Mabul Water Bungalows

Had a really good stay here!!! From the boat transfer from Semporna Jetty to the resort, 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 resort 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.

Mabul water bungalows is a beautiful setting for pictures. The water bungalows are clean with big balconies to relax on. The toilets in the rooms barely have a flushing system & the toilets around the water bungalows are mostly squat toilets. The snorkel areas on the island & on the nearby islands that the boat & dive guides take you to, are below average. Extremely poor visibility in the water & the area that the dive guides took us to was full of jellyfish. No warning was given that this area was full of jellyfish & we were stung multiple times. The dive masters were not the slightest bit concerned that we were stung by jellyfish, & instead laughed at our concern about the vast amount of jellyfish in the area that we were swimming in. The guide who took us to the snorel area was fantastic and he made us feel safe & looked after, unfortunately I didn’t get his name. If you are going here for snorkeling, take your own snorkel mask. My friend intended to hire the snorkel mask & it was so disgusting, all chewed & not disinfected. When we asked if the masks were cleaned after use, the two ladies in the shop laughed at us & told us to wash it ourselves. The resort is overcrowded with Chinese people with horrendous eating habits. At meal time it is a fight among them to see who can pile their plate the highest with all the food. The food is aimed at a Chinese palette only. There’s no Malay, American or Western style food. The only positive is that we lost weight during our stay here. The food has no variety whatsoever & you have no hope if you are vegetarian. There is no where to eat outside of the restaurant & no where to order food if you feel hungry out-with meal times. There is no option for room service. On a leaflet for the island it states there is a fresh bakery for pastries & fresh pizzas, that is a complete lie, there is none of that. We felt ripped off as this accommodation is not good value for money at all, the price point is way too high for what it is. They also expect you to tip everyone when really the owner who is making all this money from the high price for the stay, should be paying their staff accordingly. Most of the staff are lovely & are working hard, but the service is not that of a luxury resort. The spa was great & we had some really good massages there, the staff at the spa are amazing & we really enjoyed our time there. The transfer from the airport on arrival & then again on departure was seamless & timely. This resort has huge potential.

~ The service was good and the staff were friendly - The room is big, clean and with nice view - The snorkeling was included in the package. ~ Mabul provided spa and massage service ~ Mabul - room with TV and Wifi - Mabul provided crystal transparent kayak for photography without extra charges. Unless you want to play the kayak only need to pay. If only for photography no need extra charges. - There is a small playground for children. ~ Mabul with better lighting at night ~ Mabul provided a lot of photo spot for instagram *But Mabul is more crowded during day time as many outsider visitors came to visit. A bit noisy during day time.

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