Best places in Kota Kinabalu
Discover the best places in Kota Kinabalu, curated using our unique algorithm blending 'Top Rated' and 'Most Reviewed' establishments. Uncover the city's gems and must-visit locales for an unforgettable experience. Please note that certain places categories are intentionally excluded to ensure a refined selection. Ratings are based from 27 places in the city.
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1
Gaya Island Resort
Hotel
Polished villas in a beachfront resort offering a posh spa, fine dining & a dive school, plus a gym.
4.50 (750 reviews)
2
Manukan Island Resort
Resort hotel
😐 Upon arrival at MIR, we were greeted by a receptionist who briefed us about the resort facilities. He was friendly but could tell he wasn't experienced with the briefing as he was constantly asking himself whether he'd missed something. We were informed that the jungle trekking activities weren't av...
4.40 (800 reviews)
3
Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park
Nature preserve
5 islands compose this preserve with white-sand beaches for swimming, snorkeling & boating.
4.40 (547 reviews)
4
Bungaraya Island Resort
Resort hotel
Posh villas in a upmarket island hideaway with a spa, an infinity pool & dining, plus a dive centre.
4.50 (269 reviews)
5
Nexus Golf Resort Karambunai
Golf club
👍👍 Be prepared to walk if your room number is 15 and above. It is a horizontally long resort, but crew service is commendable. Take some time to explore the place, lots of activities within the resort itself. Breakfast spread can be better, view is gorgeous.
4.30 (1.1K reviews)
6
Bukit Tirig
Hiking area
👍👍 Just nice for beginners with a very rewarding view. Hike up takes about 30 minutes on average.
4.50 (237 reviews)
7
Kamagi Riverside Retreat
Tourist attraction
👍👍 Honestly, I have mixed feeling about this place. At one point it's perfect getaway from the hustle bustle of the city, at another point it's kind of bad since there's no phone network at all, trust me, I have digi, celcom, hotlink, umobile and unifi mobile and all of them are unavailable. I do notic...
4.70 (121 reviews)
8
Nexus Resort & Spa Karambunai
Resort hotel
Polished rooms, suites & villas in an upmarket beach resort offering a golf course, a spa & dining.
4.20 (2.5K reviews)
9
Borneo Beach Villas, Karambunai, Sabah.
Resort hotel
😠 Cleanliness is non existent. The activities provided by the hotel is close to nothing.
Paid Rm1000.00/night for a place that is not even worth Rm300.00
The kitchen utensils were rusted and old.
The bathroom was close to disgusting 🤢
The beach looks like a garbage bin.
Overall all I’m saying is it’s...
4.20 (1.2K reviews)
10
Sabah Beach Villas and Suites
Resort hotel
😠 We wanted to leave the moment we checked in to the villa. Old and filthy. Feels like it’s abandoned for years and clean it up for people to stay it. There are dogs everywhere digging the trash. People doing house large party/gatherings eventho the villa mentioned its for 4people. For 600/night, its...
$47/night
4.20 (911 reviews)
11
Gayana Marine Resort
Resort hotel
Polished seafront resort with a spa, dining & a pool, plus scuba diving & a marine ecology centre.
4.30 (340 reviews)
12
Manutik Island
Island
Little island with a serene vibe offering white-sand beaches & clear water ideal for snorkeling.
4.50 (122 reviews)
13
Mari Mari Sepanggar Island Lodge,
Resort hotel
👍👍 Lovely services by the staff at the counter and very friendly. Went during a holiday and had the beach to ourselves. Amazing waters, weather. Although there could be more efforts to clean the beach with sunken plastics and garbage, it is still worth the day trip
4.20 (365 reviews)
15
Kibunut Recreation Place
Outdoor activity organiser
👍👍 Very nice place to be with nature. Riverside huts ideal for family outing. Ample area for camping
4.50 (108 reviews)
16
Dreamer's Island Resort
Resort hotel
😐 Let’s talk about the nice things first:
Sandy beach, clear sea water, nice food and very good human services. Nice karaoke facility and sand bar. Beach activities and water sports variety have a lot.
Now the bad things:
Rubbish every corner, not big, but small. Glass shards and plastics are so comm...
4.30 (153 reviews)
17
Sutera Sanctuary Lodges at Manukan Island
Resort hotel
👍👍 Been here two times and God, this is the best place!
Though I don't do much there, because I was busy with work, but as long as my kids and wife happy, then there's nothing to lose.
Beautiful scenery here and there, good vibe from the community and staff.
The best thing here is that we can have a...
4.40 (111 reviews)
18
Gaya Island Beach
Beach
👍👍 Manificent, enjoy the clear view under the sea while it lasts, once China opens up you aren't going to see anything if you dive here
4.10 (246 reviews)
19
Dive Downbelow Beach House
Diving center
👍 Great place and great team. Their office on Gaya Island is well equipped and provides excellent lunches.
In our three dives, unfortunately, we didn’t see anything good, but it’s always a roulette.
Among the minuses I can note:
1. Outdated equipment. The first stage of my constant regulator was lea...
4.90 (40 reviews)
20
Borneo Beach
Hotel
👍👍 Love this place. Quite, flat water, no current. Easy to swim. Nice an shallow, water is always warm. Amazing sunset's. Only disappointment is the rubbish you find along the way. But that's just Asia in general unfortunately.
4.50 (61 reviews)