Family Outing - The Hill Kinabalu

Prior to the holidays, our family spent significant time in searching for an "ideal" place for the whole family to spend time together and away from home. Finally, we zeroed in to The Hill Kinabalu. Our key consideration is that the facility must have area for family barbeque!

The Hill Kinabalu is a small family-owned homestay built on a cut-and-fill platform. Based on chats with the operator, this was built during the pandemic period. We booked five rooms. All systems in the rooms were in working order except mine. Upon check-in, I found the water heater in my room in non-working condition. The workman tried his best to fix it but failed. In the end I was offered a new family room in the third block which was opened for occupation less than a month ago. The next day, after returning from an outing, I found the bathroom's floor littered with broken pieces of glass. The mirror had fallen from the wall. Upon reporting the situation, I was told that that was the fourth time the mirror had detached and fallen. A close examination revealed that the fastening method was defective and it is unlikely to hold on long. I suggested a more secured fastening method for the operator to consider.  I was offered to move to another room! Incredibly, I had three rooms over a two-night stay. Thankfully, no report of bad fixture or incident in the rest of the four rooms!

Hall for barbeque, dining and even for erecting tents
for guests who come to camp!

First two block where our family were allocated five rooms.

The third block where my wife and I were moved to after the
water heater failed to work in the first room
where we first checked into.

The site has a spectacular view of Mt. Kinabalu.

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Whenever opportunity arose, the kids would venture out to the hill side to enjoy the swing and the rope hammock.

To enjoy the best panoramic view from this property, a bit of climbing is required to reach the upper platform of the hill. This area is ideal for photography - with Mt. Kinabalu as the backdrop! Kids too love this area because of the swings provided.

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The operator has given much thought to set up facilities for outdoor activities and for guests to enjoy the surrounding ambience.

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Our barbeque was preceded by a fairly substantial effort in getting the fire started. We learnt a thing or two about starting barbecue charcoal to reaching ember heat. It takes significant time and effort to get factory-made briquette charcoal to reach ember hot condition compared to using traditional charcoal made from mangrove tree trunks. Fortunately, we had help from a camper who spared his kitchen blow torch to accelerate the burning process.

Once the heat was sufficient, barbequing was in top gear with Sam, Meng How and Paul in control. As expected, it was barbequing the marshmallows that the kids found most enjoyable and unforgettable!

Barbequing marshmallows!