Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort Reviews and Photos (Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia)

Wow and Wow again!

ashbourne, United Kingdom

November 2, 2012

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Best of IgoUgo This is the first of two reviews on this amazing hotel. here i will talk about our welcome, the room and the gardens and other things. RASA RIA – KOTA KINABALUThis hotel was luxury in the ultimate and the most luxurious we have ever stayed in. We ...Read more

From journal Wild life in Borneo

In Search of The Orangutan

by nofootprint

Halifax, Nova Scotia

May 4, 2011

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We were happy to see our hotel pick up waiting at the airport for us on arrival.45 minutes later we were welcomed by the "bong" at the Shangri-la Rasi Ria.It was an impressive resort with a lovely white sand beach stretching 17 km long. Mount Kota ...Read more

Tips To Get The Most Out Of The Resort

by dkm1981

Blackburn, England, United Kingdom

March 18, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo I’ve described the wonders of Shangri La’s Rasa Ria resort in the other reviews in this trip journal, so I thought I’d share some more practical advice, tips and information here that will help you get the most out of your stay at the resort.1. The ...Read more I’ve described the wonders of Shangri La’s Rasa Ria resort in the other reviews in this trip journal, so I thought I’d share some more practical advice, tips and information here that will help you get the most out of your stay at the resort.

1. The hotel is about 45 minutes transfer from the nearest airport (Kota Kinabalu) and about 30 to 40 minutes from the city centre, depending on which part you want to go to. The hotel will organise a taxi for you, but it isn’t cheap at about £80 for a return journey. A much more economic option is to use the shuttle bus which runs from Rasa Ria, through Kota Kinabalu (stopping at the Borneo One shopping centre and at two points in the city centre) and on to Rasa Ria’s sister resort Tanjung Aru. The entire journey is scheduled to take approximately and hour and a quarter, but it’s about 50 minutes to the centre. A return journey costs about £7 per person and you have to book both journeys at the reception desk in advance and pick your tickets up in the same place just before you travel. There is a timetable on the hotel’s website or you can pick one up from the booking desk that has a handy map of Kota Kinabalu on the back.

2. There are no shops or restaurants within walking distance of the Rasa Ria. We thought this was going to be a problem for us as we like to get out and about and explore and dislike being limited to one resort. It turns out though that the Rasa Ria is so completely self sufficient and large that we didn’t feel at all restricted. There are plenty of good choices for mealtimes regardless of your preference or budget and there is a handy shop that sells all the essentials as well as a good range of gifts. The shop isn’t particularly cheap, nor is it overly expensive. There are also a couple of travel shops behind the gift shop, where you can book a wide variety of trips and tours.

3. Make full use of the rainforest. It’s not often you get such close and open access to a fascinating wildlife area, so make sure you do a few of the walks or visits. The staff here are extremely friendly and very knowledgeable – no question is too stupid. There are lots of different choices for activities, including canopy walks, night walks and adoption programmes. Just remember to take plenty of mosquito repellent and cover up well!

4. The sea is wonderfully warm and clear and there are plenty of activities to take part in from windsurfing to jet skiing, although there is a warning about jellyfish being present. There is a cordoned off swimming area that is manned by lifeguards during the day.

5. Don’t get a starter! The starter portions in the restaurants (with the exception of Coat) are giant! Much too much for me. I’d recommend sharing one or skipping straight to the main course – which will obviously help with your budget too.

6. Enjoy the fantastic hospitality and the great service and have a chat with the staff, they are all so fantastic and always have a smile.

But most of all – enjoy yourself, you’re in paradise!!
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From journal A Stay At Shangri La's Rasa Ria Resort

Things To Do At Rasa Ria

by dkm1981

Blackburn, England, United Kingdom

March 17, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo The Rasa Ria has all of the facilities that you would expect from a five star resort and more and every one of the facilities is meticulously maintained. There are a couple of pools, one suitable for children and including water slides. There’s the ...Read more The Rasa Ria has all of the facilities that you would expect from a five star resort and more and every one of the facilities is meticulously maintained. There are a couple of pools, one suitable for children and including water slides. There’s the mile stretch of white sandy beach which is dotted with sun beds and has a beach volleyball and football court as well as a shack from which you can hire courtesy pedalos, kayaks and windsurfing boards as well as jet skis and banana boats for an extra charge.

There is also a championship golf course and driving range as well as a spa that the hotel is very proud of. Unfortunately, neither of these things appeals to me so I can’t really comment on them. There is information about both in the welcome pack in your room. We did wander up to the golf course one morning to watch the sunrise over Mt Kinabalu (which I’d highly recommend) and my husband commented that it looked like a well maintained but fairly challenging course – plenty of water hazards!

The facility that sets this hotel apart from any other and the one that kept us entertained was the rehabilitation centre and the 64 hectare rainforest, home Borneo’s most famous resident; the orang utan. The Rasa Ria rehabilitation centre works in conjunction with the main centre up in Sepilok and takes young orang utans for their first stage of rehabilitation and they currently have five here – four youngsters and one baby (who incidentally is the most adorable thing on the planet). You can go and see the older orang utans at feeding time for around ten pounds a person, although I’d recommend paying the extra £5 to combine it with the canopy walk afterwards which is a lot of fun. You don’t have to pay to see the baby, they bring her out twice a day as long as it isn’t raining. The older orangs are very playful and enjoy showing off making for plenty of great photos and the baby looks adorable in her little baby grow. They are very strict about having no contact with the orang utans although they do come and investigate quite closely.

There are lots of other activities in the rainforest – kids can become a ranger for the day and adults can take lots of guided walks, including the night walk. We did this and I’d highly recommend it, although I’d suggest you don’t touch anything as there are tarantulas everywhere! As is always the case with wild animals, you aren’t guaranteed to see anything, although we saw giant ants, even more giant millipedes, tarantulas and macaque monkeys. You can also take part in their adopt an animal programme, which costs about £30 and gives you adoption for a year, a certificate, a photograph of your animal and updates throughout the year as well as a place in the hall of fame! The orang utans are obviously the most popular choice (we adopted Reg and I was disappointed to find that it didn’t mean I could bring him home!), although you can adopt any of the animals they have in the rainforest.
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From journal A Stay At Shangri La's Rasa Ria Resort

Eating At The Rasa Ria

by dkm1981

Blackburn, England, United Kingdom

March 17, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo We paid for bed and breakfast at the Rasa Ria and when we looked at the menus on their website before we went, we were a bit worried about blowing the budget because everything seemed to be so expensive. This turned out to be another unfounded ...Read more We paid for bed and breakfast at the Rasa Ria and when we looked at the menus on their website before we went, we were a bit worried about blowing the budget because everything seemed to be so expensive. This turned out to be another unfounded concern though because the food choice is varied in both style and price so you can manage on most budgets. One thing to bear in mind is that a 10% service charge is included in the price of everything, from meals to recreational activities so tipping is not expected at all. They include the service charge because it is basically kept in a pot and divided between every member of staff (including gardeners, kitchen staff and cleaners) at the end of each month so that everybody gets something – a much fairer way of doing things in my opinion.

There are five restaurants at Rasa Ria: The Coffee Terrace, which is actually a buffet restaurant offering breakfast and dinner buffets as well as a la carte meals at lunch and dinner; Naan Taste of India; Kozan Teppan-yaki, which does show cooking in two sittings each evening; Tepi Laut Makan Street, which is a series of shop fronts that replicate the market stalls you’d find on the streets of Malaysia; and Coast, which is a fine dining restaurant with stunning views of the South China Sea.

The food was fabulous in all the restaurants, although I will say that they seem to be able to do a la carte food better than buffet food – the choice is more varied in the buffet, but they seem to struggle to keep things warm. This is true at breakfast as well, where you’ll find a massive selection of cold and cooked Malaysian (anyone for fish porridge?), English and American dishes. Bear in mind though that Malaysia is a Muslim country so there is no pork – expect a lot of turkey bacon and beef and chicken sausages!

For your evening meal, you can get a lovely steak from the a la carte menu of the Coffee Terrace, served with a choice of sauces and cooked to perfection. The show cooking at the Japanese restaurant is fun and worth a visit – there are a series of set menus to choose from with poultry, fish and meat and they are cooked with a flourish and plenty of flames, right in front of your eyes. The set menus start from around £20 per person and include starter, main course and dessert as well as miso soup and green tea. The curries in Naan are delicious and generously sized. You begin with complimentary poppadoms and bindis for the ladies and then there is a good choice of familiar and not so familiar dishes. We tried a few of them and can heartily recommend the lamb korma – which is much spicier and less creamy than the version we have here. They ask you how spicy you’d like your dish and be warned – medium to them is what we’d call very hot! The Tepi Laut Makan Street is another fun experience where you dine outside and go to the counter and select the ingredients to put in your own soup, curry, noodles or rice – we really enjoyed this and it’s not badly priced at £20 per person when you consider that you can eat as much as you like. During the day this becomes a snack bar offering sandwiches pizzas and the like all of which are priced around the £10 mark, but all of which are enough for lunch for two, so not too bad. The final restaurant is Coast, which is probably the only one you really need to book at. The food here is well executed and uses the finest ingredients and the prices reflect the higher standard – expect to pay upwards of £100 for a three course meal for two with drinks. Not ridiculous, but expensive in this part of the world. It’s worth coming in here for the dessert tasting tower alone – 12 miniature versions of their popular desserts, including summer pudding, chocolate profiteroles, pumpkin brioche and a white chocolate mousse, all served in a huge towering construction!

For more information about all the restaurants and some menus, have a look at the hotel’s website, which is pretty good - http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/kotakinabalu/rasariaresort
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From journal A Stay At Shangri La's Rasa Ria Resort

Checking In and The Rooms

by dkm1981

Blackburn, England, United Kingdom

March 5, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo The first impressions of the hotel are fabulous – everyone smiles and reception area is opulent but comfortable, a perfect representation of the rest of the hotel it turns out.After a bong to announce our arrival, we were directed to some ...Read more The first impressions of the hotel are fabulous – everyone smiles and reception area is opulent but comfortable, a perfect representation of the rest of the hotel it turns out.

After a bong to announce our arrival, we were directed to some comfortable chairs and given drinks and cold towels to combat the 28+ degree heat that greeted us in Borneo, whilst we waited for a member of the welcoming team to come and check us in. I thought it was a strange way of doing things since reception was just a few feet away, but it seems as though the staff at this hotel have been trained to never let a guest reach a counter – service was always with you before you got anywhere near, right down to returning your beach towels!

A couple of seconds later, a member of staff was with us, bringing our room keys, some paperwork to sign and a bellboy to take our luggage. As a standard procedure in these parts (it happened in Kuala Lumpur too) they take your credit card and pre approve an amount of money depending on your stay (for us it was 4000RM for 10 days, which to turned out to be a perfect amount). The whole process of checking in is simple and very relaxing.

Before we went, I did a lot of research on the hotel and especially the rooms. The hotel is actually split into two parts; The Garden Wing and the more exclusive Ocean Wing. We spent the first eight days in the Garden Wing and as a treat to ourselves, had decided to upgrade for the last two days. I was a little worried about what to expect from the Garden Wing, as many of the reviews had said that the Ocean Wing was far superior and people had said that they wouldn’t stay if there wasn’t a premier room available. I can only say that I was blown away by the standard rooms and am not sure what the negative reviewers were expecting.

The Garden Wing rooms are huge and have all the facilities that you need and then some. They are split level and include a giant bed, a day bed, flat screen TV and more toiletries than you could ever need. You could say that the furniture is perhaps a little dated, but you’d really have to want to find fault and the rooms in this area are being upgraded this year anyway.

You can pay for an upgrade to a sea view, which I’d highly recommend for the amazing sunsets alone, but the standard ‘Garden View’ rooms actually look out over the rainforest – so not such a shabby option really - although you should bear in mind that the car park and kitchen areas would be directly below your balcony in these rooms.

During the first part of our stay, I found myself wondering what the Ocean Wing rooms could possibly offer that was worth £100 per night more than the standard rooms; such was the level of comfort offered by them. So it was with a certain amount of intrigue that we moved to our new room. I have to say that I was blown away for the second time. The Ocean Wing rooms are, without a doubt, the biggest hotel rooms I’ve ever seen. Square feet wise, they are bigger than my house! The bathrooms have two sinks and a separate room for the toilet (which has a remote control, would you believe it?) and the walk in shower. The bath is on the balcony. That’s right; there is a bath on the balcony. And it’s not just any old bath, but a six foot square, four foot deep bath, complete with privacy blinds that can be lowered at the touch of a button! When designing these rooms, nothing has been missed and every possible luxury is there. Gadget lovers will be in their element here, my husband certainly was – there are buttons and switches everywhere and all of them do something that will make you smile, whether it be warm the toilet seat or brew you an espresso.

The other benefit to staying in the Ocean Wing is that, if you ever do decide to leave the comfort of your room, you can head to the exclusive pool or restaurant. Breakfast is in the Coast bar, away from the main buffet hall and offers table service breakfast. The pool is large and quiet at the other side of the hotel grounds from the main pool. Since guests are paying so much more to stay in these rooms, the staff are very stringent on maintaining the exclusivity. On the first day we moved, we were checked by a couple of people to make sure that we were part of the club as it were! Once you’re in though, the level of service is excellent; someone even cleaned my sunglasses for me whilst I was in the pool! They really do think of everything.
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From journal A Stay At Shangri La's Rasa Ria Resort

Great Experience

A traveler

Travelocity.com

October 15, 2008

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Beautiful resort, great amenities, great excursions, great food. I am single and still enjoyed this place. There were many families and lots of couples, I would definitely return here single or with a family. You can get away from the kids and it is ...Read more

Excellent Relaxing Weekend

A traveler

Travelocity.com

April 13, 2007

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We found our stay extremely relaxing and we felt the hotel was very well run. We would like to comment specifically on the excellent coast restaurant which provided us with a exceptional meal in a beautiful setting. The beach in picture perfect and ...Read more

Shangri-La Rasa Ria

by LeighTravelClub

Leigh on Sea, United Kingdom

December 10, 2006

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Very luxurious hotel. Wonderful location and fabulous service. Probably the only hotel in the world with an orangutan sanctuary adjacent to it. Beautiful grounds and beach.

From journal Orangutans in Borneo

Rasa Ria Hotel

by Missis

Plymouth, United Kingdom

March 5, 2004

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Best of IgoUgo This hotel is amazing. It may be a 45-minute bus ride from Kota Kinabalu (AKA KK), but it is well worth it. The welcome was incredible, we felt as if we were the only guests there that week. Our room was on the top floor -- they are not allowed to ...Read more This hotel is amazing. It may be a 45-minute bus ride from Kota Kinabalu (AKA KK), but it is well worth it.

The welcome was incredible, we felt as if we were the only guests there that week. Our room was on the top floor -- they are not allowed to build higher than 6 floors and this also makes the hotel special as it blends into the surroundings, instead of blotting it. The view from our room was supberb – the tropical gardens, the beach and the sea, flanked on both sides by forest. No other building or development in sight.

The hotel has several restaurants. We tried the Italian one – the lasagna and red snapper are highly recommended, have the seafood pizza if you don’t mind eating tentacles. Tepi Laut is open air and has hawker style stands. The Coast bar is their flagship restaurant and would not look out of place in Hollywood. The food here was also exceptional. There is also the Lounge bar where the singing trio will let you have a go, and the kitchen staff take over one evening a week. The prices in the restaurants aren’t bad, but if you eat out every night the cost will mount up quickly. A main course each and drinks came to approximately £10 a head. We found that room service on our balcony was more cost effective, especially when we were tired and didn’t want to dress for dinner, or try and decide which restaurant to go to!

There is a 3km stretch of beach and we never saw more than 12 people on it at any one time. The Rasa Ria is very environmentally aware and therefore do not spray the beach. There were signs warning of sand flies, however they never bothered us -- we much preferred to be on the beach than at the pool. We hired a couple of jet skis and headed off round the headland and out to sea – much fun but £20 per jet ski for half an hour.

Horse riding is available throughout the day – go early in the morning or late afternoon to avoid the heat. All competencies are catered for, from those who had never been on a horse before to experienced riders.

There are activities throughout the week such as the crab catching/mangrove swamp trip. Other activities include cooking classes, water polo, volleyball, nocturnal and daytime walks through the forest, kite making classes to name but a few.

The other big attraction for this hotel is the 64-acre nature reserve that has young Orangutans living free. There are feeding platforms that are open to guests (charge payable), but as the Orangutans are free they may not come to the platforms if they find enough food that day in the forest. Luckily, we had three visitors on the day.

500 words is not enough to describe this hotel and surroundings -- I would go back in a heartbeat.

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From journal In Love With Malaysia

IgoUgo

Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort

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User Reviews

Wow and Wow again!

In Search of The Orangutan

Tips To Get The Most Out Of The Resort

Things To Do At Rasa Ria

Eating At The Rasa Ria

Checking In and The Rooms

Great Experience

Excellent Relaxing Weekend

Shangri-La Rasa Ria

Rasa Ria Hotel

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Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort

What's Nearby?

Avg. User Rating:

User Reviews

Wow and Wow again!

In Search of The Orangutan

Tips To Get The Most Out Of The Resort

Things To Do At Rasa Ria

Eating At The Rasa Ria

Checking In and The Rooms

Great Experience

Excellent Relaxing Weekend

Shangri-La Rasa Ria

Rasa Ria Hotel

Compare Rates Across Websites