Before starting on my new job, I wanted a quick getaway for a few days. No beach resort but somewhere comfortable yet exotic. Melaka has long been neglected since it’s heydays back in the 1500′s. As one of those early emporiums of the East in the good old colonial days, it was THE reason why the Portuguese, Dutch and eventually the British came to the East. This was the Singapore before there was a Singapore.
After a 3.5 hour Grasslands coach ride from Singapore, I arrived at the ancient Pearl of the Orient. My stop this holiday would be the newly refurbished Holiday Inn (last refurbished in 2007).
On arrival, the hotel next door (Mahkota Resort) captures the attention but once you step into the spacious lobby of the Holiday Inn, you feel like you’re home. A nice touch is the water dispenser dispatching cool, life giving ice water with a few lemon slices chilling inside.
Then, the kids spot the children’s playground! It was bliss! Why more hotels aren’t having these corners is a wonder to me.
Check-in was warm and quick but the room wasn’t ready for another hour or so. So, we had to go across the road to Mahkota Parade for a lunch of Nando’s. They have a killer garlic chilli sauce although the local speciality would seem to be flies….an army of them was stationed along the tables and chairs.
When we got into our room (children’s room with double-decker bed en suite), the room was clean and neat. But perhaps they should have left a rubber anti-slip matt, disposable shavers and more towels without our asking. Over providing is always welcomed for a family getaway.
They almost got it right – except the kids’ bedspreads had a funny smell and the whiteboard had a marker that is dried and housecleaning doesn’t have a replacement – had to go down to reception to change a new one.
The in-house Italian restaurant is a real gem and is sparsely patronized in the evening. Their mushroom soup is awesome and so is their pastas. Pizzas are nice although I’m not sure if it really is wood burnt stove or a wood burnt-type stove powered by gas.
Swimming inside in the cool waters of the eternity pool, one gets the feeling that this hotel is styled after Miami skyscrapers. White, spacious and simple clear lines. Their spa is style after classical, local Malay architecture.
Breakfast was on the second floor cafe and while the menu doesn’t change, the variety was sufficient although not the best I had. At the egg counter, try the half boiled egg. While it looks undercooked, a little HP or Worcester sauce makes it glide down easily.
While at Melaka, you have to visit the San Shu Kong (Third Grand-Uncle) store along Jonker Street. They sell baked goods that are simply out of this world. Also a must try is the Formosa Chicken Rice Ball.
My ratings (10 being world class):
Location: 8.2 (someone should do something about that killer mini-highway separating the hotel and Mahkota Parade)
Ambience: 8.5 (nice quiet area but the Jetty, an extension of the hotel that is actually a jetty, is just too sparsely retailed with restaurants, snack shops and meeting rooms)
Room: 9 (Nice clean, no nonsense room with a good view of the Menara Taming Sari Tower and Melaka Megamall)
Value for money: 9 (I paid S$200 per room on university staff special)
Service: 9 (good but not perfect)
Value added services/amenities: Eternity swimming pool (albeit a bit too small) has an awesome view, gym, meeting rooms, business office, car parking and Italian restaurant (Sirocco – fantastic mushroom soup).
Return to stay: Yes, my kids say so.
