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Accommodation at Deramakot

Where you stay, what the rooms are like, and how you get there.

Deramakot Reception Centre accommodation building at night
Where You'll Stay

The Deramakot Reception Centre

Every safari is based at the reserve's own Reception Centre — a clean, well-maintained forestry headquarters set in landscaped grounds in the heart of the forest. It is simple, comfortable, and has everything you need and nothing you don't.

What matters most is where it sits. Unlike lodges on the reserve boundary, you are staying deep inside the forest itself — which is why wildlife turns up outside your door, and why the night drives start and end at your accommodation rather than an hour away.

For the story of the reserve itself, see our complete guide to Deramakot Forest Reserve.

The Practical Detail

Rooms, Power and Meals

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Rooms with Air Conditioning

Clean rooms with air conditioning and en-suite or shared bathrooms, with hot water. Rooms are functional rather than furnished — beds and bathroom, not a sitting area. There is a communal sitting room in the building.

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All Meals Included

A resident cook prepares three freshly made meals daily — breakfast, lunch and dinner — served in the communal dining hall. Dietary requirements are catered for with advance notice.

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Electricity

Generator power normally runs through the night, so you can charge camera batteries, torches and phones between drives. It does occasionally drop out — this is a remote forest reserve — so bring a power bank and a head torch and you'll barely notice.

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Birding on the Doorstep

The headquarters sits in landscaped grounds with a large dining hall, and guests have singled out the bird watching in the gardens themselves — worth having binoculars to hand over breakfast.

"Think comfortable forestry lodge, not luxury resort."

Deramakot is a working forest reserve, and the accommodation reflects that. There is no pool, no spa and no room service, and the drive in is long and rough. What you get instead is a comfortable, clean base in the middle of one of the best wildlife forests in Borneo — and the ability to be out on the road within minutes of an animal being spotted. Guests are consistently surprised by how good it is given the remoteness.

Twin room with air conditioning at the Deramakot Reception Centre
Aerial view of the Deramakot forestry headquarters and surrounding forest
Aerial view of a forest road through Deramakot Forest Reserve
In Guests' Own Words

What Visitors Say About the Accommodation

…"The large, neatly landscaped forest headquarters offer rooms in clean, comfortable chalets (with A/C, hot and cold water and 24 h power), a large dining hall, and superb bird watching in the gardens."…
klwtravel Excerpt · Read on TripAdvisor ↗
…"The accommodation was surprisingly good – air-conditioned rooms with ensuite bathrooms. There was no furniture in the rooms beside the beds, but I pillaged the communal sitting room in the building for a chair and table."…
HGHF Excerpt · Read on TripAdvisor ↗
…"The food was just amazing with both local and more european cuisine."…
JensH135 Excerpt · Read on TripAdvisor ↗
Read All Guest Reviews
Getting There

How You Reach the Reserve

1
Fly into Sandakan (SDK) — the closest airport hub to Deramakot.
2
Travel to Telupid town — approximately 2 hours by road. We can arrange a private transfer from Sandakan on request.
3
Meet us at Telupid at 2pm — we meet all guests here before heading in.
4
Transfer by 4WD into the reserve — a 2–3 hour drive on forest roads, arriving in time for the first night drive.

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