H Benjamin Residence

The view of Mount Kinabalu is clearest from 6.00 AM to 8.00 AM. Our first room had a restricted view, but after we asked, the staff moved us to a better one. I’d suggest booking a second-floor mountain view room to enjoy the scenery. The hotel has its own café for dinner, which is handy because it’s about 20 minutes from Kundasang Market, the road is steep, it gets very dark at night, and there aren’t many eateries nearby. About the flies people mention, keeping the windows shut when it gets warm, in the room or café, seemed to be enough. One improvement would be a floor scraper or wiper in the bathroom: water doesn’t drain well, and the wet floor is uncomfortable and freezing in the cold. The stunning view outweighs these small issues.

The chicken chop at the restaurant was especially good, cooked just right and full of flavor. The staff were courteous and attentive, with a warm approach to service. My room was clean, comfortable, and well maintained, making for a relaxing stay at Sabah Benjamin Resort. It offered comfort, hospitality, and good value, and I’d highly recommend it for a staycation in Sabah.

I stayed for one night, and the experience was disappointing from check-in. My room had mould patches on the white walls, dirty curtains that clearly hadn’t been washed, and a dusty porch floor covered in cobwebs. Paint was peeling off the cupboard, so I couldn’t use it. There was a leak under the sink, and the door gave trouble locking and unlocking whenever we came or went. At this price, those maintenance problems aren’t acceptable. When I asked to change rooms, staff first said nothing else was available on my floor or in any other category. When I asked again, they said only higher-priced rooms were open, not one like the room I’d booked. We looked at one of those rooms, but it had cobwebs, an unclean bathroom, and mould on the walls too, so I had to stay in the original. Later that night I found out my ground-floor, main-road-facing floor had seven rooms, only four occupied. You can easily see which rooms have guests from that spot, so this made me question how honestly and transparently they handled room availability. Breakfast was mediocre and already cold by 7am, when it was meant to start. Parking was terrible too. There’s very little for the number of rooms, so many guests have to park along a steep hillside. The room and service were far below expectations, and the stay wasn’t worth what I paid. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel. Check the lowest ratings before booking.

I had a very frustrating two-night stay. The mattress was so hard that after about half an hour of sleep, my whole body hurt. There was no TV in the room. I told the staff, who let me look at two other room types, and their mattresses were much more acceptable. But they said I could only move for the first night. For the second night, they said the hotel was full and only a family room was available, and they wanted another RM200 to switch. With no proper solution, I had to keep sleeping on the uncomfortable mattress and put up with the pain. At dinner in the cafe, I found a hair in my fried rice. The whole experience was disappointing and didn’t meet basic hospitality standards.