Borneo Natural Sukau Bilit Resort

“Rodel”

Rodel is a responsible and professional captain. Mr and my friend are photographer, our captain Rodel is very good at looking for good angle and wildlife for us to get a good photo!

“Perfect!”

We very much loved our stay at BNSBR. Two nights give you the chance to see all of the big five in Borneo. So many people is coming and going everyday and still the lodge were clean and the food was nice. A special thanks to our guide Kai who helped us see all the animals and told us a lot of usef… more

We very much loved our stay at BNSBR. Two nights give you the chance to see all of the big five in Borneo. So many people is coming and going everyday and still the lodge were clean and the food was nice. A special thanks to our guide Kai who helped us see all the animals and told us a lot of useful information.

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“A pity it was so rushed”

This was the base for the river adventure that was part of the full day tour. The hotel looks amazing set on the banks of the Kinabatangan River. We were provided with "afternoon tea" on arrival, which was a bonus ( steamed cakes and fruit) and then the full dinner experience afterwards. The food w… more

This was the base for the river adventure that was part of the full day tour. The hotel looks amazing set on the banks of the Kinabatangan River. We were provided with "afternoon tea" on arrival, which was a bonus ( steamed cakes and fruit) and then the full dinner experience afterwards. The food was good - peppered beef. Spicy chicken, veg, salad, and desserts the problem was, that as day trip and there was a concerted effort to rush us out. It was a great pity but it did make me want to actually stay here.

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“Got what we paid for, but wouldn't stay again”

We found it difficult deciding on a place to explore the Kinabatangan river and there was an array of package prices. In the case of this package, it was the most cost effective, and we felt we got what we paid for. We had stayed in Borneo Sepilok Rainforest Resort and had a wonderful stay, and thi… more

We found it difficult deciding on a place to explore the Kinabatangan river and there was an array of package prices. In the case of this package, it was the most cost effective, and we felt we got what we paid for. We had stayed in Borneo Sepilok Rainforest Resort and had a wonderful stay, and this resort is run by the same company but our experience felt quite different. Firstly, we enjoyed seeing wildlife in their natural habitat, and we spotted a few animals that we hadn't seen elsewhere in Borneo; our guide/boat driver was skilled and knowledgeable which we were thankful for. We made a list of animals we'd seen and counted over 40 different species, which was genuinely an exciting and wonderful experience which all of us enjoyed immensely. To support the local community and reforestation efforts, we were able to buy some saplings and plant them in the forest. There are several programmes to do this whereby the local communities grow saplings from seed, and by supporting this, the money goes into the community and a tree is planted in the rainforest. We mostly enjoyed the experience, however, there were several things that we wished we'd known and unfortunately, felt disappointing for this part of our trip. Firstly, families with children are grouped with other families for the river cruises. We understand this is to reduce the impact on people without children, however, whilst the noise of others is not the fault of the company, we felt the guide could have asked people to be quiet and respectful to the environment and others on the trip, and this could have been a policy of the company. We felt this led to fewer sightings of wildlife as some were quick to flee. All meals are provided (buffet) and there was no option to purchase snacks other than ice creams. There were also cold drinks available. The food choices were bland and unappetizing on the whole. We found people were leaving the buffet food lids up so flies were all over the food, and this was a constant problem. We found getting to meals as quickly as possible to be the best option for us. There were a huge amount of flies, to the point the communal eating area in particular was over run. Not sure if this is the same for all accommodations in the area due to the environment, or whether it was a problem at this particular resort. Another thing to be aware of, the lodges back on to a very small community (a few feet away) who live in makeshift accommodation, and the children use the boardwalk to the lodges as a play area. This made the stay feel less private. However, some of the children staying in the hotel enjoyed playing with the local children, so also a bit of a positive depending on your view. For our stay we booked a family room - queen bed and a bunk bed, but found the top bunk bed mattress flush with the bedside and unusable due to the risk of falling from a great height from the top bunk. The ladders seemed to have been put on backwards as the steps steeped the opposite way. There was a wooden step next to the bed so if a child fell from the bed they would have crashed into a wooden step too. However, the beds were comfortable enough and the children slept well. The room appeared very tired. Mosquito nets were falling down from the beds and were visibly dirty. The air conditioning unit was very loud and caused significant vibrations in the pillows on the main bed as the unit was directly above the bed. The bathroom was very tight, was not private from the room due to a large gap underneath the door, and didn't appear very clean. Though we enjoyed the river cruises, there were a couple of exceptions: The day an elephant was spotted on the river resulted in mass boat gatherings (literally dozens of boats and hundreds of people), and chasing the elephant (which was just beyond the shore of the river in the trees) along the river for sightings/glimpse of it. The smell of diesel was terrible, and the elephant understandably was spooked die to the noise and left the area. We found this very sad and we were left worried about the welfare of the animals in the local area. We also paid extra for a night criuse and noticed how wildlife literally was caught in the headlights and clearly scared, and quick to flee - angry squabbling from monkeys, palm civet trying to hide in the trees. Had we realised the impact of this excursion on local wildlife we wouldn't have joined in. If this is the only place you can afford to stay to visit the Kinabatangan river then it's still worth the visit, however, if we were to do this again, we would choose a different company/seek a smaller or more environmentally conscious set up for wildlife spotting.

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