Kota Kinabalu Hotels - Novotel at 1Borneo

After a few days at the Pacific Sutera, we moved on to stay at Novotel which is part of the gigantic 1Borneo development. The 1Borneo is a huge shopping complex opened in 1998 and has transformed the retail landscape in KK. Conceived as a shopping destination, it will house thousands of shops when it is fully occupied. Right now - more then a year after it's opening, it is still half-empty. Perhaps the developers were a bit over ambitious - even with half the shops open it is still huge !

There are several hotels at 1Borneo. The main ones are Novotel and Mercure. There is also no-frills Tune Hotels where you can get a room for less then RM 90.00 a night, even less if you book early.

Externally the architecture of the Novotel is quite ordinary. Inside is much better. The design is modern and chic - and there's a European vibe to it. 

The design of the rooms is also modern and clean-line. There is a large LCD tv, and one novel touch is the glass partition between the bathroom and the main room. The desk is quite small, but a clever design made it possible to double the work area by swinging the top layer of the desk around.

Facilities at the hotel are quite basic. The gym is too small to even qualify as a gym, it's more like an exercise corner with a couple of machines. The swimming pool at the podium roof is also rather unimpressive.

The Novotel is a place to stay for convenience if you plan to spend a few days at 1Borneo. The best thing about it is the coffeehouse which I will blog about in a future post.