Review: Hyatt Regency Kinabalu (Regency Executive Suite)

What benefits to expect when you stay at Hyatt Regency Kinabalu as a World of Hyatt Globalist member?

Hyatt Regency Kinabalu opened in 1977 and was last renovated in 2011. It has a total of 288 rooms.

This Category 1 World of Hyatt property requires 3,500 to 6,500 points per night for award stays.

Pro tip: Aim for “off-peak” nights to stay in this property for just 3,500 points. The easiest way to find those off-peak nights is by looking at the points calendar.

Location

The hotel is located along the coastal road of Jalan Tun Fuad Stephen. The hotel building faces NorthWest and gets spectacular sunset views over the South China Sea on clear days.

• 6 mins walk to Suria Sabah mall
• 15 mins drive to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI)
• 2 hrs drive to Kinabalu Park

Arrival

Upon arrival, the receptionist saw that I am a Globalist member and mentioned that my check-in will be completed at the Regency Club Lounge.

I booked the base room and applied 2 Suite Upgrade Awards (which I earned after accumulating 50 Elite nights last year) for the Regency Suite, for this 14-night stay. Yes, unlike Marriott’s, Hyatt Suite Upgrade Awards can be applied towards a maximum of 7 nights per stay!

The problem with the Regency Suite is that it is not facing the sea. During check-in, I asked if I could have one with a sea view, and my wish was kindly granted!

The “sea view” version of the Regency Suite is called Regency Executive Suite.

Regency Executive Suite

Room 551 is 92sqm / 990sqft in size.

As expected from a property built in the 1970s and last renovated 10 years ago, furnishing wasn’t impressive but I found the suite to be well-maintained and the extra large TVs were nice to have!

Check out the video tour of this room on our Instagram page.

Air-conditioning problem

The air conditioning was problematic during my stay.

Even though the temperature was set at 18 °C throughout my stay, the temperature of the room often reach as warm as 30 °C in daytime!

I called the hotel to have a look and the maintenance guy came and said that he had “fixed the problem”. However, the room remained warm for the rest of my stay, especially during the day.

Due to poor design, the air-conditioning vent in the bedroom blows straight to our faces, when lying on the bed and it was so uncomfortable that we ended up sleeping in the reversed position (with our feet facing the headboard).

UPDATE: I have shared feedback regarding the air-conditioning to the hotel and they sounded like they cared about improving the experience for future guests. I also received messages from other readers that they did not have this problem during their stay. I am hoping that this is isolated only to my suite and will provide an update if/when I return to this property.

Regency Club Lounge

Globalist members and above have all-day access to the Club Lounge, which also serves light food and alcoholic drinks from 5.30 to 7.30pm daily.

Food selection was a little small for a hotel in this region but quality and freshness was very good as food was topped up from the kitchen frequently, in small portions.

On top of that, food rotation was very good through my 14-night stay.

Breakfast

Breakfast is complimentary for Globalist members and was held as a buffet at Tanjung Ria Kitchen.

Food quality and variety was good for a hotel at this price point but I found it strange that guests have to pay an additional MYR 19 (US$4.20) for fresh juice.

Globalist gift

Globalist members receive 2 vouchers (per stay) that can be redeemed for a cup of rainbow latte or a scoop of homemade gelato.

Other facilities

The hotel has a rooftop infinity swimming pool and the view is fantastic!

My ratings

This is how I am rating my stay, after considering what I paid:

Bottom line

I enjoyed the generous upgrade and spectacular sunset views from my work desk daily but the malfunctioning air-conditioners spoilt the experience a fair bit.