Hotels near Eastern Plaza Shopping Centre

The Eastern Plaza is the first shopping mall opens in the town of Tawau, Sabah. It was named as the Eastern Plaza as it is located in Tawau which happens to be at the most eastern tip of Malaysia. This nine-storey plaza opened in early 2009 and has been one of the best major attractions for the locals. It is a mall that completes with a big supermarket, a food court, with a cinema and also a lot more; something that the locals had always been looking for. They no longer need to travel to other places to enjoy a shopping trip to a mall. The Eastern Plaza is located at the Kuhara road, covering more than 40 thousand square feet of retail spaces.

How to Get There

By Car

The Eastern Plaza is a couple of kilometres away from the Tawau town, accessible via Damai road and the trip will take just five minutes.

By Bus

There are busses that cover all the places in Tawau town with a cheap price of only RM 2 per trip.

By Plane

Tawau has its own small airport that is thirty-five kilometres from town. The airport caters to only small planes with its short runaways. There are either AirAsia or MAS flights coming in and out of the airport. They originate from some of the major airports in Malaysia such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, and Kota Kinabalu with also a flight from Sandakan. The airport also receives one international flight from Tarakan of North Kalimantan, Indonesia. It will take some thirty minutes to reach Eastern Plaza from the airport.

Tourist Attractions

Tawau Bell Tower

This is the oldest standing structure in the town of Tawau, built by the Japanese after the World War I. The construction of the tower finished in 1921 using prison labours with funds from Japanese businessmen in town. The bell was missing mysteriously. The mystery behind the missing bell has stirred up a legend telling that the bronze bell was hidden from the enemy and looters of the place. However, until this day, no one knew where the bell is. The structure was abandoned for years until it was almost collapsed until it was restored in 2006 with the funds from Rotary Club of Tawau. There is a benchmark on the structure, with it showing the town’s elevation above the sea level and also the directions of local places from the Bell Tower.

Tawau Hills National Park

This national park was established in 1979, with the forest serves primarily as water catchment area in the town of Tawau. The park is surrounded by palm oil and cocoa plantations. The park houses numerous numbers of animal and plant species, especially the Elephant’s Ear Orchid – a type of orchid with huge leaves, which is abundant in the park. Like any other national parks in Malaysia, this place also has camping grounds, chalets and picnic areas for the visitors to use and enjoy. Apart from these, this national park has a natural hot spring, thanks to its volcanic terrain. A taxi trip to the park from Tawau town will cost around RM 30 one-way and it is advisable to arrange a trip back to the driver. If not, book a car at the Sabah Park counter to go back to town, and this will cost RM 30 to RM 45.

Hotel

Promenade Hotel Tawau

Located just beside the Eastern Plaza, this hotel is one of the top choices in town. With its strategic location in the middle of the town, it is a good place to stay during a family vacation or a business trip. They offer three types of rooms; the Superior starts at RM 140 and up to the Junior Suites that cost RM 300 per night. All of the rooms come with free breakfast and also Wi-Fi connection.