It’s been a while since I posted a hotel review on this blog instead of over on my Tripadvisor account. Simply put, I prefer to keep this site only for longer, more lengthy ramblings – whereas Tripadvisor seems better suited to shorter, to-the-point pieces.

 

Over the last few days, and with no warning or notice whatsoever, I found myself the unexpected guest of the Hotel Malaysia, situated somewhere between Georgetown city centre, and the sea. Honestly, I’ve been so fortunate of late to experience some beautiful, really great hotels, that from the outside already, I knew this wasn’t going to compare favourably. It’s worth noting before we go on that we did try the neighbouring Cititel up the road, although it also has the jaded look of a hotel not much cared for meaningfully any longer and the prices quoted on the spot were nothing short of scandalous.

 

The Hotel Malaysia meanwhile, a name which seems almost have to been picked for its SEO/Online Marketing merits, is clearly a tired building by now desperately seeking a retirement or renovation.

 

The lifts have that sort of step up you often find in decades-old lifts (though well-maintained and working which, let’s be honest is what you mostly want out of a lift), the staff didn’t greet me on any occasion (coming in, going out, walking past, etc.), but the room was the moment I had been waiting for. Entering the room, the curtains were already drawn (it was only 2pm) which caused a temporary moment of confusion – the room was so dark I couldn’t see the card-holder on the wall for the electricity, and stood there bleakly in the darkness trying switches until I groped the card-holder more by chance than purpose.

 

Somehow however, as I’d come to realise was the norm, the air conditioning was absolutely Baltic in spite of everything else not turning on – it turns out (and I genuinely hope someone can explain this) that it was to be controlled by using what appeared to be a keyring-end attached to a long string leading into one of the vents. I did try pulling the string a few times but it felt like there was a weight attached to the other end that didn’t really have any effect. *Update, I figured it out; there’s a hook on the wall you hang the keyring on*

 

The bathroom, regrettably, was really suffering a deep mould problem (illustrated) that needs to be remedied, whatever about everything else. The toilet tank had a lid of much larger size than the tank itself (a retro-fit I’m guessing). That said, with the simple removal and cleansing of the mould problem, it was functional.

 

Is the Malaysia Hotel not good enough? For a short-stay and when you know what you’re getting, it’s adequate. Not great, but adequate – and in need of improvement. If anything, it helped me immeasurably in encouraging me to get out and walk Georgetown and take in the sights, the fresh air and the beautiful sea!

 

One other thing worth noting; on my stay, which faced the parking lot at the back of the hotel, someone in a neighbouring building was belting out the tunes until very late at night and it was nigh-impossible to get a peaceful rest only that I’d brought headphones by chance in my courier bag.

 

An interesting night's sleep, punctuated by the poor singing effort next door…