Zen Garden Resort

The road leading to the Hotel was quite spooky as it did not look as if many had used it. We thought we had taken a wrong turn but continued to stay on course. Soon, we saw a small parking area near the Hotel’s lobby. My friends unloaded our luggage while I went inside to check us in & collect the keys to our room. It was close to 4:00 pm when we arrived. The weather looked as if it was going to rain. Our rooms were a decent size & located side-by-side. The furniture was a little dated as the décor favoured mainly wooden furniture & props to match the scenic view of Mount Kinabalu & nature. The bed was hard but good for our backs. There was no air-conditioning, just the normal ceiling fan. I thought we won’t survive the night but the air & temperature were cool enough to sleep comfortably without any AC. The small refrigerator kept our trays of fruits fresh & cool. We did not indulge in watching any television throughout our stay as we were mostly out of the hotel. The WiFi wasn’t stable though complimentary. The best part of the room was its huge balcony equipped with a table & chairs overlooking the view of Mount Kinabalu. The bathroom looked renovated. It was modern & nice-looking with pebble-washed surface in the shower area. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the shower area was wet & water was not drained properly. Thus, I made my way to the Reception to make a complaint. The Duty Manager meekly apologised for the inconvenience but informed Housekeeping staff had already gone home. So, nothing could be done which irked me further. We also requested some plates & cutleries to be sent to our rooms. The 3 of us were too tired to go out for dinner. Thus, we decided to eat our cut fruits. We also boiled our Brahim’s food packets & shared their contents with the 5 resident cats who had greeted & joined us at my friend’s balcony. We slept early that night. The next morning, my partner & I explored the Hotel grounds. We walked around & saw that the Hotel’s landscape was that of a huge garden with bridges & fish ponds. There was also a small playground area for children & an unused basketball court down below the hill. A lookout point section was built for in-house guests to enjoy the panoramic view of Mount Kinabalu. Unfortunately, that morning, Mount Kinabalu was covered with clouds. So, we went in to have a simple breakfast which included more cut fruits, an Oatmeal drink & biscuits. The resident cats visited us again & shared our food. Then, we left for the Dairy Cattle Farm, Poring Hot Springs & Kak Ita Seafood Café. When we came back from our excursion, our rooms were not made up as we had forgotten to hang the signage for Housekeeping to clean our rooms. We headed to Front Desk & requested the staff to clean our rooms. The Duty Manager said that he will find someone to clean our rooms as they had already gone back & true enough, he did. Two staff came over & cleaned our rooms while we sat outside at the balcony having an early dinner which included instant cup noodles, cut fruits & fresh milk. We also fed the resident cats with cat food which we had bought at the Kundasang market. The next morning, we went out to take a close-up photo of Mount Kinabalu near the Kundasang Market. The nearby Instagrammable location, Kundasang Point View was still closed. After getting some nice clear shots of Mount Kinabalu, we returned to the Hotel & had a quick breakfast which comprised of fresh milk, yoghurt & croissants from the Dairy Cattle Farm. We left the remaining cat food at the balcony for the resident cats before checking-out. Check-out was fast & easy. I wouldn’t mind coming back to the Hotel as our room had a super view of Mount Kinabalu in the far distance. Besides, I enjoyed the laidback atmosphere & garden landscaping.

I will not state my review based on view or location since other reviewers have touched. Diving down straight to the facts as follows: Value for $: Excellent and all budget travelers can indeed have the basics at an affordable pricing. Mattress and pillows: Good and comfortable. Duvet and sheets are old but clean. Towels are old as well but I should they are clean. Electrical appliances: Overall very bad condition from the water heater, kettle, plug points and LCD tv from early 2k era. TV Channel avail is pathetic. Overall lighting is good though, especially for ladies who need to apply make up. Room bell wasn’t working as well. Don’t expect for wifi either which is considered a necessity like electricity. Washroom: Not up to the standard at all. Leaking and moldy. Point of view: The management should command higher ARR (average room rate) and invest those funds to make the facilities match the amazing view this resort command. Thank you folks.

As part of a recent trip to Borneo, and after visiting the Rainforest below Mt Kinabalu, a friend and I stayed at Zen Gardens Ranau. The road in is very bumpy, but that didn't bother us. The setting has so much potential, but obviously has not had much done to it for a while. It was basically empty of other guests, and the area below our room was obviously the local meeting place for kids to practice on their motorbikes. I am pretty chilled, but it was a little bit annoying after a while. The staff were friendly enough, but we only saw about 3, and the food wasn't the best. This place could be so much more, and it was a bit sad to see the potential there if someone had the $$ to input.