Surprised……. Inns That Were Not

Three weddings in two weeks, one in Kelantan, one in KL and one in Penang. For the out of town and out of state locations we accommodated ourselves in Inns, in group bookings to be together with family and relatives. An Inn is defined as an accommodation opened to the public offering more than six rooms and at least one food outlet. This is to differentiate Inns with bed and breakfast accommodations.

Since the weddings took place during the day, specifically in the afternoon, we planned other activities as well, to make full use of the opportunities being in the respective locations.

The Inn we stayed in in Kota Bahru had 35 large rooms each offering two queen beds and tea/coffee making facilities. We were assigned a corner room and had two windows, bright and airy. However, they had no food outlet. So, by definition, they cannot be called an Inn but only a boarding house. We had to go out for our meals or buy packed food to take back to the Inn. That aside, the Inn was well managed, clean and orderly, not anywhere near the facilities provided by the ‘starred’ hotels but sufficient for our restful needs. The staff of the Inn were friendly, accommodating and helpful. We managed to get about town while in Kota Bahru and my comments were posted here earlier.

Another Inn we stayed in was in Jawi, the Jawi Inn. It has only eleven rooms, two of them very large and others standard with two single beds. There was no tea/coffee making facilities in the room, no fridge, and non-functioning TV!! There was a space that looked like a restaurant but it was not functioning. There was also a small conference room. Does it deserve to be called an Inn?

We arrived at the Jawi Inn after a four hours long drive from PeeJay at 2.30pm. The room assigned to us was not ready. The previous guest had just checked out. We had to wait for our room to be cleaned. Then we had to do our bed ourselves!! There was only one staff manning the Inn. He man the reception, he cleans the room, he does everything else necessary to make the Inn function!! The job is rotated in shifts amongst three people. Yes, you guessed it. Many things had to give with a one man show. Top of the list was cleanliness. There were flies all over, even in the room. The Inn has a manager but he was away in Langkawi, playing golf!!

We had half a mind to check into another hotel or Inn but there was none nearby. Since the whole family was there, all eleven rooms were taken up by the family, and since the programme required us to be away from the Inn and we only require it for sleeping, we decided to stay on. After a short rest on checking in we had to get ready for the wedding solemnization ceremony. We returned after the ceremony and had another short rest before leaving for the barbeque dinner in the bride’s house. We returned after midnight tired and very sleepy. Woke up late the next morning and had to go out for breakfast. Then it was time to get ready for the wedding reception. So there was hardly time to notice the comfort or was it discomfort of the Inn. The bombshell came when the family requested an extension of stay from the 12noon check-out time to 1.00pm. The lone staff said, after consulting his ‘invincible’ manager of course, that there will be a charge for one hour!! No amount of coaxing would change his mind. We decided not to pay but to check out and gathered at a mosque in front of the Inn.

Soooo, will I come back and stay in the Inn in the future? Noooo never. Do I recommend the Inn to people? It will only give me a bad name! ha ha ha……..

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya