Tabin Wildlife Resort

Tabin staff met us warmly at the airport after a 5 hour flight delay. As all the other reviews say, the ride to Tabin is jarring. We liked how you saw a different side of Sabah and the palm oil industry. Upon arrival we enjoyed lunch in their lodge. Nice selection and range of foods at all meals and staff were extremely warm and accommodating. Our room was very comfortable, clean, with a river view. We arrived in a storm which delayed our first activity to the night ride. The noise of the vehicles brings out many animals even during a full moon. We saw mouse deer, civets, a porcupine, owls, an eagle and more. We woke up at Tabin to calls from the resident Gibbon family. So cool! A 6 am start took us hiking where we saw a rhinoceros Hornbill so close you didn’t need binoculars. We later hiked to a waterfall for a swim. We had a scheduled foot spa that afternoon and a private twilight ride later. We saw 4 types of hornbills and multiple other animals at Tabin and highly recommend our guide Ernest. We were in a different vehicle on our return, more comfortble and they dropped us off to our B&B. Our Tabin experience really fit well with our longer visit to Borneo Rainforest Lodge -Dannum Valley. They offer different wildlife and experiences. I strongly recommend doing both.

The trip to the Lipad mud volcano was extremely unsafe - on the back of a flat bed truck with just roll bars to hold on to over terrain that was deeply rutted and uphill - clinging on for 30 minutes plus in real danger of rolling off the back of the truck. No precautions were taken and despite being elderly no indication was given as to the potential risks. When the roll bar fell off behind us was the final straw! In addition our guide has very poor English and did not appear to have much knowledge of the wildlife and bird life. It was a disappointing part of our trip and we would not recommend it.

The resort is about 25km down an unmade road. We occupied one of the 'hill rooms' accessed by numerous stairs. However, the staff delivered and collected our bags and we only had to get ourselves up and down. The restaurant/bar is spacious. The food is good and plentiful. The rooms are clean (though we struggled to operate the room safe). Great guides, great scenery and wildlife. Saw different Orangutan every day, gibbons, various monkeys and magnificent Rhino Hornbills. If you don't fancy trekking at every opportunity you can stay in the lodge by the river. There is plenty of wildlife all around you there. The night trips are recommended.

Our three days here were full of wonderful experiences. The trips and walks arranged by the guides are a wonderful way to see the best of this area of jungle. The cabins are comfortable and well-equipped, the food provided in the dining area was always of a high standard. All members of staff were friendly, smiling and eager to please.

This place is wonderfully simple and yet charming and peaceful I note some reviews mark it down for facilities but it’s a lodge in the jungle !!! If you want 5 star pampering go somewhere else Yes the rooms are basic but they have a bed and a shower and all you are going to do in them is sleep and wash FFS Some criticise the food but it’s not a restaurant The buffet is good local food and again part of the experience Some have criticised the place for stuff they didn’t raise when here which I find ridiculous The staff are lovely and if you tell them nicely about something that bothers you they will change it Some of the trips are physical and bumpy But that isn’t their fault - if you can’t take go and play golf somewhere rather than taking it our on this place and these lovely people It’s the jungle Argghhhhh We swam in the pool supplied by a waterfall It was magical We went on a night drive and saw loads of animals and birds We did the mud soak it was lovely And our guide was great Some of the rooms are up long stair climbs but so what? We carried our own luggage up - it wasn’t a problem. Short story - focus on the experience instead of whingeing about creature comforts and you will have the best time And be nice to the guides - the more you give the more you will get Ernest - you are a star - thank you

It’s quite a journey to get here but well worth it Like all the rainforest lodges it’s basic but in a way that enhances the experience It’s beautifully set, the staff are delightful and the food is great Rooms have a good shower and a firm bed Having a cold beer after a sweaty trip in the humid jungle and watching the night descend with all the attendant sounds is beguiling

we had a good time here when we went birding. The guide was very good and tried hard to show us the birds we wanted to see. The food was generally good and they were prepared to serve us an early breakfast. The room was comfortable. I would actually give it 4.5 stars if possible

We spent 5 nights prior to this in jungle lodges and 5 nights after Tabin on ***a Island. All were amazing and we really enjoyed our time at the other places we stayed. We liked Borneo in general. However, sadly we wish we’d never visited Tabin Wildlife Resort. We thought Tabin was going to be a highlight of our trip as it is the largest wildlife reserve in Borneo. Unfortunately, it was a massive disappointment from start to finish and we couldn’t wait to leave. The reserve is approximately 1.5 hours from Lahad Datu with most of the journey through palm oil plantations. The road is a little bumpy but it’s not that bad. The resort itself is just inside the reserve and surrounded by palm oil plantations. The resort is in a beautiful setting along the river. There are river lodges and hill lodges. The hill lodges have a lot of steps! We were in Hill Lodge 2 which is only the second one up the hill and we had 62 steps! The weather is extremely humid and uncomfortable. ROOM Very, very tired and in need of complete refurbishment. Door was difficult to open, the bathroom was filthy, broken blinds that don’t fully close, no hairdryer, damp and smelly. Does have air con but it cuts out when they need to re-fuel the power generators. You need to press the button on the wall to restart it. If you are out or it happens through the night, the room gets very warm quickly! No WiFi in room. THEFT It seemed everyone was having issues with their safes. On first use, our belongings got locked in. We informed our guide but because the program was quite busy for that day he suggested we sort it out the following day. We agreed as we had everything we needed. The safe was eventually opened after about 2 hours of different staff coming and going with various keys. It was my husband who got it open in the end. It appeared that the safe was that old, the mechanisms/springs weren’t operating properly. We ended up carrying our belongings around with us as no alternative was offered. When we counted our money, we found we were 250RM missing. I had counted the money before it went in the safe so I knew exactly how much we had. However, I doubted myself because the safe was inaccessible. I thought surely if we can’t access it then nobody else can. I couldn’t account for where we had spent that money though. We had no proof, so there was nothing we could do about it. However, during our transfer out of the resort we got chatting to another family who said they had also had money going missing from their safe. A few days later, when on ***a island, we bumped in to another couple who had been in our group at Tabin. They also had an issue with their safe and 2000RM was missing! It seems there is a coordinated operation, as staff know when guests will be away from their rooms for long periods of time. GUIDE We had Aslan as our guide the whole time we were there. We found him very unprofessional. He had an attitude, was very abrupt and lazy. His English was qui

I'm only posting this review as I genuinely want whoever is responsible for Tabin to sort out the resort. In my opinion its simply down to poor management. There are plenty of staff there is just they aren't doing the right things! I'm not going to go on about the problems as they are documented in other recent reviews. We had great animal sightings but the vehicles are very poor, noisy, uncomfortable and unless you get sole use, they are very cramped. We ran out of fuel once and broke down another time. If you have motility issues then you may well not be able to get into the vehicle. Other who travelled at the same time complained they saw very little. In of one case another vehicle about 100yds in front of us drove right past an orangutan mother and baby even though they had 2 spotters on their truck. The rooms are very tired and small damp. The communal areas are dirty. The food area is not clean (see photo - it speaks volumes). Toilet area is dirty too (see photos). I genuinely think it was safer not to use the dirty soap dispenser!! Food was served raw / undercooked more than once. We did raise the issue and a manager came and offered me free beer (problem was it was my partner who had not eaten the day before not me). We never saw a manager at any other time. When we raised issues via our travel agent the resort management basically called us liars. Told us we'd never broken down, toilets were clean etc. Funnily enough we got a refund after sending photos of us with the bonnet up trying to get the van started and photos of the dirty toilets and food areas! We travelled to two other areas in borneo both had more basic facilities but were clean and comfortable so it is possible. Tabin could be excellent with just some basic housekeeping. Pity that management can't seem to organise it. There is no competing accommodation nearby unfortunately. I hope they take the feedback and get things sorted.