The ibis Melaka offers modern rooms and a full breakfast at low prices in a central location of the city, making it easy to explore all the historic sights of Melaka and to visit the famous Jonkers Street Market. While it doesn’t convey the old-town charm of local boutique hotels, it offers good value and a reliable stay. Check out my detailed reviews and photos!
Location: The ibis Melaka is on one of the main streets leading into the center of Melaka and a 5-10 minute walk from the river, the sights of old town and Jonkers Street night market. That makes it a very convenient location to explore all that Melaka has to offer, even though the ibis is just outside the old town and the street itself and immediate neighborhood are not the most inviting.
Melaka Sentral, the main bus station with connections to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and many other Malaysian cities is a 10-15 minute grab ride away.
Service: My check-in at the ibis Melaka was quick and friendly. Staff completed my paper work quickly and informed me about the property amenities and breakfast at the restaurant. Upon asking, they confirmed that I had been upgraded to a Suite, a rare treat an ibis hotel!
Housekeeping did a thorough job cleaning my room each day and replaced towels and amenities as appropriate.
The restaurant staff was also on top of their task, kept tables clean and the buffet restocked. They too, orders and delivered egg dishes to your table.
Check-out wasn’t quite as good, in a funny way. I usually provide feedback to the hotel upon check-out on any minor issues that didn’t really impact my stay much, but should be addressed. The new/young agent insisted that it wasn’t really an issue and kept insisting even after explained it more fully. It was kind of funny – telling a customer that they are wrong about their feedback is usually not a good idea… He needs a little customer service training…
Room: I was assigned a Junior Suite with a King Bed. ibis hotels sometimes have “family suites” with additional beds or at least space for them. In this case it was a large room with a separate sitting area and a sofa bed. The room is in the latest ibis design, modern and very clean. The floors are a wood-look tile, which is perfect in the hot climate and looks good. The king size bed has a plush mattress topper and high quality sheets, comforter and pillows that can compete with hotels much more expensive and generally makes for good sleep. The only downside of the suite is that in these rooms the air conditioner is directly facing the bed, so you’ll have the stream of cold air in your face while you sleep – if that bothers you, a regular room might be a better choice. There are power outlets and night stands on each side of the bed. By the window is a padded chair with small table and you also find a narrow work desk and chair.
Facing the bed is a large, wall mounted TV with a sofa bed below it. Next to it is the open closet with plenty of space for your luggage and clothes. The bar cabinet has an (empty) mini fridge, coffee/tea facilities and a laptop size safe in a drawer, one of the most convenient designs.
The bathroom is large and a much nicer design than the standard issue ibis plastic pods. It’s held in dark grey stone tiles. The granite countertop has plenty of space for your toiletries. The shower has a partial glass wall and offers a handheld, mounted showerhead as well as a rainfall showerhead. There are good quality towels and a full set of toiletries, including a dental kit. This is the nicest bathroom I’ve ever seen at any ibis hotel worldwide and more in line with a Mercure or other, higher-end hotels.
The free WiFi internet was very fast at an average speed of 55Mbps and reliable. It was great to stream video, take video calls or get work done.
Restaurant & Amenities: The ibis Melaka has, what they advertise as the largest pool in Melaka. I can’t verify that, but it certainly is large, with a deep pool to swim as well as a shallow kids pool and play area. There are lots of wooden loungers and umbrellas around the pool, so you won’t have trouble finding a spot, sun or shade. Oddly, the loungers don’t have any pads, so they are not the most comfortable ones. You can get towels from the pool attendants.
Near the pool area is a kids play area, too.
You’ll also find a small gym with mostly cardio equipment for a basic workout. Thankfully, it is properly air conditioned, something not always the case in the region…
The restaurant is large and despite the size pleasant. The separation of spaces and some flower decorations help to take away the cafeteria feeling.
The breakfast is served buffet style, with a good selection of fruit, bread & pastries and some cheese and cold cuts. You’ll also find juices, coffee and tea. Not sure if it was bad luck or deliberate – we went from two espresso-style coffee makers to none during my stay, so it was only filter coffee on the last day.
You’ll find a good selection of hot, Asian dishes and breakfast meats.. They also offer make-to-order egg dishes on request. There is no egg station or sign, so you’ll just have to ask one of the servers and they’ll bring it to you.
Overall, I liked the breakfast better than most ibis hotels. The selection and quality of food offered was good and there was a little variety from day-to-day. I was at the ibis during the week and it wasn’t busy. They do serve tour groups, so I’d expect it to be much more crowded, especially during breakfast, on weekends.
Value & Rewards: I booked the ibis Melaka on the Accor website at a price of $29/night including breakfast. That rate includes a 10% discount as an AccorPlus member (regular Accor LeClub members receive a 5% discount. As a Platinum member, I earned 8.7% rewards points. I consider this good value, even in generally low-priced Melaka. You can find current prices here!
As an Accor LeClub Platinum member, I received a room upgrade to a Suite and a welcome amenity of fruit. There was no welcome drink offered and I didn’t need an early check-in or late check-out on this trip. I’d consider the elite treatment as better than required from the program.
Bottomline: The ibis Melaka offers modern rooms and a full breakfast at low prices in a central location of the city, making it easy to explore all that Melaka has to offer. While it doesn’t convey the old-town charm of local boutique hotels, it offers good value and a reliable stay. I’d recommend it and would stay again!