Fair Park Hotel @ Ipoh

After staying 3 nights at Regalodge Hotel @ Ipoh, we decided to extend our stay by another night but, unfortunately, Regalodge was already fully booked for the Chinese New Year (CNY) week.

 

As such, we had no other choice but to try to look for another hotel and that's when I chanced upon Fair Park Hotel @ Ipoh after noticing it while enroute to Regalodge Hotel.  The exterior of the hotel looked quite nice and so, we decided to book our stay there for one night @ RM139 nett.

The reception looked plain and 'old school' and you instinctively know it is a budget hotel.  The pic on the left confirms the fact as it was awarded the "Best Budget Hotel" in 2011 by the Perak Tourism Board.

After checking in, the hotel staff gave us our key (not a key card) and it was, literally, a key that you use to open the room door...very old fashioned indeed.  The lift was somewhat dark and unkept and the carpet was torn.  As the lift door opens, you are greeted with an inside balcony and doors to the rooms that made you feel like you are in a dormitory....not a very inviting sight!

The room was small with, once again, old fashioned bedspread.  What I disliked the most was the carpet, it was old and worn out (it reminded me of my ex-office's carpet) and it looked and felt dirty, so we had to wear our slippers whilst in the room since no bedroom slippers were provided.

The bathroom amenities were practically zero, all that was provided was a small soap and a shower cap.  The worst thing was, the bathroom floor is only one level, so when you close the shower curtain and take a bath, the water flows through the entire bathroom.  If you choose to use the toilet after someone has showered, you will have to step on a wet floor.  The saving grace...at least the bathroom was clean.

This is the hotel's café which looked rather good from the outside but, on the inside, looked very much like a canteen, even the table placemats are old style. 

 

When I checked in, the hotel staff informed me that breakfast was included in my room rate and I was pleasantly surprised as I was not expecting it....and, boy, I was surprised all right!!!

The breakfast was totally unpalatable, it was the worst breakfast I have ever been served!  You have a choice of 2 meagre dishes, either Toast Bread or Fried Meehoon. 

I ordered Toast Bread, thinking it was the safest bet, but they can't even do a simple toast properly.  The toast was burnt and lightly spread with butter and kaya (they can't even provide you with a good butter and jam separately).  This was served with some kind of oatmeal that looked like a baby's vomit....no way I'm gonna eat that!

 

Does this look appetising to you?  The Fried Meehoon was tasteless and the omelette was cold...even I can make better Fried Meehoon than that (and I don't even know how to fry meehoon)! 

My Personal Opinion

To sum up, it's obvious that my stay was not a pleasant one! 

A check on Agoda (after I was staying there already) revealed that it is a 2-star hotel with a 6.6 rating (Pleasant) but my stay was far from pleasant (and that's why you should choose a hotel with at least a 7.5 rating to be sure).  Most of the Agoda's customers' reviews were not favourable with most citing breakfast as the worst (even though it's free).  If you can't provide a decent breakfast, don't provide one at all!

Although I'm aware that this is only a 2-star hotel and should not expect too much, I would rather pay a little more (during peak seasons) and be assured of a comfortable stay in Regalodge.
 

Here are my top 5 reasons (in no particular order) for NOT choosing Fair Park Hotel Ipoh:

1.  Worst breakfast ever.
2.  The room does not exude a warm, cosy stay.
3.  Zero amenities provided.
4.  The stuff in the room looks old and worn out.
5.  For the price you pay, it may seem worthwhile....but it's not, for the price is almost similar to a good 3-star hotel (during off peak seasons).

This would definitely be my first and last time staying at this hotel!

Fair Park Hotel
85 Jalan Kamaruddin Isa
31400 Ipoh
Perak
Tel: 05-548 8666