If you are currently in Kota Kinabalu or planning to visit soon, then I highly recommend visiting Nexus Spa for a one-of-a-kind experience that is exclusively available in this country. I legit am looking to have Borneo spa again but other than Sabah (Kota Kinabalu), there are no other places to get this, so we have to come back again.
We had our Borneo massage and spa in Nexus Resort & Spa Karambunai which is the best place I would say. They offer the best package and pricing but of course, aside from positive reviews, we also have not so positive review on the whole experience, and I will tell you everything about it in a bit.
How Our Itinerary Looks Like
Here’s one thing to note, Nexus is a little far from the city so in case you are planning to have some tours in islands, better to not stay in Nexus but choose a place in the city. I wrote about our whole stay before with details of tours and itinerary and you can read it here, “The Perfect 7-day Itinerary to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia“
Looking at the itinerary now makes me think actually. We only stayed for 2 nights but what we remember feels way longer than that. It’s one of our favorite moments ever and I am so excited to tell you all about it. This is something I want my friends and loved ones to experience as well, literally! If someone ask me and my husband which country/place we like the most, no doubt at all, it’s Kota Kinabalu.
| KOTA KINABALU (SABAH) | |||
| Day | Date | Accommodation | Activity |
| 1 – Sat | 4/19/25 | Flight Z2 501 23:10 – 01:20 Owl’s Nest Suite at Aeropod Sovo Address: Aeropod Sovo K1 Lobby, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia | Flight at night so arrival would be on the next day. |
| 2 – Sun | 4/20/25 | Island Getaway @ Mengalum Island Day Tour [7am-3:15pm] | |
| 3 – Mon | 4/21/25 | Private White Sand Paradise Island Tour[7:15am – 5:15pm] | |
| 4 – Tue | 4/22/25 | Nexus Resort and Spa Karambunai Address: Off Jalan Sepangar Bay, PO Box, 88993, Sabah, Malaysia | Check out from Owl’s Nest Suite by noon and transfer to Nexus Resort & Spa Relax by the Sea @ 3pm |
| 5 – Wed | 4/23/25 | Hi-Tea & Blast Ride @ 5pm Ocean Oasis Package includes:Complimentary breakfast for 2 Adults One Time Hi-Tea Set for 2 AdultsOne Time 15 minutes Blast Ride for 2 AdultsComplimentary 1 hour usage of non motorised watersports – Once per stay20% discount on Spa TreatmentsFree Wifi | |
| 6 – Thurs | 4/24/25 | The Magellan Sutera Resort Address: No 1 Sutera Harbour Boulevard, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Phone: +60 88 303 900 | Check out from Nexus and travel to The Magellan Sutera Resort. |
| 7 – Fri | 4/25/25 | Desa Cow Farm @ 11am | |
| 8 – Sat | 4/26/25 | Checkout from the Resort @ 2pm and probably roam around and go to the airport at night. Flight is 1:45 am next day | |
| 9 – Sun | 4/27/25 | Flight Z2 502 01:45 – 03:55 | Kota Kinabalu International Airport ,Terminal 1 – NAIA Terminal 3 |
Our Arrival in Nexus
Like I said earlier, it is a little far from the city, I checked my Grab transport records and from Aeropov SOVO to Nexus is 31.68km and it took us 45mins. We paid only Rm49.44.
The place is massive and gorgeous. The entrance of nexus to the reception area is far, not ideal for walking at all. Take note of this one because I will share something very important later. The hotel staff took us to our suite via car as well, We had the ocean panorama suite which is really gorgeous. On the same day, we have an appointment with the Spa and I want to tell you about it firstly.
Borneo Spa Services
Please note that this pricing is from our trip in April 2025 so depending on when you are reading it, the pricing may change. For this, they don’t have the services available for online payment, and you have to go and pay at the property. We had Borneo Relax.
At the time we are there, we only pay for the massage, and they gave us free access to the Spa that has steam room, sauna, jacuzzi.
THE BORNEO MASSAGE IS INSANE.
This is next level, completely different experience like… I don’t want to spoil it honestly but compared to other massage like Balinese, Swedish, Thai.. this is a whole different experience. We only did Borneo Relax and I had the regular and my husband had deep tissue.
The way they did the massage is completely different and out of this world. Just to give you an idea, after the massage, we kinda had whole body pain for 3 days, lol. No kidding.
Anyway, this is something we look forward to having again. And I am telling you, YOU CAN’T MISS THIS IF YOU ARE IN SABAH!
…and the Spa-
This is so great that we had free access however, we are going as a couple and it’s a bummer that their spa is separate for men and women, I understand tho but they should have a couple’s Spa as well since we want to talk together while relaxing, you know.
DISADVANTAGES OF NEXUS
Let me tell you that there are very limited food options inside the resort. So, we decided to order in Grab BUT, they wouldn’t let any deliveries inside the resort, they said it is their policy. However, at the time we are very hungry, so we pushed it, plus the driver was already at the gate of Nexus. The staff are not very helpful to be honest but later they agreed to take us to Nexus gate via car.
So this is something you can consider.
Another one is the Wi-Fi. IT IS VERY BAD, not a single time it worked for me, but my husband was able to use it a bit.
The weather is also something you have to consider because if it is raining, there won’t be much activities at all.
