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Caught Up in the Magic of Kota Kinabalu
The Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa is only ten minutes away from the airport by car, but we arrived there in five. We were greeted at the lobby by Ms. Tulip Noorazyze, the resort's Director of Communications. The first thing I learned from her was a Malaysian gesture that was not quite traditional – it had only been introduced a few years ago by the Minister of Culture, Art and Tourism Datuk Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir as a welcoming gesture that did not cross any religious or cultural norms that prohibit physical contact. "Place your right hand over your heart," she instructed. "Bow your head and body slightly while keeping visible eye contact. That is the way we greet people here." This symbolic and heartfelt gesture would set the tone for my three day visit. Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa is a vast property sprawled over 25 acres, with two wings - the Tanjung Wing and the Kinabalu Wing - connected by the central lobby. The architecture of the lobby is very Sabahan and keeps with the natural aesthetic of Borneo - open air, with wide use of locally sourced wood, fabric and décor. This sensibility carries over into the resort's 492 guest rooms and suites, each one with a balcony overlooking either the South China Sea or Mount Kinabalu in the distance. The Tanjung Aru Mystique "There's a history here," explains Philp Dewar, the resort's resident manager. "In the context of Sabah, this resort is the Grand Lady, if you will. It was started 27 years ago for the Malaysian Ruler's Conference, which gives it a grand beginning and a rich history. "Sabah's very different," explains the resort's resident manager. "People are very friendly here. You can really get to know them and connect with them. Our guests often say [staying here] feels like coming home. The staff feels like family. Some of our colleagues take the guests out to their homes, they take them out to dinner. They're a very warm and engaging people. You can be anywhere, but it's the people that makes a place." The Shangri-La Tanjung Aru is not the only luxury hotel in the area, but remains at the top of its game. Dewar credits this, once again, to the people who man and run the resort. "What differentiates us here at Tanjung Aru and with Shangri-la at large is the experience. It's the Shangri-La hospitality, it's the Asian mentality of service. It's very much our mandate and manifesto." Tanjung Aru's location also carries a huge part of the resort's draw. It's a hub for all the things you can experience in Sabah, from mountain climbing to river rafting, hiking in the rainforest and meeting orangutans. "There's a lot of people who come here to have an adventure but then they'd like to have a couple of days here to unwind first and then a couple of days after to regain that sense of luxury. A lot of people go up the mountain, they come back completely exhausted and then they can relax at the CHI Spa." Flavors and Spices The resort has seven bars and restaurants, explains Chef Maran Mariapin, the resort's executive sous chef and second man in charge of food and beverage. "We've got dining options ranging from casual snacks to fine dining." Breakfast for most guests usually means a lavish buffet at the Cafe TATU, which serves both Western and Asian cuisine. Peppino's is the go-to place for Italian food that's less rustic and more fine dining. For Cantonese fare, there is Shang Palace, while Coco-Joe's serves barbecues and burgers poolside. The lobby is where you'll find the Borneo Lounge Bar, best for light snacks or live entertainment in the evening. Blue Note is Tanjung Aru's version of a dance club with guest DJs while the Sunset Bar is a cool outdoor bar set on a small peninsula that offers a fabulous view of the sunset (hence the name). Chef Maran has been with the Shangri-La organization for seventeen years. "The secret is freshness, good product, and the recipes," he shares. While his specialty is Western and Italian cuisine, with a little bit of French and Japanese, he is intimately familiar with the tastes and flavors of Sabah cooking. "I do respect the country I am in. I use local ingredients which are easier to get. I can play around with the dishes. Here at Tanjung Aru we source about 80 percent of our ingredients locally, except for the meat we have to fly in." Sublimating at CHI Don and I made sure to take time out to relax at CHI, the Spa at Shangri-La. Before we got started, I had the chance to talk to Sandie Johannessen, CHI's manager, to find out more about what was in store for us. "Chi is a Chinese word which means the vital force," explains Johannessen. "It's not something we can see with the human eye. It is something which penetrates the channels within our body, like a psychic force. In Eastern philosophy, if you become sick physically it's because the Chi in the mind has been pushed out of balance. As body and mind are connected, sometimes when we think negative thoughts or we're exposed to a lot of stress, the Chi will be blown out of its normal flow and it will be stagnated in some part of the body as a reaction, which resolves into various illnesses." Prior to the start of treatment, each guest is given a diagnosis that determines one's constitution based on the five great elements: wood, fire, earth, water and metal. The therapist asks you to smell a series of oils which help determine your particular element. "If you're more fire, we use the fire element oil on you. Fiery people have a more energetic personality. They could be politicians, actors, general managers, people who are very driven by nature." Metal values beauty and protection, and people with this constitution care about how they look, about being healthy. The Earth personality is more grounded while the Water personality is dynamic. Wood represents strength and flexibility as well as growth. The CHI Spa at Tanjung Aru is the only one among 18 Chi Spas all over the world where one can have the Borneo and Sabah signature treatments, which use natural ingredients from the jungles of Sabah. I was to have the Borneo Therapy, a massage inspired by the local tradition of bobohizan, the island's native healers. After the foot ritual with local herbs and about ten minutes into the two and a half hour treatment, I was dreaming away in a slumber so deep I hardly felt a thing. I came away from CHI smelling really fragrant with a relaxed looseness about my shoulder and neck wondering how the time had passed so quickly. Looking Forward Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa may have won many awards from tourism boards, government and other publications, but that doesn't mean it's resting on its laurels. A significant renovation is slated from September 2010 to February 2011 with many upgrades in the works. "The biggest one will be the swimming pool," says Dewar excitedly. "We will be doubling the pool area. We will also be adding a water play park area for the kids. As times change and different markets develop, we've seen the Asian market more interested in the pool than they were in prior years." Both Coco-Joe's and the Sunset Bar will be seeing changes. "Coco-Joe's will be redeveloped to become more of a beach dining experience, rather than just a poolside restaurant." The Sunset Bar will be expanded to exude a Robinson Crusoe meets modern chic atmosphere. Blue Note, however, will give way to the expansion of the resort's health club to provide a greater variety of equipment that may be used by guests. "We'll also be building a Borneo Longhouse which, by day, will be a bit of a cultural center," reveals Dewar, referring to the traditional family houses of the Murut and Rungus tribes. "A traditional longhouse has a long common area in the center with rooms to the side. "We'll be inviting villagers to show their traditional handicrafts and hopefully engage the local kids to come and learn about their ancestry, meet the villagers they'd normally not have a chance to meet. In the evening it'll become almost theater dining. The diners will be on either side and in the middle there's going to be a show with traditional dancing and cultural performances for a couple of hours every night. The food will be a variation of the way traditional Malaysian food is served during formal dinners. the food is heated in a dome and everybody shares it on the table. We're working with the museum and Sabah Tourism to make sure we build and execute this the right way. It's not just a pretty thing that we're gong to build. It's supposed to link back to the culture and the history of Borneo." Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort The next afternoon, after shopping for gifts at the Gaya Street Sunday Market, we bid our goodbyes to Miss Tulip and her staff amid the gentle tones played upon the gongs of a kulintangan and boarded a shuttle to our second stop, Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort, just forty-five minutes away via shuttle. If Tanjung Aru is just ten minutes from the airport and ten minutes from the city center, Rasa Ria is ten minutes from...let's just say, quite pleasantly, it's ten minutes away from nowhere. It's a secluded resort, far enough away from anything else as to make it its own private nature sanctuary. The resort itself is bounded on three sides by lush rainforest and the waters of Pantai Dalit to the west. Rasa Ria itself means "a taste of happiness." The description is, I think, an understatement, because one doesn't just taste things here. One encounters unique experiences here that are impossible to find elsewhere. In a single location, you've got the complex biodiversity of the rainforest, a three kilometer stretch of private beach, and a chance to encounter the "man of the forest" himself, the orangutan. During morning walks on the resort's grounds, it's easy to cross paths with the indigenous wildlife, bear cats and monitor lizards, squirrels, even porcupines that come down from the mountains. Into the Outdoors Our first activity, right after checking into gorgeous luxury suites at Rasa Ria Resort's Ocean Wing, was to pay a visit to the resort's 64-acre Nature Reserve. The Nature Reserve is the first and only one of its kind in the state of Sabah, a successful collaboration between Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort and the Sabah Wildlife Department. It allows resort guests to participate first-hand in the conservation of Sabah's flora and fauna. Many other animal species inhabit the Nature Reserve, and many plant species may be found here as well, including carnivorous ones such as the pitcher plant. The star of the show, though, are the orangutans. After a brief orientation by the resort's director of communications Regina Sulit-Lain, we trekked up the mountain under light rain with a ranger guiding the way up into the reserve. As we had a taste of the mountain, so, too, was the mountain getting a taste of us. Soon we reached a feeding platform in the middle of the jungle and waiting for us there was Reg. As an infant, this orangutan was found in the jungles of Borneo alone, without his family. Now three years old, Reg is growing up to be quite the character, a little shy but curious of our cameras. He is a favorite among visitors to the reserve. While baby orangutans are given human care, they are also trained for eventual release back into the rainforest, a process that may take years. Only the rangers and reserve veterinarians are allowed to touch them. Rasa Ria's Ocean Wing Like Tanjung Aru, Rasa Ria Resort is also composed of two wings, the Garden Wing with its 320 rooms, and the recently built Ocean Wing of which we were happy residents, at least for the night. "The Ocean Wing was conceptualized on the premise of exclusivity, the only luxury experience of its kind in Sabah," explains Cathy Nepomuceno, the resort's director of sales and marketing. "Rasa Ria is well established as a family resort, but with such a big area, we had room for reaching other markets." |
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