I honestly could go on and on about how much I love this hostel. My friends and I booked through Hostelworld for 2 nights. Our plans fell through and we ended up staying at the hostel for 2 more nights. The staff is beyond helpful. When we asked for advice about where to go or what to do they gave us suggestions and booked the trips for us. We had such a great time in KK and Lavender Lodge and their staff deserve a great amount of credit for the vacation. The hostel itself is nothing special. It is simple and clean. There is air con in every room, I think, and most of them have ceiling fans too. Breakfast is simple toast and tea/coffee/juice but honestly it didn't matter. We had clean towels and a cleaned room every day. They held on to our bags for us after we checked out and let us pick them up later. I never tried the wifi but a computer was usually available for use anyways. Nora (works the front desk from morning until supperish time) and Daniel (the owner along with Jenny) gave such great advice and were the most sincere people I have met. We ended up coming back to their hostel for 2 more nights (so 6 nights in all)! Yes it is a little bit more than other hostels but to us, it was worth the money. It is in a great location too. Nora, Daniel or Jenny can give you helpful tips on where to eat based on what you want. They tell you what is the better of two options and I trust their judgement. Like I said... I could go on and on about how much I loved this place. Like that cliche saying... it is the people that make the place and the staff here really make the place! I won't forget them. If I'm ever back in KK I will stay there and I will tell anyone that is going to KK to stay there.

Excellent stay! Very welcomIng and friendly and helpful staff! Great value for money and very clean! Highly recommended!! Breakfast basic but good!!

We stayed 2 nights at the Lavender Lodge, one night before going to Mt. Kinabalu and one night after. We really appreciated the friendly, helpful staff and owners. They gave us excellent advice on how to get a taxi to Mt. Kinabalu and had city maps available plus other helpful brochures about site-seeing spots around Kota Kinabalu and Sabah.

The 1st night, our standard room with 2 twin beds was on the 3rd floor and since they don't have an elevator, it was a real chore lugging our bags up there. They don't have any male staff so one of the girls offered to carry my suitcase up for me. We shared the toilet and shower with the other guests up there but since no one else was booked in on that floor, we had it to ourselves. Everything was new and clean, though the towels are pretty thin. Our room was on the street side and we could hear the traffic from down below into the wee hours of the morning. The 2nd night, we chose to stay in the dorm room with 6 beds on the 1st floor next to the breakfast area. It was much better with our own washroom/shower and cheaper. And it was super quiet as it's at the back of the lodge. In both rooms, the beds and pillows were very comfortable.

The breakfast isn't much to speak of, just toast with butter and jam, fruit and coffee, tea or juice. But, you can have as much as you want.

The TV is on the 2nd floor in a lounge area. Looking in, it looked like a nice big room.

It was really nice having free internet. If you don't have a laptop or phone to get on the internet with, they have a desktop computer in the lobby area that you can use.

The close proximity to the taxi/bus stand, malls, the night market and restaurants made the Lavender Lodge a wonderful place to stay. We only had to walk 5 min. to get to the taxi/bus stand going to Mt. Kinabalu.

We arrived on Chinese New Year so most of the establishments were closed. But right across the street from the Lodge is a seafood market where you can choose what you want and they'll cook it for you. Nice, though kind of pricey. Next door is another restaurant with very cheap prices and good local food. We loved their desserts. On the other side of the lodge is a convenience store with snacks, drinks, etc.

kota kinabalu was my second stop for my 25 day vacation around SE asia... i booked this hostel months before i travelled to kk. it was my first time to visit...when i arrived atvthe hostel, i was surprise that that there are some filipino staff...the lady at the reception was great giving me tips on what to book, i book all my day tours with them and the prices were quite reasonable. about the rooms, i got a single room, spacious enough and clean...the toilet and shower are communal but it was also clean....the only down side is that i got 2 flight of stairs to climb to gonto my room....they also serve very simple breakfast in the morning....but no worries, there are a lot of food choices just a short walk from the lodge, they have this hawker type set up just across the lodge, whe you can choose live seafood and have them cooked to your liking...and the chicken wings are delish....although for me singapore still has the best ones...haha...shout out to all the filipinos in kk, sometimes im unsure, if i should speak tagalog or english while im there...