Gaya Island Resort

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.

Charis Yahweh

I chose Gaya Island Resort expecting a luxury experience based on its branding and pricing, but unfortunately the stay felt largely ordinary and did not live up to expectations. While the staff were friendly, the service lacked the attention to detail and personalized touches that define true luxury hospitality. During my stay, the air-conditioning in my room leaked and soaked part of the dressing area. Although the issue was repaired, the mess was left behind for me to arrange housekeeping to clean up. This may seem minor, but luxury is often reflected in how such details are handled. The food was another disappointment. It was generally uninspiring, lacked character, and did not feel consistent with the standards of a premium resort. The arrival and departure experience at the jetty was also inconvenient, with a considerable distance between the grab drop off and Gaya Lounge, particularly challenging when carrying luggage in rainy weather. What surprised me most was that I checked in on my birthday and received no acknowledgment at all. Even many standard hotels make an effort to recognize special occasions, so this felt like a missed opportunity for a resort positioning itself as a luxury destination. Overall, it felt like paying luxury prices for an ordinary experience. The setting is beautiful, but the service, dining, and attention to detail did not match the luxury image that the resort promotes. Regrettably, I would not return or recommend it based on my experience.

Samuel Graber

We had mixed feelings about our stay at Gaya Island Resort. On the positive side, the resort itself is beautiful, with a large and clean swimming pool as well as a well-maintained beach. The rooms are spacious and offer lovely views. We also enjoyed the beautiful spa area and appreciated the complimentary snorkeling equipment and kayaks. In addition, the resort offers a variety of activities, although these come at an extra cost. Unfortunately, several aspects significantly affected our overall impression. While the rooms were cleaned daily, the level of cleanliness did not meet our expectations for a five-star resort. For example, we found hair from previous guests in the bathroom. The service at the reception and the bar was also not what we would expect from a five-star property. Drink orders at the pool bar were forgotten several times, and there was no poolside service, meaning guests had to go to the bar themselves to place orders. In addition, both of our restaurant reservations were not properly arranged, and the transfer from the harbour to the airport that had been organized for us did not take place. After several inquiries and being referred from one person to another, we eventually had to arrange the transfer ourselves. The resort has three restaurants: a teppanyaki restaurant, an à la carte restaurant, and a buffet restaurant. The food quality was generally acceptable across all of them. However, we found the price of the buffet restaurant to be excessively high. For two people, including one glass of wine each, we paid MYR 477, which is more than EUR 100. Based on our experience, we would not choose to stay at this resort again on a future trip to Borneo and unfortunately cannot recommend it to others.

Harald Kieber

The resort is aboutlutly stunning. A nice coral reef with alive corals, a calm sea and natural jungle behind the resort. The villas are all spacious, although sometimes walking is necessary, but the view makes it worth it. The transfer to the resort is by their own boat. Check in at the pier is easy and convenient. It would have been a paradise like stay if not for a few things that we didn't like. The transfer is quite expensive, but we knew that before. For this price I actually thought we will have more service, like turn down service, more explain by the staff, etc. The food in the main restaurant was ok, but overpriced a bit. I understand we are on an island. The Japanese Restaurant was great though. One more thing we didn't like was, that the staff was very often on the phone, which seems unprofessional. All in all it was a good stay in a very beautiful place!

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.