Hilton Kota Kinabalu

The first night, my room was noisy. I reported it and they handled it very positively afterwards; their attitude was excellent.

The room and bed are smaller than average, but fine. The pool is quite large, and it was very convenient to have it right outside my room to the right. The elevator had a strong aromatherapy scent. The location isn't close to Gaya Street, so you might need to call a Grab if you get tired of walking.

Our booked king-size bed was downgraded to a queen-size. There was a clump of hair in the bathroom. It was clearly communicated that our party was a family of three, and the hotel's confirmation email also confirmed this. However, the room only had two sets of toiletries. When I called the front desk, I was asked to go there myself to resolve it. As soon as I started to say our room number, I was interrupted by a short-haired female staff member who rudely said, 'Only English!' Her attitude was arrogant and disrespectful. She told us to go to another station to find her colleague. Even after my 11-year-old daughter communicated the issue clearly in English, this staff member still chimed in, saying 'we don't have this, we don't have that!' Overall, the check-in experience was very poor! And the air freshener in the elevator was both strong and pungent! It felt like I stayed at a fake Hilton in Kota Kinabalu! It was truly bad! Besides the clean pool water, there's absolutely nothing else positive. The only other thing I found somewhat decent was that the red wine at the bar, though a bit expensive, tasted good. For everything else, I'd strongly advise against it!

Wonderful room, beautiful hotel. Nice spacious pool with plenty of seating and lounging options. The breakfast was a bit disappointing for us, very basic and nothing particularly special. It also happened that a certain dish was completely gone or only refilled later. The view from the rooftop was beautiful and the cafe also had delicious treats!

Avoid this hotel at all costs! There's absolutely no service to speak of. We were assigned a room on the top floor (which was incredibly noisy due to the equipment platform, plus the pool is also up there, so any guest can come up). When we asked to change rooms, the staff were arrogant and there was no Chinese-speaking receptionist. They kept saying there were no available rooms. Eventually, a kind stranger, noticing the poor customer service, came over to ask if we needed help. We ended up having to switch from a superior king room to a smaller standard twin, with no refund for the price difference and the executive lounge service canceled. The new room faced the street, and we had motorcycles revving loudly in the middle of the night. Inside the room, the sink would gurgle occasionally, and there was a constant water flow sound 24/7, making it hard to sleep. My friend's room initially had bloodstains on the sheets, and then when checking out, there was a cockroach on the bed 😂. It was truly awful. Steer clear!

The hotel's central location was fantastic for getting to shopping malls, the port, and the airport. As it was a suite, they replenished the bottled water daily—I think it was 6 bottles—which was great as I didn't need to buy any. The bathtub was perfect for unwinding after a day of travel, and the staff's response was excellent. When the air conditioner broke down late at night, they arrived within 5 minutes of my call and fixed it right away. The only downside was the breakfast; it wasn't great (even the lounge breakfast felt like a scaled-down version of the regular one, with not much to eat), so I skipped it a few times.

Great location, and the suite we stayed in was a standard Hilton, nothing out of the ordinary.

["The hotel lobby service was incredibly welcoming. As soon as we arrived, our family was looking for a spot by the entrance, and a staff member proactively introduced us to the nearby shopping district and even provided a map. Thumbs up! 👍","The hotel breakfast was truly abundant, with a great variety of delicious food, and the ambiance was excellent.","The hotel's back entrance leads directly to the Bar. Just outside the back door, you'll find Welcome Seafood, a huge seafood restaurant, and next to it is Little Brave Durian. It's incredibly friendly for foodies! Across the street, there's a 24-hour fried chicken place."]