Maya Hotel

It has an old-time hotel feel, but I was surprised by how clean it was, with no bad smell 👍🏻

The rooms were comfortable and clean enough for the price, and I liked the cute balconies overlooking the water, both from the room and in the shared area on each floor. I also had a nice massage at the spa. The advertised free sauna and steam room for guests weren’t working, though. I wanted to leave a good review, but both times I stayed there was no WiFi, and they didn’t seem concerned about fixing it.

The spa is small and simple, but the staff there were friendly, and guests get 30 minutes a day for free with their stay. Hotel staff were friendly too, and the rooms were nice. Just know it’s three floors with no elevator. For a budget stay in old town Lahad Datu, this is one of the nicest hotels around. Honestly, I found the city a dump and was disappointed. If you end up here and want to keep costs down without dealing with huge roaches or staff who don’t speak English, this is the best place.

We left after just one night. The view and large balcony were the only good parts, if you could overlook all the rubbish there. We’d booked their best room, but it was very old and poorly cleaned. The curtains were dirty and the tables dusty. WiFi was down, and the water was barely warm. The sauna and steam room didn’t work. Nobody told us in advance: the lady downstairs said they were working, but when we went there we were told they’d been out of order for two months.