Ara Dinawan Island Resort

The tent was excellent – clean and really nicely decorated. There were tonnes of activities available for free – snorkelling, paddleboarding, kayaking. The beach right in front of the resort is pretty, with some decent snorkelling. Beautiful location with lovely views over to the mainland Quiet – you're away from the hustle and bustle.

Mess. The resort itself was a mess, with stuff and rubbish lying around the outbuildings, all the watersports gear just scattered around near the beach. Walking along the main beach for 30 seconds and there was tonnes of plastic litter. Two other parts of the island are being torn up for some kind of development – it's an eyesore and could be noisy during the day. Not sure if this is their owners, but it is a shame and isn't reflective of the images of the island here. The games room needs some love – it's uninviting and half of the stuff was covered over, with chairs stacked up. Lunch and dinner times felt strict – you're summoned at a specified time to eat... which doesn't really fit with a lazy island resort vibe.

Nice island and they have activities on the island. Very enjoyable stay and the bed is so comfortable. Recommended who wish to get away from busy city life. Also the room is equipped with fire extinguisher which is plus point for safety reason.

Good boat transfer and all meals are reasonably delicious. Not crowded, can enjoy peaceful evening beach environment. Sunset was beautiful.

Room a bit warm with portable aircon. Disturbing sandflies. Snorkeling disappointed. Water not that clear, not many fishes while waves at times quite strong. But the Coral reef is nice...

secluded private island, friendly staff and dogs, sunset at the secret beach was beautiful, food was great, loved the tea time snack

there's nothing much to do on the island itself – most of the time spent just chilling by the beach, felt insecure sleeping in a tent without any locks (should've thought about it before booking), there were lots of bite marks after a night's stay (not sure was it sand flies or bed bugs)

Exactly as advertised - a beautiful little island retreat with the fun adventure of glamping. The accommodations were lovely, with electricity turned on in the late afternoon through morning, so A/C was an option. Food was plentiful and delicious. A really incredible experience!

The staff were very friendly and helpful. They checked in with us regularly to invite us to the bonfire, to see the sunset, to see what activities we wanted to do, like snorkelling. They were helpful without being intrusive. The food was fantastic and there was plenty of it. The snorkelling was great, we went twice in three days.

A little more investment needed in some public spaces eg games room, however the eating areas and the glamping tents were perfectly fine. It’s an unfortunate sign of the times that resorts also now need to invest in plastics clean up on beaches but again would be worth addressing.

The room was very nice, like a tent but everything you need were inside. Meals were well prepared, cooked by staffs just before meal time. We saw lots of different fishes when snorkeling, and even saw a hornbill on the tree-top outside our tent. My son was very excited and happy about our stay in Ara Dinawan. If you plan to visit this island, recommend to stay at this resort instead of coming by one-day tour. You can enjoy the quite island and the private atmosphere from the late afternoon to the early morning.

We booked this as a couple seeking a less touristy and cheaper island stay near Kota Kinabalu. The island is best after the day trip visitors have left (around 2pm). After this point there are less than 20 people left on the island. The staff are fantastic - particular shoutouts to Hin, Max and the Chef for organising fun activities and providing great food. Favourite activities are snorkelling and the sunset walk.