The Holiday Inn Melaka offers modern rooms, friendly service, a great Executive Lounge and amenities like a pool, spa, gym and shuttle around town, at great rates. We had a fantastic stay, it’s great value and I’d return in a heartbeat! If you are planning a getaway to Melaka, you should check out my review and photos!
Location: The Holiday Inn Melaka is located near the waterfront, across a major roadway from the Mahkota Parade, a major mall, and 15-20 minutes from the historic sights and the old town. It’s on the edge of what I’d call convenient walking distance, but uber is very cheap in Melaka and a $2 ride will get you to any of the central spots. The safest walk to the old town is by walking under the road to the left of the hotel, rather than trying to run across it without a stop light in a mad dash! The hotel also has a shuttle bus with several stops around town (see photo for schedule).

Service & Rewards: Front desk staff was very friendly when we checked in, recognized my IHG Rewards Club Platinum membership and welcomed us back – and that was after 5 years. Despite having booked with reward points, we received welcome amenity points and were upgraded to an Executive King Room, including lounge access – what a pleasant and unexpected surprise. IHG gets a lot of bad press, because many of the elite benefits are not guaranteed, but I’ve been quite happy with my elite treatment.
Housekeeping had made our room nicely and all amenities were stocked. They also did a thorough job on subsequent nights and even did a turn-down service in our room!
The staff at the executive lounge did exeptionally well, was friendly and attentive throughout our visit, putting this Holiday Inn on a much higher level than any other Holiday Inn I’ve stayed at! They recognized us after our first visit, were proactive in offering drinks, refills or snacks and assisted with anything else we needed during our stay. Check-out was just as easy, quick and friendly to round out a very pleasant service experience!

Room: Our Executive King Room was on one of the top floors facing the ocean (making this a two-category upgrade from what we had booked). It’s contemporary in design, with light wood furniture, patterned carpets and green as an accent color. The bed was comfortable, with good quality sheets and pillows. There is a single padded chair with ottoman and side table by the window. If you’ve got work to do, you’ll have a large work desk with task chair.

You’ll also find a large TV, a long luggage bench, a bar cabinet with fridge and coffee/tea facilities, as well as a large closet with a safe, bathrobe and slippers.

The bathroom is good size, with a sink-in-countertop and toilet on one side and a walk-in shower with glass door on the other. It’s held in beige tiles, with black countertop, clean and in good condition. Standard Holiday Inn amenities, including dental and shaving kits, and good quality towels are provided.

The free WiFi internet was fast and reliable, with an average speed of 16.6 Mbps and never dropping below 10Mbps, plenty enough for work and video streaming.
Restaurant & Amenities: The Holiday Inn is a full-service hotel with resort amenities, most of them on the third floor, overlooking the ocean. You’ll find a large pool, with plenty of padded loungers and umbrellas around it.

The gym is on the same level, offering a good selection of cardio and weight equipment, enough for a good workout.

If you’d rather relax than workout, you can head for the spa, offering facials (for ladies only) and massages. The treatment rooms are built like little villas on this level, offering privacy for your massage and are equipped with showers. There is limited staff, so we had to take our massages one after the other, and we both enjoyed our treatment. Given the quality of the rooms and service, the prices were reasonable.

Overlooking the ocean and pool is the executive lounge, It was recently renovated and quite frankly, I was stunned! It’s beautiful with stunning white/black marble used for the walls and buffet, thick carpets and wooden wall panels, and nice, modern furniture. There is also an outdoor balcony with nice views. A huge TV was playing (quietly, most of the time) and there are some reading materials available as well.

The lounge served coffee, soft drinks and nibbles during the day, wine, beer, cocktails and a good selection of snacks in the evenings. You have a full breakfast buffet in the morning, including yogurt, fresh fruit, pastries and breads. You can order eggs to your taste and choose from a number of Asian and Western hot dishes as well.

The Holiday Inn Melaka lounge puts most Hilton, Marriott or Crowne Plaza lounges in the US to shame and can compete with Asian lounges at hotels with much higher prices. If you are not lucky enough to get upgraded to the Executive Lounge, it’s worth paying for. It creates a much more luxurious stay experience for a moderated price!

The hotel also has a lobby bar, a main restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as the Sirocco Italian Restaurant. We enjoyed the lounge for breakfast and went out for dinner at night, so we didn’t get to try any of them.
Bottomline: We booked the Holiday Inn Melaka during the IHG PointBreaks promotion for 5,000points/night (worth $25), making this stay a bargain. It was available during our stay for $50, which is still great value for the hotel, especially with the upgrade to the lounge. The friendly service, modern rooms, great lounge and nice pool, gym and spa made this my best Holiday Inn stay in years – and at this price it was the best value, too. I can wholeheartedly recommend it and I’m sure to stay again in the future!