Kota Kinabalu Times Square Imago

The location is great for a family or group trip in KK, and being connected to the mall makes shopping and food options easy to reach. The gym and pool are good additions, and the other amenities are great. The rooms could use some TLC, especially the air-conditioning, which should be the number one priority.

We booked a three-bedroom apartment for eight people in the last week of December. The landlord was super friendly and helpful, parking was free, and it was easy to get to lots of places. The location is extremely convenient, with a mall downstairs and plenty of food nearby. The bedrooms are roomy, even with a mattress on the floor, and there are basic kitchen items: a microwave, induction stove, cooking utensils and cutlery, rice cooker, and kettle. The washing machine works, but its door jams. We had to try prying it open with a credit card, with mixed success. For stays longer than two days, bring extra toilet paper. There was no hand soap at the kitchen sink, so bring your own. Bring shampoo, towels, and other shower supplies too. The floor mattress was light and sank easily, not in a good soft way. The pillows were too soft for comfort, though you could try using the sofa cushion.

The room at Loft E looks nothing like it was advertised, and I don't think it's worth the price. Right inside the gates, it already seemed poorly maintained. The cabinets were a mess, paper on the walls was soggy, the sofas were old, and the paintwork was bad. The kitchen counter felt unstable, the toilet ceiling was moldy, and tiles were broken. It looks like previous guests were barbarians.

The mall is next door and we had direct lift access to it, which was handy with all the events happening there during our stay. KK is lovely, and the pedicure I got at the mall was awesome. We did have to wait in the heat for the man to let us into the building, which wasn't great. We'd requested a two-bedroom place but were first given a one-bedroom, so we asked and they changed it to a two-bedroom. The pool was being cleaned? while we were there, so we never got to use it.