Sandakan: Hotel Nak

During my trip to Sandakan, I stayed at Hotel Nak after my Jungle Experience. I picked this hotel based on the reviews on Tripadvisor. I knew that after coming out from a 3D/2N Wildlife experience I would like a hotel experience to clean up, have a nice luxurious bath, and indulge in a cafe experience if needed. I was not wrong – this place was great for that purpose.

I booked a Classic Single Suite for RM 88 but when I got to my room, the air conditioner was not working. They upgraded me to a bigger room - and it was really nice. The walls were painted in red and it had a nice seating area, a bath tub, a double bed, tv, tea and coffee making facilities. What was lacking was perhaps a fridge.

The toilet was really nice – even my original Classic Single Suite had a bathtub, and I particularly liked the oriental bowl they used as a sink and the red walls. The shower had a nice pressure and I also liked the ladder they used as a rack to hang the towels.

However, the place was not flawless or without fault. I know that they have recently upgraded the place into more a boutique hotel feel with Chinese/Peranakan touches. However, I feel that they could have done better to ensure that all details were upgraded along. For example, outsides the rooms, the walls were still stained and dirty and my cupboard in room 405 was really old and did not look clean. In fact it looked like it was from the 1980s and has not been upgraded since. They also had only 1 elevator working.

Nonetheless, the roof terrace cafe on the roof of the hotel made up for a lot of things. It is called the Bailin Roof Garden Terrace. Coming from Bangsar Kuala Lumpur, I am perpetually surrounded by chi-chi cafes so I have high standards for ambience and variety on the menu. So I wasnt expecting anything much for a Roof Garden Terrace in Sandakan.

The cafe at the hotel surpassed all these expectations as the food quality and the drinks were of very high quality. Even their Lemonade had some pizzazz and wasnt one of those coloured cordial drinks that chain hotels gave away.

I initially wanted to go get some dim sum for dinner but was turned off by the heavy rain. (Additional tip: dont go to Sandakan during the rainy season). Instead I sat down with my laptop at Bailin and ordered a delicious mojito (RM18) and a plate of chicken wings (RM18). As you can see, these are all KL prices but they taste a lot better. I espcially enjoyed the mojito – although the chicken wings was just so-so. They came in a set of 6. The place overlooked the ocean and there were lots of people there enjoying the environment even though it was rainy.

The staff was also really friendly and helpful. Wi-fi is available only in the lobby and at the restaurant upstairs. Taxi to the airport from Hotel Nak cost me about RM 25 at the time of writing.

Hotel Website:

www.nakhotel.com