"Weekend, where to go?" Kundasang.
"Public holiday, where to go?" Kundasang.
"Where to go to celebrate birthday or anniversary?" Kundasang.
That's where KK people love to go to with their friends and family not just during the weekend and holiday but also on special occasions in order to enjoy the cold atmosphere and cool breeze there. My husband and myself been to Kundasang countless of times as the journey takes 1.5-2 hours drive from the city centre. We prefer to stay overnight rather than doing a quick and rush day trip (trust me, it's worth to overnight). Among all the accommodations we have experienced before, our favourite will be the one situated in Kinabalu Park, the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Malaysia which managed by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges.
Previously, I was pretty to lucky to grab a good deal for the Garden Lodge type (check out my post here) for RM300 nett only when normally this two bedroom premium lodge costs RM900. It's like hitting the jackpot but oh well, luck will not always by my side, right? And because there are just two of us, hence we love to try and stay other different lodge and my husband booked Nepenthes Suite type. Not just one, but he booked twice - gosh, this shows that he loves staying here. We stayed in Nepenthes Suite in two separate weekends and for this post, I will combine both into one post instead. Kinda lazy to make two posts.
#2: Liwagu Restaurant - This is where the check-in process take place
Due to the recent Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regulations, their check-in process was kinda confusing and slightly troublesome. Before you can proceed to the check-in process, visitors are required to pay admission fee first [Adult RM3 and Child Below 18 years RM1]. Once your done at the ticket counter, turn right to do some identity verification at their office. But then, you will not get your room key here. Right after you have done with the identity verification, drive to Liwagu Restaurant (photo as above) for the "real" check-in process and this is where you will get your room key. Their rooms are normally fully booked on the weekend, hence don't expect to request to check-in into your room earlier. And in case you arrive early, no worry cause you can enjoy some nice food with delicious drinks at the restaurant first.
#3: Sutera Sanctuary Lodges has 11 different type of accommodations and so far, I have stayed 4 of them.
Parking spaces are pretty limited and for Nepenthes Suite type, we unable to park right in front of it. So what we did is, we drove closer to our stay, unloaded all our stuff and only then parked in front of Hill Lodge. Don't worry, it's not that far away anyway but because we brought quite number of stuff (majority are food), I guess this is the easiest and quickest way to do so.
#4: Nepenthes Suite - We booked the same type of room twice
Unlocked the door and stepped into the lodge with full of surprises. The room is surprisingly huge just for the two of us where it features a huge king bed sized, a 3-seater sofa, mini kitchen, fireplace and outdoor deck. Although the outdoor deck doesn't facing the perfect view of Mount Kinabalu (you can't even spot it at all), but both of us enjoyed sitting there while surrounding by the lush green environment.
#5: This is the room we being assigned to during our second stay
Though we booked the same type of room twice, but each room has different features and designs. I personally prefer the second stay, simply because I love the turquoise colour sofa and the round shape wall decors with mugs inside it. Feeling so stylish and cosy.
#6: Our first stay room
As for our first stay, it's not bad where it features yellow colour sofa and colourful rug but somehow, yellow is not my kind of thing.
#7
Next to the main entrance of the room, there is a mini kitchen consists of fridge, kettle, wash basin, mugs and table spoon. As you can see from the photo below, two same type of room we booked but even the kitchen might be slightly different where during our first stay, the fridge is larger and more spacious (photo on left) compare to our second stay (photo on right). And because the room rate doesn't come with complimentary breakfast, therefore we brought lots and lots of food for this stay. Not just for breakfast, but for dinner as well where we cooked steamboat.
#8: Mini kitchen area
#9: Lots of snacks and food for the breakfast and dinner
#10: Brought along steamboat pot and sandwich maker as they are easy and quick to prepare simple meals
There is a bathroom within the room and it comes with water heater, hairdryer, towel and basic toiletries. Not just that, they even provided ironing facilities for the guests who need to it during their stay here. Nah, both of us were too lazy to do so during our vacation.
#12
#13: Hairdryer, toiletries and even iron and the board are provided inside the room
#14: Outdoor deck where we had our breakfast here while enjoying the nature and misty cool air
#15
#16: Love the design of the wooden headboard that has built-in table lamp and USB charger. So cool!
Date Stayed: 6 - 7 March 2021 & 2 - 3 October 2021 (1 Night each)
Type of Room: Nepenthes Suite (Specially requested for King Sized Bed)
Room Rate: RM150 per night (Booked directly from Sutera Sanctuary Lodge during promo period)
Breakfast: Not included
Since we're staying at Kinabalu Park, we woke up early and took this opportunity to explore few places before any other visitors come in into the park. There are few hiking trails where one can hike up and get an awesome view of the majestic view itself. We tried the Mountain View Trail which is not far away from the Timpohon Gate view point.
#17: One of the hiking trails at Kinabalu Park
#18: We're blessed with the great weather cause normally, the mountain always blocked by the clouds
#19: Kinabalu Park, Malaysia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site