Memory Boutique Hotel

I arrived in Tawau at 3 PM, but the airport didn't allow overnight stays, so I had to head to Semporna three hours earlier. Coincidentally, the front desk staff that day didn't speak Chinese or English, so we communicated using a translation app. It went smoothly; they allowed us to rest in the lobby and use the public restrooms. They were really kind and friendly throughout. After daybreak, we left our luggage there and went island hopping. We checked in upon our return in the evening. The cleanliness was good, and I didn't find any mosquitoes. My only minor regret was not having a place to hang my washed clothes, but thankfully, summer clothes dry quickly. The location is great, with plenty of food and drink options downstairs, including restaurants and supermarkets. Overall, for the price, I was very satisfied. If I go back, I'd definitely consider staying here again. I forgot to take photos of the hotel, so I'll just use my island hopping pictures instead.

The hotel is right in town and has everything you need. It feels pretty safe too! Don't expect anything too fancy, but it's decent value for money.

The location is quite central in town, just a few steps away from KFC, and about a 7-8 minute walk to the seafood market and Bataras supermarket. For this price, it's considered very good value for money in town. The room is a bit small, but it doesn't really bother me since I only stayed there at night and went island hopping during the day.

To be honest, the room's cleanliness was better than the one I booked in Kota Kinabalu. The bedsheets were relatively clean. The facilities definitely aren't as good as those in China, but since I was mostly island hopping and not in the hotel during the day, it was fine as long as I could rest and settle down. The front desk service wasn't as good as in Kota Kinabalu, to be frank, but they were still quite friendly. Traveling alone, I'm not too picky about accommodations.

Huge disappointment! The sheets had ants, and there were flies everywhere and constant mosquitoes in the room. The hygiene was terrible, comfort was zero – a total rip-off. To make things worse, I had an early flight the next day and needed to check out at 4 AM to get my deposit back. The front desk staff was asleep, and it took me twenty minutes to wake them up to process the checkout and refund.

To my fellow Chinese travelers, absolutely do NOT stay at this place! When we checked in, we paid a 100 deposit and received a receipt. The Indian staff at the front desk did not tell us that we needed this receipt to get our 100 MYR back upon check-out the next day. My partner and I are both international students, so if they had mentioned it, we would have definitely understood in English. The next day, after we checked out, their staff quickly went up to clean the room. When we came down to check out, we were told we couldn't get our deposit back without the receipt. I said to wait a moment, that it was on the table, but by the time I went back up, a cleaner was already in the room, and the receipt was gone from the table. In the end, they refused to refund my 100 MYR.