Hotel Seri Malaysia, Kuala Terengganu

Hotel Seri Malaysia

1640 Jalan Hiliran (Balik Bukit)

20100 Kuala Terengganu

Terengganu Darul Iman

(+609) 623 6454

I arrived at the hotel in the evening. It was past 5 p.m. and I was tired from the long journey. Thankfully, check-in was a breeze. I gave the polite lady at reception my name and identification and after a few minutes, I was handed a key (old fashion kind with keychain to place into a wall socket for electricity) and breakfast coupon for 3 pax. Refundable deposit RM100, or was it RM50 but definitely less than RM200. 

Note: Breakfast coupon only for next day even though I was staying for 2 nights. The lady told me they issue breakfast coupons by day and guests are expected to collect the coupon from reception daily. Inconvenient but it's their system.

The elevators was out of service and our room was on the first floor. No big deal for us but if you can't climb up stairs, better give them a call and let them know so they can give you a room on the ground floor.

For unknown reason, the hallway in our floor reeked with cigarette smell on the first day. We had to minimise opening the door so the smell doesn't pollute the room. Thankfully, not a whiff of cigarette on the second and third day.

***

Booking - Easy via various online and offline methods. I booked and paid using Agoda

Rate - Good value. 3D2N stay for 3 pax in Family room with breakfast only RM354.10

Location - Good. Near Chinatown and Waterfront, walking distance to Pasar Payang and other attractions. Easy to find using Waze/Google Map

Dining - Delicious breakfast

Service - Average

The room was well-equipped with prayer mat, iron and ironing board, drinking water, kettle and (empty) mini bar. Enough power sockets for all 3 of us to recharge our phones and gadgets. Washroom was either well-used or wasn't too clean. A bit icky to be honest. But they provided basic shampoo and soap.

View from the room

I have such a mixed feelings about this hotel! But I'll get to that later.

Sekayu Terrace overlooking Terengganu River

Air-conditioned dining area available. 

Breakfast selection at the Cafe Sekayu Coffee House was limited but tasty. Main highlight for Thursday morning was nasi dagang; on Friday was nasi lemak. They might change it during your stay. Also, I noticed that there was a lot more people at breakfast on Friday.

Nasi dagang, fried noodle and fruit juice

Evening view from Cafe Sekayu Coffee House

Fish right by the terrace

Breakfast view

Limited parking available within the hotel compound. Payable parking just outside the gate and there's another parking area for hotel guests across the road, next to the Royal Mausoleum. 

Like I said, I have mixed feelings about this hotel.

Pros

• Good location (really, very good if you want to explore KT) +2 points
• Affordable rate +1 point
• Free, delicious breakfast +1 point
• Gorgeous view of Terengganu River +1 point
• Good place to catch Pokémon +1/2 point

Cons

• Scary bathroom (HUGE ick! I really, really, really hate icky bathrooms) -3 points
• Poorly-maintained room and amenities (elevator) -1 point
• Limited (convenient) parking -1/2 point
• Weird breakfast coupon system -1/2 point

How?

To be fair, once you're aware of all the hotel's shortcomings and manage your expectation accordingly, you'd probably be fine. Especially if you're not staying for long or just need a place to sleep after a whole day exploring Terengganu.

So I guess... overall solid 3 <3<3<3 of 5

That's average. After expectations managed accordingly.