Hotel Eastana — Hotel in Perak

This was the first time we ended up in a hotel that we could not choose ourselves! Coming back into Malaysia from overseas, we were assigned to this hotel by the local health department. As soon as we knew the name of the hotel, we looked online and called the hotel manager, Mr Vilu to get a better idea of what to bring with us. He was very nice in answering all our questions like what type of connection did the room TV have so I could bring the correct cable to connect my laptop (HDMI btw). Being confined in a hotel room for 2 weeks is not something we had ever done before so having a laptop with internet was going to be our main activity during our confinement. The hotel provides adequate free wifi but we could also use our own internet in our phone as a hot spot (good coverage in our room). Luckily for us, we had a room with a window so we could see traffic passing by as well as mountains on the horizon and daylight! If you are a light sleeper, make sure to bring cotton balls for your ears at night as there is constant traffic on the main road nearby (we slept like babies thanks to our ear plugs). The room was clean, the beds comfortable, the water hot in the shower, the AC working perfect with a ceiling fan so can control the air flow. TV screen was nice quality LG with good sound so we could enjoy documentaries, movies from our laptop (we did not watch any of the 5 lame mainstream channels). The food was delivered to our room (another novelty for us, obliged during quarantine!) and it was surprisingly varied (mix of Malaysian and intl cuisine) and abundant enough prepared by a caterer hired by the hotel. Once a day, you can order food delivery but we never felt the need to as the standard catered food was satisfying. We could communicate easily with the hotel staff via a whatsapp group or phone and our few special requests were answered right away. Mr Vilu and the hotel staff are probably the best asset for this hotel and should we ever need an hotel room in this area, we would not hesitate to come back at the Eastana Hotel. Thank you for making our mandatory stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Contrary to what we heard from other quarantined people in other parts of Malaysia about food and rooms, we have no critics about this hotel, a very good choice by...

Eastana||Small rooms but good enough size for us. Some water stains in our bathroom but I guess it is inevitable. Bathrooms are clean. ||All staff at the small lobby werealways with their masks OFF because lobby is quiet, and they forget to put them back on when guests come. I have asked them, "How come all guests are with face masks and all staff not ?"... to which they replied, "We are in masks whole day, so it gets tiresome and itchy". That's not a good excuse! |Besides that, staff are courteous. ||There is no "do not disturb sign" on the door. I was not pleased that the cleaner went into our room although we said no housekeeping required. We don't like strangers into our private space especially during this pandemic time. ||Only 1 extra power plug points besides one for TV and the other for kettle. The power plug point for the kettle can't be used for our usual Malaysian plug size (I think they realised the flaw too late)... It's only good for the made-in-China kettle. Best to bring your own power extension.||Kinta Riverwalk (night lights) is just 400m away. Location is slightly undesireable as it takes a big loop to get to town. The hotel list it as closes to Ipo Old Town.... that is only so if you can fly straight across traffic, or you walk!||No Chinese food in the commercial area. Not so many restaurants too. Most of the political parties's office located here. Ample roadside parking, need parking coupon or parking app. No public transport, need to walk out to main roads.... unless you call a cab or care hire||There are so many other hotels of equivalent value in town. I wouldn't choose this one...

Small rooms but good enough size for us. Some water stains in our bathroom but I guess it is inevitable. Bathrooms are clean. Water pressure acceptable. Air cond units cold, works well.

All staff at the small lobby werealways with their masks OFF because lobby is quiet, and they forget to put them back on when guests come. I have asked them, "How come all guests are with face masks and all staff not ?"... to which they replied, "We are in masks whole day, so it gets tiresome and itchy". That's not a good excuse! Besides that, staff are courteous.

There is no "do not disturb sign" on the door. I was not pleased that the cleaner went into our room although we said no housekeeping required. We don't like strangers into our private space especially during this pandemic time.

Only 1 extra power plug points besides one for TV and the other for kettle. The power plug point for the kettle can't be used for our usual Malaysian plug size (I think they realised the flaw too late)... It's only good for the made-in-China kettle. Best to bring your own power extension.

Kinta Riverwalk (night lights) is just 400m away. Location is slightly undesireable as it takes a big loop to get to town. The hotel list it as closes to Ipo Old Town.... that is only so if you can fly straight across traffic, or you walk!

No Chinese food in the commercial area. Not so many restaurants too. Most of the political parties's office located here. Ample roadside parking, need parking coupon or parking app.

There are so many other hotels of equivalent value in town. I wouldn't choose this...