Going to D'Villa from Kota Kinabalu was not difficult. We took those Unser in Padang Merdeka where you pay RM15 per pax (you have to wait till the car is full though) and tell the driver where you want to stop.

We stayed in a double bed room with ensuite bathroom. Room was big but not really well-maintained.

There are no restaurants nearby. We had our breakfast, lunch, and dinner there. Luckily the food was still quite okay. Dont be misleaded by the steamboat RM25 per person. We thought of giving it a try but we were told steamboat is only for at least 4 people! Might as well put there minimum 4 pax instead of RM25 per person.

The motel is basically so remote you cant get a bus or taxi unless u get help from the motel owners. We walked for 15 mins to Kinabalu Park. We were told that there are frequent bus and taxi services passing by the motel to Kota Kinabalu. However, on the day we checked out and wanted to go back to Kota Kinabalu, we stood outside the motel under the rain & strong wind waiting for a bus or taxi. No sign of bus or taxi that are willing to stop by after 15 mins. We ended up getting help from the motel owner and paid RM150 for a private car to go back to the city. Not very ideal place to stay if you dont have a car.

I originally tried to find accommodation within the Mount Kinabalu National Park but that proved tricky to book before I arrived. So I found D'villa Lodge and I'm so glad I stayed there. It's only a 5-10min walk up to the NP anyway. I stayed in a private room which was basic, but very spacious, clean with a private balcony with absolutely fantastic views. The staff are friendly and helpful, the food is pretty good, and it was a good spot to meet other travellers.

This place was much, much cheaper than the Sutera Sacturary Lodge HQ which is 10 mins walk away. Very basic dorm rooms with a hot shower. You can also leave your luggage here while you climb. The food was pretty good and inexpensive. The restaurant area is rustic and open air (covered) with amazing views. It's very basic and pretty run-down but was a great place to start the climb from.

I stayed in dorm for 3 days 2 nights. I found that the staffs are friendly and helpful. The boss is nice and kind.

For the view part, since I was stayed in dorm, so I couldn’t see any view from my room, thus I can only see the view from the restaurant. I found that some of the tourists brought their own gears to watch birds there. The view is nice although is not Mt Kinabalu.
Speaking about the food, it was surprisingly nice! I ordered honey chicken for my lunch and curry chicken for the dinner, believe me or not, it were fantastic to me~

Since the lodge is situated on the mountain, there are a lot of bugs there. I think this is the normal phenomena. Although some of the bugs are scary but I did took a lot of photos with them. About the cleanliness, I personally don’t feel satisfied due to the irritated smell of the toilet and blanket until I heard the boss' explanation that it is unavoidable due to the humidity.

For the entertainment part, I saw some of the tourists barbeque there while some of them steamboat in the restaurant. There is a TV in the restaurant so for the tourist who wanted to stay in dorm, you can watch TV from here. I heard the staffs said that private rooms got their own TV set.

Compared to other travelers, I am a bit lucky that I didn’t meet with electricity break out but be rational, the government sector is the one who suppose to be responsible for that. We shall not blame the lodge for this.

At last but not least, I accidentally found that the lodge also sells variety of essential gears for mountain hiking for examples, second hand jackets, hiking sticks, torch lights, and etc. This is very good for people who wanted to hiking but don’t have the gears.