Hotel City Star

The staff were so friendly and helpful, the pool was fabulous, and breakfast was scrumptious. I loved staying here. I had two rooms during a four day trip away to Hornbill Lodge: room 312 had a reasonable pool view, while room 502 looked out over the pool and lovely mature trees and shrubs. Both rooms were very spacious, with super big, comfortable beds. Town is a pleasant 20-25 minute walk downhill, though the trip back is uphill all the way. Most people should manage it, and there's a sort of pavement for most of the route, but watch for broken or missing drain covers at night. A Grab costs around 5-6 ringgit if you'd rather not walk.

The hotel has a nice pool and a decent restaurant, and we found we didn't really need to go into town given the facilities here. Sandakan was the least welcoming of the towns we visited. The hilltop setting does give lovely views as you walk down to explore, though the walk back up is long. What surprised me most was how much wildlife there was around the hotel. There's a little trail through the gardens, where we spotted squirrels, geckos, mantids, frogs and more. A nice gem of a place and a great base for a Sandakan trip.

The hotel is tucked among lush gardens and thick woodland, and the large pool and lobby layout made a good first impression. Check-in was efficient. It's reasonably close to the airport and about a 20 minute walk from downtown Sandakan. Our room was clean and very spacious. A lot of little midges gathered in the shower overnight, probably because of the wooded setting, but they weren't much of a nuisance. Drinks with alcohol in the lobby were pricey, as we found often on our Borneo travels. The bar staff were very friendly, though, and the hotel food was delicious and reasonably priced. Breakfast came with our package and had a good choice of fruit, juices and local food, plus an egg station. One small frustration: if housekeeping brings your laundry while you're out, they won't leave it in the room or leave a note. You have to contact reception to ask for it. Even with that hiccup, we had a great stay.

Hi, some feedback: the dim sum didn't taste good and wasn't fresh. The prawns were especially not fresh. Hope you can look into it. Thank you.