Sibu is a popular place to visit when you’re exploring Sarawak. The first major city as you head along the coast of Borneo from Kuching, Sibu is located by the Rajang River and is a popular jumping off point for people looking to explore the waterways (and longhouses) of Sarawak.
Of course, once you get here, you need somewhere to stay. I was looking for somewhere comfortable, well located and with great reviews, so I chose to stay at the Kingwood Hotel Sibu. This four star hotel seemed like the perfect choice, especially as it is a great price as well.
So is it as good as it sounds?
Keep reading for my full Kingwood Sibu Hotel review. This includes everything you need to know about visiting here including what the location is like, what facilities there are, what the rooms are like and the on-site dining.
You’ll then be able to quickly decide if the Kingwood Hotel in Sibu is the perfect hotel for you.
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Contents
Kingwood Hotel Sibu Review
The Sibu Kingwood Hotel has a massive 420 rooms over two wings. It takes pride in being waterfront with great views. There’s also a convention centre and a big ballroom.
Check-in was easy and I was soon heading to my room. I wish they had given me some information at this time, like how to get to the pool and its opening hours.
I looked for it for awhile before coming back to reception to find out. Then I found out it wasn’t open until later anyway.
Reception staff were great at sorting out an adaptor plug for me when I realised I left mine at my last hotel though. They also booked me a taxi for my early trip to the airport the next day. However, they didn’t seem to understand when I asked them about the price for it, and this taxi ended up being quite a rip off. Some assistance to make sure this didn’t occur with a taxi organised by the hotel would have been good.
Location Of Hotel Kingwood Sibu Sarawak
Address: No.12, Lorong Lanang 4, Pekan Sibu, 96000 Sibu, Sarawak
The Kingwood Hotel Sibu Sarawak is in a great location right by the river with plenty of views from the hotel.
It’s also convenient to attractions in the city with many things to do in Sibu located walking distance away. There are also many places to eat nearby. Overall, I found the location good. I really loved the views.
Kingwood Sibu Hotel Rooms
Despite being such a big hotel, there aren’t that many room types on offer at the Sibu Hotel Kingwood. All rooms are called deluxe, and you have a choice of single, twin, king or quad room.
You can also choose whether to be in Tower A or Tower B. There does not seem to be much difference between them except Tower A rooms are 30m² and Tower B rooms are 33 m². Tower B rooms also seem to feature a small couch. So book a Tower B room if you can.
All rooms come with tea and coffee making facilities, private bathrooms, toilets, flatscreen TV, minifridge and desk area. They also have air-conditioning and wifi.
There seems no way to book a river view room to guarantee this which is a shame.
Tower A Deluxe Single Room
I booked a Tower A Deluxe Single Room since I was travelling alone. If I had realised at the time of booking that Tower B is a bit bigger, I would have booked this though as the price was the same. However, I was quite happy with my room especially when I saw the view!
Entering my room felt a bit old school as I had an actual key instead of a card. I was soon in though.
On my left hand side was my bathroom. It had a shower over bath, a basin area with a reasonable range of toiletries and a toilet.
On my right hand side was the cupboards with plenty of space and a minifridge in the bottom. For the first time in Sarawak, I had a minifridge that actually made my drinks cold! So that was a win.
Next to the cupboards was a chest of drawers with space for my luggage on top.
My king sized bed was on the opposite side of the room with two bedside tables. Opposite this was a small, flatscreen TV. It was the smallest television I have seen in awhile.
The bed was very low, but comfortable.
Next to this was a good desk area with the tea and coffee making facilities and a hair dryer. There was a big empty space behind this and next to the bed. It is a shame they don’t put a couch here like in the Tower B rooms. It’s weird having such an empty space in a hotel room. There was also no safe.
The room was older style but it had new floorboards which gave it a much more updated appearance. They looked and felt really good.
It was comfortable, quiet very clean and the bed had good linen. In fact for the price, the room was incredibly good value.
The best part, however, was the views from the window right over the river. I could watch river traffic and it was great. I was very happy with this room and the value it offered.
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Facilities
My favourite facility is the Kingwood Hotel Sibu swimming pool. This pool is a decent size, has some great water views and is easy to enjoy. There’s also a gym.
The only downside is that the gym and swimming pool opening hours are quite limited with 8am-11:45am and 3-6:45pm being the only times they are open.
It was also crazy hard to find the pool. It turned out I needed to go to level 1, walk across to another building (I actually had tried walking here but then the only sign was for a ballroom, and I gave up) and then go up to level 3! There were no signs anywhere. It’s like they didn’t want anyone using the pool.
Which is totally crazy as it’s fabulous! It’s got great views of the river and is big and well maintained.
Once I finally made it there, it turned out I needed to go back to level 2 for the gym to get a towel. They really don’t make this easy!
Around the pool was a bar area with lots of cool tables and bars. It was called the Penthouse, but it’s no longer open which is a shame. It must have been a great place for a sunset drink.
Randomly, when I was looking for the pool, I found a vitamin shop in the hotel.
There’s also good parking. Internet is available but it’s crazy slow and frustrating. Google also found it dodgy and logged me out of all my accounts when I tried to use it.
Dining
There are two eating options on-site – the Riverfront Cafe and Ming Ziang Count. The latter is Chinese cuisine open for lunch and dinner.
The former, you can enjoy all day long and into the evening. It’s the place to head if you have a Kingwood Hotel Sibu breakfast included in your Kingwood Sibu room rate.
There’s also room service.
Final Words
The Kingwood Hotel Sibu is a great place to stay in a good location, that’s very good value.
My room was quiet, clean and comfortable. The pool was perfect for cooling down in (once I found it!).
My only big downside was the internet wasn’t good. But that’s probably not much of a concern unless you need to work like me. I also wish they would re-open the Penthouse bar. It’s a great area!
They should also give you instructions about the pool when checking in and put some signs up.
But otherwise, this hotel is a great choice.
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Looking for other accommodation options in Sibu? Find our full hotel guide here. You can also find our full guide to things to do in Sibu here and our full travel guide to Sibu here.
Planning a trip to Malaysia? Have any questions? Join our Malaysia Travel Planning Facebook group here now! It’s the perfect place to ask any questions and to be inspired!
