Sunday 9 May 2010

Ye Olde Smokehouse Hotel

After taking the overnight bus trip from Singapore to the Cameron Highlands, we arrived at our destination at about 8.00am on Saturday morning. The very friendly welcome at the Ye Olde Smokehouse Hotel was much appreciated after the 10 hour bus trip!
The Smokehouse Hotel is based on the very old English Style Hotel and is what I would probably call a "boutique style' hotel as it has only 13 rooms which allows the staff to get to know you and makes for a more intimate hotel experience.
They sat us in the lounge and offered tea and coffee while we checked in. We were then shown to our room which was just fabulous. We had a nice shower, changed and headed back downstairs to the conservatory for our breakfast.
Then it was time to explore our suite.


the above three images are of our private lounge area and the two images below are of the main bedroom:
We were very happy with our accommodation at the hotel.

We had been recommended this particular hotel by friends that had stayed here last Christmas. So we were swayed a little towards it anyway.

I had read most of the comments on Trip Advisor prior to our booking, and noted quite a mixed bag of comments. Some people do complain just about anything, some complaints were about it being old .... well yes it is, it was built in 1937. So yes I guess that is old. 

Surely people would expect it to 'look' old if it was built in 1937?
That is part of it's charm. 

I think some people maybe hard to please as well. We were happy to do the booking and try it for ourselves. 

We couldn't have been happier.

Our suite was better than we expected. We had a large bedroom, a two part bathroom, a large lounge area and a small second bedroom.  No one could possibly be unhappy with a suite such as this.

It took up three sides of the hotel so we managed to have a view from all windows .... from the lounge we could see the sunrise over the Padang Golf Course.

The conservatory were we had breakfast is delightful, some may call it quaint. There is some maintenance needed, but mainly cosmetic work. But such a nice room to have breakfast with all the plants and the birds flying in and out.
The dining room is amazing .... very medieval in a way. Rather dark, but there are lights and candles to make it quite welcoming.
The lounge area is something else, incredibly comfortable and relaxing. This is where the free WiFi is available and where the guests can all sit and mingle or read or 'play on the computer' like myself!

A walk around the hotel will lead you to many little nooks and crannies that are hidden away - just waiting to be found by you - somewhere to curl up and read. I have no idea how many public rooms there are to sit in.... maybe about 8? All are comfortable with some amazing antiques.
There is a bar, a library, outside garden area's ... many small area's for afternoon tea or just to sit and relax with friends.
But the antiques, tables, pottery, brassware, copper and other items are incredible. Will gradually upload some images of them.

The images will surely show you what an amazing hotel this is ... call it old, call it quaint, call it whatever you like .... the experience of staying here with the helpful staff cannot be faulted. Well not by us anyway.

The one person that stands out is the elegant Madam Nancy Lee

She is part of the hotel, but you could never wish to meet a more gracious hostess. She is there to guide you, advise, suggest or simply there to help make your stay that much more enjoyable.

Next blog posting is about the garden area..... click HERE to read about it.

.... and HERE for the blog on the bus trip to the Cameron Highlands. 


on the above two blog posts, there are links to other posts on our trips to the Cameron Highlands.


ENJOY!!



2 comments:

cajunsis said...

I think it is a Tudor revival style architecture, used in the UK and British Colonies. You may want to do some research on that when you get back. We have a lot of Tudor style homes in Tulsa. It is beautiful regardless of what style it is. So glad you are able to enjoy its charm.

Leone Fabre said...

This one was built in 1937 .... there is another similar style one not far from here.

We have seen many buildings like this when traveling in the UK, but to see this in central Malaysia is something else!!!