Tip of Borneo villa, retreat voted best
KOTA KINABALU: Hibiscus Villa Borneo and Hibiscus Beach Retreat have excelled in this year’s Best of Malaysia Awards.
Not only were they presented with an Excellence Award for ‘Best Romantic Stay’, they were also the overall winner of the ‘Best Boutique Hotel’ category.
Hibiscus Villa Borneo is a large three-bedroom property capable of sleeping up to nine people. The open plan design of the structure means that guests can watch stunning sunsets from the first floor lounge, or take a dip in the infinity swimming pool that extends right into the villa itself. Honeymooners and small families can opt instead for the romantic one-bedroom Hibiscus Beach Retreat. Both are located just five minutes’ drive from the Tip of Borneo.
Also at the awards ceremony, Mount Kinabalu was the overall category winner for ‘Best Attraction/Tourism Experience. Other Sabah winners were Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa (Excellence Award in ‘Best Family Stay’ category) and The Spa at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort & Spa (Excellence Award in ‘Best Spa Experience’ category).
James Burns, manager at Hibiscus Villa Borneo, is delighted and says “it is an incredible achievement considering we were competing against large luxury brands from Langkawi and other well-known tourist destinations. Being a difficult year for tourism in Sabah and especially for Mount Kinabalu, receiving these awards are a great motivational boost. They help highlight Sabah as a top tourism destination and show that we can compete with our larger counterparts elsewhere in Malaysia”.
Jonathan Reynolds, general manager of Rasa Ria Resort & Spa, said they were honoured to receive such an accolade for The Spa.
“Since our upgrade, we have been committed to providing luxury spa experience to both resort guests and day-spa visitors from Kota Kinabalu. The accolade goes to the spa team for their outstanding service, he said.
This year marks a full decade since the launch of the Best of Malaysia Awards, which has grown year after year to become Malaysia’s biggest publically-voted travel awards. Hundreds of travel and hospitality services and establishments were nominated and fully voted for in 18 categories; over 30,000 votes later, the long-awaited results were unveiled at the final awards ceremony on Tuesday evening.
One by one, the winners over all 18 categories were unveiled, beginning with the Excellence Award holders before the final overall champion was revealed. Distinguished representatives such as general managers, food and beverage directors and more for top hotels, resorts and attractions came onstage to celebrate their brand’s time in the spotlight.
Some 58 Excellence Award winners took home a certificate for their outstanding achievements, while the 18 overall category winners received an additional custom plaque created by ARCH Collection as recognition for their efforts.
The Best of Malaysia Awards are the biggest independent travel and hospitality awards in the country, organised annually by Expatriate Lifestyle on www.expatriatelifestyle.com.
Source: Borneo Post
