We flew to Sandakan and arrived in the atfernoon, the plan being to go into the jungle the next morning. Sandakan itself is grimy, intimidating (especially for a young teenage daughter), smelly and uneventful. We retreated to the hotel for some food. Boring menu with little actually available. Seems like we should have gone to Sabah. Not much to see or do. We are actually very flexible travellers but this was a waste of a day. SO much for lazing by the pool....there was none! our travel agent had clearly messed up. Nice staff, though, and free wireless internet access. Avoid Sandakan (apparently not that safe and full of illegal immigrants from Philippines / Indonesia) and this hotel.

We decided to stay in Sankakan overnight, after visiting Sepilok orangutan rehabilitation centre, The Sandakan Hotel is extremely cheap at $50 AUD per night, But if its cleaniness and comfort, you are looking for DO NOT STAY HERE, We checked in about 1630hrs after visiting Sepilok, ThIis Hotel is very old in a very unattractive area, The rooms very tired, worn and grubby looking the room also smelt horrible, After using the toilet it would not flush, nothing was done after the concierge assured us their engineer would fix the problem, We went to have dinner at their chinese restaurant, but the place looked filthy with most of the waiters and waitresses coughing and sneezing The food not very appealing, feeling sick I went up to the room, But when we got up to the room the toilet was still not repaired, I asked my husband to get our cases, and get a cab to see if the Sabah hotel was any better. We arrived and there was is no comparison The Sabah hotel was more like a resort set in a beautiful rain forest, the rooms very clean and the restaurant very good, We decided to stay at the Sabah Hotel, we then cancelled the Sandakan Hotel and lost our $50 but we were much happier at the Sabah Hotel, if you like cheap really basic accomodation the Sandakan hotel could be for you, but if you want a clean comfortable resort, then do stay at the Sabah hotel

I stayed in this hotel for 1 night before going to Lankayan. I checked in at 10am without problem and got upgraded from a Junior Suite to a Honeymoon Suite. Rooms are well maintained and equipped, and most importantly clean. Its location is very central, being about 200m from the tourist information and on the heritage trail. This is not a luxury hotel, but a good 3 star standard. For the price it is excellent value and more than adequate for a 1 or 2 night stay whilst visiting the sights around Sandakan.