OYO 89696 D'yaya Hotel

The room was clean, but there’s no lift, which is inconvenient for older guests and anyone carrying big luggage. If you’re driving, be aware that the road closes on Saturday from 5pm until 2 am. Neither Booking. Com nor the hotel operator told me about it, so getting around by car was difficult.

We checked out on the second day and spent the whole second morning in Malacca looking for somewhere else to stay. It wasted precious holiday time. The smell of mothballs was so strong when we entered the room that we left the door open for a while. It still lingered, and there were more than 12 mothballs scattered around, which made sleeping uncomfortable. At night, a water pump right outside the rooms on every floor kept switching on and off. With the wafer-thin walls, it was almost impossible to sleep. The booking problems started when we arrived. They’d miscalculated our online reservations, and two people in our group had to stay at another hotel because this one was full. Staff said there was nothing they could do. On our first day, we also saw another couple dealing with a reservation issue, which made the hotel’s basic booking management look even worse. The pictures posted probably show the cleanliness for themselves. This place shouldn’t be called a hotel. Even my grandmother’s house would feel like heaven by comparison. In a singaporean context, I’d rather stay in any army camp or even tekong. Only stay here if you want to test whether you’d survive a zombie apocalypse or a nuclear fallout shelter.

Checking in was a nightmare, and I regret staying here. The room was dirty and smelly, with no mirror, and the reception staff had no manners. Some floor tiles were broken and covered by carpet, but you could still step on them. The air conditioning had to be switched on from outside the room, something I’d never experienced on vacation. Please DO NOT go here.

Our room got cancelled at the very last minute, leaving us scrambling to find the last available room nearby. It was holiday time, so there weren’t many places left for us to book.