Gaya Island Resort

HHO

Gaya Island Resort — 6.5/10 Overall The resort itself has a lot going for it visually. The setting is beautiful, with villas tucked into the jungle hillside and leafy walkways that make you feel immersed in nature. The room was excellent — big, well-designed, and very comfortable. Unfortunately, the rest of the resort didn’t live up to the same standard. The pool area was nice enough, but the pool bar needs a serious rethink. It felt dated and a bit out of place — the standing tables looked more like something from a dive bar than a five-star hotel. The beer selection was also surprisingly poor: two types of Carlsberg and a Sapporo — that’s it. Hardly what you’d expect from a resort that presents itself as luxury. There’s also no poolside service, so you have to walk up to the bar each time you want a drink. Not a huge problem, but it definitely takes away from the experience. Food: Fisherman’s Cove was expensive and very average — standard western dishes that don’t justify the price. The omakase restaurant was actually great and easily the highlight when it comes to dining. The buffet restaurant, however, was really disappointing: overpriced, slightly chaotic, and lacking any sense of refinement. The fact that the buffet cost more than both of the other two combined says it all. It’s also odd that there’s no Malaysian fine dining or something rooted in local flavours — everything felt a bit touristy and generic. Service & Cleanliness: The staff were friendly and helpful when it came to room service — food arrived quickly, and the luggage transfer from the boat was handled efficiently. Beyond that, service was inconsistent. A few things were out of stock, and the staff often just accepted it rather than offering alternatives. Attention to cleanliness could be a lot sharper too. One afternoon, monkeys got into a rubbish bag and the mess stayed there for hours before being cleaned up. There was also a lion dance performance during my stay which, while festive, left the front lawn and reception area covered in firecracker debris. It looked awful, and the rubbish was left there for days afterward — not what you’d expect from a supposedly high-end resort. The private beach accessed by boat was lovely, with clear water and soft sand, but again we found ourselves picking up plastic and bits of rubbish while staff on duty didn’t seem too bothered. Given the resort’s emphasis on nature and conservation, that lack of care felt disappointing. The natural setting and potential are undeniable — it’s a stunning location, and parts of the resort do deliver. But other details — service consistency, maintenance, and general polish — drag it back. With more attention to these areas, it could genuinely be special. As it stands, it’s a beautiful place let down by some very avoidable shortcomings.

Katie Holmes

Gaya island resort is one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever been to. Staff are incredibly helpful, from arriving at Jesselton point, where you are greeted warmly and checked in, to arriving on the island where you are personally shown around to the bar staff and all the restaurant staff. The rooms are beautiful, we stayed in a Bayu Villa (their most basic room), and it was perfect, huge closet, great bathroom with large bath and the most comfy bed I have slept in in ages. The beach is lovely. We did venture over to the private beach and personally preferred the main beach at the resort, it was great to have the option of swimming in the sea or the pool. We snorkeled every day off the beach and saw parrot fish, puffer fish, clown fish, angel fish and much more. The bar was great, prices are very much 'western prices' although happy hour (4-6 and 8-10) offered 2 for 1 drinks. We ate at all 3 restaurants - the feast village offered a great selection & all the food was tasty. Breakfast offered Malay, Western, Chinese and Indian breakfast, a range of fresh juices and sweet and savoury options. Fisherman's cove was a wonderful blend of Malay and French cuisine, spotlighting the fresh fish, not cheap, but well worth it. We had the Teppanyaki option at Omakase. It was great having everything prepared by a live chef & the beef add on was well worth the money. My only slight comment was there was less interaction than I expected - it was not a Teppanyaki experience where they throw food to you etc. Wildlife wise we saw Monitor lizards, monkeys, birds (including an oriental pied hornbill, which was a real highlight, getting to watch it for a while), and (less of a highlight) huntsman spider. Overall, an amazing experience.

Tricia Loh

What more could I ask for?! We were astonished by the size of our villa and our Kinabalu Villa has the best view of the mountain from across. The service was excellent and I did not know that I’ll be showered with Complimentary Balinese Massage for me & my hubby (too) on my birthday. Did I forget about their food? After 2D1N 3 meals a day, my husband and I departed out with extra weights on ourselves. The food was fresh and nicely cooked with various culinary styles. I love the live counters. On Day 2, I had my earliest swim at the pool and the bartender, named Andy complimented me with a fresh coconut. Do you know that your tongue will taste slightly numbed if it is fresh due to active electrolytes in the drink? That has really made my day! And the surprise did not end. I was thrown with a surprise during the dinner buffet. And the villa was not absent from another. Thank you team GIR for making this memorable for us. We will be back. You have just made the last lapse of my 3 series a great, great one!

Isobel S

The good first: the resort is in a beautiful place, and is generally well maintained. It is not over-crowded, so it is possible to get a sun bed easily. It has access to a private beach, and the transfers there and back are frequent and simple. The bad: all food, drink and activities at the resort are significantly overpriced for their quality, leading to a feeling of being squeezed for every last drop, in exchange for a sub-par experience. The buffet dinner was over 10 times the prices of a (frankly more tasty) dinner on the mainland. The 'coral garden snorkeling' excursion was to a patch of dead coral reef, significantly worse than the coral at the house reef itself, with very limited marine life (a couple of reef sharks), and the guides made limited effort to actually guide us to any interesting sightings. Apparently a turtle was seen by one of the guides - the first I heard of this was when I was sent a picture of this turtle by WhatsApp after the trip was finished. The equipment provided was poor - ill-fitting masks, no fins. The villas also are in need of some work - our bed had a massive dip in the middle meaning we rolled onto each other at night. Overall, I cannot say that I would recommend staying here, in particular for the price paid. I would recommend staying at a hotel on the mainland and organising your own trips to the nearby islands for your island fix.

Ewan Kilpatrick

On the positive side, all the staff here are absolutely wonderful. Everyone from the welcome desk to the gardening staff you pass on the way to your room are friendly and greeting you. They were communicative and helpful at all times. Also the rooms are lovely, huge, with good AC and comfy beds, and the whole resort weaves itself into nature in a lovely way. Wildlife is all around, and you get a nice bit of exercise walking to your room (particularly carrying your bags down the hill when you check out!) On the downside, you are really being fleeced seven ways to Sunday by hidden costs your whole stay here. You're already paying a premium took book your room here (naturally as it's a five star hotel, not complaining about that), but then you're charged exhorbitantly for non-optional things such as the boat to get to the hotel, which is the only way to get there (though if we stayed again, we'd probably opt to swim to avoid this cost). This is about 15 quid per person per direction, for all of 10 minutes in a boat, which is wild. They also charge an environmental fee, another 5 quid ish per person per night, which is for a good cause of course but should also absolutely also be included in the up-front room rate so people are aware how much the stay will cost them when making the booking (these charges are not optional, so there's no reason not to include them). Eating at the resort costs an absolute bomb - the restaurant is buffet only for dinner, no a la carte option, and costs 140 MYR per head PLUS service charge! (Note that by definition a buffet is self-service 🤔). There are no other cheaper options short of scavenging fruit from the rainforest or spear fishing in the sea, neither of which I'd expect to do to stay alive at a 5 star hotel. I would absolutely not recommend staying here unless you're happy to end up paying close to double the original room rate to complete your stay. They take massive advantage of the captive market they have for people who have booked. There are far better value options around Kota Kinabalu. Also the views over the sea are quite poor here as you're looking down the barrell of the shipping channel and there's some monstrosities of ships parked in front of the resort 24/7.