Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort, Kota Kinabalu

We went to this hotel in April 2008, as part of a last minute deal. Both myself and my partner thought this hotel was brilliant and would stay here again.

The first thing that surprises you about the hotel is the fact that as you cross the threshold of the hotel, they hit a gong which I think is a traditional welcome. Instead of having to stand in line at the reception desk, you get shown to a seat in the lobby while a member of staff ...
...you get served with a nice glass of iced peach tea, which is just what you need after about 16 hours of traveling.

We stayed in a deluxe garden view room, which was very nice. In the bathroom, you have the usual bath, shower, sink, toilet and towels. In the main room, you have the main bedroom area, then down a little step is a cute little sitting area, which leads onto the balcony which has a table and two chairs on it.

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We went to this hotel in April 2008, as part of a last minute deal. Both myself and my partner thought this hotel was brilliant and would stay here again.

The first thing that surprises you about the hotel is the fact that as you cross the threshold of the hotel, they hit a gong which I think is a traditional welcome. Instead of having to stand in line at the reception desk, you get shown to a seat in the lobby while a member of staff sorts everything out for you. While they are doing this, you get served with a nice glass of iced peach tea, which is just what you need after about 16 hours of traveling.

We stayed in a deluxe garden view room, which was very nice. In the bathroom, you have the usual bath, shower, sink, toilet and towels. In the main room, you have the main bedroom area, then down a little step is a cute little sitting area, which leads onto the balcony which has a table and two chairs on it.

The facilities in the room include 24 hour room service, TV, tea/coffee facilities, safe and a fridge with complementary water, plus the all important mosquito coils for if you sit out on an evening. If there are any children in your group, the rooms can be a bit small, but otherwise they are a decent enough size. The fridge is left empty, so you can purchase what you want from the shop in the hotel. This shop is really good as it sells everything from souveniers and clothes to drinks/snacks to sanitary wear.

At the hotel, they have a brilliant pool. The pool itself is really big, with a slide for the kids among you, a deeper area and plenty where you can stand if you wish. There is also a separate pool for babies/very young kids which has a shade over it, though this means it can be quite cool. Every morning the pool is cleaned by the hotel staff, so there are never any nasty bits in. Throughout the day, there is a lifeguard in attendance, which is good. There are also towels that are free to hire every day and you can take as many as you wish. Beside the pool is a bar which also serves food all day long.

On the beach, there is a water sports centre, which includes kayaking, catermeran and dingy sailing paragliding and jet skiing. There is a charge for the motor sports RM120 for the parasailing and RM200 for the jet skiing, but the others are free of charge. There are signs on the beach saying that sand flies are present. The sand on the beach is lovely, but the water isnt that clear.

There are several resturants in the hotel, which includes an indian and the Coast resturant which is the more up market resturant. The food is brilliant, though it is rather expensive and there is not much option for going elsewhere. For the old romantic souls among you, you can hie a gazebo on the beach for the evening. Here you have your own butler, who gives you a very personal service. Included are coctails, a brilliant but limited menu and a souvenier menu and photo.

If you do decide to leave the hotel, there is a shuttle bus to Kota Kinabalu, which is charged locally. This journey is about 45 mins long

There is also a spa and golf course at the hotel but we didnt use either of these. 

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