707 Hotel (Cheng Ho ) Melaka

There were signs the room hadn’t been properly cleaned: the floor was dirty, the quilt had yellow stains, and some things from the previous guest were still in the cupboard. I also saw staff change the pillowcases bare-handed, pushing them onto the pillows without gloves.

For the price, the stay was decent. Check-in was quick, and I got Room 301. They provided bottled water and toiletries, and there’s a water dispenser in the lobby too. The room was another story at first. It felt like a sauna, possibly because it was at the end of the row facing the sun, with the balcony right beside it. The air-conditioner blew air, but even at its strongest setting it wouldn’t cool the room. The remote had no Celsius display, so I couldn’t tell whether it was faulty, and I couldn’t lower the temperature. My friends staying on the same floor said their rooms were cool when I checked with them at checkout the next day. I may just have been unlucky with my room. It was very warm, but bearable for one night.

The room was large enough to share among five people if you bring your own toto, and the toilet was spacious too, though it had a smell issue. The air-conditioner was only 1 hp. There’s no breakfast, but a Chinese food court is right beside the hotel. I was here for a work trip and got a business trip discount, which was a plus. They cleaned the room every day. There’s plenty of public roadside parking, but no CCTV in the hall and no safety box in the room.

Affordable, basic, and decent, with powerful air-conditioning. The hotel is newly renovated under 707 Cheng Ho. It brought back memories of my dad staying here on his early business trips, back when it was managed by Tan Kim Hock.