Sutera Sanctuary Lodges at Manukan Island

“Amazing service ”

Our stay at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges was amazing. The staff were friendly, attentive and informative. The room was equipped with an air conditioner and fan. It was comfortable, clean and spacious. There was a sitting area in front of the room which overlooked the garden and you got a view of the... more

Our stay at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges was amazing. The staff were friendly, attentive and informative. The room was equipped with an air conditioner and fan. It was comfortable, clean and spacious. There was a sitting area in front of the room which overlooked the garden and you got a view of the sea. Only one f&b outlet was opened of the 2. The team was great, food delicious and view spectacular. The swimming pool was opened to guests but disappointing to see it was not maintained. Keep your walks limited to the restaurant and not venture further unless you want to get eaten alive by mosquitoes.. which we were. But nothing much the resort can do about this. Only one set of snorkeling gear was provided on a complimentary basis for each room without an option to rent another pair since there was 2 of us. We were instead redirected to a private vendor who was on the other side of the beach. This was a bit weird. In all, we enjoyed our stay very much!

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“Manukan Island Resort: A Tropical Gem”

We visited the Sutera Sanctuary Lodges Manukan Island Resort for two nights on the 21st of April 2021. There were four of us in the group. I had not visited Manukan for several years having been deterred in the past by the hordes of Chinese tourists that frequented the islands of the Tunku Abdul ... more

We visited the Sutera Sanctuary Lodges Manukan Island Resort for two nights on the 21st of April 2021. There were four of us in the group. I had not visited Manukan for several years having been deterred in the past by the hordes of Chinese tourists that frequented the islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park of which Manukan Island is a part of. The reduced rates offered by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges were an added incentive. We had an absolutely marvellous time. Three days and two nights of peace and tranquillity in a tropical paradise coupled with excellent service from start to finish by the staff of the Manukan Island Resort. We had booked two hillside villas and the air-conditioning in our bedroom malfunctioned late in the evening. The staff responded within minutes of us reporting to them of the problem with the air conditioner but nothing could be done till the morning. They offered us the option of moving to another villa further up the hillside but we declined as we had already settled in. Even though there was a ceiling fan in the room, we spent a slightly hot and uncomfortable night. We were in the midst of a very hot and dry spell here and we could not leave the windows open because of the mosquitoes. The air-conditioning was promptly repaired first thing the next morning and to our delight, the staff of the resort invited us to drinks on the end of the jetty at sundown as compensation for the inconvenience and discomfort we suffered during the night. They laid out mats and cushions at the end of the jetty where we sat and had chilled beer and wine while we watched the sun set. It was such a lovely gesture by the staff of the resort and something we will always cherish. The restaurant offered a limited ala carte menu which we could understand, as we were in the midst of a Covid pandemic and a Movement Control Order and there were only about fourteen guests on the island when we were there. The quality of the food on offer was entirely acceptable. Breakfast was superb. There was a choice of about six sets of breakfast all accompanied with a cold towel, fresh fruit, fruit juice, yogurt, bread and freshly brewed coffee and tea. It was lovely to be on a beautiful tropical island with white sandy beaches (sand flies not withstanding), crystal clear aquamarine seas and comfortable, clean, well maintained accommodation and facilities but to me personally, the staff made all the difference. From the staff at the Sutera Marina doing the boat transfers, the front desk and reception staff, the staff of the Arang restaurant, the service staff and the maintenance crew, they were all polite and most importantly kind and caring. They went way beyond their call of duty to make the trip a pleasant and memorable one for us. Pang, Carl, Roy, Jekster, Bryan, Flores, Conney, Angela, Sherrra, Kelvin, Fahmie, Ag. Afig and all the other staff of Manukan Island Resort whose names I don’t know or can’t recall: Thank you, every one of you.

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“Truly a Sabahan Hospitality”

I enjoyed my second stay in Manukan SSL as i did in my first trip months ago. From the first registration at Marina Harbour we were greeted with smiles and warm welcome. One of the staff (Carl) even helped us to carry our luggage all the way to our room. The reception manager greeted us upon our ... more

I enjoyed my second stay in Manukan SSL as i did in my first trip months ago. From the first registration at Marina Harbour we were greeted with smiles and warm welcome. One of the staff (Carl) even helped us to carry our luggage all the way to our room. The reception manager greeted us upon our arrival on the island and brief us splendidly. I had an unfortunate day when i accidentally stepped on a sea urchin, went to the reception and the staffs helped me by providing vinegar and sharing tips to ease the pain. On the last day, we were booked for the last boat ride to KK. I requested for a late checkout and Pang helped us to see to it. Overall a wonderfull experience and we will definitely come again.

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“Could have been better”

Booking done via call to the Sutera office. Very poor service, no follow up call and email 3-4 after payment was made. Had to call a few times to get the confirmatory email. Prior to vacation day - no call or email instructions of where and what departure time would be. The evening before the day... more

Booking done via call to the Sutera office. Very poor service, no follow up call and email 3-4 after payment was made. Had to call a few times to get the confirmatory email. Prior to vacation day - no call or email instructions of where and what departure time would be. The evening before the day we suppose to leave – I had to call the office and ask. They mentioned that the office would call a day or two earlier to confirm the departure time, but I did not receive any calls, neither did my friend who was leaving the same day as me. We were 30 earlier than the scheduled departure time, thus the boat left at 10am instead of 10.30am. Boat ride took around 10-15 minutes. A beautiful island. Much cleaner now since MOC due to COVID19 pandemic, no flocking of international tourist as before. Unfortunately, upon arrival – we were told the rooms would be ready at 2.30pm only. No mention of this previously during the phone conversation or at least at the mainland departure office. We had to sit in the café and wait for 4 hours. The kids were super bored. But the café was comfortable at least. Checking in into the rooms were fast. Beach villa is just next to the island office. We were given the higher room. Room was spacious, clean and comfortable. The ramp made in the toilet was weird and inconvenient, however, can see that it was made over stairs which would have been more hazardous. The aircond box was just outside the main door. Its heats up the space and hot hair tends to get into the room. Wifi was provided but there is no internet connection for it, thus you cant stream anything on your devices. We didnt mind the higher floor room as the ground floor rooms lacked privacy. Beach was cleaner than the previous times we were there. However, it was infested with sand flies. Do bring abundant of insect repellent. It was mentioned in the promotion poster that snorkelling gear would be provided, however, on the island – they mentioned that only one set will be given for one booking (not by per head). There are swimming pools. The shallowest baby pool was disgusting and dirty, probably not for use but no signage was up. The other bigger one was clean and usable. There is only one restaurant at this island that caters to the resort. We were truly disappointed with the food choices and quality. Menu items were limited and most items on the menu was not available. And the taste and quality of the ones we ordered was way below expectation. For dinner we opted the BBQ grill set (preordered), however, only half the types of the mentioned food was served. We had to clarify with chef and then was told to pay half as only half the food was prepared and served. Second day lunch we opted for room service. Food took about an hour to arrive. It arrived in a greasy dirty tiffin carrier. One of the meals we ordered was laksa and it tasted weird (not at all like laksa – it was sweet). The only pasta available was Nepolitana and its was a piece of garlic bread with pasta and watery tomato paste. No other ingredients at all in it! Breakfast was acceptable with limited 6 meals on the ala carte menu. We had to opt to eat instant noodles the second night cos we could not bear eating the food from the restaurant. Check out was fast and we were given option for departure time (12pm / 1pm / 2pm). Overall, it was a disappointing stay in view that it was under Sutera Santuary Resorts, it could have been better. However, the staffs were helpful and courteous.

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