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MABUL WATER BUNGALOW completed in 2005, is a new floating dive resort wholly owned by Sipadan-Mabul Resort (Sabah) Sdn. Bhd. (SMART). It's situated at Mabul Island overlooking the world-known Sipadan Island which is 15-minutes away by speedboat. These wooden-type bungalows are made up of 16 units and 5 exclusive units of suite type villas, entirely built over water with stilts offering sheer comfort, which can accommodate up to 42 guests at any one time.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Romantic
Luxury
Languages Spoken
Chinese
Location
Lot A-1-G, Block A Off to Coastal Highway, Pulau Mabul 88100 Malaysia
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We stay at this beautiful resorts for 2 nights under a tour package. The water bungalows are not cheap. The room is beautful and we love the balcony where we can watch the sea turles swimming at night. The kids will paddle their boats up to your balcony to sell their coconuts, 5.00 each. I wish I had brough enough goodies for them. When I drop the hotel coffee packs, sugar, toothbrush in a recycle bag for them, they instantly open the sugar pack n swallow all up, wish I bring lots of sweets for them. Do bring to cheer those poor kids if you do come. The breakfast, lunch n dinner are very good, more than enough for hotel guests. If you are going for snorkelling trips, they can provide the gears at a rental fee of 21.00 if you didnt have. The room is very comfort, they have a bucket in case you need to rinse your dirty clothings n a wooden hanger at the balcony where you can dry your wet clothing, very useful
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Date of stay: May 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
It’s about 45 minutes by boat from Semporna. The units are built on stilts on shallow clear water. Beautiful flowers were everywhere and it gave the impression of a wonderland. On arrival we were briefed by a person in charge and he gave us a detailed description of the amenities in the resort. He also took us to all the areas and facilities available. The water bungalows are connected by bridges and it was a pleasure to walk around. The water was crystal clear and we could see fishes, star fishes and turtles. Rooms were clean and equipped with all basic necessities. The housekeepers and workers were helpful and friendly. We do not expect the food to be like 5 star hotels but it was well prepared and adequate with plenty of seafood. There were trainers to help those who wished to dive or snorkel. There was a long and beautifully decorated Lover’s Bridge and it was a beautiful experience walking along. It’s a wonderful place and we loved it
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Date of stay: May 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Had the pleasure spending two nights at this beautiful facility on the western most part of the Celebes Sea. Faster by 20 minutes during high tide from Semporna, Sabah Malaysia. Otherwise about 50 minutes by 500 HP speed boat. Our dinner was under the full moon light that was also reflecting on the calm sea. Tuna sashimi was the star of the sumptuous dinner ending with Messrs. Johnie Walker with the 21 carved on the bottle. We could almost touch the plentiful and colorful fish during our snorkeling trips. Found a few turtles among the corals too. Surprisingly clear water for me ,a first time snorkeling buff ( Golf my main activity). Made me hungry very fast so the warm drinks in between snorkeling was very welcomed. Our villa's living room had see thru glass floors in between the wooden ones. The white sand sea bed clearly visible. Did not have time to use the jacuzzi at the villa's spacious balcony looking at the sunset. We observed the sunset from the furthest end of the facility. Picture included. A return to this place is a must...
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Date of stay: March 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Overall experience I would personally rate 3.5 out of 5 🌟.
To make it simple if you are looking for services you may go for it hence if you are looking for relaxing it’s a big no no.
Ambiance: 200% Cleanliness : average Hospitality: 200% Friendly: 200% Basic supplies : very basic (Nil room sleepers, toilet is not even Up to the standard which comes with shower and slow water supply) Food: average (Will be better with the menu display as some of us may not be a meat eater/ vegetarian so instead of asking the staff each and every time we could pick and go)
Personal advice : just pay and visit never worth the stay with that amount.
Positive side : you will enjoy the sea creature such as starfish’s , turtles and others.
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
5 star pricing but 1 star service level. A total of 11pax of us staying at the resort, with some in water bungalow and some in the villa.
Once we arrive, they serve us drinks and towel, and gave briefing on the resort. However it went downhill during lunch. The lunch menu was limited (probably, 2 carbo and 2 meat and 1 vege and soup with fruits and cakes), which we didnt mind, however the food was insufficient. We have to 'fight' for food, and everything in the buffet line was clean up very quickly but the refills were super slow. Even thought lunch is from 12pm to 2pm, at 1pm, there is hardly any food left, unless you are ok with just rice. Also, their culteries are also limited, so you might just eat with your hands. Similarly, during dinner, which is from 7-9pm, at 8pm food were finish.
A tour member left her handbag at the toilet and later, when she recovered her handbag, all the money in her wallet was missing. Reported the incident to the management but they gave a no care attitude and nothing was done to ensure that these incidents to be minimised in future. So those who is visiting there, please please be mindful of your belongings.
Rooms are spacious and comes with a separate veranda, which is very instagramable. However, toilets does not justify the room and price. The shower for water bungalow are unsightly. The toilet bowl flushing is not working well. Water pressures are not consistent, sometimes big sometimes small.
Another issue is when the glass table in the villa, suddenly broke when we put hot water on the table. It is a safety hazard and one of my friend was injured by the glass. When we made a report to the management, again the no care attitude. They sent someone to have a look and didnt even apologize nor ask about the well being of my friend. They also never mention about any penalty for the broken glass table. When we checked out, they charged us a penalty for the broken table.
There were also renovations works carried out next to the villa. While there were notice stating that the reno work were from 9am to 4pm, at 8pm when my friend wanted to use the room jacuzzi, reno work next door were still ongoing. As my friends are ladies, they are worried about their safety so they are not able to enjoy the outdoor jacuzzi in their room.
Overall, an overpriced resort with no or limited hospitality training. Apart from the clear waterwhich you are able to experience when you take any island hopping excursion amd some instagrammable spot, nothing much is praisable. Your money might be better spent doing a day excursion instead of staying in the resort.
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Had a really good stay here. From the boat transfer from Semporna Jetty to the hotel, the staff were very attentive and helpful. Upon arrival at the Water Bungalow, I was welcomed with a welcome drink and a brief introduction and orientation of the facilities and the amenities was given by Jasni. Loved the spacious room and the stay was very comfortable. Sea nomads come by daily and offer coconuts and fresh seafood, if you are willing to buy they will be very happy. If you are not keen, just decline politely and they will leave you alone. Meals here were great, there was a variety of mains, fruits and desserts available. The compound is also very beautiful and the view is breathtaking at every corner. Indeed more expensive, but you are paying for the location being in one of the best locations. They also provide diving and snorkelling services. The Water Bungalow Housereef is a divers heaven and it has many interesting pelagic animals to see. Truly loved my stay here and I believe I will be back.
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Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beautiful villa, we stayed in the bougainvillea it was luxurious, spacious and so beautiful watching fish through the glass tiles on the floor in our room and seeing sea turtles swimming from our balcony each. Morning. We stayed for two nights, would have loved to have stayed longer! We snorkled, the coral and sea life was amazing! We felt very looked after and safe. The food was brilliant and the staff so friendly and helpful. We also enjoyed walking around the island
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Date of stay: March 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:We bought coconuts from the locals in canoes, this is a good thing to do to support the locals,...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We (two divers) stayed here recently for 6 nights in April 2014. We booked (and paid in December 2013) through a diving agent "Dive The World" as it seems difficult to contact hotels in Sipidan directly. Despite having made full payment way in advance, a few days before our arrival at Tawau, I still have not heard back from our agent that the resort has confirmed the land/jetty pick up arrangement. I emailed our agent again, and she said the hotel has not responded to her email. This gave me a bad feeling before even starting the trip....but read on to see why you should avoid this hotel:
1. My name was NOT on the boat staff's list at the Semporna jetty. She doubted whether we had actually made a booking or a room is booked for us at all! This was only sorted after more than 15 minutes and multiple calls to the resort's booking desk, etc.
2. On arrival, presumably out of laziness on the part of the resort, we were grouped with the land resort (i.e. the cheaper one run by the same group company rather than Mabul Water Bungalows) guests for the briefing although clearly the land resort and MBW are separately located. The manager of MBW (Eva) did not come over to the welcome area to fetch us or give a briefing specific for the MBW area. We were pretty much left to our own accord to figure things out unless we asked specific questions of the resort staff.
3. Staff is not friendly, presumably following the lead of their manager, Eva. We saw that they only smiled at foreigners and had a very poor attitude towards Chinese tourists like us! You can see, I speak fluent English, but was also treated poorly. Their discriminatory treatment against Chinese was blatant. We asked for a quiet sea view room, but were given one that is near the construction part of the hotel with no sea view. Apparently there are only 3 rooms in the resort that is without sea-view and we were given one! There were Westerners who did not make such request in advance but were given a sea view!
4. The Sipadan permit purchase system at MBW was a mess and a big scam! After going to Sipadan for 1 day (we are guaranteed for 1 day at Sipadan for our 6-night stay) for RM40 per person, we didn't want to go another time because Sipadan was a huge disappointment. I didn't see anything that I haven't already seen in Maldives and Philippines. But to my surprise, the hotel has already put our names down for Sipidan again the next day without first asking us to confirm whether we want to go again. We were FORCED to pay RM390 per person to go again even though we don't want to go and were REQUIRED to make such payment immediately (i.e. cannot wait until check-out). On the first day we go to Sipadan, one couple (from UK) didn't want to go to Sipadan again (they have already went once) but their names were on the board, I saw them voicing their unwillingness to go again to Eva, and she accepted it and the couple didn't need to pay RM390 pp. But we were not allowed to pull out. Other guests went to Sipadan more than once even though they stayed shorter than us - they only paid the normal RM40, not RM390. When we went to Sipadan on the two days, it was clear that the island was very empty, less than half of its daily capacity (120 divers) was being utilized. This is probably because of the recent kidnapping of Chinese tourists in the vicinity. There is no reason why we should be forced to pay extra when other guests weren't required to.
5. I had no sleep in the room we stayed in - there were bed bugs keeping me awake all night. When I complained to Eva, the manager, she automatically tried to shift the blame to me by alleging that I have opened my windows to let sand flies in or I was bitten by jelly fish. Neither of which was true of course. She was thoroughly unpleasant to deal with.
6. The room's air-con did not work. Even when we set it for 18 deg C, the room temp remained at 30deg C which makes it way too hot to sleep in. This also defeats the purpose of booking at MBW (as opposed to booking at other resort e.g. Kapalai). We had to get a room change after two nights without sleep, but we were then changed to another one of the 3 rooms without a sea view.
7. There were lots of mosquitoes around, probably due to the many plants (though look nice) around the area.
8. Diving staff - one of the dive masters, Sam (a Chinese guy), is clearly not qualified to be a DM. He left us stranded down at 5 meters depth surrounded by jellyfish (on the last day of our trip) when he quickly escaped and then jumped back to the boat without waiting for us in the water or coming back to us. The boat then drifted away with the current. It took quite a while before we ascended to safety on our own. It was a terrifying experience! I have never had a DM who would get back on the boat before the rest of the group does.
9. The room was NOT properly cleaned. The hotel staff (3 people) spent 2 minutes cleaning the entire room. You can imagine how clean that is. We know they only throw out the rubbish without changing the rubbish bag. They also don't change our bed sheet every day (and not even every other day) because we saw the same stain on the bed sheets at the same place.
10. Except the first day we went diving (and the day we went to Sipadan), we were not given fresh beach towels every day for use after each dive. Even on those two days that we were given fresh beach towels, the rationing was one towel per person per day, despite the fact that there are scheduled 3 dives a day. I don’t understand why it seems so hard for the staff to replenish the towels…
11. Given the yearly kidnapping safety issues (there was one incident last year, and one this year), it doesn't feel safe or worth it to go to Sipadan anyway, the diving isn't as great as advertised at any rate.
12. My crystal stud earrings (which looked like diamond) were missing after the second day in my room. We were very sure that I left them on the desk, but they were missing after we returned from our dives and the room was "cleaned" by the staff. Don't leave anything unattended in your room!
13. We were required to settle the bill and check out 1-2 hours before scheduled departure. How inefficient is that? We were reminded to check out at 1 hr prior, and then again 45 min prior with people knocking at our door. Come on, if the staff takes 2 minutes to clean a room and we won't be allowed on the jetty unless we have already paid, I don't see why we need to check out so early. In fact, after we checked out, we were left waiting in the waiting area for other guests to arrive before the jetty can depart. We waited there for more than an hour, without air-con, sweating, while we could have just waited in our room for most of that time.
Aside from all the negatives mentioned above, there are a couple of positives:
1. the food is better than expected - OK variety and mostly fresh, except on our days to Sipadan as the island is surrounded with flies and we were too busy warding off the flies than eating our food! Sipadan is just not a pleasant place to stay!
2. our dive master Deniah - she was passionate about diving, identified lots of macro stuff for guests and good at what she does. She was the highlight of our trip! Too bad we didn't get to dive with her on that many dives during our trip.
P.S. One more tip - Don't fly air asia, and definitely not into LCCT: we waited for 1.5 hours in a room that is not air conditioned or ventilated to get through customs, toilets are filthy and the whole experience just ruined malaysia for us altogether!
In short, the biggest piece of advice, stay away from this place if you don't want to feel discriminated against, be treated poorly, feel unsafe and be blamed for everything that goes wrong with your room! We won't return until management is changed and the staff becomes friendly.
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Date of stay: April 2014
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:Ask for a sea-view room and insist on having one!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our stay last week at the Mabul Water Bungalows (MWB) did not meet our expectations – in one way positive, and the other negative.
We had read that the hotel (+ meals & service) had relatively mixed reviews. Yet on the positive side, we found it to be quite a pleasant stay with meals being quite nice with a good selection and friendly service. We especially enjoyed the BBQ and grill nights. The bungalow was clean and well maintained. The balcony had a nice view, yet will soon be tarnished by a new hotel currently in construction. The diving was great; even trips around Mabul and to nearby Kapalai were enjoyable. Was it all good value for the money ? --- maybe.
But on the negative side, the entire process of the resort to allocate governmental restricted permits for a day’s (3 dives) diving at Sipadan Island, was far below our expectations. We chose a 7D/6N package because it included a guaranteed day at Sipadan. However, what we observed upon arrival (and were later told by the resort manager that it was policy) was that everyone, without exception, was given at least one permit for Sipadan, even those who stayed for only 1 day when the hotel was completely full (i.e., busy times)!! On our final day, we still had not been granted any more than the single day at Sipadan yet every evening we were approached by resort staff asking us if we wanted to purchase a day in Sipadan for the ridiculous price of 550 MYR (€138) each person (the government price is 40 MYR) !! To add insult to injury, our newly made dive colleagues who had a 12D/11N package had been given 4 days at Sipadan (during this same busy time that we were there) by the resort and another party of 8 we talked to, were granted 2 days of permits for staying only 2 days at the hotel !!! When we questioned the hotel’s statement that the “office in Kota Kinabalu under Explore Asia Tours Sdn Bhd will arrange all divers to dive at Sipadan Island on rotation basis”, NO ONE, not the two resort managers nor the representative from the ‘office’, could explain this ‘rotating basis’ and why others got multiple days diving in Sipadan and we only the one. Because the process was certainly not open or transparent, our only conclusion was that there probably was no such thing as a ‘rotating basis’ and therefore we demanded to the 'office' that our last dive day to be at Sipadan. Very soon thereafter we were told that we would get our last day at Sipadan. Yet the story does not end here, because the next day when we arrived at the island, we were asked by the DM to please not register at the ranger station, but just stay nearby !! The last day upon checkout, we in fact were charged the typically entry fee of 40 MYR for a governmental permit that was never granted !! What more is there to say ???
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Date of stay: June 2012
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Just to be clear - this is not a review of Sipadan diving - which is great - but of the Mabul Water Bungalows accommodation.
First the good points: - excellent dive operation combined with the SMART on island resort. Good dive leaders and efficient and helpful service. We did not appreciate though having to take a buggy to the other side of the island (especially getting back as we had to wait 15 minutes in a thunderstorm when we were very cold). But then there were only 4 divers in our resort out of 46 guests (the rest were bizarrely non-diving Chinese - weird for a dive resort) - beautiful bougainvilleas everywhere - good security - CCTV cameras everywhere - effective transport from Tawau airport - under 2.5 hours each way
But this place could be so much better, and isn't cheap: - food, although edible, was monotonous. Rice plus stir fry buffet - very sick now of pok choi which used to be one of my favourite vegetables. And yet the freshest seafood is available to the kitchen. And every night of our 5 night stay there was identical desert - a kind of bread and butter pudding and not great chocolate sponge. Also most nights there was only a choice of one red wine - of course the most expensive on the otherwise rather limited list. But then hardly any of the other guests drank alcohol at dinner - let alone wine - the staff was out of control - eating the guests food in front of the guests and sleeping on the sofas in the lounge (supposedly a library but the books and magazines were ancient). The staff should have their own separate area not in view of the guests and told to go there when not working. Even in the restaurant the otherwise very friendly gaggle of waitresses had their own table in the middle of the room where they would chat noisily (and eat) all day - the bar area could have been great but was ruined by the rude bar man (who should be let go of immediately) playing his own rather unpleasant music at very high volumes and play acting with his mates who looked like they were staff from the other resort. They (all young men) seemed to be continually trying to eye up and chat up the young Chinese women guests who consequently stayed away from the bar area. And why not serve fresh whole coconuts rather than expect guests to buy them from the fishermen (see below). Mabul is after all a coconut producing island! - even on your own balcony you could hear the loud music - and throughout the day are pestered by fishermen trying to sell you lobsters and crabs (which the kitchen will cook specially for you). While I have some sympathy for the guests' desire to alleviate the monotony of the food, this practice should stop immediately - the shower in the room was pathetic - a through heating system that never produced warm enough water. Lots of hot water is a must for a dive resort - they know exactly where you are all day (as a diver) and yet the house keepers are clearly not informed as on two occasions they were cleaning our room when we came back from diving desperate for at least a lukewarm shower
There is a generic problem as well for all hotels in south east Asia below 4 stars - what to do with Chinese tourists? Throughout our stay 90% of the hotel was occupied by mainland China Chinese who were predominately rude, loud and have unpleasant eating habits. So guests from the rest of the world often have a problem with them - but they do fill the beds. I am not at all sure what the solution to this is for the hoteliers. Personally I would prefer to move my hotel upmarket and so not have to rely so much on this market.
A last word on Sipadan - the permits cost RM 520 a day per person - that is about GBP 100 - and yet the part of the island where you get to stay between dives was a mess - both as regards rubbish and not being kept tidy from driftwood etc. And 2 out of 4 of the womens' toilets were unusable due to not being cleaned of number 2s.....Sabah Parks should take a fraction of the huge income they get daily (120 times 520) to employ one person to maintain the place.
So would we stay there again - yes, but not for more than 5 nights which is the minimum to guarantee one day on Sipadan. It is after all the best place to stay to dive Sipadan - but I truly hope the owner and management will get a grip on the above - these are management failings which will not cost much to address.
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Date of stay: September 2018
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Pulau Mabul area.
PRICE RANGE
AU$1,102 - AU$1,129 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
mabul water bungalows hotel pulau sipadan, mabul water hotel, mabul water resort
LOCATION
MalaysiaSabahSemporna DistrictPulau Mabul
NUMBER OF ROOMS
21
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