Hotel Equatorial Melaka, Bandar Melaka (p. Jawa)

We stayed because of a meeting there. So don't have much idea about the room rate. But the location is very great! In the middle of the town, near historical places. I love it. The staff were friendly and helpful too.

According to many saying, this must be one of the best hotels in Melaka. However, I beg to differ & was a little bit disappointed. Checking-in & out of the hotel was fairly done with a breeze at their reception counter. Lobby is bright & clean. However, it lack of seats for its guests. It is also a bit crowded & noisy at the lobby. Maybe this is due to some convention/talks held at the hotel. Room is simply furnished. However, all furniture looks tired & old with paints peeling off. Bathroom could do some renovation as well. There is a kind of like sliding doors open out to the balcony. Not really to my liking as I prefer traditional day/night curtain. They make you feel cozy. None the less, room was neat & clean without foul smell. A decent morning buffet breakfast was provided. Nothing fanciful about it. But, it is enough to get you going around the many places of interest. I did not try the other restaurants in the hotel. There are many great eating places out in the town for you to explore. I must say this hotel has an excellent location. Within walking distance, you will be able to visit the many places of interest. It is near the old town as well as the modern shopping complex. This is a fine hotel in a great location. Some refurbishment to the rooms & redecorating the lobby will make it more welcoming.

I think there is nothing that can be done to be better...

i like the food, scenic, surrounding. the bed, and all about the bathroom. i dislike the massage price.. too expensive. around rm75. i would to suggest that prefer more shower gel. i like the Traders Lounge but there is no sub zero drink, its happening.

Apparantly this is supposed to be the best hotel that Melaka has to offer. And in knowing this, I really did expect a first class hotel with excellent standards. But after my experience here, I certainly hope this isnt the best that Melaka has to offer! Its not that this is like a 2 star hotel or anything, but its just that prior to my stay here, I had spent 3 nights at the Furama RiverFront Singapore (about 3 or 4 stars), and in my opinion, first impressions were that Furama was better! Decor is a major problem here. The lobby is just white. Its as simple as that. There is no character to it, and it very much feels as though it hasnt been completed yet. The lobby is also an area of major conjestion. Since this appears to be the prime hotel of Melaka, somehow locals and foreigners love to congregate in the lobby and public spaces, as if its the only place with Air-conditioning! The lobby is usually packed with people, wandering around or talking loudly, making it feel very uncomfortable at times. I even saw 4 people sleeping on the couches! In fact, couches are another problem. There isnt ample seating facilities. The lobby is so large with so much floor space, yet there are only 2 sets of couches. Considering the mass of traffic that goes through this lobby, couldnt they at least provide more seating! The problem of decor goes throughout the hotel. The hallways are just as dull and white as the lobby. I dont know why, but there didnt appear to be any air-conditioning in the hallways for the entire 3 nights we were there (so i'm not sure its a malfunction, maybe they just dont turn it on!). There rooms are not only equally as dull, but also have poor finishings. This hotel is supposed to be only a couple of years old, yet the doors seem to be chipped, while the cupboard doors are hard to slide open and the boring white paint is also chipping off. The bathroom floor is tiled, but between the cracks it has turned brown (not white), as if mould is starting to form, all over the floor! There are just no paintings, not even exciting wall paper. Not a 'home feeling' at all! Facility-wise, however, this hotel doesnt disappoint, with cable tv, free tea and coffee making facilities, choice of king bed or single beds, smoking and non-smoking floors, some rooms have balconies, ironing, slippers, mini-bar and air-conditioning. The hotel features a good few restaurants and cafe's, but breakfast isnt up to par. If you have a choice, dont go for breakfast. What happens is the hotel tries to cater for as many people as possible, so they offer Miso soup, fried kwai tiao, bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, cereal, dumplings, pastries and kwai tiao soup. While variation is a good thing, unfortunately this comes that the opportunity cost of quality. Potatoes were always hard and tasteless. Noodles too dry. Miso soup too salty. A much better (and probably cheaper) alternative is to walk outside every morning and go for a 5 minute walk, where there are great hokker stalls for truly authentic Malaysian food (duh, we come to Melaka for THEIR food, not an american breaky!). Location of this hotel is great. IF you can bare the heat, Mahkota Shopping Complex is just barely 5 minutes walk, and apparantly this is 'the' place to shop in Melaka. And its dirt cheap! I bought a pair of jeans for about $AUD10! Since its a big hotel, it also means lots of taxi's are available as well. I must also commend the pool area, which includes 3 interconnecting pools (effectively creating 1 big pool), yet also providing more private areas to create a smaller, more secluded feeling. There is also a tennis court next to this area, all offering a great view of Melaka town.