Our Verdict: “Comfortable seafront resort in need of some update and tender loving care“
The Magellan Sutera Harbour is part of a vast, resort-style complex on in Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo. Grand, tropical, with lots of facilities. There are perks: a large suite with sea views, access to a private members’ club, and several beautiful pool for sunset dips. But as the years tick on, and with newer competitors emerging across Kota Kinabalu, some parts of the experience here feel more faded grandeur than five-star finesse. It was a perfectly comfortable stay but the resort is showing its age.
In this review:
- Hotel Summary
- Location
- Check-in
- Our Room
- Facilities & Services
- Food and Beverage
- Check-out
- BG1 Verdict
Hotel Summary
Name: Magellan Sutera Harbour
Location: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Hotel Class: ☆☆☆☆☆
Room Type: Suite
Room #: 6360
Price bracket: £££
Competing brands: Shangri-La Tanjung Aru
Good for: Families, Couples, Groups
Location
Sutera Harbour is a reclaimed coastal resort development in Kota Kinabalu. It’s a secure, self-contained enclave that’s home to two hotels, a golf course, marina, country club, and some of the city’s most exclusive homes. There’s a single road in and out, monitored by a checkpoint that adds a sense of privacy and calm, even though KK is generally very safe. You’re just five minutes from Imago Mall, a quick drive to Suria Sabah, and around 15 minutes from the lively Gaya Street Market. Best of all, the marina next door is your jumping-off point for island-hopping in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. And when the sun sets over the South China Sea, you’ll want to be by the pool with a drink in hand.
Check-in
You arrive into a vast, echo-filled atrium that makes an impressive first impression — soaring timbered ceilings, nautical details, and a sense of scale that definitely says “resort.” What’s less obvious is that if you’ve booked a suite, you can skip the main desk and head to the Horizon Lounge for check-in. It’s not well signposted, but it’s there and worth knowing about.
Check-in itself was smooth. We asked for a room in the quietest part of the hotel, and after a quick word with her manager, the receptionist kindly switched us away from the children’s pool. A small but appreciated gesture. Our bags were delivered to the room not long after. Parking is available if you’re driving, but Grab is the easiest way to get around — with town and the malls just minutes away.
Room
We booked a Magellan Club Suite King / Borneo Island Getaway and got the square footage to prove it: a huge lounge, dining area, sea-facing windows, and a vast bathroom with all the trimmings — double sinks, deep tub, separate shower. There was even a WC just for visitors, which made us feel fancier than we are.
The bed was very comfortable, with high-quality cotton bedding and the goldilocks combo of one soft and one firm pillow. But the bedside charging situation was dated. There were no plugs unless you sacrifice a lamp, so power banks were our bedtime saviours.
The biggest complaint? The ironing board, which looked like it had survived the Titanic. Sharp bits of metal tore at our clothes and we ended up half-repairing it. We flagged it to staff, so here’s hoping it doesn’t ruin anyone else’s outfit. On the plus side, the iron was clean, the hairdryer had its nozzle (small victories), and housekeeping kept us topped up with toiletries and Nescafé.
Sleep quality was excellent. It’s quiet, dark, and breezy cool.
Watch the room tour on our TikTok
Facilities & Services
The pool is the jewel here — large, family-friendly, and perfectly placed for that golden-hour dip with sunset views over the South China Sea. A small beach gives you direct access to the sea, and we made good use of it. There’s something smugly satisfying about floating in warm tropical water while others scramble for loungers — though, to be fair, it wasn’t that busy during our stay. Lifeguards are ever-present, and towel control is taken very seriously. Forget to return one and it may quietly appear on your bill.
If golf’s your thing, the resort has a 27-hole championship course. We’re not golfers, but it looked impressive from a distance. For the more spa-or-gym inclined, guests of the Magellan can also use the 25-metre lap pool and fitness centre at the private Sutera Marina Club, plus the rooftop sunset bar and pool over at Pacific Sutera. There’s also the Mandara Spa, which we tried once, and was just OK. If you like variety, you’re spoilt for choice.
Service, unfortunately, was hit and miss. Laundry was a gamble — our shirts returned freshly pressed, but our T-shirts looked like they’d just done a load of burpees. We lodged a complaint and received a note under our door saying the manager had tried to get in touch. But despite having our mobile and email (and being there for eight days), no one followed up. Go figure.
The lobby bar often had live music in the evenings, which added a nice energy, but ordering a drink could feel like a test of patience. The resort shop is handy if you need the basics — or a panic-buy souvenir — but prices are better in town, especially for anything wearable.
Bars & Dining
Breakfast
Breakfast was split between the club lounge and the main buffet restaurant. The main spread was noisy and busy, with vast options that looked better in number than they tasted. The smaller club lounge buffet was calmer and felt more premium. We stuck to it after day one and you need to be in a Horizon Club Suite room to have access to this space.
Service was where things fell flat. Getting a coffee felt like a quest, and eggs required a personal request. Even it wasn’t that busy, you need a stroke of good luck finding someone to ask. Tables weren’t cleared, drinks weren’t offered, and multitasking was non-existent. The same inefficiency cropped up at the pool bar, where you had to find a waiter, order, wait, then collect the drink yourself — and still sign a slip.
What’s missing here is clarity of intent. If the hotel wants to do self-service, it should lean in — coffee machines, egg stations, self-serve drinks. If it’s full-service, then service has to show up. Right now, it’s stuck in the middle, and it shows.
Evening canapes
In the evenings, Horizone Club Lounge guests are treated to complimentary canapés and drinks. The selection varied by night, with a few hot and cold options that looked better than they tasted. Think spring rolls, skewers, and pastries that had been under a heat lamp a touch too long. The drink selection included wine, beer, and spirits, but we had to actively seek out refills. The atmosphere can get a little chaotic as many families with children treat this as their dinner. The views during sunset hour are stunning thought, so it’s not one to miss.
Check-out
We asked for — and were granted — a 1pm late check-out. Great. But then our keycards stopped working at noon and we had to do the long, hot trek back to reception to get them reactivated. The bill was ready, bags waiting by the lobby, and our Grab to the airport arrived without issue. Smooth-ish. No one asked for feedback on our stay when we checked-out, which felt like a missed opportunity. And yet, despite the hiccups, there’s still something about this place that works — perhaps the price, which is lower than most five-star resorts we’ve stayed at around the world. For that reason alone, we’ll definitely be back.
BG1 Verdict
There’s a lot to enjoy at Magellan Sutera Harbour: the pools, the sunset views, and the sprawling resort facilities that give you a little bit of everything. But it’s also a property that’s showing its age — not just in décor, but in service mindset. If management can polish the basics and sharpen up operations, this could be one of Borneo’s best stays. Until then, it’s a charming little place that is comfortable and well-located.
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