We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The Tripadvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers:
Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.

The Jesselton Hotel

avatar-imageavatar-imageavatar-image
Traveler (320)
360
Panoramas (6)
Room & Suite (254)

View prices for your travel dates

Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.

About

#16 of 116 hotels in Kota Kinabalu
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
The Jesselton Hotel welcomes business and leisure travelers alike with a central location in the heart of the city and an array of selection for places to visit; encapsulating the full lifestyle of a city life within a tropical haven. Located on 69 Gaya Street, the hotel doors open to a Sunday Market which has become the place to go on for some retail therapy. Another great place to experience the culture and the livelihood of the Sabahan families on a Sunday outing. The hotel is just a few minutes’ walk from the Sabah Tourism Corporation office, KK Heritage Walk and Night Market, Shopping Malls and about a 20 minutes’ drive from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA). The prime location also provides an easy access to a whole range of dining options including Italian, French, Western, Asian and fusion cuisines, which are all available within walking distance to the hotel. Experience for yourself this wonderfully inspiring one of a kind colonial jewel in KK!
Read more
Suggest edits to improve what we show.Improve this listing
Property amenities
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Bar / lounge
Meeting rooms
Baggage storage
Concierge
24-hour front desk
Dry cleaning
Laundry service
Wifi
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Complimentary Instant Coffee
Complimentary tea
Newspaper
Non-smoking hotel
Show more
Room features
Air conditioning
Housekeeping
Room service
Safe
Refrigerator
Flatscreen TV
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Suites
Smoking rooms available
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
3.0 of 5 stars
HOTEL STYLE
Centrally Located
Charming
Languages Spoken
English, Malay
650Reviews11Q+A88Room tips
Traveler rating
  • 193
  • 330
  • 97
  • 18
  • 12
Time of year
Traveler type
Language
  • More
Selected filters
  • Filter
  • English
Popular mentions
Sort by:
Most Recent
avatar-image
Explorer22279324096 wrote a review Jan 2024
1 contribution1 helpful vote
+1
Arrived at this hotel quite late for the first day and the male hotel staff named Daniel greet me and my friend warmly such a very helpful staff and good knowledge. After a very fast check in we going for walk to the API API NIGHT MARKET just infront of the hotel, such a crowdy market and many choices of food. We went to dinner at MAMASITA restaurant and enjoying live band music such a great place the hotel staff suggesting. After dinner we going back to our room and we get a Deluxe Twin Room nice comfy and spacious. But maybe the hotel can upgrade their breakfast and add up some menu. Definitly will visit this hotel again. Bedankt tot ziens !
Read more
Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
Judy L wrote a review Dec 2023
5 contributions
Jesselton Hotel offers several places of interest. For instance the Kota Kinabalu City Tour. It supposes to show the 7 wonders of Kota Kinabalu. Actually what the hotel does, it hires a taxi driver to drive you to the 7 wonders of the town. The taxi driver is not a tour guide, so information about the so-called wonders you dont get. One of the wonders was closed because it was under construction, another was impossible to visit because of rush hour, the other was nearly closed because it was already late in the afternoon, that was the Sabah Museum. Seeing the sunset, also included, I did that by myself. After an angry phone call the staff apologized and told me that the costs were theirs. Thats a nice suggestion, but my experience is, dont booked a day tour at the hotel desk unless a guarantee is possible to get an experienced tour guide and not only a person who is driving you around, you will be better off with a grab, and much cheaper!
Read more
Date of stay: December 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled solo
Room Tip: Dont arrange your day tours at the hotel desk, it will spare you a lot of disappointments and...
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
Peppy C wrote a review Nov 2023
Southampton, United Kingdom175 contributions57 helpful votes
Stayed at this hotel at the start and end of an Intrepid tour. I had one of the new renovated rooms before tour and whilst the room was on the smaller side it was lovely. I had an old room on the return trip and the room was huge but it is dated and could do with some renovations. I thought the location was excellent and staff were very accommodating. WiFi was pretty good too. A decent budget option in KK!
Read more
Date of stay: May 2023Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
jsbach_sg wrote a review Oct 2023
Singapore, Singapore17 contributions17 helpful votes
The hotel is old. It's old. I went on a short business trip and booked through a reliable travel platform. After booking, I read online reviews and realised that only some of the rooms were newly refurbished (new wing); my bad. I contacted the hotel via what seemed to be an official website and communicated with them through LINE. They were responsive and asked for my booking reference. Wow, not bad! Then someone actually called me via a fixed link, trunk call (not LINE), I repeat, trunk call. Wow again. The well-spoken person told me that since it was my first trip, they would upgrade me to a room in the new wing as my current booking was for the older room. Wow, I'm impressed. Finally, the day came. I checked in late at night and looked forward to a wow service as I read up about this 'legendary' iconic hotel. Alas, the front office told me 'No such instruction to upgrade me'. Wow. I thought being a stranger in a new place, I was not going to argue. It's just 2 nights, I shall endure it. It was also getting late. The town is quiet. I entered the room assigned to me; wow. Old. The door is old with no door latch, just a permanent scar on the door frame of what appeared to be a door latch attached to it once upon a time. The bathroom is old like from the 1970s. The safe box is a relic (must have stopped working for a long time). The room is dimly lit. I went down to the front office to tell them about the condition of my room and to show them the communication I had with someone supposedly from the hotel. They said 'no upgrade' and by the way, I need to pay for a tourist levy which they'd forgotten to ask me earlier. The first night, I slept fitfully as I was feeling insecure about the door. The next morning, I tried my luck once again explaining my predicament. They agreed to upgrade me but insisted again that no one from the hotel ever contacted me. I wondered why but they appeared puzzled about the existence of their own hotel website. Anyway, I'm not going to crack my head trying to solve this puzzle. During my stay, the person on LINE didn't reply to me when I contacted him/her. Strange. The new room is very new and clean. I was given a small room which was very squeezy. Honestly, I didn't mind since the door can be locked safely and it is bright and not spooky. The safe box albeit new, is messed up; it can lock but can't be unlocked. I compromised by having my travel docs and laptop locked in it until prior to my departure. So my verdict? If there's a next time, I will think very carefully. I rated this hotel very good on account of the 'service recovery' and new room.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
Nathalie0801 wrote a review Oct 2023
Albufeira 28 contributions8 helpful votes
+1
Very tired grubby hotel . Large hotel room, nice friendly staff but room not particularly clean and poor choice of breakfast which was served cold . Bathroom nice size but porcelain stained . Plug sockets mainly not working or unsafe .
Read more
Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
brainy_banana wrote a review Oct 2023
Preston, United Kingdom106 contributions52 helpful votes
An antique hotel in the city with clean rooms. Mattress was rock solid though, not to my taste, and the bathroom was clean and tidy. Good shower. Reception staff were lovely and helpful, we arrived at ~1pm and check in wasn't till 2pm. We hung about in the lobby, super tired after our travel and were delighted to be given a room by 1.30pm for a much needed nap! The only disappointment was breakfast! It was cold, cold eggs, cold noodles, cold hash browns. Not very nice. If we had had time I would have run to McDonald's for breakfast!
Read more
Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
yuva906 wrote a review Sep 2023
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia121 contributions12 helpful votes
I would call this place as antique hotel.This hotel operated for very long time.Nice and clean hotel.Friendly staff.Smooth check in and check out.Location of the hotel is very strategic.Overall I would recommend this hotel to everyone.
Read more
Date of stay: June 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
Biffro wrote a review Aug 2023
London, United Kingdom1165 contributions317 helpful votes
We stayed in the Jesselton for two separate nights as part of a group tour with Intrepid travel. In summary, the hotel is looking a bit tired and some immediate improvements are needed to the first room we stayed in. We stayed in room 203 and the room smelt of stale cigarette smoke, and it is meant to be a non-smoking room. The bathroom in our room was tatty with old, fraying towels. There was water leaking under the sink; possibly from the toilet, and the tiles by the shower had sunken in and were broken and grotty. The safe in our room didn’t work and when we called housekeeping, someone came out and said there was nothing they could do to fix it. One of the small windows in our bedroom had no handle on it and so we weren’t able to close the window. The second room (115) was much better with no issues. The carpets and general decor in the hotel are looking a bit dated and the Wi-Fi was so slow and confusing with passcodes for different parts of the hotel. The staff here were so sweet and helpful and made us a lovely packed lunch for breakfast when we left early one morning and kindly allowed us to leave our luggage when we went diving. Sadly this hotel is a bit tired and dated and we wouldn’t come back as there are other options in KK at comparable rates.
Read more
Date of stay: July 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
Jack B wrote a review Apr 2023
London, United Kingdom3 contributions2 helpful votes
We stayed in the hotel for one night whilst we stopped over in Kota Kinabalu. The facilities were very good, clean room, very comfy bed, good shower and a fancy colonial feel to the hotel. The location is really good for Kota Kinabalu,neaf Gaya Street and we were there during Ramadan when night markets populate the streets around there with incredible food. No complaints at all for the hotel - fully recommend.
Read more
Date of stay: March 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
avatar-image
been_there1963 wrote a review Jan 2023
Brunei Darussalam, Asia107 contributions16 helpful votes
+1
Jesselton 2.0. We were excited to return after Covid restrictions where for 3yrs of zero travel. 3yrs do things to places and people I guess... anyway here's a run down.. +ve - classic romantic - warmth and cosy - nice location -ve - nvr book on their website (got charged 2x the standard rate). @!!+#!! - no concierge - noisy staffs - our room sucks - jaded. We'll skip this place when we are in town next time. Will skip here next trip.
Read more
Date of stay: January 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip: Avoid booking online at their website. Price can be double. Also the rooms at the far corner (1st...
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helpful
Share
Previous
123456
Not the right property for you?
There are more places to choose from in the Kota Kinabalu area.
PRICE RANGE
₱2,114 - ₱2,781 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
jesselton hotel kota kinabalu
LOCATION
MalaysiaSabahWest Coast DivisionKota Kinabalu DistrictKota Kinabalu
NUMBER OF ROOMS
44
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?

Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.

Claim Your Listing

THE JESSELTON HOTEL - UPDATED 2024 Reviews & Price Comparison (Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia) - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about The Jesselton Hotel
Which popular attractions are close to The Jesselton Hotel?
Nearby attractions include Kota Kinabalu City Mosque (0.05 km), Gaya Street Sunday Market (0.3 km), and Suria Sabah (0.2 km).
What are some of the property amenities at The Jesselton Hotel?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, an on-site restaurant, and a lounge.
Which room amenities are available at The Jesselton Hotel?
Top room amenities include air conditioning, a flat screen TV, and a refrigerator.
What food & drink options are available at The Jesselton Hotel?
Guests can enjoy an on-site restaurant, a lounge, and breakfast during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to The Jesselton Hotel?
Conveniently located restaurants include El Centro, Chilli Vanilla, and Nook Cafe.
Is The Jesselton Hotel located near the city center?
Yes, it is 0.8 km away from the centre of Kota Kinabalu.
Are any cleaning services offered at The Jesselton Hotel?
Yes, dry cleaning and laundry service are offered to guests.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at The Jesselton Hotel?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English and Malay.
Are there any historical sites close to The Jesselton Hotel?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Monsopiad Heritage Village (10.6 km).
Is The Jesselton Hotel accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access. For specific inquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.