Hotel Courtyard@heeren

This Sat we'll be going to Melaka again and I haven't had the chance to write about the last trip there save for this entry here. Come to think of it, that was from 25th to 26th September and I remember thinking then, that our next trip to Melaka would be one full month away, but as usual, time has flown by and we will be leaving tomorrow for Melaka yet again. So I thought I should write about the last hotel we stayed in at Melaka before our next stay at a Melaka hotel.

The last 2 times I've been to Melaka the past 2 years, I stayed at Hotel Equatorial and Majestic Hotel. I was so impressed by Majestic Hotel that I went to look it up on TripAdvisor. And it was ranked #2 of all the hotels in Melaka. So that got me curious about the #1 hotel, Courtyard @ Heeren. My CEB was quite agreeable to spend a weekend in Melaka to find out so I proceeded to make the booking for the hotel which was, quite a hassle because I didn't want to give the hotel my credit card's confi details and therefore had to open a paypal account to pay the deposit. However, that being said, I must commend Amar from the hotel for his prompt and helpful email replies throughout the reservation process. The hotel apparently, only allows reservations through its website.

Above is a pic of the front porch of the hotel which is situated along Tan Cheng Lock Road. We used the GPS to get to the road but once there, we had to slow to a crawl so as to be able to find the hotel which is one of the many joined shophouses on the left side of the one-way road. When we found the hotel, we thought we could park at the parallel parking lot in front of the hotel but one of their staff got into the car and directed us to the parking area behind the hotel. If we had just turned left earlier along Tan Cheng Lock Road (at the place with a signboard that says parking area) instead of driving all the way to the front of the hotel, we would have been able to find the parking area ourselves. I guess this is something that the hotel needs to mention to guests who are driving there.

The lobby of the hotel, as seen from the pic above is very diff from any other hotel's lobby I've seen. Guests are served with drinks upon registration at the front desk. As we were early, (12.30pm), we asked if we could check into the room earlier but were told that the room wasn't ready. So we walked to Nancy's Kitchen which is just a stone's throw away from the hotel and had lunch there first. :) The pic below shows the central courtyard at the hotel which seems to be a really peaceful place to have a game of chess or meditate.

Based on the feedback I'd read on TripAdvisor, I specifically requested for a deluxe room on the 2nd floor of the hotel. Apparently it can get quite noisy on the first floor. There are no lifts in the hotel (which has only a first and second floor) but the stairwell and the corridors smelt of lemongrass which was rather pleasant and showed the thought put by the mangement of the hotel. Below is a pic of the room we were given...we peaked into other rooms along the corridor which had their doors opened and it seems that the decor varies from room to room. Ours is quite clearly, bamboo-themed.

A heating flask was provided on the dresser per the pic below but other than that, there were no other in-room facilities like a mini-fridge/bar or a safe.

I didn't really like the design of the bathroom but my CEB thought it was just great. The sliding doors and the bamboos concept = an utter lack of privacy and that, is not always a good thing. My CEB was most miffed at being banished to the lobby everytime I wanted to use the bathroom. Oh, and there is also no lock at all to the bathroom for some strange reason.

The last pic below is of the other end of the bathroom area. The standing shower (there is no bathtub) is built with a glass ceiling and I didn't really like that either but privacy is assured (unless from within the room).

The Slog Reviews:9/10. The location of the hotel is brilliant right at the heart of the action in Jonker Street (and near all the swell eating places at Jonker), the staff service is fantastic and the rooms are spacious, clean, decently priced and a haven from the heat and bustle of Jonker Melaka. Highly recommended to all who visit Melaka. However, if one doth has a bit more to spare and has a car (so as to get back from Jonker Street in the night), the Majestic hotel is still THE best.