Tuesday 1 July 2014

My Luxurious Stay At The Magellan Sutera Resort, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Hello hello there!

As some of you may know from my previous post I had just turned 28 on June 23, 2014. I thought that instead of buying bajillions of makeup as I usually do, I'd go for enriching my life with new experiences this time around and decided on staying at The Magellan Sutera Resort (TMSR), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. This post is to recapture the wonderful moments I had during my 2-day stay there so brace yourself for loads of photos!

Day 1
To say I was excited would be an understatement. Me and my sister Farhana (Who is a budding travel blogger by the way. Check out her blog here) left our hometown by the 8.00am bus and arrived in Kota Kinabalu (KK) around 11.00am. We took a cab to TMSR and checked into our Sea View Room.

The Magellan Sutera Resort Lobby.

Our First Room.

The scenery was not as we hoped for as there were coconut trees blocking our view of the sea. We called in to see if there were other rooms available on the upper floor. Fortunately, one of the rooms with the best view was due to check out at 6.00pm. So as not to mess up the room too much, we went to Silk Garden Chinese Restaurant at The Pacific Sutera Resort for Lunch before heading out to our favorite place to hang out, Suria Sabah Shopping Mall, via Sutera Harbour's Shuttle Bus (RM3.00/ return trip). Please Note that there is no Shuttle Bus service at 2.00pm and 7.00pm from Sutera Harbour to KK City. There is also no return Shuttle Bus service to Sutera Harbour at 1.15pm-1.30pm nor 7.15pm-7.30pm from all the pick up points (Center Point, Wisma Merdeka and KK Plaza).

Waited for our orders to arrive.

What we did at Suria Sabah Shopping Mall.

At Suria, our first stop was Habib Jewels where we saw this stunning line from them called Hearts On Fire. No words could describe it, it just takes your breath away *May I have this to call my own in the not too distant future, Amin*. Next, I did a skin consultation with Clarins for the first time. Left the counter happy as a clam with the samples I was given. Then I checked out some of Estee Lauder's Pure Color Gloss. The bright orange and fuchsia color caught my attention the most *Unfortunately I do not remember the names*. Last but not least we had dinner at my preferred sushi restaurant, Sushi Tei. I highly recommend their Crispy Ebi Mentai Mayo. It is life-changing, I swear.

We arrived back at TMSR at around 9.00pm. By then our new room was ready. Check out the photos below. It's a bit dark because it was taken at night but I hope you can still get a sense of how the room looks like.

Everything was so soft and comfortable from the pillows to the duvets..

I love the reading chair..

I love the wire storage thingy..

This leads to the front door and bathroom.

The landing..

Our closet.. Again, love the wire storage..

Peek-a-boo!

 The shower head in the tub looks like an old but elegant telephone handle..

 A feature wall in the loo..

The toiletries provided.. Lotion, comb, toothbrush and tooth paste, vanity kit and razor kit. Shampoo and shower gel is not shown in this photo.

I got the muchies at 11.00pm and ordered Room Service. I chose their Beef Burger served with Fries and Onion Rings. I was told that the food would be delivered within 30 minutes but it was sent within 15-20 minutes which was great.

Yummy..

Watched an episode of Revenge and Running Man then off to bed I went.

Day 2


Started the day with a smile.

Good morning world! Nothing like a view of the sea to energize one for the day ahead. Went down to Five Sails for the gorgeous breakfast spread. I had a plain croissant, slices of cold cut meat, sausage, hash brown, some dim sums, eggs florentine, Laksa (which was very tasty and perfectly portioned), Cappuccino, Orange  juice, a fruit salad and 2 pastries. My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach. Hehe..

What I had for breakfast.. My diet definitely went out the window..

After breakfast we checked out Mandara Spa. Upon stepping into the spa, my ear caught the soothing Balinese music playing in the background. The spa was softly lit, adding to it's relaxing ambiance. The decor is beautiful, almost mystical. I half-expected a Balinese Princess to look over the balcony at me. Check out the photos below.

Mandara Spa.. Look at the balcony in the top right photo. That's my fave aesthetic area of the spa.

The waiting area. Juvenile I know, but so much fun. Lol..

The choice of massage oils (Mandara, Island Spice, Harmony and Tranquility) as well as scrubs (Coconut, Coffee, Javanese and Balinese) available. Also some fragrance 'balls' in glass vases for scenting closets and drawers.

The Hibiscus Room for couples massage. All the rooms are named after flowers. The lower rooms are for couples treatment and the rooms on the upper floor are for individual treatments.

Farhana and I decided to come back to the spa later should we decide to get a massage. I went off to the pool side armed with my novel, a bottle of drinking water and a big chocolate chip cookie from the Muffinz Express counter for a reading session. Oh bliss! I truly felt like I was in my own world.

My slice of Heaven..

Late in the afternoon Farhana and I had our lunch at Al Fresco, a restaurant at TMSR that serves Mediterranean food. I went with the Chicken Pita which was wholesome and very satisfying. You can tell that only fresh ingredients were used in the food. Another thing I love about dining at Al Fresco? The cold towel at the end! So cool and refreshing, just what we needed in the hot afternoon.

Lunch time..

Oooohh.. A cold and fragrant towel in the sunny afternoon? Felt like it was Heaven sent.

Psstt.. I kinda wish that we had dinner at Al Fresco as well. Wanna know why? Because of the musical trio who performs in the evenings. Unfortunately I don't remember their name but they are goooood man. To sing that loud without a mike and still be pitch perfect? I am a fan. Their tunes are also very nostalgic. Think Phil Collins and the Eagles.

Okay, I digress a bit. Hehe.. After Lunch we went back to our room to rest till about 6.00pm. Since it was Pay Day, we decided to go to Suria Sabah Shopping Mall again. The plan was to have dinner at Kenny Rogers and to go to The Body Shop as well as Channel. Unfortunately, I took too long trying to decide which bracelet to get at Thomas Sabo (Which was an impromptu visit, I swear. Have you seen their charms? They are just too cute that I want them all!) that we missed dinner. Thank goodness Starbucks was still open. Their Strawberry Cheesecake Frappuccino is really good. *By the way, I have been really loving anything strawberry lately from drinks to scents to body care products. If I was married, I'd have thought I was preggers the way I am obsessed with it. Sheesh!*

My Strawberry fix of the day...

My Thomas Sabo bracelet. I will have a whole post dedicated to this In shaa Allah, so stay tuned for that.

As we missed dinner (Sorry sister. Hehe..), we had to order Room Service once again. This time we both had the pasta which you can customize with 3 choice of pastas and 2 choice of sauces. We chose Spaghetti with Carbonara saunce. It arrived around 30 minutes after we placed our order which was a bit of a bummer since we were so hungry but hey, it was delicious as expected. I was tempted to order another one but the thought of my expanding waistline stopped me just in time. Huhu..

Turn down service in the evenings. A bookmark and a dark chocolate square each. 80% cacao too. How fabulous is that?

This pasta dish had generous portions of meat strips and cheese shavings. Will be having this again for sure on my next trip.

Another round of Running Man and Revenge and it was time for some shut-eye.

Day 3

Breakfast du jour..

It was the last day of our stay. Huwaaa... The thought of leaving TMSR made me a bit depressed. On the other hand I was already dreadfully missing my Sophia so yes, it was certainly time to go home.  The Five Sails buffet breakfast spread helped to cheer me up a bit. Ahhh.. Fooooooddd!!! Hehehe.. Most of the things I had were the same as the first day. The only difference is this time I had a potato dish (Oh man, I can't remember the name), scrambled eggs, waffles with maple syrup and noodles in soup.

I had looked forward to having the Laksa again but of course the menu had changed somewhat from the previous day. The chef at the noodle station told me that it was kind of like a Pan Men soup except the noodles were thick and white like the noodles usually used in Laksa dishes. It was tasty and made me miss having Pan Men for breakfast.

Took a last long look at the beautiful view for this trip..

We went back to the Mandara Spa where my sister bought a bottle of essential oil in Harmony. It was the same scent I chose when I had my first massage at Mandara Spa. One of the masseuse told us about the Mandara Spa membership and let me tell you, the deal is well-worth it. Becoming a member is definitely on my to-do list on my next visit. Click here to know more about Mandara Spa or call +(60 88) 303 680.

We went up to our rooms to pack and rest for a bit before checking out at 1.00pm. Since we were to go back by the 2.30pm bus, we decided to have a drink at the Muffinz Express counter. I ordered a Double Chocolate cake which was divine and 6 macaroons to bring home for my parents and Sophie. All of us love the macaroons (especially the Raspberry flavor) and bringing some home for them has become kind of a tradition for me since the several times I've stayed at The Pacific Sutera Hotel. Keep up the good work Chef Pritchard!

Muffinz Express counter and our sweet treats..

I had been looking forward to having one of my must-haves at Muffinz Deli Cafe which is the Smoked Salmon Bagel. Unfortunately that intention had to be saved for another day because Muffinz Deli Cafe is under renovation and the Muffinz Express counter only serves cakes, drinks and pies. Oh well, good things come for those who wait right? :)

Time to say goodbye.. Sob! :,(

Alas as much as we tried to drag it out, it was time to leave The Magellan Sutera Resort. I certainly hope to see you again. Special mention goes to Sahri, Andy and Aziezan (Concierge) for being polite, courteous and going the extra mile for arranging our transportation as well as luggage. Also to Nisa (Al Fresco) for her excellent service and infectious cheerfulness.

Not forgetting Lena from Front Office and Rosiah from Customer Service for arranging our room change as well as the Housekeeping staff who I'm sure cleaned the room like the fire of Hades were on their heels to accommodate the room change. Last but not least thank you all who made our stay a wonderful and memorable one especially those behind the scenes. You are the unsung heroes of the Resort. Keep up the good work!


Love,
Phy

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