Magellan Sutera Resort pools.
Carol West stays at a Sabah resort that ticks all the boxes for a tropical family holiday.
It's 5am and long before guests have woken, a small army is advancing on the Magellan Sutera Resort.
Errant leaves are swept off manicured lawns, sun lounges are laid out with military precision as the resort's two pools are cleaned, sand traps are combed and greens checked at the 27-hole Graham Marsh-designed sand belt golf course and 12 lanes at Strikers ten-pin bowling centre are polished.
The resort's lobby.
Behind the scenes, a brigade of chefs and kitchen hands are preparing buffet breakfasts at some of the resort's 15 cafes and restaurants. Whew! It's clear that circumnavigating the Magellan Sutera Resort in Sabah's capital Kota Kinabalu is going to take some time.
Checking in to the Magellan Club wing, our 61-square-metre room decorated in classic North Borneo style comes with privileges including exclusive lounge breakfasts, evening cocktails and canapes, clothes pressing and unlimited wireless internet. Black and white photographs depict a sparse Jesselton, as present-day Kota Kinabalu was once known, during the 1950s and '60s.
Sutera means silk in Indonesian and the 155-hectare resort compound, constructed more than a dozen years ago by Singaporean owner/developer Edward Ong, runs as smoothly as its namesake.
Built on a promontory of reclaimed land surrounded by the South China Sea, this mini city lies under the watchful gaze of majestic Mount Kinabalu and includes the 500-room Pacific Sutera Hotel as well as Sutera Harbour Marina, Golf and Country Club.
I check out the floating assets at the 104-berth marina before considering the day's program. There's a queue for the PADI diving course, an enticing option particularly as practice dives are conducted in 29-degree water off Manukan Island. Shuttle buses gather at the lobby for the 5-minute trip to Kota Kinabalu town.
Shopping for value fashion, shoes and handicrafts at Wisma Merdeka and Centrepoint awaits before exploring the pungent wet and dry waterfront markets.
Back at Sutera Harbour Resort, a clutch of English tourists have decided to take a nostalgic step into Britain's colonial past on the Sutera Harbour-owned North Borneo Railway steam train.
The train chugs through a steamy equatorial landscape before stopping at Papar to visit the local tamu, an open-air market where the must-taste is kuih cincin, a flower-like cookie filled with palm sugar.
Before Borneo's soporific afternoon heat wipes me out, I head for the 42-bay driving range where Fraser and Rory, two laconic Scottish golf pros, endeavour to iron out the kinks. Even though champions like V J Singh love playing here, the course caters for all-comers. Framed by clusters of palm trees, I tee off towards the limpid azure waters of Tun Abdul Rahman Marine Park.
Mountain and water vistas compete to drive my game to distraction and I repair to the Mandara Spa where a therapist loosens tense shoulder muscles and an outdoor jacuzzi is the antidote to golf.
With sports pros on hand you could train for the Olympics on one of the estate's three covered tennis courts, apply yourself in the state-of-the-art fitness centre, hone your squash and badminton skills or plough along in the 50-metre pool. For me, food is always an attractive option and at fine dining restaurant Ferdinand's, I'm warmly greeted with a cheery "buona sierra". Seasoned visitors know that table 21 at 6.15 is the best seat in the house for dazzling sunsets over the South China Sea.
Spices are blended with a gentle touch at Spice Island where traditional Malay-Indian family recipes are served with modern panache. Up in Tarik's Lobby Lounge, architecturally styled as an homage to local Rungus longhouses, the resident band is backing a cocktail-fuelled karaoke. A tropical escape for the whole family has just ticked all the boxes.
The writer was a guest of Sutera Harbour Resort.
TRIP NOTES GETTING THERE
Malaysia Airlines has a fare to Kota Kinabalu for about $810 return from Sydney and Melbourne including tax. Fly to Kuala Lumpur (about 8hr) and then to Kota Kinabalu (2hr 35min); see malaysiaairlines.com. Australians do not require a visa for a stay of up to 90 days. Conditions apply. Low-cost carrier Air Asia flies the same route from Sydney or Melbourne with one-way, low fares from $246. See airasia.com.
STAYING THERE
The Sutera Harbour Resort complex is 10 minutes from Kota Kinabalu International Airport and offers accommodation for leisure and business travellers. At the Magellan Sutera Resort, Magellan deluxe Garden View Rooms start from MYR620 ($205) including breakfast. Rooms at Pacific Sutera Hotel start from MYR500 including buffet. See suterahabour.com.
MORE INFORMATION
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