Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Romantic
Great View
Languages Spoken
English, Chinese, Malay
Location
Jesselton Point Sepanggar Island, Kota Kinabalu 88000 Malaysia
After a couple of hectic weeks touring Sabah, this little haven was what I needed for 2 days to reenergise. I did a day trip each day rather than staying. 9.30am boat, back 3pm to KK craziness. 55 MYR without lunch ( i have a difficult diet so usually bring own food). Litter in the sea is an issue they try their best to deal with it, its an issue in all of S E Asia tbh. They couldn't be more helpful and friendly. I felt so comfortable as a solo woman traveller. I could snorkel ( free lockers keep bag safe), kayak, swim, chill on sunbeds or hammocks, snooze even. All included. Monkeys and goats could be naughty, looking for food ( it is a jungle after all) staff kindly chased them away if needed. Jessica even took me on a hike and tour of local Bayau ( fisher) village which took over an hour..no charge and really interesting. She is lovely. The other guests were mainly Chinese or Korean divers, lycra clad. Seemed friendly but max 20 on island and usually in the sea. I was 1 of 3 beach guests today. There were about 10 yesterday so definitely not busy. Maybe I got lucky from some of the comments on here !
Read more
Date of stay: April 2024
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Â Take mosy repellant
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We only stayed here 1 night as a small tour group. The boat trip to the island was pretty rough no riding the waves. Met at the dock for what was supposed to be a briefing re the Island. There are about 200 steps to the top tree house lots of steps all over. The islanders are very good trying to clean up the plastic being washed up onto the beach twice a day. The food is average. Monkeys are very active, nice to see the water monitor swimming. No WIFi only a few cabins have charging plug. The water is clear just a few stingers. Lots of water activities to do & massages.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We enjoyed 2 romantic days and nights on this beautiful island 15 minutes by boat away from Kota Kinabalu. Even though we read the not so good review from February 2015,we decided to give it a try and we weren't disappointed. Jess and her team from Mari Mari Sepanggar did everything to make these two days unforgettable for us. We booked a so-called Hill Chalet, which was a small house made of steel, standing several meters above the beach in the middle of the jungle. It was comfortable reachable on a wooden walkway with several stairs. It consisted of a small bedroom, a bathroom with shower and a balcony; simple but clean and comfortable. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was included in the price and always much and tasty. On the beach were hammocks, sun longer, chairs and tables available. Occasionally some pieces of plastic, which some inhabitants of a neighbor island constantly dispose into the sea, were washed up on the beach, but the crew always cleaned them up. Additionally it is possible to book a so-called sunset cruise, which we did and enjoyed very much. It was an almost two hour romantic experience. We give the Mari Mari Sepanggar only 4 out of 5 points, because the advertised trek through the jungle of the island wasn't possible, as the responsible person for this didn't work on this island anymore, and because of the construction works on new Hill Chalets during daytime, which were a bit noisy. Nonetheless it were two unforgettable days and nights for us.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2015Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
After visiting Sapi Island we wanted to relax somewhere with fewer tourists and Sepanggar Island was recommend. It cost 150rm each as there were three of us (usually 200rm per person ) which included all the boat rides, beach towels and lunch provided. The island itself is beautiful with there being plenty of coral to see when snorkelling however visibility is weather dependant. On the beach there were loungers and hammocks to relax in and plenty of wildlife to look at. Staff couldn't have been more helpful and made sure that you were completely satisfied with your stay. We ended up staying the night in the beach cabin (300rm) as we liked the island so much. Dinner was lovely and watching the sunset on the boat ride isn't something to be missed. The cabin itself was nice had all the amenities you would need, however bear in mind it is an island so there is no air con or hot water. Overall a fantastic place to stay for the money. With regards to the rubbish mentioned in previous posts there was a very minimal amount inside the netted area and didn't take away from the experience. Staff were constantly cleaning and didn't affect you swimming or snorkelling.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2015Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed here for 2 nights after arriving in Borneo and had a wonderful time- its amazing value for money, with kind staff and lovely food. We stayed in the sea view cabin which was secluded and beautiful, with gorgeous views. Did 2 dives here which were also nice- good refresher before heading south. Would absolutely recommend this beautiful place!!
Read more
Date of stay: June 2015
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Chose the only cabin- worth the little bit of extra money!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It was not a 5 star resort but a very good experience to enjoy nature not so far from the city. The team is very friendly and helpful, offering their best to make your stay enjoyable. The simple lodge is very comfortable and peaceful.
Read more
Date of stay: May 2015
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Ask for room by the beach if you want to avoid walking up and down the stairs
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This island Seppangar is situated just a short boat ride from the harbor, Jesselton Point, which makes it excellent for a short stay! We stayed for tree nights and that was perfect. We had two and a half days in our chalet up on the hill. It's a stunning view from there! We could sit on the balcony among the tree tops,looking out over the ocean with the mountains and the silhouette of the town, surrounded by birds and monkeys! It sure was amazing!
The island is a green hill with a beach. Nine chalets to stay over night in and a restaurant and a small diving center.
It is also a nice place to visit for just a day trip!
What you should know is that the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and in between you cannot bye anything except some snacks and very expensive beers. I am sorry to say that even if the food was good, it wasn't enough! During our stay there were two occasions when some dishes on the buffet was finished before we even got a taste of it.
Another thing that made us disappointed is all the things swimming in the water together with the fishes, like plastic bags, tires and empty bottles on the bottom. The garbage from the sea with the town so near was flouting towards the island. The staff was out collecting some, but there were still to much left to really enjoy snorkeling.
The chalet we had was okey to us, small with a little space in the room, but a lovely view from the balcony. The shower is okey, but only could water. The maintenance could have been better, but the staff was very helpful if there was something we pointed out that was needed, for example a broken fan that they replaced immediately when we asked.
I want to end the review by saying that we loved our stay here, cause of the beautiful nature so near town and can recommend it cause of that!
Read more
Date of stay: January 2017Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Great place to get away from it all, and to lose all the tourists flocking to the islands. We stayed in a sea view chalet which I highly recommend. Lovely staff, great food and lots of activities for those who want to keep busy. We had the beach to ourselves for three days. A touch of heaven!!
Read more
Date of stay: May 2016Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We spent two nights on the island which was a quite mixed experience.
They made some mix up in our room so we had to move from a hill chalet to a beach chalet, which was much better! The toilet is attached, so you dont have to go outside, the view is great and the distance to the "restaurant" much smaller.
Unfortunately we didn't have the best weather on the first day, and there isnt really much to do besides tanning, reading and play cards. They had told us we could snorkel but there was really NOTHING interesting to see, which was really disapointing, and we had to stay in a very limitted area. The same with kayaking, which was only possible in a small area. Not very interesting. Then we thought we would do the hike, which they also had advetisted for. The first day there were no guide to take us (you are not allowed to go on your own) and the second day it was luckily sunny, but really warm for a hike so we didn't go.
We had read the reviews here with the garbage, which was good to be prepared for. It is not like a "paradise-Island", but a fine and cheap compared to other islands place to relaxe and have some sun. But you should defintly not go for the snorkling-experience!
The food was Malaysian but surprisingly tasty. You can only buy drinks, no snacks.
One of the staff was quite inpolite and when asked her anything it was always like we were in her way. Like if we could buy a coke or if we could go for the hike, she acted like we made unreasonable demands.
Read more
Date of stay: August 2015Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
during arrival we being serve seafood and night session we had nice feast of bbq seafood and its too much for us. this trip is worth more than the money we paid for which is below rm300 for a person, we are two person actually the price was included overnight and 3meals and freeflow coffee and tea whole day, basically we can use all the equipment in the island including snorkeling tools, kayaks. the bad side is the sand flies are all over the beach beware and use mosquito repellents.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2017
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
