I was in Ipoh for a week recently, researching on the best Ipoh dim sums, top Ipoh cafes and the Ipoh must-eats in this laidback yet lovely town.
Being an “out-of-towner” I had to seek hotel accommodations and for the purpose of my Ipoh guide, I chose to stay in 4 different hotels for the each night I was there.
The reason to experience staying in as many hotels as possible was so I’ll be able to recommend suitable accommodation in my Ipoh food guide.
I used HotelQuickly before in Singapore and Vietnam and found it convenient, hassle-free and reliable. Thus I depended on it again for this trip.
As expected the featured Ipoh hotels are of good reputation; safe, clean and conveniently located.
I stalked the app for a few days and I did daily comparison with other booking sites such as Agoda. True to its promise, HotelQuickly’s rate for the same hotel is 10 – 20% lower.
Here are the 5 hotels I stayed in, the first being French Hotel which in truth a complimentary stay by a PR agency due to an assignment.
I added it to this list since French Hotel is featured almost daily on the HotelQuickly app.
Overall, I paid on average RM50-80 /night for the hotels below.
We used my code and we got extra deduction from our HotelQuickly credits which we accumulated as we book more hotels over the trip.
1. French Hotel (not paid)
2. Pi Hotel (formerly Tune)
3. Seemson Hotel – large rooms, WIFI sucks
4. Estana Hotel – a bit out from central town area and small room
5. Heritage Hotel – old but good service, large rooms.
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1. French Hotel
Address: 60-62, Jalan Dato Onn Jaafar
Ipoh, Perak
05-241 3030
Pros: Right-in-town location, newly renovated with a cafe (Jose & Deli) at the lobby, clean rooms, contemporary furnishings. Free outdoor parking. Mid-sized bathroom.
Cons: No breakfast included, weak WIFI.
PRICE: Average RM140 /night.
French Hotel standard room (the one you see above) is decent-sized and the interior is new and contemporary due to their recent renovation exercise.
The bed is firm and the pillows are soft. The amenities are pretty complete with air-conditioning, a safe, cupboard, TV, shampoo, shower gel, and all 3 sets of towels provided (hand, face, body).
There is a proper desk for work, sufficient power-points (conveniently at the side of the bed too!), a fridge, standard 2 bottles of complimentary mineral water, TV with satellite channels and coffee/tea sachets as well as a kettle.
We didn’t experience any particular good or bad service since we checked-in late and checked-out early.
2. Pi Hotel Ipoh (formerly Tune Hotel)
Address: 2 The Host, Jalan Veerasamy
Ipoh, Perak
Pros: Right-in-town location (it is just a 3 mins stroll from French Hotel!), newly recently rebranded from Tune so the rooms are tiny. FREE usage of the big gym just behind the hotel.
Clean though tight rooms, plain furnishings. Free indoor parking.
Cons: No breakfast included, weak WIFI. Tiny, claustrophobic space.
PRICE: Average RM102 /night
Pi Hotel standard room (the one you see above) is small and claustrophobic to even a petite individual like myself.
Interior is sparse but functional.
Only 2 towels are provided and amenities are a shower cap, toothbrush and toothpaste. The bed is firm and the pillows are soft enough. Shampoo and shower gel are fixed to the shower room.
There is a proper desk for work BUT NO CHAIRS. There were only one power-point that I could remember, NO fridge, standard 2 bottles of complimentary mineral water and 2 mugs. No coffee/tea sachets or kettle are provided. But of course there is air-conditioning.
We didn’t experience any particular good or bad service since as usual we checked-in late and checked-out early. We did try to request for additional blankets and pillows but was informed there isn’t any.
The hotel currently host quite a number of art related events and has some queer (but eye-catching) wire art outside the building.
If you have better budget, check out their Signature Rooms which are bigger and understandably more comfortable.
3. Seemsoon Hotel
Address: No.2, Regat Dato Mahmud,
Off Jalan Pasir Puteh, 31650 Ipoh,
Perak, Malaysia
Tel: 05-2556888
Pros: Carpark right at the front of the hotel and no need for underground parking. Breakfast included though the spread is small.
Large rooms with high windows. Bellboy service. Friendly and courteous staff. Full amenities available – water, kettle, safe, cupboard, 2 -3 power points, etc.
Cons: WIFI doesn’t work at all! Only one lift available.
PRICE: Room rate – RM128 nett including breakfast. On HotelQuickly you can expect an additional 10 – 15% extra
I love the Seemson for its large floor to ceiling windows. I’m a creature of the sun; and I work and think better with bright sunshine.
I also liked the fact that I can drive in anytime and park at a space right at the front of the hotel grounds and just walk into the lobby. No need for dark carparks and navigating corners to look for parking space and then having to take the lift up to the hotel lobby followed by another lift to the rooms.
Service is wonderful; a bellboy is always on hand to open the glass doors for you and they assisted with our luggages during check-in and check-out.
The fridge works, the working desk is large with a dedicated power point and chair. Plus a nice mirror too so we could fix our make-up/brush our hair, etc instead of having to use the washroom mirror.
Last but not least, I’m always thankful for power points at the side of the bed.
Other amenities are the usual toiletries, shower, towels (I believe there were face, hand & body towel if my memory served me right), TV, satellite channels and coffee & tea making facilities.
We like the large bathroom though it was a bit too dim for my comfort.
4. Estana Hotel
Address: 2, Medan Istana, Bandar Ipoh Raya
Ipoh, Perak
Tel: 05-255 7777
Total rooms: 45
Amenities: WIFI, hot water, parking (roadside, payable by hour), non-smoking rooms, television LCD/plasma screen, satellite/cable TV, laundry (payable), elevator, 24-hour front desk.
Pros: Good service; they didn’t have extra blankets and pillows at first but the staff went that extra mile and got us what we needed.
I like its close proximity to a large recreation park and Kinta River Walk which was where I did my morning jog.
Cons: Not central in town. Small, dark room. At the side of the highway so it might be noisy for some due to traffic.
PRICE: Standard – RM78 nett. Non-inclusive of breakfast. On Hotel Quickly you can expect an additional 10 – 15% extra
Others: Deluxe, Family Triple, Family Queen.
Eastana Hotel is branding itself as a boutique hotel in Ipoh.
From my point of view, a boutique hotel has to portray more character than just standard amenities and four wall rooms.
While Eastana is clean, simple and provides the basic comforts, it is far from being boutique accommodation standard.
Service is commendable for our request for extra blankets were arranged though it is not usually provided.
The WIFI works well and I find the location acceptable (just 7-8 minutes from town), though not as central as French or Syuen or Seemson.
No breakfast is provided but there is a cafe at the lobby area.
I personally like Eastana for its proximity to the Taman Dr Seenivasagam, a large recreation park just 2 minutes walk away. Likewise the limestone hills and cave temple within walking distance. A number of restaurants are in the vicinity and there are night activities at Kinta River Walk for those who need some recreation.
5. Heritage Hotel
Address: Jalan Raja Di Hilir
Ipoh, Perak
Tel: 05-242 8888
Pros: Comfortable large, bright rooms. Good service. Quiet location yet still in the city. Free parking. Gym!
Cons: No breakfast included in HotelQuickly bookings. Old hotel.
PRICE: On average RM155/night
The Heritage Hotel is old and it is obvious as you navigate around the property.
However it exudes a regal vibe, almost as if it knew it was a grand dame sometime ago, but isn’t as sparkling as before and certainly isn’t in the league of the fancy-mancy boutique hotels that are currently in the rage.
Personally for me I like the Heritage.
It is respectable, safe, spacious and clean.
The rooms are large and the service acceptable for the price I’m paying. Again I’m in favour of the front parking where I could avoid having to drive into the basement.
Within the vicinity is the turf club with pleasant greenery as far as the eye can see. The roads are shaded and long. The area is just perfect for my morning runs.
Work desk, chairs, coffee table, fridge, toiletries, TV, satellite TV, complimentary water, wardrobe, coffee and tea making facilities, etc are included.
TIPS:
1. Ipoh/Taiping/Lumut category – what hotels are available from Hotel Quickly?
We used it for 5 consecutive days during our Ipoh (4th Sept – 9th Sept) trip so we were checking the app daily.
Depending on luck (since the daily availability of the hotels for Hotel Quickly deals are not fixed), here are the few other hotels that you could potentially book in Ipoh – Weil Hotel, Banjaran Hot Springs, Ibis Styles Ipoh, Pangkor Laut Resort (it is under Perak, though technically not in Ipoh city), M Boutique Hotel, Le Metrotel, Hotel Excelsior, Indra Hotel, Ipoh Boutique Hotel, Golden Roof Hotel, Casuarina @Meru and Happy 8 Days Boutique Hotel.
2. Book early or book later.
For weekend bookings I’ve encountered no hotels availability at all so my advice is to book early on weekends.
The app “opens“/is active from 8am to 11.59 pm.
For weekends, it is a good idea to book by 10 am but if you are not fussy, use my strategy and book at about 2 -3 pm.
I noticed that the price dropped further after 12 pm (possibly due to check outs and increased rooms availability) so 2 – 3pm is the usual hour we make our booking for the night.
3. HotelQuickly guarantees that their prices will always be cheaper than what you can find online at other sites including Booking.com, Expedia or even from the hotel themselves.
If you do find something cheaper, they will refund twice the difference so good luck! However, to date I have yet to hear that anyone has. 😛
Last but not least, use my promo code for RM40 off your first booking!
CODE: RSAWN1
I’m heading to Melaka next and I have already jolted down my chosen Melaka hotels.
Same strategy applies, one hotel per night. Watch out for my Top Melaka food post! 😀
Get the free app from iTunes or Google Play: htqk.ly/fb
Stayed at French Hotel and booked via Agoda. Paid RM120+ for a night. Only con is the car park next door that turn into flea market on weekend and you can’t get out if you parked at the wrong side of the open air.
Otherwise, aircond was warm and good enough for a family of 4 (2 kids of mine).
Yups Ee Van, agree on the market. However the hotel didn’t inform you beforehand? Our night stay here didn’t coincide with the market day, but the next day when we stayed at Pi it did (Sunday morning).
Luckily our local Ipoh friend warned us, so we knew what to do. Pi Hotel’s carpark was ok, the exit comes out to the back of the hotel. 😀