Sabah Tea Garden

We stayed for two nights as part of a tour. This accommodation is situated in a stunning location but this is about the only thing going for it and it really is no form of hotel rather self-catering accommodation. The cottages are basic but adequate, although they could have been a bit cleaner. There is no ‘common area’ in the hotel bar an open air long house type building in which there are just a couple of uncomfortable metal tables and chairs and a few benches. There is nowhere to sit of an evening to relax and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings which is a real shame so you are confined to your room. There is wi-fi there although we were told it was down because of weather then told by other staff it simply did not work and was broken. We arrived to be told that the only drinks available to purchase at the reception were cans of beer, absolutely nothing else. We were actually not expecting alcohol to be available so were surprised but neither of our party drink beer, my husband not alcohol at all so this was an issue. Our tour guide told us soft drinks would be available to purchase in the plantation restaurant which was open all day. This is probably a 10 minute walk from the accommodation for us as fit and active people but is down and up a hill and several of our group could not make this walk - how they were supposed to get any form of drink was unclear. We did walk to the restaurant to then be told they only had water or ‘cold brew’ and the drinks fridge was completely empty. We ended up walking 6km, down a steep hill through a local village and back to reach the mini mart on the main road; a walk taking over an hour in the heat. I don’t believe this is acceptable to have to do when staying at a hotel as being able to access soft drinks is to me a basic necessity - especially given the remote location. The food in the restaurant to their credit was very good however we arrived for our group scheduled dinner at 7pm and on finishing asked to order dessert. We were told no as the kitchen was closed; another table was told yes which we pointed out and they reluctantly took our order. We were then told around 20:30 that we needed to leave because they wanted to close! The second evening, again food was good and after our guide complained they did have coke and sprite on offer. When we got to ordering dessert they told us they had sold out of every single ingredient and dessert on the menu and could not possibly facilitate any order. After the previous evening it was absolutely clear that this was because they didn’t want to delay closing and again we were asked to vacate for them to do so. Thankfully we were out during the day as otherwise this would have been a very long drawn out two nights. Whilst we appreciated the location and its authenticity, in culmination the service and facilities are not fit for purpose in terms of a hotel and this was the low point of our trip. I would not recommend a stay here.

We stayed for just one night and it was comfortable. Wifi is available at the reception area along with a fridge you can use as there are none in the cottages. Tea and coffee in the room, beds were firm and the shower was warm and good. Great views of the mountain and over the tea plantation. Nice place for one night.