Mabul Backpackers
1 night
Rooms and Guests
1 room, 2 adults, 0 children
All Properties in Semporna

Mabul Backpackers

Homestay
Renovated in 2023
Mabul, Semporna, Sabah 91308, Malaysia
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Mabul Backpackers is the perfect place to unwind after a day of travel or work.Show More
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hotel overview picture
3.4/5Service: 3.5
All 24 Reviews
Amenities
Restaurant
All Amenities
Surroundings
Landmarks: Mabul Backpackers
(<100m)
Landmarks: Mabul Paradise Lodge
(<100m)
Landmarks: SCUBA BUDDY
(240m)
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Rooms

Guest Reviews

Policies

Services & Amenities

Basic Twin Room With Shared Bathroom (without Boat Transfer)
1

Basic Twin Room With Shared Bathroom (without Boat Transfer)

2 Single bed
8m² | Floor: 1
Has window
Non-smoking
Electric fan
Curtains
Shared bathroom
Shared toilet
Room Details
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Seaview Twin/ Queen Room With Aircond And Private Bathroom (without Boat Transfer)
3

Seaview Twin/ Queen Room With Aircond And Private Bathroom (without Boat Transfer)

1 Queen bed or 2 Single bed
Fixed window
Non-smoking
Air conditioning
Private bathroom
Ocean view
Private toilet
Room Details
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Seaview Triple Room With Aircond And Private Bathroom (without Boat Transfer)
2

Seaview Triple Room With Aircond And Private Bathroom (without Boat Transfer)

1 Double bed and 1 Single bed or 3 Single bed
Has window
Non-smoking
Air conditioning
Private bathroom
Ocean view
Private toilet
Room Details
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Mixed Dorm With Fan And Shared Bathroom (without Boat Transfer)
1

Mixed Dorm With Fan And Shared Bathroom (without Boat Transfer)

1 Bunk bed
Fixed window
Non-smoking
Electric fan
Curtains
Shared bathroom
Shared toilet
Room Details
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Guest Reviews

3.4/5
24 reviews
Verified Reviews
  • Cleanliness3.3
  • Amenities3.3
  • Location3.4
  • Service3.5
Average for similar properties in Semporna
Most Mentioned
AI Summary
Mabul Backpackers provides good value for money and offers a warm and engaging atmosphere with enthusiastic staff, especially those involved in diving, ensuring guests feel valued and well cared for.
A‍n‍o‍n‍y‍m‍o‍u‍s‍ ‍U‍s‍e‍r
September 27, 2024
It takes an hour by boat from the Dragon Inn Pier in Semporna to get to Mabul Island. The hotel you booked includes a round-trip ticket. You can get on the boat to this homestay by registering at Dragon Inn R2. This is a private homestay on Mabul Island. The cost-effectiveness is relatively high. One room can accommodate three adults. It is suitable for families with children. It is much more affordable than the Mabul Island Resort Hotel next to it. There are simple meals for breakfast and some free lunch at noon. We buy fresh seafood from the Bajau people on the sea every day and let the kitchen of the homestay process it. The seafood is super cheap and fresh. The processing fee is 15-20 Malaysian ringgit. It's still good. It's also good to use the money saved from staying in the resort to buy more seafood. If you want to go to the Mabul Island Resort next to it, you can enter for 50 Malaysian ringgits per person. It's right next door. It's quite comfortable to check in, take pictures, and swim. It's a good trip to save money with children.
Original TextTranslation provided by Google
G‍u‍e‍s‍t‍ ‍U‍s‍e‍r
July 25, 2024
There are not many reviews on the platform, and Xiaohongshu can't find them either. I thought about trying it myself and seeing how it is. 1. The room facilities are simple. The triple room is smaller than the double room. When I just checked in, there was water all over the bathroom. It was not cleaned. The toilet door was very difficult to pull, and it was basically impossible to close the door to go to the toilet. No toiletries were provided, and there was no hair dryer. 2. The air conditioner body was leaking, and the bed was below. One-third of the bed was wet. I asked the service staff to solve it. They told us that we could change the sheets and move the bed to avoid the leaking position. We agreed. After waiting for more than an hour, no one came to deal with it. The service staff left us behind. In the end, the three of us went to live in the double room, one small bed and one large bed, two people squeezed in one bed, and the other two people stayed in the single bed of the triple room. They stayed for two days, and the wet bed was empty. No one cared about it during the whole process. 3. There is no running water. The toilet is all seawater. There are time requirements for seawater and hot water. The toilet cannot be flushed before the water is provided. The atmosphere of the homestay is good. The coaches and guests will sing and dance together at night. It is very lively. We participated in it. We are all friends and feel free and comfortable. It’s just that those who like to go to bed early are a bit miserable. The microphone and speakers are probably singing until about 10.30 pm. 4. Price: I paid about 700/person on Ctrip. The price on Qu Na will be about 100 cheaper. After checking in, the tenants living next door paid about 300/person on a certain fish. The premium on Ctrip is very high. In addition, there is a phased power and water outage. A can of Coke at the homestay is 5 Malaysian ringgits, kayaking is 50 Malaysian ringgits, and seafood processing is 10 Malaysian ringgits. For reference 5. Although the accommodation is located on Mabu Island, you still need to pay a 50 MYR/person island entry fee to visit the resort. If you don't go, you will only have the balcony, plank road, and lobby of the homestay. This is a small piece of land 6. The variety and taste of the buffet are very average, with about four dishes, which can fill your stomach, but not delicious 7. After the reservation is successful, I received the hotel's reservation information by email, which clearly stated that the check-out time is 15.30-16.00. As a result, the cleaning staff came to urge us to check out at 12.00. After we provided the check-out time by email, they still insisted that we clean up the room and waited for us to clean up at the door (I didn't see anyone when I changed the sheets, but now they are watching us). Then the cleaning staff cleaned up and locked the door. We had to wait in the lobby with our luggage until we boarded the ship to leave the island at 16.00. The rooms were empty and no one was staying. The guests had already checked in in other rooms long ago that day. Ctrip contact person **** ignored the content of the email notification throughout the whole process, and insisted that the check-out time was 12.00, so the hotel staff's words and emails could be ignored and invalid. After checking in, they said whatever they said. 7. Free snorkeling. After arriving on the island in the morning, we waited until the afternoon, waiting to go snorkeling without playing anything. As a result, no one took us out during the whole process, and no one told us how to arrange it. I communicated with Ctrip contact person ****, and he told me that the boat had left and I couldn't go today, but I could arrange it tomorrow. I said that I signed up for deep diving tomorrow, and I should not have enough time for both. **** clearly told me that both must be arranged for me, snorkeling at 8:30 in the morning and deep diving at noon. As a result, we packed up and waited early in the morning. The coach told us to set off at 10:30. In the end, there was only enough time to choose between deep diving and snorkeling. In the end, we didn't go snorkeling. **** said that snorkeling is free, and there is no way if I can't go. Because the homestay did not arrange it well, the free content was not provided, and they promised me that they would arrange it for me, but they did not arrange it. ****'s solution was: Please understand. However, if we cannot take guests out to sea for snorkeling, we will not book the hotel at all. It is clearly a service content included in the price, and the playable projects in the quotation are not arranged and said to be free. There is nothing we can do if we cannot go. 8. I signed up for deep diving with ****, the contact person of Ctrip. When signing up, I was clearly told that I would be underwater for 30 minutes. As a result, my friend and I only had 15 minutes each, and 30 minutes for the two of us. I went down first, and the seabed gestured to indicate ok. After a while, the coach kept gesturing up, up, up, and took me up. When I looked at the time, it was only 15 minutes. After I went up, my friend went down, and then I waited on the boat. **** said again that the weather was bad and the coach was for safety considerations. I said that everyone else on the boat dived for 30 minutes, and only my friend and I had 30 minutes together, which means that it is safe underwater. Otherwise, why only we came up and others can continue. ****It became your first time diving again, meaning that our own skills are not good. I said that I gestured all the time and there was no problem, so we could continue. They wanted to shorten the time, either saying that the weather was not good or that the guests were not good. I was told before that deep diving and snorkeling were not in the same waters. In fact, deep diving and snorkeling were in the same place. The depth of deep diving was only seven or eight meters. When I looked up, my snorkeling friends were above me, and even my friend could swim to my side with a dive. I don’t know what the meaning of signing up for deep diving is. There are no turtles, no big fish, no sunken ships, and a bunch of small fish. There are not as many fish as I saw in the one-day snorkeling in Dun Sakalan. The one-day tour registration is about 300 a day. I stayed in one place for more than an hour to snorkel, snorkeled in two or three places, and snorkeled for a total of two or three hours. It cost 400 for 15 minutes of deep diving. I was diving just under the snorkelers. It probably means that the snorkelers were floating on the water, and the coach took me to the bottom of the water. It is understandable that you can see natural creatures such as fish and turtles at random, but because you only dived for 15 minutes, you didn't have time to chase and see more fish schools in depth, which is different from not seeing them. You didn't see the sunken ship either. Did the ship run away by itself? You didn't even swim to the deeper side. The deep diving position is so shallow, **** said 1-12 meters is no problem. So I want to say, I stood up and touched the bottom of my feet. The depth is 1.7 meters. I can play by myself. Why do I need you? Those who want to sign up can experience it. Look up and see others snorkeling above you, and you dive under them. If you are lucky, you may even experience a 1-meter deep dive. Play by touching your feet. For all the above, the solution is: Please forgive me. Summary: No word is credible, whoever dares to live can live
Original TextTranslation provided by Google
L‍a‍i‍p‍e‍n‍g‍d‍e‍m‍a‍e‍r‍t‍a‍i‍l‍e‍w‍e‍i‍c‍h‍a‍n‍g‍h‍u‍i
July 18, 2024
Mabul Island is very beautiful, close to the sea, but the facilities are really average. Most of the water houses should be like this. If you want to experience scuba diving, you can really come. I am a little afraid 😂
Original TextTranslation provided by Google
G‍u‍e‍s‍t‍ ‍U‍s‍e‍r
June 18, 2024
The room facilities are old, and the door is an aluminum alloy sliding door, which is so broken that it can't be moved. 3 meals are included, but they are very poor. The buffet has 3 dishes, and the quantity is small, and the guests behind are not enough to eat. The air conditioner is basically still around 30 degrees. The toilet seat is broken and the water is salty. I read the guide before and found that there are two boats leaving the island, at 11 am and 4 pm, so I booked a flight at 4:35 pm. As a result, the hotel told me that there is only one boat at 4 pm every day. If you want to leave the island at another time, you must charter a boat for 450 Malaysian ringgits, nearly 700 yuan. I discussed canceling the order, but the hotel disagreed. The money was paid online, so there is no way. I discussed with the hotel and agreed that if there is a favorable wind boat when leaving the island, they will help coordinate. But the hotel charged me 450 Malaysian ringgits for the charter boat before I went to the island. When I was leaving the island, a guest from the same hotel had already chartered a boat, 2 hours earlier than my original time. I negotiated with the guest directly, and they agreed to let me take the boat, so that I could cancel my original boat, but the hotel refused to agree. This is such a poor service attitude, they only care about making money!
Original TextTranslation provided by Google
J‍i‍c‍h‍u‍a‍n‍g‍a‍n‍g‍b‍a‍n
July 4, 2024
The room facilities are average and the hygiene is average, but the scenery is great. It is on Mabu Island
Original TextTranslation provided by Google
A‍n‍o‍n‍y‍m‍o‍u‍s‍ ‍U‍s‍e‍r
August 3, 2024
The staff is hospitable, the environment is too poor, not worth recommending
Original TextTranslation provided by Google
G‍u‍e‍s‍t‍ ‍U‍s‍e‍r
April 13, 2024
Very bad. The room is hard to describe.
Original TextTranslation provided by Google
G‍u‍e‍s‍t‍ ‍U‍s‍e‍r
December 30, 2022
Simple, barely liveable. The price is very expensive. Not worth it at all.
Original TextTranslation provided by Google

Property Policies

Check-in and Check-out Times
Check-in: After 14:00
Check-out: Before 12:00

The property will provide check-in details after booking

If you will arrive outside of check-in hours, contact the property 3 days in advance by email/phone

To check in, provide the following 7 days in advance: their check-in time, their flight information, proof of identification

Child Policies
Children are not permitted to stay in this room type.

Cots and Extra Beds
Extra bed and crib policies may vary according to room type. Please refer to the room type details for more information.

Breakfast
Breakfast not provided.

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Property Description

  • Opened: 2020
  • Renovated: 2023
  • Number of Rooms: 16
Mabul Backpackers is the perfect place to unwind after a day of travel or work.

You'll find sea views and a terrace in some of the rooms at this property.

Mabul Backpackers is situated on the beach, where you can take part in activities like snorkeling and diving. There's lots of activities to do, including water sport equipment, fishing, and hiking.

Grab a bite to eat at the in-house restaurant which serves American dishes.

At this homestay, you'll also find facilities including a barbecue. For extra convenience, free luggage storage and laundry service (on-site) are available at the property as well.

Services & Amenities

Restaurant
Restaurant
Style: Buffet
Dining options: Property guests only
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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the check-in and check-out times at Mabul Backpackers?

The check-in time at Mabul Backpackers is 14:00 and the check-out time is 12:00.

What amenities and services does Mabul Backpackers have?

Mabul Backpackers has the following amenities and services: Restaurant.

Does Mabul Backpackers have a swimming pool?

No, Mabul Backpackers doesn't have a pool.

Are pets allowed at Mabul Backpackers?

Unfortunately, pets are not allowed at Mabul Backpackers.

Does Mabul Backpackers provide breakfast?

No, Mabul Backpackers doesn't provide breakfast. But you can find some nearby restaurants and cafés that offer breakfast.

How much does it cost to stay at Mabul Backpackers?

Prices at Mabul Backpackers are subject to change according to dates, hotel policy, and other factors. To view prices, please search for the dates you wish to stay at the hotel.

What is the cancellation policy for Mabul Backpackers?

The cancellation policy for Mabul Backpackers varies depending on the type of room and booking conditions.

About This Property

Average Price FromNZD216