmet. Due to the small number of guests, most days were à la carte with occasional buffet meals when guest numbers increased slightly.

For a resort in the sun the one resort bar peculiarly only sells an assortment of beer and a small selection of wine. There is no hard alcohol, mixed drinks or liqueurs.

The island is beautiful. White sandy beaches great for sunbathing and turtles laying eggs late at night. The overwater Chalets offer privacy and comfort. Many of the staffs are hardworking friendly helpful people from different cultures willing to assist with any requests. While there were numerous disconnect challenges, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and left with many happy memories.

Special thanks to Cyril and all the staffs who made our stay memorable!

We spent 6 nights on Lankayan and loved every minute. We stayed in both the beach bungalows and the over-water chalets. Both were spacious and comfortable with great amenities. The air-conditioning was definitely colder in the beach rooms but we never felt hot over the water. The food was excellent with a good range of Western and Asian food. We came for the diving and were not disappointed. We saw a Marlin, Jawfish, many Sharks, Frogfish, and quite a bit of macro. Every dive we saw something cool. Definitely worth a visit!

Nice place and nice resort ...
I come in here with my fiance and some divers family and we do dive for some days , a lot of wreck dive in here and Good for fun dive also

And best place for the turtle so you can see a lot of turtle around the resort in here even on the beach ...