Hotel Sarangnova Kota Kinabalu

Hotel Sarangnova is a new hotel in Kota Kinabalu. Just walking distance to Hyatt hotel and the water esplanade. It’s theme is based on birds found in Borneo. The interior is uniquely designed with a “bird poster” as its focal point.

Had the pleasure of meeting its owner and promised that i’d promote her new hotel.

So, here are pictures of it:

                                            Small receiving area of Hotel Sarangnova.

This is their double room (good for 2pax). I find their room small but we spent the whole day outside so what the heck it’s just for sleeping. The room has lcd tv and safe. The door is operated on an electronic card key already. It also has a safe in the room for your valuables.

The bathroom is small too but since everything else is new i cannot complain much. One thing that turned me off was that they don’t clean the room everyday unless you tell them so.

Hotel Sarangnova address is 98 Gaya Street Kota Kinabalu.

Their location is the best because it’s close to everything. Restaurants, shopping malls , banks. Right accross is a pharmacy where you can buy snacks, toiletries, medicines, bottled water. Right beside the hotel is a famous cafe where tourists and locals merge . Just a stone’s throw away is the Jesselton port , jump off for island hopping. You can easily hail a taxi outside the hotel.

Hotel rates are as follows:
TRP – RM 200 (approx $60/rm/nite)
DBL/TWN – RM 170 (approx $52/rm/nite)
SGL – RM 120(approx $37/rm/nite)

Tours of Kota Kinabalu are available through Viaje Royale Travel Services. Pls contact +63(2) 774-78-76 or email viajeroyale@gmail.com or viaje_royale@yahoo.com.ph for inquiries.

Or read my blog on Kota Kinabalu on where to go and what to do in KK.

Windbell Seafood Restaurant Kota Kinabalu

On a hunt for an inexpensive buffet restaurant while on vacation in Kota Kinabalu, i’ve come accross Winbell Seafood Restaurant from blogs and forums originating from Malaysia and Kota Kinabalu.

Always on the lookout for value for money restaurant abroad, this one perfectly satisfies my taste. Inexpensive, good buffet selection, well lit restaurant, attentive waiters, freshly prepared buffet selection, ample parking, and most importantly tatstes superb. II was impressed that even the owner was the one refilling the buffet table.

The Steamboat Buffet consists of seafood choices such as crabs, shrimp, fish fillet, shellfish among others. There are veggies, sausages, pork, chicken and other noodles too.

First, they ask you what soup would you want. The Tom Yam or the herbal soup. We chose both. Here is what the Steamboat Buffet Dinner looks like.

Just dunk all the fresh seafoods, veggies , pork, chicken, tofu etc into your choice of soup and voila you have a steamboat dinner. The taste of the soup is very refreshing and invigorating (to eat more hahaha) .
They also have a dessert table with fruits and local cakes / delicacies but nothing to rave about.

The cost: RM 25+ (approx $8) per person. If you order tea it’s around RM1.00. Cheap and satisfying.

Here’s us at the restaurant parking before eating . All hungry but with smiles on our faces.

Time out first to take pictures to send to our friends back home who are green with envy LOL.

Windbell Seafood Restaurant is located at 20 Jalan Selangor Tanjung Aru Kota Kinabalu.

It’s 5mins away from the old airport. In fact, it’s just at the back of the runway. It’s also along the stretch of the Tanjung Aru beach. Just tell your taxi driver and he’d take you there.

Best time to go there is during dinner time so you can capture Tanjung Aru Sunset.

Word of advice: Bring mosquito repellant lotion for mozzies can be very nasty around this area.

And if you plan on going here best to talk to your taxi driver to wait for you because there are no public transpo around the area.

Kota Kinabalu – wish you were mine

Kota Kinabalu is a city in Sabah Borneo. Many Filipinos work and live here. It’s as if you never left Phils. when you get here. Just talk in tagalog and someone will answer you back – yes in tagalog also.
They say that Sabah is part of the Philippine islands. Who wouldn’t suspect? It’s very near our Southern tip and in fact some people from Mindanao just board an overnight ferry boat to get to the island. It’s just sad that we may never claim this land ever again. But who knows?We started off this trip at the city center of Kota Kinabalu. From the airport it will take you 15mins. to get to the city (30 mins with the traffic). After unpacking we headed to the waterfront for some r&r. Good thing it rained that afternoon and so made the climate milder.
The waterfront at night is full of vacationers and malaysian yuppies out for a good time. It is lined with bars and pubs with Filipino Bands. Makes you very proud of our Filipino talents.Day 02 was spent on city sightseeing . Kota Kinabalu has a very small city and everything can be done on foot (if you have the energy for it). Or you may take a taxi to get to some places. Taxi within the city will cost around RM 10 (P 140 or $3). Be wary of taxi touts , they can be very demanding and rude. So, i recommend you walk. Besides it’s good for your health.Must see sights:Museum Kopitiam – right at the backpacker’s area in Gaya st. It’s a coffee shop and musuem at the same time. It houses WW2 memorabilias .

Signal Hill Observatory – there is a short cut at the back of Lucy’s Homestay in Gaya st. Near the Old Police station. Great during sunset.

Atkinson Clock Tower – near the old Police station. You will never miss it.
Manukan Island/Mamutik Island/Sapi Island – take a ferry from the Jesselton Ferry Terminal. To and From the islands are timed so make sure to ask about the schedule of the boats. RM 17 per person ferry ride per island. Pay one time RM 15 per person for conservation fee. You may also be needing some snorkeling gadgets and life vests (there’s a fee also).
Tun Mustapha Gallery – just right outside the city. There’s a revolving restaurant inside where you can view the city 360degrees.

City Mosque – right outside the city. Going to Tun Mustapha you will pass by the mosque.
1Borneo Mall – walk to Warisan Square (fronting the Seafood Waterfront) and wait for the FREE shuttle courtesy of the mall. It’s 15 to 30 mins going there.

Mount Kinabalu – 1 hr 30mins to get there. You may take a tour package or you may share a taxi going to the park . RM 150 per taxi 2 way. Upon getting to the park you must pay entrance fee of RM15 per person and guided tour of RM 15. For those planning to go to the summit 3D2N package guided tour is for you.Tanjung Aru Beach – Food stalls and restaurants where locals go to eat and enjoy the sunset. Very near the airport.
Seafood Waterfront – for a dose of Sabahan nightlife. Lots of Bars lining the waterfront. One bottle of Tiger beer would cost RM 15 to 20 each.
Filipino Market – just fronting Le Meridien hotel. Buy your souveinirs here. Lots of hawker stalls at night. For budget travellers this is the best place to eat seafood for it is very expensive to eat at a touristy seafood restaurant such as Portview.

Water Esplanade – near Hyatt Hotel.
Gaya Street – on Sundays there is a street market. Backpacker’s haven. Local eateries line the street.
UMS – University of Malaysia Sabah . On your way to 1Borneo or Mount Kinabalu.

Poring Hot Springs – full of locals and tourists. Must do here is the canopy walk.
Malaysia Monument – city center
Wisma Merdeka – city center

Must eat:
Bak Kut Teh – a soup with chinese herbs and spices with pork, and other innards. It supposed to make you well and strong. RM 17/good for 2
Tea Tarik – tea concoction with cream. superb! RM 3/glass
Milo ping – milo drink concoction. Tried this at home but never got the same taste. RM3/glass.
Tom Yam – may be with or w/o noodles. Best without the noodles coz noodles can make you full. Very refreshing taste. And with a good amount of prawns per serving. RM 5/bowl.

How to get there? Cebu Pacific and Air Asia flies direct to Kota Kinabalu . Check out their website for flight schedules

Shangrila Rasa Ria – Pure Indulgence

During our recent trip to Sabah Borneo i had a chance to visit Shangrila Rasa Ria in Kota Kinabalu. Ms Cathy Nepomuceno , the Director of Sales for Shangrila Rasa Ria was gracious enough to allow us this one day visit .

Upon entering the resort , you immediately get a feeling of never wanting to go back home again. First thing you notice is the big open air lobby with enough comfortable chairs for the weary traveller jaded with jet lag and tired from the Borneo’s hot blaring sun.

The resort itself was huge! There are 2 wings the Garden Wing and the Ocean Wing. The latter is more spacious and yes it’s more expensive but worth your every penny.
The resort boasts of a 3km white beach offering all sorts of water sports activity such as Banana Boat Ride, Water Skiing, para sailing, Jet skiing, wind surfing and Lepa Lepa (traditional wooden boat charter) .
Must do in the resort is indulge in their spa facility. The SPA at Dalit Bay (located at the Dalit Bay Golf Club) offers CHI Signature therapies and massages.

Everybody in the group was excited to see the Orangutans. We planned to go to Sandakan to witness the Orangutan feeding but due to lack of time we felt it wouldn’t be possible (it’s 7 hrs overland from KK to Sandakan). But i was truly overjoyed when i learned that Shangrila Rasa Ria has its own Nature Reserve wherein they take care of the baby orangutans in the wild and transfer them to Sandakan Orangutan Sanctuary when they grow older.Cute baby Orangs play with their trainers during feeding time. And that’s when the viewing starts. We were at the viewing deck saying oohhh and wooooww and aaaahhh everytime the baby orangs do some tricks. Makes you wanna adopt one and bring home. LOL!

The Nature Reserve offer many activities for the whole family. To name a few Jungle walk, Bird watching, Nocturnal Animal walk, Ranger for the day and their latest add on is the Canopy walk. Now you don’t have to go to Poring Hot Springs to experience this type of activity. FYI, this resort sits on a 64 acre land forest.
Well , after the show we were guided to see the room types both the Garden and Ocean wing. We cannot help but be amazed how huge the rooms are that you don’t want to leave. One thing more, we were told that the refrigerator provided in the room does not have anything in it because they let the guests buy their own food stuffs at the resort’s convenience store. I said that’s great coz we never eat or drink anything at the hotel room’s bar anyway because it’s kinda expensive.

Ocean wing rooms even has a bath tub in the terrace! And take note: they use L’Occitane toiletries !! Only for those who can afford the Ocean Wing rooms.

Shangri La Rasa Ria address is Pantai Dalit Beach Tuaran Sabah Borneo

How to get there? From Manila Cebu Pacific and Air Asia flies to Kota Kinabalu . Check out their website for flight schedules.

For bookings and tour packages you may contact your travel agent or email me at viaje_royale@yahoo.com.ph. Send inquiries via our website