Name: Sea View Sandakan Budget & Backpackers Hotel
Address: Lot 126, 1st Floor, End of Jalan Dua (Opposite Sandakan Central Market 'PASAR'), Harbour Square 14, Sandakan, Sandakan, Sandakan, 90000, Malaysia
Rating: 8

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

General

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Location

At the hotel

Sandakan Airport

Sea View Sandakan Budget & Backpackers Hotel

Sandakan

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

IMPORTANT NOTE: we booked this hotel through a popular booking platform. The location mentioned at that website is NOT accurate ( Lot 125 & 126 Jalan Dua Harbour Square 14, 90000 Sandakan). Instead, ask your driver to take you to the WEST side of the Harbour Mall Sandakan.

When travelling, I always try to stay in easy-on-the-budget, clean, safe, well-located and ok-for-sleep-quality places. It does not have to be modern, as long as the aforementioned criteria are met.

I would say the Borneo Seaview Hotel is OK in that respect. 
- Our double room was basic. With basic I really mean basic: there is a bed, there are some thin curtains, no safe, and there is an on-suite bathroom that needs renovating and is not super clean. We note that the pillows were moldy so please check this.
- The location of the Borneo Seaview Hotel is fine. It's next to a mall, close to a 24h self laundry service (or non self service a few blocks away), close enough to some eating places and travel agencies. Speaking of this 24h laundry service; we noted children spent the night in this room. I did not get the idea that Sandakan is not a safe place to walk at night time, but you will not feel perfectly at ease either.
- The reception staff was always smiling. Every time we walked by, we did not get the feeling they were overly busy (e.g. cleaning or doing other stuff), but that was fine. If we had a request, e.g. related to the water in the room or related to the cleanliness of the common spaces like corridors (there was a local living in one of the rooms with his trash in the corridor outside his room), they took care of it.
- In terms of sleep quality; was ok. As said, the pillows were moldy so we had to improvise with clothes. Other than that, the curtains in the room were a little bit thin. We luckily did not suffer from inside or outside noise.

Other relevant things to know:
- There are enough Grab cars available to take you to Sepilok. At Sepilok, do make sure that you are not leaving the parks too late, as it could be possible that no Grab drivers are available anymore at that time. We fixed this by enquiring at a local hotel whether they could arrange a taxi for us (which of course was more expensive than a Grab car)
- There are enough Grab drivers available to take you from the bus drop-off point to your hotel/hostel/guest house in town.
- Sandakan is not extremely clean. I think overall it's improving, but we noted huge rats on the streets at night. This is most likely due to inadequate handling of trash. We did not experience this in Kota Kinabalu. Sandakan also is not as modern as KK.

Do not expect much and you will be fine

I highly recommend this hostel because it's clean, cheap and centrally located near a big mall, a street market, a travel agency (to book your local flight) and the two bus terminals.

I have choosen Sandakan as a base for visiting the orang utans and bears in Sepilok, despite what a renowned guide suggested to do (in Sepilok there is only a road: Sandakan, in comparizon with Sepilok, is a metropolis).

Get your flight to Sandakan and enjoy these two parks

Great hostel for budget travellers

The beds were really comfy and it was in q good part of town; With food available just around the corner. And the workers were really nice. There was also a useful laundry place nearby. 
The market was really close too which made for a active morning.

Overnight stay

Stayed for 3 nights here with a friend in a private room. Staff were helpful and helped us to book tours. Some rooms only have a fan and we had to ask to move to an AC room which the staff agreed to do happily at no extra charge. The free pancake breakfast is great!

Sea view has a lot of potential and could make guests happier by simply refurbishing the place. The walls are really dirty and the place is a bit messy, including the bathrooms. The owner needs to fix this! 

Cheap and cheerful

Perfect place if you want to stay in Sandakan on a budget... the dorm is great and the breakfast is really good. The staff is really friendly and helpfull. They prepared breakfast for me at 6:30 and it wasn't the usual bred with jam like the majority of hostels, I got pancakes and bananas... I really enjoyed
I will come again in the future

Sea View Sandakan Budget & Backpackers Hotel

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