The Shangri-La Rasa Ria in Kota Kinabalu is undoubtedly the best hotel that I've ever stayed in. Each room is very spacious with a super king-sized bed (super being the operative word here), a "sala" which doubles as another sleeping area if you're bringing your child with you, a balcony that overlooks the lush mountainside (or beach front), a well appointed bathroom (sorry, no bidet in sight) and toiletries galore. There's even a bedside clock that lights up as soon as you touch it so that you don't have to turn on the lights to look at the time. My husband specially loved the bath gel that the hotel provided. But my favorite, by far, is the bed.....just plain heavenly. This vacation is one of the rare occasions where I slept earlier than 11pm. I almost fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.
The resort is in 60+ acres of land, according to the assistant general manager, who is a Filipina, by the way. The entire property is surrounded by lush mountainside on one side and of course, the beach on the other. The hotel is really geared for relaxation.
The hotel has a "natural" morning alarm clock. Every morning at around 6:30 or 7am, you will hear birds squawking . My husband and I attempted to identify what bird was making all the ruckus. There were so many of them perched everywhere! As my husband and I took our morning walk in the hotel premises, we chanced upon many colorful birds, orange ones, brown ones, plain black ones, black ones with adidas stripes, but alas, a familiar one flew over our heads, the brown maya. Yey! Something that reminds us of home.
My husband Eric was overly excited about the squirrel that we found running on the tree branches. It was the first time in my life that I've seen a wild one (I saw one years ago in a cage). Who knew that there were squirrels in Malaysia?
The hotel also has an orangutan sanctuary located within it's property. The orangutans can be viewed at 10am and 2pm. They charge 50 Ringgit per head as "contribution". My husband and I hiked up the mountain to see them. The trails were slippery and muddy and older couples hiking with us had to stop a few times to catch their breath. Be sure to put on insect repellent since the mosquitoes are vicious and wear rubber shoes with good traction to avoid slipping. We were fortunate enough to see five of the seven orangutans that are in their care. The orangutans are being "schooled" or re-trained so that they can be released back into the wild. The Shangri-la nature reserve is their "elementary" school. They will be later transferred to Sepilok for their "high school" education and then eventually released to the wild. Be warned that the viewing time doesn't always guarantee that you will see them since they roam freely within the mountains.
2 comments:
For kids, the hotel offers an activity center which we hear is quite a success. Kids and adults alike can ride horseback, too! The hotel is undergoing expansion for more guest rooms and an even larger kids' activity center. Want to get married? Supposedly for almost the same amount for a wedding in Boracay, you can hold your ceremony, reception, and vacation (maybe even honeymoon?) all-in-one at Rasa Ria.
Wow, I didn't know you've started posting in your blog! Well-written! I shall inform fellow bloggers - especially the foodies - to visit your site. Hope you can feature your recipes here as well, particularly your cheesecake.
Post a Comment