Sandakan Hotels

Sandwiched between the sea and jagged cliffs, Sandakan may not be the most immediately appealing town in Sabah but it’s got plenty of character. Featuring an interesting grid of streets, Sandakan has a lot of redeeming features but its main draw is the fact that it acts as a springboard to quite a few of Sabah’s most mesmerizing destinations including the nearby Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre and Turtle Islands Park. Back in the 1960s and the 1970s, the timber boom generated a wellspring of wealth for the town. When the region’s timber ran out in the 1980s, the town looked to oil palm and cocoa: crops which now dominate the surrounding landscape.

Another big tourist draw for the town is its chequered past: all but destroyed during World War II, Sandakan is notorious among Malaysians as the site where the Japanese set up a POW camp in January 1942 from where the infamous Death March to Ranau commenced. Accommodation options in Sandakan are thin on the ground – there are plenty of budget lodgings as well as a few mid-range deals but luxury ventures are scarce.