Further to my previous post, I ended up staying at Renaissance Hotel Kota Bahru over the weekend. It was a worthwhile trip to a certain extent as the trial went on as scheduled and I got a little time off to visit the famed Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah to see what it is all about. Click here to see my photographs of Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah.
Angled view of my room
I arrived at Renaissance Hotel at 8pm on Saturday and went straight to the Reception. Check-in took less than 5 minutes and I was much impressed with the courteous hotel employee who attended to me. I was given a non-smoking room as requested and up on the 18th floor. The 19th floors onwards are for Club Rooms. Expecting a nice view of the city, I was quite disappointed as my room was facing an adjacent apartment. So, curtains had to be shut for privacy.
Wished I could ship this bed homeThe room is big and elegantly designed. It comes with a king-sized bed which I think, is actually bigger than the king-sized bed I have at home. I must say, the bed is what I enjoyed the most in the room. There are 6 soft and fluffy feather-pillows to sink on and the down-comforter is really comfortable. Crisp cotton rich linen on a nice firm bed ensures a good night's rest, which I did!
Coffee / Tea Making FacilitiesBeing a five-star graded hotel, amenities in the room are plentiful from the well-stocked mini bar (check the prices before consuming!), complimentary coffee / tea making facilities, mini electronic safe, ironing board and steam iron. Oh, they also provide sandals.
The controls to the lights, alarm clock, "Do not Disturb" and "Please Make Up Room" signs and air-conditioning control are all on one central console on the bed-side table. Oh yes, they are in working order. The television is quite big...I think it is a 29 inch television with a couple of satellite channels. I watched football over ESPN that night.
Splish splash
Get working!High speed internet access is available in the room for a fee. I did not utilise it because I don't have a notebook. I think for a hotel of this stature, internet access should be provided free as it would not cost them that much anyway. Usual stationeries are provided such as envelopes, writing pad and ball pen.
My room rate was RM253.00 nett inclusive of buffet breakfast. The buffet breakfast was excellent and comes with a wide variety of food and drinks. Pastries, noodles, porridge and cereals are available as well as sausages, hams and the like. One of the specialities must be the Nasi Dagang but I wasn't feeling all that gung-ho about having Nasi Dagang for breakfast. I was going for the "safer" and less spicy fare as I did not want to have tummy rumbles whilst trial was proceeding!
Renaissance Hotel Kota Bahru is located at Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra in Kota Bahru. There is a shopping mall adjacent to it (Kota Sri Mutiara) which houses the Billion Supermarket. There is also an Indian-Muslim restaurant two doors away which serves Nasi Kandar, Roti Canai, Tandoori and various stir-fried items.
Renaissance Hotel is approximately 15 minutes from the airport and is slightly "off" the town centre. Click here for the map. A 5 to 10 minute taxi ride costing RM10.00 will get you into the town centre. The fare for a taxi ride to the airport is RM20.00. In fact, travelling in town on taxis can be quite an expensive affair as meters are not used. However, the taxi drivers sort of have a uniform fare for the various destinations and I have not encountered any taxi driver who tried to fleece me off unlike in Kuala Lumpur.
If it is within your budget, I would recommend Renaissance Hotel Kota Bahru to you. Much better than Grand River View Hotel lah!
Technorati Tags : Hotel , Kota Bahru , Renaissance Hotel , Travel
