Gaya Island Resort

John Oakey

The staff here has by and large been awesome. So friendly! Things are pretty nice overall. I have to say though, particularly coming with young children, they charge A LOT here. I guess it’s my fault for coming to an island but it feels like a bit of an expensive trap in that sense. I’ve been to more expensive island resorts that don’t charge in such a petty way so it doesn’t feel so bad. But if you want luxury and still see amazing Borneo wildlife, this is a cool place if you’re willing to pay a lot.

Michael South

Beautifully located resort on a tropical island. Our huge room, #823, was perfect, with a spectacular view from it's veranda. It was higher up the hill, so may not be suitable for someone with mobility/fitness issues. The food in the 'Feast Village' was very good, and the food in its formal restaurant 'The Fisherman's Cove' was excellent. Staff were, without exception, genuinely friendly and very helpful. Any issues were very quickly dealt with. Enjoyed a wonderful Malay massage at the spa, in a very pretty setting. Only used the private beach which inlvoved a short boat trip, but well worth the effort. Quieter than the hotel beach, which was mainly used by families staying in the resort. Mangrove kayaking was enjoyable and informative. Highly recommended.

joanne aw

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 It was my first time staying at Gaya Island Resort, and I absolutely loved it! 🌿 The environment is beautiful and peaceful, and I truly appreciate the resort's commitment to sustainability — such a rare and meaningful experience. A special thanks to Nelson for her warm and courteous service, and to the entire team for their friendliness and dedication. You made the stay truly memorable. ❤️ The food was also exceptional — delicious, beautifully presented, and something to look forward to every day. I’ll definitely recommend this wonderful place to my friends, and I can’t wait to come back again soon! 🏝️

Erna Naresa

Overall beautiful resort but definitely a 3-4 star hotel at best with ample room for improvement when it comes to customer service. Activities: They provide a packed schedule of activities that you can book, although at an additional cost. They do have free activities such as snorkel gear, kayaking, even ferry to their private beach which is nice. There is no need to pay extra for a “guide” for such things as they advertised as can easily be done by yourselves, so do take note. There is not much to do in the evening except have dinner, take a walk around the resort. Rooms: Rooms are beautiful. We took the villa and had a nice scenic view of the waters. Only note is the lack of privacy, sometimes the staff could just come to your front door and see everything happening in the room. NOT IDEAL. Food: Food was ok but the food management was terrible. No room service provided, this is shocking especially since they claim to be 5 star. Staff on day 1 advised us not to order room service as it will be cold, thought this was really odd. Also discovered that if we wanted to order from their lunch menu for dinner, we had to make order way in advance. So basically if u want to eat at the resort, you have to time your meals and plans in advance because you have to make booking for everything. Service: Definitely not 5 star service, more like 3 star. Some examples, call reception many times and nobody answer. Ask for room change at first (we paid for villa with water view and that view was blocked by a tree) and immediately was told not possible because they claim all rooms were booked. Had to check booking.com only to find out that there are rooms available and fight with manager to get a better room - we managed to get a better room in the end. Their attitude overall seem to be saying no to everything at first before trying to help, which is not matching to a 5 star hotel. Location: Beautiful location. You take a 15 minute ferry to reach the resort, thought this was a nice touch. Resort is beach front, facilities are very nice as well. Though bear in mind that the ferry transfer is additional charge.

K S

I spent three nights at this resort and had a great time. We chose the full-board package, which included a few activities. The most impressive part of this resort was the staff — they were so attentive and kind. The location is very convenient, being close to both the airport and the Jesselton Point ferry terminal. If you're traveling with elderly people or kids, this place is a great option to consider. One thing to note: the view from our room (we chose the ocean view) faced Kota Kinabalu, so we could see buildings across the water. Since the island is very close to the city, this can be both a good and bad thing — it's convenient to get to, but the view isn’t as pristine. The activities were enjoyable, though the snorkeling, which was included in the package, was a bit disappointing. Still, we’re easygoing and had fun watching the fish near the jetty. The free activities for the nature walk(the one every morning - one hour) was really informative and the staff who guided us was so passionate and show us a lot of plants and creatures as much as possible. If you're in or near Malaysia and just want to relax without overthinking, I highly recommend this resort.