Le Embassy Hotel Georgetown

For a budget stay, it was good value: we booked online for under RM300 for two nights in a room with three beds. It’s right in the city center, so getting around is easy, and the hotel has just two floors. The room had a refrigerator, safe, TV, and air conditioning, but there were no windows. Some wall lamps didn’t work, the elevator was small and slow, and parking was limited and first come, first served. The hotel says it isn’t responsible for vehicles. There were stains at the bottom of the bathroom wall and the trash bin hadn’t been emptied. The shower unit didn’t work, though the water wasn’t hot or cold. The bed looked clean at first glance, but there was a small red stain and some pillows looked old, though they didn’t smell.

It’s very handy for getting around, just a short walk from Kimberley St. But the hotel is beside a turning, and depending on which way your room faces it can get really noisy. There’s basically no soundproofing. When we arrived, the TV remote was missing and the AC took a long time to cool the room. We also found a used soap in the bathroom from the previous guest. Budget or not, the hotel should take pride in its operations and provide the basics travelers expect.

The staff were friendly and tried to help, but the stay was a mess. We arrived at 4:30, well after the 3 o’clock check-in, and the room still wasn’t ready. We were told the room we’d booked might have flooded because of a leak. We needed somewhere to pray Asar, so they let us use an unclean, used room while they prepared two rooms instead, since our family room for three wasn’t available. The two rooms they gave us were at opposite ends of the hotel. One was poorly lit, with busted bulbs and wires poking out. The bathroom had to be cleaned by ourselves, and the room was flooded, with no view. The trip’s star rating didn’t feel like the reviews suggested. A pineapple field, a cane field, My temper rose when I felt misled. Don’t expect much and you’ll be okay.

We arrived around 4-5pm, well after the 3pm check-in time, and expected the room to be ready. Instead, our card wouldn’t open the door after several tries. The counter staff gave us another card, but that failed too. Then I heard someone inside. I thought they might have the wrong card or be a guest who hadn’t checked out yet. The woman from the counter came to open the door and found a male staff member inside, shirtless with a towel around his lower body. He’d been bathing in our room. She angrily asked what he was doing; he said, “Mandi laaa” (bathing laa). He didn’t apologize, though she did. We checked in late, so why was a staff member using our bathroom? What if we’d arrived on time and gone out afterward? Or what if we’d been in the room when he opened the door like that?