Citadines Waterfront Kota Kinabalu

I contacted customer service in advance, and they were always responsive. For our celebration, they even provided some simple decorations, which was a pleasant surprise when we checked in! Our flight was delayed, and although the official check-in time was before 24:00, we were still able to check in smoothly more than half an hour late that day (we hadn't anticipated the delay would be that long). The room view was really good (it's a pity we didn't stay in the room until evening, otherwise, watching the sunset would have been great!). There's also an outdoor viewing area on the 6th floor, but we didn't stay long enough for its operating hours. The room size was decent, with just one chair, but it had a full kitchen with almost all utensils provided! The bathroom also had toiletries. The breakfast included in the room rate was a nice bonus. The best part was definitely the infinity pool! It was still cool and out of the sun at 8:00 AM. I stayed at both Citadines Waterfront and The Shore in Kota Kinabalu, and it turns out they're in the same building but with separate entrances (they are interconnected). The pool on the 6th floor is directly separated, which is pretty cool.

We landed at Kota Kinabalu Airport on August 3rd morning and arrived at the hotel just before 9:30 AM. We were greeted by a front desk attendant near the office door. The standard check-in time is 3:00 PM, and she informed us we were early. When we asked if we could check in early, she actually found a room for us after checking – seriously, kudos to her! We had booked the flights at the last minute and then the hotel, so we thought, especially for peak season and at this price, the room might be subpar. But it was much better than expected. Pros: Excellent location. The hotel is within walking distance of Kota Kinabalu Central Market, Gaya Street, and Durian Street. If you don't mind the sun, you can even walk to DBKK Jetty (we took a taxi from the hotel lobby to DBKK Jetty for about 8 RMB, which is roughly 1.70 USD). The room was also quite clean; we booked a twin room with an exterior window. The hotel has a laundry room and a pool on the 6th floor. The washing machine and dryer each cost one coin, and one coin is only 10 MYR. Washing and drying together were cheaper than getting a single item dry-cleaned in China! The laundry detergent pods provided by the hotel also did a good job. Drying only took 50 minutes, and the clothes came out fluffy – it made me want to buy an LG commercial washer and dryer when I got back home. Cons: There was a musty smell from the elevator on our floor to the room itself, but thankfully, the room had no odor. On the first night, after hardly sleeping due to the flight from China, I slept very well at the hotel. However, on the second night, around 4 or 5 AM, I heard someone singing outside on the street – a solo male voice, and it went on for quite a while, so I didn't sleep too well.

We checked in past 3 AM, and when we got the room key and entered, we were absolutely horrified. There was hair all over the floor, the toilet was so dirty it made you want to vomit, and the beds and corners were filthy. The bed even had a rotten smell, and the room was falling apart. I have no idea where all those positive online reviews came from. Later, we asked for an early check-out. The front desk told us we needed to contact Trip.com for approval. Trip.com agreed, but the hotel has been dragging their feet and refusing to issue a refund. We wasted over a thousand [currency unit] without even staying there, and they won't give us our money back. Seriously, both the service and cleanliness are utterly disgusting. This is the first time I've encountered such a **hole** of a hotel! 🤮

🚨 **AVOID AT ALL COSTS!** Spent over 1000+ for pure misery! The most outrageous, disgusting, and regrettable hotel experience of my life! Everyone, open your eyes and listen to my advice: DO NOT COME HERE! You will regret it if you do! I paid over a thousand yuan for one night, expecting a relaxing vacation with a sea view, but instead, I checked into a "living hell." The experience was so bad it made me question everything, and I checked out in disgrace after just one night! 1. 📢 **Noise bombardment – forget about sleeping all night!** The so-called "sea-view room" is a complete marketing gimmick! The hotel is right next to a main road, with roaring motorcycles and cars all night long. Even worse, it's next to a seafood market! Even at 3 or 4 AM, there were constant shouts, noises from loading and unloading – the soundproofing is abysmal. It's like sleeping in a bustling wet market! 2. 🤢 **Appalling hygiene conditions – disgustingly dirty!** **Filthy pool:** The pool water was murky, with all sorts of disgusting, unknown suspended particles and debris floating on the surface. What's even more ridiculous is that the larger of the two pools actually belongs to the hotel next door. Not only are their own facilities subpar, but the water quality is as dirty as a stagnant pond! **Bathroom like a flood zone:** The hidden corners were clearly never cleaned. The showerhead was covered in grime and stains – utterly nauseating to look at. When I showered, the entire bathroom became severely flooded, with water everywhere, as if a disaster had struck. A huge slipping hazard! 3. 🤮 **Foul odor! Bathroom drain like a gas chamber!** The most unbearable thing was the severe backflow smell from the drains! A strong, pungent sewer odor constantly wafted into the room, making me want to throw up! Unless the bathroom door was tightly shut, the entire room was uninhabitable! Plus, in this day and age, there wasn't even a basic Type-C phone charging port in the room. The facilities are incredibly old and outdated! 4. 🐢 **Extremely inefficient and terrible front desk service!** The front desk staff always seemed to be pretending to be busy, making check-in and other procedures incredibly slow. Their attitude was arrogant and rude. Every time I went to retrieve luggage, it involved a long wait, and they seemed clueless about how to handle things. The experience was absolutely terrible! 5. 💸 **Stingy to the extreme, high-priced stay with no service to speak of!** For over 1000 a night, they wouldn't even provide a single complimentary bottle of water! The room had a washing machine, but not even a drop of laundry detergent was provided. If you wanted to wash clothes, you had to trek all the way to the supermarket to buy some. Unbelievably stingy! **Conclusion:** Extremely poor facilities + disastrous hygiene + utterly awful environment = paying good money for pure torment! This is absolutely the worst value-for-money and most disgusting hotel apartment I have ever stayed in. AVOID! AVOID! AVOID! Do not waste your money on this terrible experience!

The Wi-Fi in the hotel room was poor, but even worse was the hotel's service. It was truly speechless. I asked the hotel for a few hangers, and they didn't bring them for an hour. After calling to urge them, they finally arrived half an hour later. The service response time was quite slow.

The room was very new and the bathroom was quite spacious, with a convenient wet and dry separation. You can cook inside the room, and there's a water dispenser in the hallway. There's also a microwave and a fridge in the room, which is really convenient.

First off, the location is probably the best in Kota Kinabalu city center. There's a dedicated taxi stand and the night market is right in front! The pool view is absolutely breathtaking...! And make sure you don't use the blue towels!!! You have to ask for the white towels, then they'll give them to you 😂

I was initially surprised because the room I booked looked different from the photos. I thought it was an apartment with a separate living room, but it was a standard hotel room with a linear layout and a bed. I hadn't seen many detailed reviews, so I was a bit worried, but it exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed the view of the Filipino Market right in front and the ocean view. I'm not a light sleeper, so I slept comfortably, but those who are sensitive might find it noisy as planes fly directly overhead. The hotel has a pool, gym, and washing machine, and overall, I was satisfied with my stay!

Completely satisfied, it's the best! The view is amazing, and the location is perfect.