Nomaps (Malacca) — Hotel in Malacca

We had a lovely stay at this hostel. We're a family of 4 and the rooms aren't spacious. So we booked a room with 3 bunkbeds which gave us just that extra space for our stuff.

The building is small and easily missed. From the outside nothing gives away this is a hostel, so it feels like a hidden gem.

The inside looks pretty cool with an urban contemporary style. We love the mural details. It's a pity they don't have this style in the rooms. A simple mural in there makes a difference.

Each top bed has a small table, but 2 out of 3 were broken in our room (number 4). Which didn't bother us, but it would be useful for solo travellers to fix it. And it had a musty smell. Luckily there's airconditioning, but we had to keep it running to get rid of the smell. Which worked. It would be better to get rid of the mold. The fact that there's a musty smell was the only real negative thing of we have to mention something.

The mattresses are comfortable and so are the blankets. We've been backpacking for 8 months now around the world and these were one of the best mattresses!

The shared bathroom (both F/M) was always clean. So was everything else. There's a kitchen (no cooking facilities) and a small common TV room.

You can hire towels if you didn't bring any. And the historical centre starts right outside the door. There's not much interaction with the staff (they don't greet you once you've checked in and walk in and out). But if you need something, they're helpful.

I recommend...

Firstly, the only reason I booked this hostel was because of Kenji Chai's artwork on the walls.

But I was pleasantly surprised that it's actually a really nice place! It has a modern/industrial feel to it. Everything is kind of grey and rugged concrete but it doesn't feel dirty. The bathroom is particularly nice with a wooden floor instead of tiles. It has a lot of places that are just open to the air outside, which makes for a nice atmosphere though it also invites mosquitoes in to the showers.

All of the staff were really friendly and hospitable, and happy to go above and beyond to assist or give advice.

Some reviewers have said it's deserted and you can't meet people here. That is true, but I would also much prefer that than not being able to sleep because the other dorm occupants won't shut up.

I booked a 4-person dorm but I was the only occupant. I don't really understand how 4 people would even physically fit in the room because it was so small. The beds have a little side table that folds out, but mine was broken.

The kitchen or "outside" area would be good places to relax and work, but they really need a power strip because it's hard to find an accessible power point.

The toilet/shower rooms are basically unisex. It's one room with a "M" and "F" side, but men end up using the female side anyway. Not all the showers have soap, or they have a dispenser but it's empty. The showers also need a shelf to put your items, not just hooks...

Unfortunately, when I arrived, the staff were smoking at the front door, and I had to walk through that to get inside, and ended up smelling smoke on my clothes and in the hostel as well. ||The staff were friendly enough, and I was able to do my laundry while waiting for my room to be ready (I arrived before 2pm). ||The card access lock on our door ended up not working for my entire stay, and there were no large lockers available to store my suitcase. This was a little unnerving for security purposes, and even had a guy walk into our female only dorm in the middle of the night. ||There is storage under the bed for most valuables and smaller suitcases or backpacks. Each bed does have a small locker above it as well, but unfortunately, when I asked for that key, they stated it didn’t have one (someone prior must’ve lost it). ||Overall, this was a newer, clean, and unique hostel. It’s narrow, but quite long, and has nice open air spots between the floors. The free breakfast (toast, tea, coffee) was available all day and the free laundry was awesome! ||It’s too bad that there were quite a few mishaps during my stay, as I think this hostel has potential, but I can’t happily recommend this hostel due to the...