Hotels with Rooftop Pools in Kota Kinabalu

"I have to say this is one of the best hotels that I have ever visited. The hotel room is dustless, very clean. The location is very strategic, less than 5 minutes walk to go to Todak waterfront to enjoy seafood, or another 5 minutes walk in opposite direction to go to Suria mall for shopping. The staff here are friendly and dedicated in their services.After checking in, the staff gave me a call to ask me whether I am happy with the condition of the room. The breakfast is awesome, many varieties and very tasty. I am a demanding person, but this hotel does not disappoint me. It should be a role model for other hotels to follow."

"The hotel staff were all polite and enthusiastic. I didn't encounter any issues with discrimination against Chinese guests, no hot water at night, and no deposit was required. You can tell the hotel is a bit old, but it's well-maintained, especially the large private beach where you can snorkel, swim, or leisurely watch the sunset without having to deal with crowds elsewhere. That's a huge plus! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 On the second night, I saw a dying cockroach in the bathroom (its antennae wiggled for a long time). Considering it's a tropical region, it's understandable, and the fact that it was dying suggests the hotel uses pest control. However, housekeeping randomly took guests' personal belongings when cleaning the room. Two plastic bags with items in them were on the TV cabinet, and they were gone when I returned at night. This is the first time I've encountered such a situation in my 10+ years of travel. Although the items weren't valuable, their absence was very inconvenient. Housekeeping shouldn't subjectively assume guests' items are trash and take them away. That was a bit frustrating. Additionally, service efficiency was very low. One evening, I went to the front desk to ask staff to send some bottled water to the room. The front desk staff were very friendly and enthusiastically agreed, but I waited over two hours and nothing arrived. The in-room service phone was either busy or completely silent (maybe just a prop?), so I had no choice but to go down to the lobby again to get water. We checked in around 12 PM, but were told we couldn't get into the room until 3 PM (they informed us politely). The next day, I turned on the 'make up room' light before going out for lunch, but when we returned to the room around 2 PM, it still hadn't been cleaned. In short, everything was slow; it felt like the hotel was understaffed and overwhelmed."

"The sea view from our room was partially obstructed, which was a minor downside. However, we were very satisfied with everything else. The panoramic sea-view infinity pool was fantastic. The room itself was spacious and well-equipped. The surrounding area has plenty to offer: a street with sea-view restaurants and bars, a seafood night market, and a large shopping mall with a supermarket. It's also very close to the airport and not far from Sunset Beach. Due to its location under the flight path, you might hear planes passing by. Most importantly, the price was reasonable, making the sea-view room excellent value for money."

"The location is very close to Welcome Seafood, Twin-Star Seafood Restaurant, and Imago Mall, but a bit far from Jesselton Point, Suria Sabah, and Gaya Street. The breakfast is better than the Marriott's but not as good as the Hyatt Centric's; you can't watch your kids while eating. The room is quite spacious, and the facilities are new. When I booked, it said two 1-meter wide beds, and I was worried they might be too narrow. However, in reality, the beds felt at least 1.2 meters wide, possibly 1.3 meters, which was perfectly adequate."

"This is our family trip to Malaysia, and we have two elders and a baby with us. Considering the check-in time was 3 AM, we booked two days so we could enter early in the morning and rest. Honestly, when you’re traveling with family, you just do whatever is most convenient as long as it’s affordable. The apartment has a great location—literally 15–18 minutes from the airport. All the food spots and supermarkets are within walking distance. It’s just an all-around great package for a first-time visitor to the city. It was easy to sign in at security and get access to the apartment. The elevator is a bit slow because there are many residents in the building, but it’s acceptable. Once we entered the room, the AC was already on—what a breeze to welcome us on arrival. The room was clean, everything tidy. There were even clear instructions in the shower on how to use the water heater, which made things a lot easier. My in-laws took a nice hot shower after a 3-hour flight delay, and it was such a relief. Later in the day—maybe because of the red-eye flight and the massive delay—the fatigue kicked in. Plus, we’re not used to the humid and hot Malaysian weather. My father-in-law started having a fever. I had Tylenol and other medicines ready in the bag, but we clearly needed a plan B. I reached out to the owner immediately. My father-in-law was feeling cold even after the fever subsided. The owner contacted his friend in the same building right away and got us an extra blanket. Plan B was to cancel our driving trip to Mount Kinabalu the next day. Since my father-in-law was sick, having him in the car for a 2–3 hour drive wouldn’t help his rest. And if things got worse while we were up in the mountains, he wouldn’t get the medical attention he needed in the middle of nowhere. It was better to cancel and stay in the city. So naturally, if we could extend the room and let him rest another day, he might recover enough for us to continue the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, the room was already booked for the next day. The owner told us we could book another room and he’d try to let us check in earlier to make the transition easier. After we booked the new room, I believe he made some arrangements behind the scenes. He later texted us saying we could stay in the same room tomorrow—no room change needed. I’m really thankful to such an understanding owner, someone who genuinely cares and makes the effort to help a random visitor like me. I told him I’d write down this positive experience to share with others. Hopefully, it brings him more business."

"Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu is probably the best place to stay in the entire city, not just for the rooms, but for everything else as well. The hotel is modern, very clean, and the service attitude from every single staff member is outstanding, from check-in to housekeeping to restaurant and bar teams. The pool and views on the 23rd floor are amazing, and the gym, while slightly small, has a really nice mountain view. Breakfast offers a great variety, and à la carte options are included at no extra cost, which is a big plus. The bar is excellent, especially during happy hour with buy-one-get-one-free deals on selected drinks. Honestly, the hotel was so comfortable that we barely wanted to leave, even just for a walk outside. Special thanks to Natalie at check-in, who was incredibly friendly, patient, and welcoming. She even upgraded us from a city-view room to a mountain-view room, which made the stay even more special. At the bar, Alvin was tirelessly explaining the menu and drinks to us, and Yus always greeted us with a warm smile and provided great service, they truly made the experience memorable. If I ever come back to Kota Kinabalu, this would 100% be my place to stay again."

"Clean and tidy, spacious rooms, well-equipped, and a great location! Very nice. You can see the ocean right from your window, and even catch the sunset in the evening!!! There's also a beachfront pool on the 7th floor 😄 where you can also watch the sunset."

"The hotel is located at a prime location in the city centre of KK. I’ve booked a room with sea view and it’s the best seaview I’ve ever seen. The morning buffet has a lot of varieties and things are pretty good. The staffs also very friendly with fantastic customer service."

"I recently stayed at the Promenade Hotel Kota Kinabalu, and it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. The location is excellent—right in the city center, making it easy to walk to nearby restaurants, shopping malls, and the waterfront. It’s convenient whether you’re here for business or sightseeing. The room was clean, comfortable, and well-equipped. The bed was cozy, the air-conditioning worked well, and the Wi-Fi was stable. I also appreciated the small touches like the coffee/tea facilities and a good-sized work desk. If you’re lucky to get a sea-view room, waking up to the South China Sea is definitely a bonus. The hotel facilities are also great. The breakfast selection was good with plenty of choices, and the staff were friendly and helpful throughout my stay. The check-in process was smooth, and I felt well taken care of. Overall, I had a very good stay at Promenade Hotel. It has great value for its location, comfort, and service. I would gladly choose this hotel again the next time I visit Kota Kinabalu."

"We travelled to KK with a group of seven family members, including two kids. I was looking for a hotel that could fit everyone, but most hotels required us to book two separate rooms. Then I found The Sigar by The Sutera Bay. The concept is similar to Airbnb, where they offer units with two rooms that can accommodate my whole family. The rooms were nicely decorated. The first room we stayed in was super nice. The next room we got after returning from Kundasang was okay, but the floor area could have been cleaner. Parking was fine. They have an open parking area, and you can use the Smart Sabah app to pay the parking fee. You can also park in the building, but most of those lots are reserved for Sabah Electricity staff. You can still park there, but it’s better to leave your phone number. The hotel has a swimming pool, and the reception is open 24 hours, so we had no issues with late check-in or check-out. It’s about 10 minutes from the airport. They also got 24 hours mart and laundry in the building. No breakfast is served, but that wasn’t an issue since we prefer to eat out. You can go to Aeropod for breakfast which is also about 10 minutes from the hotel. Overall, I would definitely stay here again next time"