Gayana Marine Resort

I booked Gayana Marine Resort for my boys to chill because they love the water. I booked it the last minute just as I booked last minutes for Maldives. Maldives gave me clear instructions how to exit the airport, and their coordination was very thorough from check in to check out. I am quite disappointed and was humiliated all thru out the check in process. ONCE I booked with Trip.com, and got confirmation, I instantaneously messaged the property in request for airport pick - up or best possible way to get to the resort. I got NO instructions from the hotel nor trip.com. They both left the 3 of using hanging for 2 hours at the airport! I called the numbers provided, no hotel answer 6 times. I got an email saying it's Malaysian Festival, and the King's birthday June 2...which has nothing to do with our arrival. Last min I reached out to trip.com are 11:45 am, I was told to get a GRAB and go to the ferry for 12:00pm boat departure to Gaya Island. With the traffic there was NO way I could make it to the noon departure. I wanted to cancel the reservation and book a regular hotel so my kids and I can settle. Its not cancelable...Trip.com said they don't see any other boat departure, but I knew it was going to a pain in bottom to get my refund of $193 usd back! So I took a GRAB down to the ferry. I was told upon arrival I missed the 12 pm boat. The check in guy at the dock looked at my reservation (2 adults & a child for 1 night), which blatantly said on my reservation which I showed it to him with reservation number and pin.I was looked at with being deceitful, like I am lying in my bookings. I knew there was 160 myr ringgit I need to pay for my child. I told the guy and still I was humiliated. We waited til 4:30pm for the last boat to the island....it just ruined our plans and affected our hype to be on a bungalow island. It literally sucks to be looked at as lying on the reservations. They giy called trip.com and I can hear the Rep asking him to look at the detailed payments (which I showed him from mya apps). HORRIBLE 10 min at boat check - in and NO apologies here. I was charged on the spot 160 myr without any apologizes. Who would travel with 2 children and lie on a reservation when you know they will most likely to ask for passports and you need to boat out to an island? Once got in on the island, I spoke to Mr. STEVEN, manager. He offered to allow us late check out and allowed us to stay on the island until til 5pm to exit on a boat with his workers. I spoke to my boys and they were too exhausted at this point to take the offer. I hope the Resort will treat people with more dignity and respect, and send check-in instructions even if it's last min. The resort is able to take my credit card money that fast, but Mr. STEVEN, MANAGER said bc it's last minute, it's difficult. In our room, there was 2 free souvenirs tumbler. We opened one up from the outside was washed partially of the resort logo...inside it was left over tea....I called it in to the receptionist late night...very unsanitary. No check-Out instructions either. My boys and I hauled out backpacks and luggage out from our bungalow. I would never recommend to my family and friends.

Service is excellent. Staff do not hesitate to help, always address travellers politely, and take the initiative to serve water, give suggestions, overall making your experience smooth and fulfilling. Food is also very delicious — other reviews say the food is pricey, but I think it’s quite affordable and well worth the price. Rooms are large, comfortable and well-furnished. Will definitely be back!

Clean and well-kept rooms, cheerful and helpful staff, beautiful location, food is also above expectations.

We stayed 2 nights and had a fantastic stay despite the bad weather on the first day. We received great services from the resort management team Mr Karl, Ms Siti, Mdm Lydia also from the restaurant and recreational team members. We look forward to be back again!  Booked the family suite that is beautifully furnished and got a fantastic view of Mt Kinabalu from the room as well as variety of fishes swimming below us.  Snorkelling and kayaking are complimentary for the entire day and was great way for us to explore the beautiful waters.  On the last day, we unfortunately left our tablet in the room and we were notified immediately upon arrival at the jetty and the resort arranged it to be delivered to their jetty office within the same afternoon.  Overall it was a great experience and the welcoming and departure greetings by the management team were certainly memorable and beyond our expectations!

Amazing stay. Lots of reviews about trash in the water. While we did see some the staff were also very good at cleaning it up. The restaurant was very good and the staff was super friendly and helpful. Beautiful snorkeling right outside the rooms.

Enjoyed our stay in this resorts. It’s like a small Malaysian maldives. Perfect service! Thank you manager Karl for everything! Lot of activities all day, such as kayaking, tour to the mangrove jungle, snorkelling, diving or just relax on the pool. Breeze villa very comfy and large. Kids also became a part of saving coral area of Gaya island.