Hotel Review: Hatten Hotel, Melaka

Hi folks, here's the first post for our new category on Hotel Reviews.  Since hubby and I love to travel, I thought it would be fun to post on some of the hotels that we have stayed in.  I am sure we all like to find out about good (and not-so-good) hotels from those who have actually stayed there, information which would definitely come in handy when planning our holiday accomodation. 
 

 

Hatten is Melaka's newest hotel.  We recently had our cell group retreat here, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  The hotel is so new that construction is actually still ongoing - it is about 90% completed.  


When we were there, the lobby and a few other areas were still undergoing final finishing touches and you can still hear the faint din of the occassional drilling and knocking, but it wasn't a major issue as they ceased come evening.

The lobby and check-in counters.  The left side of the photo
shows the part of the lobby that is still undergoing renovations.

Notice the plastic sheets hanging from the ceiling and one person
working on the feature wall

Hatten is a 22 storey business class hotel located within a mall (mostly comprised of retail shops selling IT and other digital products) with an excellent location - it is right next to Mahkota Medical Centre, and is linked to Mahkota Parada (Parkson) via an overhead pedestrian bridge. 

The hotel is also directly opposite Dataran Pahlawan and is just a flyover away from Kota Laksamana and nearby Jonker Street.  The hotel is one of several flagship projects in Melaka by the Hatten Group, a Singapore based company which also developed Dataran Pahlawan Megamall.

Hatten is the grey building in the background

One of our cell members have close contacts with the hotel management, hence we were able to secure the Deluxe Suite at corporate rates.  Our rooms were on the 19th floor, with a magnificent sea view. 

The hotel has a massive number of rooms - almost 700 in total, with 6+2 lifts on each floor so you never have to wait long (the 2 lifts are dedicated parking lifts).  Since it is school holidays, there was a long queue at the check-in. 

We left word with the check-in staff about our group booking, left our luggate at the concierge and went for lunch at the Selera foodcourt in Mahkota Parade.  To our pleasant surprise, the food was good, cheap (comparable to the prices of our PJ coffee shops) and the ice kacang rawks! (thanks to the authentic Malaccan gula melaka).  

When we got back, our room cards were all ready for collection.  How nice.  I really like the layout of the rooms - very functional, compartmentalised and there's even a separate, small living area with a wall mounted TV and a chaise lounge.  The glass partitioned bedroom has a super king bed AND another wall mounted TV.  No fighting over who watches which channel! 

The door opens to a small living area, the bedroom is separated via a fixed glass partition
and the doorway (next to the TV)

The bathroom can be accessed via the bedroom and the living room

Super king, and super comfortable. 

The room is very spacious, with enough floor space to slot in an extra single bed or two for the kids.  Or better still, do what i did - bring one of those travel folding mattress, and you save some good bucks on an extra bed.

View of the Straits of Melaka from our room

In the bathroom, a complete set of toiletries is provided, and there's a spacious shower cubicle but no bathtub, which is fine with us.  The only thing missing is an extendable laundry line.  Considering that there is no balcony in the rooms, I only realise that this essential item is missing after i had washed all our swimming attire and realised....oops, where am I supposed to hang these dripping wet clothes?  In the end I had to drape them on the shower head, on top of the glass shower door and handle.   Hmmm.....

The swimming pool is another place where well thought-out functionality prevails.  There is the main pool - no peanut shape, thank goodness, but a very decent sized, infinity pool (about 40x60ft but I'm guessing), a shallow pool for kids, a fountain spray/play area and a pool bar.  What we really liked is the shallow strip where the deck chairs are lapping the waters, reminiscent of Marina Bay Sands.  

Kids pool and the fountain spray area

Lie on this deck chair and you are practically lapping at the water. 
Perhaps they got the idea from MBS..

Customer service was very good - the staff were polite, prompt and helpful, even though they were fully booked out for that weekend.  I had some problems connecting to the wifi, and had called the reception but they could not resolve it for me over the phone. Then they said they will send someone over to help.  The person came within 5 minutes.  

I love the Victorian contemporary design of the hotel - lots of clean bold lines, black panels, plush long benches and some pretty funky chandeliers. 

Areas for casual chatting - very nice and quiet. Free wifi here.   

Chatterz restaurant for breakfast

Funky chandeliers, retro green velvet chairs - nice!

Breakfast is served at the Chatterz restaurant. I must say I was very impressed with the breakfast spread here.  The variety was very good and the food quality above average. 

Some unexpected items on the menu...



From top left clockwise : 1. Creative idea to display the nasi lemak condiments in mortar bowls. 2. Hot cincau with goji berries.  3. Yogurt with canned rambutans stuffed with pineapple - haven't had this for ages! 4.  Curry laksa with big juicy prawns.



Teochew porridge condiments - they even had preserved olive leaves and braised gluten puffs - YUM!

Teochew porridge and hot soya milk. My perfect kind of breakfast. 
What about you?

Hatten is fast gaining popularity especially amongst Singaporean tourists.  During the weekend we were there, we saw a lot of Singaporean registered cars in the guest parking floors.  At least two Singaporean churches were having their retreat there too. 

Parking is free, provided you obtain the parking ticket and not use your Touch-n-Go card.  They are currently having an opening promotion, with weekday rates starting from an unbelievably low RM195++. 

Overall verdict: Fantastic deal.  Spanking new hotel, spacious and comfortable rooms, good service, great location, free parking AND bargain rates.  What are you waiting for?

Hotel details:
Hatten Hotel Melaka
Hatten Square, Jalan Merdeka, Bandar Hilir, 75000 Melaka.
www.hattenhotel.com