Travel Reference
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Accommodation
Accommodation in Borneo runs the gamut from international-standard hotels to upland
Dayak longhouses, which themselves range from mod-con central to wood-and-palm struc-
tures deep in the jungle. In smaller towns, on outlying islands and in the hinterlands, your
options may be limited to very simple lodgings. Sabah and Sarawak have the best range of
accommodation, particularly in the upper brackets, while Kalimantan has fewer top-end
hotels and resorts. Brunei boasts one of the world's most opulent hotels but has limited
budget options.
On the ceilings of some hotel rooms, arrows point towards Mecca so Muslim guests
know which direction to face when praying.
BOOK YOUR STAY ONLINE
For more accommodation reviews by Lonely Planet authors, check out
hotels.lonelyplanet.com
. You'll find inde-
pendent reviews, as well as recommendations on the best places to stay. Best of all, you can book online.
International- Standard Hotels
» All of Borneo's major cities have hotels with the full range of mod cons and amenities,
but standards vary, from topnotch in Kuching, Kota Kinabalu (KK), Bandar Seri Begawan
(BSB) and Balikpapan to close-but-no-cigar in places like Miri and Sibu.
» All but a few top-end hotels are run by local companies rather than the worldwide chains,
and many are oriented primarily towards domestic business travellers.
» Booking online is the way to go at most of these places, and you'll often find offers well
below rack rates - in Malaysia, excellent rooms can be found for less than US$100 per
night and sometimes much less, and in Kalimantan luxury comes even cheaper.
