The Bilit Rainforest Lodge is a major step down after staying after staying at Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley. It’s halfway between Lahad Datu and Sandakan and had I known this before coming I’d have never have taken the drive from Lahad Datu to Sandakan as you’re driving almost 3 hours then have to back track. This is about a 1 or 2 star at the most and is very, very basic. It takes about an hour and a half from the Orang Utan and Sun Bear centers, which in turn are about 40 minutes from Sandakan.
You get dropped off at a Jetty in Bilit Village on the banks of the Kinabatangan River, then a few minutes boat ride across the other side of the river. As mentioned, Bilit Rainforest Lodge is basic, very basic. The rooms are okay but more of what you might expect staying in a rainforest. Rooms are big, with separate bathroom and shower, which is a bit weird, but, well take a look at the photos to get some idea of what this is like. Service is satisfactory, some of the staff are okay, but most are disinterested at best.
Perhaps the worst thing about Bilit Rainforest Lodge is the food. When we arrived we had some lunch, which was a few selections of some chicken, vegetables, beef and other crap. Yeah, I know it’s the rRainforest but it’s pretty bad. The orange juice is revolting, some kind of watered down packet mix I think, you can buy a few soft drinks and beer, one type of wine which I had no intention of tasting and well, let’s just say you need to bring snacks. It’s edible, just, but expect the worse as this is some of the worst food we’ve had since getting here and that’s saying something. Update: Having stayed 2 full nights and experienced all meals here, I’d have to change my verdict and say the food is horrendous and there’s basically no options for kids who don’t eat much vegetables or spicy food apart from rice and potatoes.
Also, you get your name put on table and have to sit there, despite their being ample space and tables for you to sit anywhere. It’s all very Heidi-Ho, and if you happen to have the most miserable family in your tour group, not that enjoyable. You also have to eat at set times which is nonsense. Have a look at the kitchen in the photos and you’ll have some idea of what to expect. The only thing half decent was the eggs, which are cooked fresh. The other food they serve up couldn’t even be described as pig slop, since it was mostly dry and hard.
Beds are a bit hard but nothing to complain about, just don’t expect a nice soft comfy bed with soft sheets and fluffy pillows. The shower is terrible, doesn’t get hot and trickles out, but on the plus side, it’s enough pressure to get soap off your body, just. There’s loads of ants and insects inside the bathroom, no big deal for us and fine because you’re in the Rainforest, but if you’re not crazy about those types of things, perhaps go somewhere else or stay at a better hotel/lodge. The door locks itself every time you go outside so just leave the key in the door. There’s a safe deposit box/safe, but the code pad doesn’t work. They give you a key for it, but the lock on that doesn’t work either.
They have a laundry service but after smelling the towels I said no thanks. There’s no fridge and they give you two bottles of water so again, everything here is just basic. Unlike Danum Valley, which has banned plastic bottles, they have plastic bottles here, which have inevitably made their way into the river, It’s not terrible, but the rubbish within the hotel and in the river is a bit off putting. On the plus side, the room has a large balcony with a couple of hammocks. There’s not much view other than of other rooms so not sure if you’re going to spend lots of time outside the balcony anyway.
There’s a few monkeys around which are a bit scared so you don’t need to worry about them hassling you (monkey’s are bastards!) Other than that there’s the usual gecko’s but we didn’t see any other animals around the hotel apart from cats. I can’t recommend Bilit Rainforest Lodge as the food was so bad. I mean, it’s not that far from civilisation and much more touristy than Danum Valley so you’d think that things might be a bit more civilised. Apparently this is the best hotel in the area, so I’d bloody well like to see what the other ones are like because this is pretty bad, at least the food is. There’s about 9 other lodges/places to stay in the area, many catering to backpackers.
They have a tiny gift shop which is the sorriest excuse for a gift shop I’ve ever seen and absolutely reeks of something, a dart board with some plastic shit darts and a games room with table tennis, connect four, and a shitty putting mat. It’s pathetic to be honest. Other than that there’s nothing to do here except the tours you will go. You can read more about the tours in our Things To Do in Borneo travel guide which goes into detail about things we did in both Danum Valley and this area, which is the lower Kinabatangan River.
Again, I wouldn’t recommend staying at Bilit Rainforest Lodge, but if you don’t mind a couple of days with shit food, it’s okay I guess. Just manage your expectations, it’s a 2 star hotel in the middle of the rainforest in Sabah, if you consider this it might make your stay a bit more enjoyable.
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