Hotel Hallmark Leisure Review

I had to make a last minute booking for our last trip to Malacca, having not really planned it. It was Wesak Day, so most good recommended hotels are full. Then I found the Hallmark Leisure Hotel on tripadvisor and it seemed pretty good. Note that they have 2 branches, another one is called Hallmark Inn. The one I booked was pretty near to town on Jalan Portugis. In fact, we walked to Jonker Street from the hotel.

The hotel looked really normal from outside, low cost type. By the way, I paid RM133 for a Deluxe Double (1 queen bed) + 1 added mattress. A Superior room cost RM150 with 1 queen and 1 super single. I thought I could save the little extra. Anyways, wasn’t expecting much from the hotel by the time we checked in, which was past 10pm coz of the Wesak Day procession that blocked the whole road.

So once we got to the room, they forgot to give us the extra bed. So I promptly called them, and instead of just putting an extra bed into the already tiny room, they moved us up to the Superior room. Awesome! Without an extra charge too.

So the superior room is rather large and nice. I was happily surprised as its got all the amenities of a 5 star hotel. The bed is nice, there’s an LCD TV with some good channels, mini fridge, hair dryer, phone, window, the usual soap, shampoo, toothbrush, showercap, soap and towels, coffee and tea making facilities etc. A water dispenser is also easily available just outside the corridor and there’s free wifi too. I also love the rain shower type. Really like bathing in the rain. Even extra pillows were available in the cabinet which I only realised upon awakening the next day.

Oh and in the mornings, the paper is provided but we forgot to tell them we want English papers instead.

Breakfast is also on the house. The cafe is just next to the hotel and it’s like those kopitiam style cafes.

It’s small and cosy and buffet style but don’t expect a huge selection. There’s the usual mee goreng, baked beans and vege. What’s good is they serve Illy brewed coffee and juice as much as you want. Anyways, we were in Malacca to eat the local delicacies not the hotel food, so this doesn’t matter one bit.

This is a great hotel for those without transport, as there aren’t many parking bays, although if you find one, it’s free. We managed to find one right at the doorstep so it’s great. It’s also a quieter place as it’s not right smack in Jonker or one of those more touristy places, yet it’s only like 20 minutes to walk there. If you don’t mind the morning exercise, then it’s a good hotel.

They are also not too particular with check out times. We went walking and eating and got back to the hotel half an hour past the check out time at 12pm, but they gave us an hour’s grace period to shower and clear out. It’ll be another RM50 if we want to extend another hour some more. I think it’s a pretty good deal, considering the facilities are on par with any 5 star hotel.