“The issue: Sutera Sanctuary Lodges monopolize Mount Kinabalu for their own profits.
They never wants to listen to our grouses on how expensive their climbing packages are, as long as they are the only available solution for Kinabalu climbers.
It started early this year, January 2008, when they packaged their climbing trip. They also pre-sold all the beds to big travel & tourism company increasing the price, to reap all the profits. That moves had also make us difficult to book a bed in Laban Rata.
Try calling them and ask for a bed 6 months in advance. They will say that their booking is not open yet.
Try calling them again next 2 days – 5 months 29 days. And they will said that the beds are full in Laban Rata. Who do you think have the power and money to book all 140 beds in Laban Rata in that very short time?
Try call them at this number: +6088-243629. Considered yourself lucky if you can get through.
Considered yourself double lucky if there is still bed for you in Laban Rata. They won’t tell you whether you get a heated or non-heated one.
Considered yourself triple lucky if you got the Laban Rata Resthouse – where the restaurant and heated rooms are.
Gone are the days when you can D-I-Y your trip up to Low’s Peak, where you could pay merely over RM150 for all the expenses – provided we bring our food ourselves.
The package that they created is compulsory. You cannot omit even a single item in the package – that includes the food. And that move have skyrocketed the prices, even worse during this uncertainty of fuel prices and inflation.
Sigh…
I pity those solo climbers, backpackers and budget travelers. Even more for our own Malaysian citizen & students. The revised pricing structure really did not help us all.
Lonely Planet Borneo
It also hurts Mount Kinabalu’s image. Somebody wrote a bad review on climbing Kinabalu in Lonely Planet Borneo, it’s latest edition. It seems that climbing the mountain is actually the easy part. The hard part is getting the accommodation booking. Buy the Lonely Planet Borneo if you have money and see it for yourself. I don’t think I would waste another RM79.90 just to get to see the bad reviews on Kinabalu.
It also hurts my last climb up the mountain with Special Olympics athletes. They have to revise their expenses to divert the money to Sutera Sanctuary Lodges. A big chunk of it. A lot of volunteers also complaints, not about the organizer, but about the accommodation provider.
You will be surprised, despite the price increase, that Laban Rata Resthouse is still in a pity mode.
Frequent heated water disruptions.
Leaks – not the roof leak, but plumbing leaks, which leads to flooding of the restaurant by the water from somebody bathing & maybe peeing upstairs.
The food taste really horrible.
The price of their a la carte menu & are ridiculous.
Well, this post really sound seditious. I could get caught and put behind bars because of my writings. But did I tell lies?
No I don’t.
Yesterday I spoke to one of my patient. A senior expatriate who have live here in KK for the past 30 over years. He also aired out his concern on what Sutera did, and how they really hurt the industry. He said he is going to speak directly to Sutera manager and get things straight.
I hope he could at least help us all.
At this moment, what we could do is to get together and voice out our concern. I could not do this by myself through this small blog. Sutera never cares. They know that my writings won’t even dent their cashflow.
Join me in the facebook. (Get one for yourself. It’s free.)
Poke me inside. Add me as your friend.
And the best thing to do is join the cause by KaKiAyAm; Mount Kinabalu – belongs to NO ONE else.
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/125792?recruiter_id=13322243
We need a big number to get the ball rolling.
Writing to the government is a waste of time.
They don’t read your letter. They don’t care about your email, and most probably your email will end up in their spam box.
The Sabah state government knew. Maybe they also have vested interest with Sutera? Who knows? They just don’t care.
If they really care, they should regulate the pricing structure.
If they really care, they would not have agree on the price increase.
Try asking for quotation for 2009 climbing package from Sutera. Get ready to get shock.
Stay tune to this blog.
You may want to climb other mountain first – Tambuyukon or Trusmadi, here in Sabah. They don’t have this much issue, but the climb are harder. Good thing is, Sutera is not involve with these 2 beautiful mountains.”
( Please read all comments at http://mount-kinabalu-borneo.com/blog/sutera-sanctuary-lodges-the-biggest-rip-off-merchants-in-asia.html)
I have climbed Mt.Kinabalu twice, once in October 2008 and most recently in May 2009. In 2008, we were denied the peak because of heavy rain and strong wind that hampered our climb. A total of 150 climbers was denied the peak that day, and everyone had paid at least RM500 ( air ticket excluded) just for one shot at the peak.
When I called and enquired about the prices in October, it was about RM398,all inclusive but I was to stay in a the non-heated Gunting Ladagan Hut. No discounts, you still pay the same of those staying at Laban Rata.
The food was OK, not spectacular but OK, but no one complained because at 3,000 meters above sea level, you eat what you get. I couldn’t take a shower, as Gunting Ladagan didn’t have heated shower.It was freezing cold, the blanket supplied was thin, and with temperature reaching sub-zero, a crushing high-altitude induced headache and all alone,even 3 layers of clothing couldn’t save me from the cold. I was having nosebleeds due to high altitude, and I was just glad to make it down, vowing to climb the mountain again.
In May this year, I met someone on Facebook who shared the same enthusiasm of climbing the mountain but felt it was too expensive. By then, SSL was charging almost RM450 for the same package! Let me tell you what is included in the package the first time I took it in October 2008.
1. Packed lunch ( consists of 6 thin,tiny finger sandwiches,2 thin,tiny popiahs, one apple,2 canned Sprite and one 500ml mineral water bottle)
Can someone tell me what nutritious value these food has?Just before we ascended, some foreign climbers were seen throwing away everything and only carrying the apple and the water. Everyone has already prepared their lunch – snack bars, chocolates, nuts and high energy drinks. This is a pure waste, especially if you do a breakdown of the prices, these costs you RM50 or more.You tell me if its worth it.
2. Dinner at Laban Rata Restaurant.
Agreed, there is only ONE restaurant in Laban Rata,and nobody complains of a 500ml mineral water costing RM5 because if you see the porters who haul these stuffs up, you’d be dumbfounded. But how much can a person eat buffet style up a mountain when after the 5-7 hours trek to LB, all you wanna do is eat something light and sleep because you have a long journey ahead?
3. Accomodation
Mine was Gunting Ladagan Hut, which was unheated, sleeps 4, but for some reasons none of my roomates were there ( only one bunk looked occupied with a backpack, the other two were empty, and when I called to book, the told me everything was FULL.
4. Supper before the climb.
Again, buffet style.I didn’t eat much as the food looked like it will make my stomach quesy ( no doubt it’s high energy – fried rice, scrambled eggs, toasted bread)
5. Breakfast ( after summit attempt)
The same as supper
6. Lunch at Balsam Restaurant, Kinabalu Park
Maybe this one’s OK because the food was good and they had varieties complete with desserts, just the right thing to have after a long descent.
So when we went in May 2009, Maz ( my FB friend) had sent a flurry of emails to KDNHEP and SSL asking the price breakdowns and complaining how expensive the package was. At the end, we got the package for RM180 ( packed lunch and lunch at Balsam Restaurant eliminated) and we got a stay in Laban Rata.
This was, of course, hush hush. SSL doesn’t let anyone tailor the package because they’ll lose out.RM180 was an OK price to pay compared to the amount I paid in Oct 08, but its still far more pricey than the what was charged by Sabah Parks the last time. ( less than RM100 for all inclusive)
So it was with great anticipation of hot shower and cozy bed that lured me to Mt.Kinabalu in May this year. The bed was cozy all right, but the centralised heater was faulty, so we were either too hot or too cold (At that altitude, trust me the last thing you want to do is wake up in the middle of the night sweating because you have two layers of clothing as it was too cold only few hours before)
The supposedly hot shower had lukewarm water trickling through, which was more like cold water. Apparently the water heater was faulty, and there were notices at the toilet advising this. Some of the brave ones, just to have a shower, went ahead and had shower in the icy cold water. My question is – is this fair for people who has paid hundreds of ringgit for ONE hot shower?
I am in the midst of gathering data and scheduling interviews with some former students of Universiti Malaysia Sabah ( UMS ) who has previously climbed the mountain a few times and only paid less than RM100 ( for groups!) before Mt.Kinabalu was handed over by Sabah Parks to SSL. Please check back soon!
Meanwhile, if you have also been victimised by SSL and want to come forward, please leave a comment on my blog. I have tracked back this site to www.mount-kinabalu-borneo.com ( and have also shared some of the comments here ). We intend to claim back Mt.Kinabalu and do a full crackdown on SSL.
Mt.Kinabalu as seen from Kundasang
