We stayed at the Blue Ocean Lodge on two different occasions. The first time we spent 5 nights there. The first two nights of that stay were in the double deluxe room (for 55 RM per night) and the other 3 were in the family room (75 RM per night) as a friend met up with my husband an I. The three of us returned about a week later to stay in the family room again for 2 nights. Both rooms had a/c and they didn't limit it to 12 hours of usage like a lot of other places in town.

The double deluxe was comfortable and large. There was even a wardrobe, a clock on the wall and the sheets were green rather than the typical threadbare white we had everywhere else. The family room had one set of bunk beds and two single beds as well. That room was a little more of your standard hostel-style comfort but it worked. The bathrooms were usually quite clean and the common room had a comfy couch with plenty of channels to keep you entertained while it poured outside. The breakfast was the usual toast and tea/coffee.

There were 3 people who worked there and each one of them was great to chat with and they always tried to give any advice that they could.

The one downside is if the hostel was crowded, the common room just wasn't large enough for a lot of people at once. Lucky for us, we often had the place to ourselves. There is a small fridge you can keep things in as well.

The location is great - right off Gaya street so walking distance to anything you need. They have a market on Sundays down Gaya street so you're right in the middle of it then.

The wireles internet was free but we could only get it to work if we were downstairs in the reception area so we couldn't use it in the common room or our room. The hostel feels very secure and the front door is always locked - but there's always someone to let you in or they can give you the code to get in.

We stayed at a few different places in Kota Kinabalu and if I was on another budget visit, I would definitely return to the Blue Ocean Lodge over any other ones we saw and stayed at.