Best Sunset View at Kota Kinabalu @ Sunset Bar, Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah offers one of the best alluring sunset view you can get in the world. Huffington Post, the renowned online Internet newspaper has even listed Kota Kinabalu as one of the eight great places to watch the sunset. There are aplenty of scenic spots for you to enjoy a memorable sunset view at the Borneo city and one of the excellent and undisturbed spot available will be Sunset Bar at Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa.

The Sunset Bar sit on a small private island at Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru, hosting a traditional hut assembles the indigenous homes of Borneo. Various seat such as beach chairs, bistro settings and bar counters are available, offering undisturbed view at the sunset view of the South China Sea shoreline.

Sunset bar offers some food and snacks, along with cocktails such as Royal Mojito, Pepperita and tempting Borneo-inspired such as Lepa-Lepa and the Kota Kinabalu Fruit Punch.

However, there comes a price to pay to enjoy such a convenience. An entrance fees of RM 37 (July 2018) is imposed as entrance fee (for non-hotel guest) and you will be served a glass of selected drink (fruit punches, mocktails or soft drinks). If you want to get cocktails, you still have to pay the RM 37 and order the cocktails as extra. For seats with better views of the sunset, a different package is offered. Nevertheless, hotel guests are exempted from paying the entrance fee.

I made a visit to Sunset Bar in the effort to kill off some time before heading the nearby Kota Kinabalu International Airport for my flight departure. Clad in my formal wear (unlike the tourists who wear fancy beachwear) with a tiring look after a hefty day running errands around in Kota Kinabalu, I was totally ignored upon walked into the Sunset Bar with my order chit and having settled my bill with the front counter. There were some tables with reserved sign and a few more similar tables are empty. Feeling helpless for at least 2 minutes, I called upon a white shirt crew, asking if any of the table non-reserved tables were available and he told me that all tables were taken, and the only seat left was bar counter, which I graciously accepted.

Then I passed him my order chit for a cup of mocktail, and waited for at least 25 minutes with nothing arrived to me, while other tables were served with their drinks or food swiftly as I observed. Worst, I observed some guests who wore fancy beachwear were seated to those non-reserved tables after checking with the crew on the table availability (as I can see them pointing to this and that table). After my face appeared to look for help to secure my drink, the service manager came to me swiftly and checked with me on my order, and within minutes, the drink arrived.

I reckon the first white shirt crew has misplaced my order. The bar was not full house during my visit, and I can see the white shirt crew wandering around doing nothing. Perhaps I was prejudged as a guest who is very unlikely to spend a lot so I deserved a sub-par treatment? Fortunately, the service manager is sensitive enough to look after all the in-house guests.

Are appearance and manners of dress still dictate how one should be treated in this modern society?

Nevertheless, please do not let my experience hinders your visit to Sunset Bar. The clumsy act of one does not represent the whole. Sunset Bar still offers a scenic view of the sunset, coupled with the friendliness of the Borneon staff here, though the sunset during my visit was less exciting.