We recently stayed at Gaya Island Resort and we couldn’t be more disappointed. The most glaring issue is the enormous gap between the premium price we paid (Over $1,500 AUD for two nights, without meals, with 170AUD inclusions per day) and what we actually received. Despite its five-star label, this hotel is far from luxurious in its current state. We don't understand how they accumulate so many good reviews. Everyone in the resort that we talked with shared this views. I suspect they are very good at controlling social media...
First, the marketing is incredibly misleading. The hotel’s Instagram shows a secluded jungle paradise, yet in reality, it’s just a short boat ride from the city, directly facing an industrial port. The promotional photos are angled to hide the less scenic views, which felt like a deliberate deception.
Second, we chose a specific room package because it was advertised to include a nature walk with the hotel's naturalist. But upon arrival, we discovered that this “exclusive” feature was free to all guests, regardless of which package they booked. In other words, we paid morethinking we were getting somethig better, but it was a scam aimed to make you pay more.
Continuing our review, the experience went downhill quickly. During check-in, about 20 tourists were seated in reception, all waiting together in an open area sweating our shirts off until everyone was processed. This felt more like a mass group tour than a luxury hotel experience.
Then we were shown to our room, and we discovered that the resort is built on a very steep hill. They have vehicles to move things around the resort, but they are not for guests, even in the blazing midday heat of 40 degrees. We had to walk up and down an uggly concrete road (Not the beautiful pathways that other hotels curate) any time we wanted to reach reception, the pool, the beach, or any amenities. Even more infurating: They tell you there are agressive monkeys (And there were). That you should go up the hill yourself but if you encounter them then you need to come back down and then they will use their vehicle to take you up. They have the vehicles, they just don't want to provide the service.
The maintenance of the resort was appalling. This hotel has been left to rot. Everything was falling apart. Rusted metal, chipped wood, doors that didn't close, and gaps in the windows letting mosquitoes into the room (There are three mosquito born diseases in the area: dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika. What a way of ruining someones holidays!). The air conditioning barely worked, and although there was a large bathtub (we were happy for once!), the water heater is so small that can only fill few cm, making it essentially unusable.
!!!!!!! Severe Hygiene & Dining Standards
The dining experience was, without exaggeration, the most shocking aspect of our stay. During an expensive omakase dinner, the level of cross-contamination was unacceptable.
Insects in Food: The dining area was swarming with flies and insects due to the poor building maintenance (Again, the windows are unhinged and have wide gaps). We witnessed the chef repeatedly picking insects out of the rice he was preparing for us.
This is in front of you, imagine what goes behind the scenes...
Contamination: Perhaps more disturbing was watching the chef wipe his extremely sweaty face and blow his nose with a tissue, only to continue preparing our food with the same pair of gloves without washing his hands or changing them. Witnessing this in an open kitchen setting was absolutely appalling. That being said, poor guy was sweating rivers, because again, the aircon is insuficient.
The room: As you can guess by now... NOT clean at all. Stained beadsheets, yellow pillows... see pictures again.
!!! Environmental Concerns
The beach, which is already quite small, was unusable. A stream of black, foamy, foul-smelling water (which appeared to be runoff from the resort’s own infrastructure) was pouring directly onto the sand, creating an unpleasant odor across the entire beach area. Furthermore, the snorkeling described as a highlight was non-existent! the reef is dead, and the proximity to the industrial port makes the water feel far from clean. Just see the videos we took.
And all of this I want to put in perspective. We are seasoned travellers, we have stayed in homestays in peru and eaten rice with insects before. We did not complain because they did not charge those prices and because it was in the middle of the jungle. The oposite, we felt gratitude of them sharing what they had. But this hotel is out there scaming tourist.
Also, we spent some nights at the Sheraton, The hilton and the Shangrila Tajung. Also in Sipadan Kapalai (really in the middle of nowhere). They offered absolutely stunning hotels, ammenities and service for a small fraction of the cost!
As much as they want you to believe that this is a jungle escape... it took longer to climb the hill to get to your room from reception that what it takes for the boat to cross the water into a shopping mall. There is no excuse for the lack of mantainance, services...
