Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A trip to Malacca/Melaka

About a month ago, I booked a 2 nights stay for a 3 bedroom villa at SGD110 (room only,  no amenities) in A'Famosa Resort Hotel.  I was hesitant if I should proceed with my trip to Malacca/Melaka after reading so much bad reviews at Trip Advisor.  Nevertheless, I told myself to lower my expectations and just go ahead with it.

We arrived at the resort around 4.30pm and went to the hotel for check-in.  We were then redirected to go to the villa for check-in instead.  There were no queue, probably because we were there on Thursday.  Got our key almost instantly and proceeded to check out the villa, fingers keeping crossed throughout. 

The villa, accessible by a sliding door, in my opinion, seems fragile and could be broken in anytime

This is what greets you when you enter the main door.  The cushion covers looked very seasoned (with balling) and the cushions were mostly out of shape.  Nevertheless, they still serve their purpose.

I forgot to take a picture of the dinning area, which is just on the right hand side of the lounge/TV area (see the chair on the right).

A fairly decent kitchen with an electric kettle and a fridge.  The cable of the kettle is too short for the power point and we had to boil water in one of the bedrooms.  Strictly no cooking allowed.

Master bedroom - a King size bed.  Generally clean but it's time they change their mattresses.

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 3

Master bedroom toilet - Relatively clean but the tap at the sink is loose and the toilet roll holder is missing.

Our private pool - looks clean but no, I didn't allow my kids to swim.

On our first night there, I left the toilet door slightly agar as I wanted to use the toilet light as night light.  DD3 greeted me with swollen face the next morning :-(

There were easily over 10 mosquito bites on her face!


We didn't bother to spend time in their theme parks and spent our time in Malacca city instead.  The kids went for the pony ride on our last day though, just before check-out.  RM10 for 3 rounds but DS2 had only 2 rounds. I asked the "guide" but he insisted he had completed 3 rounds. I didn't want to start an argument since DS2 is happy that he went for the ride.

For the price I paid, I'm overall satisfied with the accommodation. But if you were to ask me to pay the regular price, I'll choose to stay in the city.

Food We Had In Malacca (3A+3C)
I didn't manage to capture any food pictures as I was busy with the kids but I took pictures of some receipts to show what we ate and also to keep a record of their addresses.

Day 1
Lunch @ MacDonalds
Melaka Mall
RM50+

A total of 3 Value Meals and 3 Kids' Meals.  Love the fact that they have Ribena instead of just carbonated drinks!

Dinner @ Jih Hong Restoran
Tampin
RM68.50

We ordered 5 dishes + 1 soup.  Fairly decent Chinese food but way too salty for us.

Day 2
 
Lunch @ YS Hamper Tang Shifu
AEON Bandaraya Melaka Shopping Centre
RM66.05

We ordered mee suah soup as we had plans to visit Jonker 88 for their noodles and dessert.  I had mee suah with herbs and rice wine, the first sip almost made me drunk!  The other mee suah soup was mildly sweet and my family enjoyed themselves.  French beans with Pu-Er tea tasted good too.





  
Tea break @ Jonker Dessert 88
Jonker Street
RM25 

We ordered Asam Laksa, Nonya Laksa (very thick coconut milk), 2 clear soup noodles and 5 bowls of dessert.  I prefer their Asam Laksa and cendol.

Dinner @ Famosa Chicken Rice Ball
Off Jonker Street
RM57.30

I'm not used to eating chicken with bloody bones so if you are like me, go somewhere else.  Rice balls were mushy and way too salty, so were all the other dishes.  We didn't finish our dinner and decided to complete our "dinner" at Jonker Street Night Market.





Day 3

Lunch @ Food & Tea
AEON Bandaraya Melaka Shopping Centre
RM79.20

Their fried spaghetti was quite good but I thought it was abit too oily.  MIL enjoyed her wrapped fish in egg with rice meal and DH likes the fried chicken wings.  The dessert was ladled with generous amount of syrup and despite asking for more crushed ice, it was still too sweet for us.

Tea Break @ Secret Recipe
AEON Bandaraya Melaka Shopping Centre
RM13.95

I packed some cakes for our journey back to Singapore.  Ordered my favourite Chocolate Banana Cake and DD1 ordered a Strawberry Marshmallow Cheesecake.  Yum!


I'm definitely looking forward to another short getaway but before I do that, I'll have to find another dogsitter...

16 comments:

sherlyn said...

I think I only like the cakes (like those in secret recipes) in malaysia... they are so cheap compare to SG hehehe.

WendyinKK said...

Aiyor.. why go to Famosa chicken rice???? I never go there and will prefer the other 2 with Chinese names just across the bridge from the red buildings.

You didn't go for Satay Celup??

On my last trip, we stayed at The Majestic, which was in town.
SGD110 for a villa is dirt cheap lor, some more got private pool :) But A Famosa is rather far from town la. My husband refused to go there:(

Ronni said...

Thanks for the post. Now I have killed all mystery about A Farmosa which others used to rave about. I don't think I will go there now especially with your DD's swollen face. So poor thing.

Hope you had a good trip though.

Blessed Homemaker said...

Sherlyn,
You are right! It's the same price except the prices are in ringgit! For the price of 1 cake in Sgp, I get to eat 2 cakes in Msia!

Blessed Homemaker said...

Wendy,
Aiyah... I didn't do my homework as I was "busy" reading up reviews of the accommodation and was half-hearted about the trip. I love travelling but this was the only trip I wasn't looking forward to :P I think the other 2 you are referring is Chung Wah and Hoe Kee? We happened to be near Famosa so we just decided to settle our dinner there.

Satay Celup? We gave it a miss as it contains peanuts. I don't give my kids under 5 peanuts. Hope to visit one day.

We booked AFamosa with 1 objective in mind, ie to catch the fireworks but in the end we still missed it! My husband quite like it as it's secluded and crowded like the city.

Blessed Homemaker said...

galronni,
I don't think there's much to rave about. Property is relatively old, very unlike what you see on their website. For the mozzie bites, it's all my fault :P

Clare @ Mrs Multitasker said...

Oh no your poor little girl!! I hope all the swelling's gone down now... And so funny that you took pictures of food receipts rather than the food! haha

Irene said...

wow! u even have d recipts to 'proof' yr stay! heehee

Blessed Homemaker said...

Wendy,
Talking about Genting, I hated that place. So polluted and commercialised. The hotel rooms are all so smelly. I'm looking forward to visit Colmar Tropicale.

Blessed Homemaker said...

Clare & Irene,
I suspect I'm the only one taking pics of receipts instead of food pics hahaha! Honestly speaking, I really didn't think of taking pics then :P

shi xian (ah xian) said...

May I know what is the transport do you take from afamosa resort to Malacca city?

Blessed Homemaker said...

shi xian,
We drove :-)

Anonymous said...

hi, plan to go to malacca this june hols. did u book the boutique hotel on line? was wondering how reliable agoda online is. any advice?
thx.. mama

Anonymous said...

hi, planning to go malacca for holiday. did u book the hotel online? wonder how reliable is agoda. thx.. mama

Blessed Homemaker said...

mama, which boutique hotel are you referring to? I usually book direct with the hotels except for this one which I booked on their roadshow in Singapore.

Anonymous said...

thx for replying. looking at puri hotel or courtyard. think it's not easy to get for the jun hols. ... mama =)