Minor Hotels announces Avani Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia

The hotel will be located in Kota Kinabalu, one of East Malaysia’s principal commercial centres and an important gateway to the wider island of Borneo. The city serves both corporate and leisure travellers, with demand linked to business activity, regional tourism, island excursions, nature experiences and local urban growth. By bringing Avani to this market, Minor Hotels is entering a destination with strong potential across several guest segments.

Accessibility will be one of the hotel’s major advantages. Avani Kota Kinabalu will be located approximately 10 minutes from Kota Kinabalu International Airport, giving it strong appeal for domestic, regional and international travellers. This proximity supports short business trips, weekend leisure stays and event-related travel.

The hotel will sit within The Logg Luyang, a mixed-use development in the established Luyang neighbourhood. The development brings together hospitality, commercial and lifestyle components, positioning Avani Kota Kinabalu as its hospitality anchor. This setting gives the hotel a built-in relationship with the surrounding urban community, not only with overnight guests.

The integrated nature of the project is important. Hotels within mixed-use environments increasingly serve multiple roles, including accommodation, dining, meetings, social life and local gathering. Avani Kota Kinabalu is being designed to operate in that way, serving hotel guests while also attracting residents and visitors from the wider city.

Design has been entrusted to Shah Architect, with landscape architecture by SD2 and interiors by INdulge. This design team will shape a hotel tailored to business trips, short breaks and longer stays. The result is expected to reflect Avani’s contemporary lifestyle positioning while remaining relevant to the local market.

Accommodation will include 352 rooms, giving the property meaningful scale in Kota Kinabalu’s hotel landscape. This room count will allow the hotel to support corporate demand, leisure travel, meetings, weddings and social groups. It also gives Minor Hotels a substantial platform for the Avani brand in Sabah.

The Avani brand is designed around smart, balanced and contemporary hospitality. Its properties typically combine stylish rooms, connected social spaces and relaxed dining options with practical service and a strong sense of destination. In Kota Kinabalu, that positioning will be applied to a market where guests may move between business commitments, city exploration and nature-based activities.

Food and beverage will be a major part of the hotel’s identity. Avani Kota Kinabalu will feature five dining and social venues for both guests and the local community. This gives the property a broader social role within The Logg Luyang and the surrounding neighbourhood.

The all-day dining restaurant will serve Sabahan, Malaysian, Korean and international cuisine. Live cooking stations, local specialities and a signature Avani Sunday Lunch will give the venue a flexible and community-oriented character. This mix of regional and international flavours is well suited to a city that receives both local and overseas visitors.

A contemporary Chinese restaurant will focus on Sabah Hakka heritage and regional flavours. This culinary direction gives the hotel an important local anchor and helps connect the dining experience with Sabah’s cultural diversity. It also strengthens the property’s appeal for family gatherings, business meals and social dining.

The Lobby Lounge will operate as a daytime meeting space before transitioning into an evening venue. During the day, it will serve afternoon tea, while later in the day it will offer cocktails and whiskies. This gives the hotel a flexible social space that can move from informal business use to leisure and evening occasions.

The Pantry will provide handcrafted bakery items, desserts and premium coffee for dine-in or takeaway. This venue supports the day-to-day rhythm of the hotel and the integrated development, giving guests and local visitors a convenient, casual option throughout the day. It also fits Avani’s emphasis on relaxed, accessible hospitality.

On the rooftop, SEEN Restaurant & Bar will bring an established rooftop dining and nightlife concept to Sabah. The venue will focus on globally inspired cuisine, mixology, curated music and destination-led experiences. As a rooftop concept, it has the potential to become one of the hotel’s most visible social and lifestyle features.

The arrival of SEEN is significant because rooftop dining can define the public identity of a hotel. It creates a destination within the property and gives residents as well as travellers a reason to visit. For Avani Kota Kinabalu, the rooftop venue will help position the hotel not only as accommodation, but as a lifestyle address.

Meetings and events will also form part of the offer. The hotel will include dedicated meeting and banquet facilities designed for conferences, weddings and social events. This broadens the property’s commercial role and supports Kota Kinabalu’s demand for flexible event venues.

The meetings offer is particularly relevant because the hotel will be located in a mixed-use development and close to major transport access. Corporate groups, wedding planners and local organisers will be able to use the property for events while also benefiting from on-site accommodation, dining and social spaces.

Leisure facilities will include an infinity pool and AvaniFit gym. These amenities support Avani’s focus on balanced travel, allowing guests to relax, swim, train and maintain routines during their stay. They also add resort-style appeal to a city hotel environment.

Nearby Tun Fuad Stephens Park will provide access to outdoor recreation. This strengthens the hotel’s relationship with its neighbourhood and gives guests an easy option for walking, exercise and fresh air. In a lifestyle hotel, proximity to outdoor space can be an important part of the guest experience.

The announcement also supports Minor Hotels’ wider growth strategy in Asia. The group is expanding its lifestyle portfolio in destinations with rising domestic, regional and international demand. Kota Kinabalu fits that strategy because it combines commercial activity, tourism appeal and access to Sabah’s natural attractions.

Within Malaysia, the hotel will join Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas in Johor as part of Minor Hotels’ national presence. The addition of Avani Kota Kinabalu gives the group a second Malaysian point of reference and expands its brand coverage into East Malaysia. This is especially important because Sabah offers a very different destination profile from Peninsular Malaysia.

The opening will also extend Avani’s footprint across Asia. Since its launch in 2011, Avani Hotels & Resorts has grown to more than 40 properties across five continents. The brand covers premium city hotels, tropical resorts and nature retreats, giving it flexibility across urban and leisure destinations.

Avani’s positioning is especially relevant for Kota Kinabalu. The city attracts business travellers, leisure guests, families, regional visitors and travellers using the city as a base for broader Sabah experiences. A premium lifestyle hotel with multiple dining venues, event spaces and wellness facilities can serve these groups at different moments of their trip.

For KTI Landmark, The Logg Luyang gains a recognised hospitality anchor through the Avani brand. A hotel can help activate a mixed-use development by bringing daily footfall, food and beverage demand, event activity and destination visibility. This strengthens the wider commercial and lifestyle environment of the project.

For Minor Hotels, the signing adds another asset to a global portfolio that includes more than 640 hotels, resorts and branded residences in operation and committed development across 67 countries. The group’s brands include Anantara, Tivoli, NH Collection, nhow, Avani, NH, Oaks, iStay, Colbert Collection, Minor Reserve Collection, Elewana Collection and The Wolseley Hotels.

The property will also participate in Minor DISCOVERY, part of GHA DISCOVERY. This gives guests access to the group’s loyalty ecosystem and supports cross-brand engagement across Minor Hotels’ international network. For a new hotel in Sabah, loyalty participation can help increase awareness among travellers already familiar with Avani or other Minor brands.

Avani Kota Kinabalu’s opening will come at a time when lifestyle hospitality continues to gain momentum. Travellers increasingly want hotels that combine efficient service, social spaces, local dining, wellness and a sense of place. The planned property brings these elements together within a major mixed-use project.

With 352 rooms, five dining and social venues, SEEN Restaurant & Bar, meeting and banquet facilities, an infinity pool, AvaniFit gym and a location within The Logg Luyang, Avani Kota Kinabalu is positioned as a major new lifestyle hotel for Sabah. Its planned Q1 2027 opening will introduce Avani to East Malaysia and strengthen Minor Hotels’ presence in one of the region’s most important gateways to Borneo.