We attended a summit in Kota Kinabalu. The organizers have chosen One Borneo Hotel as the venue. That is also where they decided to book the delegates to stay. Approximate travel time from airport to Grand Borneo hotel is about an hour. I preferred to take a bus over taxi as it is way cheaper. About one tenth of what will cost you if you take taxi. I like the high ceiling and lots of seats when I got inside the hotel. It may not be as impressive as others I’ve seen but seats this close from the entrance is a really a plus for me as I’m tired from travelling and seating uncomfortably. The receptionist speaks English well enough for me to understand. Even a couple of bellhops are easy to understand I was able to ask them for suggestions of places to go.
We were assigned to a 'superior' type room good for two. With an additional bed, the room looked already cramped. There is not much space to move except at the foot of the bed and the short way from beds to door. But since we are out most of the day, it is good enough for me. My roommates and I go out if we want to spend time with other friends than stay in the room. The aircon is really cool. I also like the rain/downpour style shower head. The hotel also provided handheld shower for those who prefer that.
I did not like the maze-like search for our rooms. A friend of mine and I parted ways after getting off the elevator since we are assigned to different rooms. Following the arrows and really weird room numbering, I ended up opening a door a room away from her. Funny. I only got used to their system on my third day of stay. There’s very limited to watch on TV for someone who can’t understand Malay but fortunately there’s HBO.
We were able to try the pool in the afternoon, it has roof. There are folded towels on each chair. I’m a little disappointed it is located on the third floor. I’m hoping it is somewhere higher. The water is really, really cold. And it was windy for a time so we were really shivering. There are many birds on one side; we get some feather on the water. So imagine, maybe there are droppings somewhere.
As for the food, there’s buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But we are served the same type of food during our stay. On the second day, we are asked not to eat much since they were not prepared to cater another group of guests. So we just ate desserts. They said they will serve snacks later that day. When we asked if we can have snacks around 3 pm, the organizer said the restaurant already closed at 230 pm. Not my type of day. Not much variety at all. On third day, I am not eating much, and on fourth day, I skipped breakfast and dinner, I only ate lunch so satisfy my hunger and I needed to take medicine.
Good thing there’s a mall beside the hotel, and they close late, maybe 9 or 10PM. There are some restaurants that offer some other dishes. Last lunch before leaving is at Nando’s. Great chicken dish, my chicken had a tag ‘not so brave’ for not ordering some hot or spicy marinade. I’m not really into hot food.
They hotel staff are very polite. It just so happened that we are many that you still have to fall in line before they can entertain your request. And as I’ve mentioned earlier, even the bellhops are generous with their suggestions for good places to go and where to get cheap transpo.
There aren’t many places to visit near the hotel, except for the mall; there isn’t much to see if you walk around. You have to travel at least half an hour to reach the city or more than an hour to visit a tourist spot.
Grand Borneo Hotel is considerably inexpensive but with its location, I will recommend staying in the city if you are going to move a lot around Kota.
