Text by Ian Hall Photos by Ian Hall and Serena Lamb The forest around Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL) is home to an extraordinarily high density of orang-utans. More than 30 individuals are being monitored in a research program lead by the Wildlife Research Center (WRC) of Kyoto University. Wild orang-utans are very good for nature tourism and I reckon that during a three night stay at the Lodge there is an even chance of seeing at least one of those fellas. The WRC research program now has a new purpose built home at BRL thanks...

Text by Ian Hall Photos by Ian Hall, Serena Lamb and Eyen Khoo Horticulturalist and orchid expert Tony Lamb has thrown down the gauntlet to describe the world’s largest orchid. The Tiger Orchid, Grammatophyllum speciosum is the undisputed king of the orchid world but where is the largest specimen to be found in the wild? The question was raised during a walk along the access road to Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL) in the Danum Valley Conservation Area in Sabah. The orchid that caused Tony to stop in his tracks was so big that...

By Ian Hall Renovation of the main building at Borneo Rainforest Lodge is the biggest thing in Arkitrek’s short history. With the client spending two million ringgit on construction alone (not including fit out) the pressure has been and still is considerable. Our relationship with both Borneo Rainforest Lodge and the contractor Mee San has been gradually building up to this over the last three years. It started with the renovation of 10 rooms in 2007, we added 6 more rooms in 2008 and a further 8 early last year. Looking...

By Ian Hall Since 2006 we have been working on the renovation of Borneo Rainforest Lodge. 24 of the 31 rooms are complete and we have finally started the Big One - renovation of the Main Lodge building itself. This is a big deal because it means shutting down the hotel for over two months and doing a major shopfitting type job under difficult conditions. Shop fitting type; because work will progress around the clock to minimise the closure time. Difficult conditions; in normal weather it takes a 4WD lorry 4 hours...

The contractor is currently on site building the third and penultimate stage of the Borneo Rainforest Lodge renovation. Work on these 9 chalets is due to be completed by June 2009 and will bring the total inventory of renovated chalets to 24 rooms. Most interesting is that two of these chalets will be linked by a roofed, landscaped deck to provide the option for a deluxe suite / twinned chalet; the master room of which will feature an outside tub in a detached pavilion with panoramic view of the Danum River. The final phase...