Swordie Bloggie

Last week, 24 to 28 November 2008, I continued with my Journey Around Sabah… to Tuaran, Kota Belud, Kota Marudu, Pitas & Kudat. They are at the northern side of Sabah and Borneo. Kudat is where Tips of Borneo, Simpang Mangayau, located.

We stayed at Kudat Golf & Marina Resort for 3 nights. The room is RM158 per night with Sea View. If you are member of Kudat Golf Club, you can get voucher from the club and it will cost you RM115 per night only although both of them are not with the same management… they have some kind of internal arrangement.

The room is great… I’m satisfied with it. It has mini bar too. The bathroom has most of the standard bathroom fixtures minus the bath tub. TV is not very clear… it has the two terrestrial channels and four Astro (cable) channels.

WiFi is not available but only at the lobby and restaurant. My Celcom broadband is only able to receive WCDMA in the hotel. But according to a friend, he can get 3G… probably my receiver is lousy… I need to change it to a better one next time.

Travelling from KK is not bad. Only a few places with broken road… but there are parts where the roads are very bouncy… a lot of road depression. Petronas should give more money for infrastructure development here… you have been digging our oil for so long.

During my last week Journey Around Sabah, I stayed a night at Ranau… Kundasang to be exact. Kundasang has many resorts surrounding it since it is where National Park is… and Mount Kinabalu. As far as I know, there is only one hotel there… a good hotel with Stars I mean. It is the Perkasa Hotel… probably with 3 or 4 Stars. I stayed there before many many years back… and/but I’m dying to stay at Kinabalu Pine Resort… so Kinabalu Pine Resort we stayed on the night of 23 October 2008.

Hotel Perkasa and Kinabalu Pine Resort has the best view of Mount Kinabalu… One reason I choose Kinabalu Pine Resort this time. But unfortunately, it is raining season and the clouds are so thick till can’t see the face of Mount Kinabalu. I will review Pine Resort next time. But to tell you the truth, I was dissatisfied with the amount I paid to enjoy a 2 Stars Resort… it was too expensive compared to the quality of 2 Star they gave…

To start with, the room has no air-con but a standing fan (because it is next to the highest  mountain in South East Asia), no in-room phone (meaning you have to walk to the reception if you need anything or you can use your cell phone), 2 lousy TV channels, no comforter only blanket (I’m not asking for electric blanket OK, Kundasang is not cold anymore, I can walk around half naked without feeling cold there), small and thin towels… all for RM202… but every year they get awards, wonder how?

Getting 50% or more discounts on your next Hotel Reservations is a very big deal. But that kind of good offer is hard to get especially during the holiday seasons. But if you check at HotelRservations.com, they are offering up to 70% discount! That is what I called a very big deal! You can make your selection and booking for hotels, resorts, motels, flights, car rentals, vacation rentals, vacation packages and many more offerings right from their website. With that big-fat discount, I will enjoy myself with foods or maybe extend my holiday a little bit longer.