Sarang Paloh Heritage Stay Reviews

We love this heritage transformed hotel. It’s unique in decoration, charming and comfortable in many aspects. Room is Clean n tidy with air-conditioning. Certainly a pleasant experience! 🥰

Amazing experience !

A nostalgic boutique hotel, strategically located within walking distance for good Ipoh food. Friendly staff especially front office, Redzuan

Trip.com should stop listing this hotel. My room was unliveable. The Aircon could not cool down the room and it was very stuffy. It was also poorly lit. I checked in at 3pm and made the decision to leave for another hotel by 5pm, even though I had pre-paid for 2 nights. It's a heritage property and the aesthetics are reasonable but I just could not tolerate a warm and stuffy room in the Ipoh heat and humidity. The lone staff on duty was helpless to do anything. The owners either have to invest more in the basic infrastructure or cut their prices by at least half.

The look and feel of Sarang Paloh is lovely. It has an old world style which we loved. The location is also great, ten minutes from the station and close to lots of restaurants and spots in the old town. The room has a nice style to it as does the garden you walk through. The room facilities were lacking, with no fridge and no safe which we would expect at this price point. Hot water in the shower doesn’t last long and they provide a 3 in 1 body wash, shampoo and conditioner, again something we wouldn’t expect at this price point. The hotel also doesn’t offer room cleaning. This may have been because we stayed for two nights only but this is not communicated on the website or at check in. This meant used cups or water bottles aren’t cleared nor is the rubbish bin emptied. We were also not made aware of locally available discounts for staying at the hotel. All in all an ok stay but several small things made this not value for the money we paid.

This is a unique hotel and you should definitely stay here if you want something different. The building has character and the room too. Nothing like your standard hotel. The welcome was very friendly and the staff there were helpful. We stayed in a loft room which was on two floors. There are some unhappy about that , maybe not for you if you don't like stairs. We thought it was very cool. Minor things like only a communal fridge and we found the bed a little hard. Only a little cubby under the stairs to sit so could do with some more cushions. The nearest shop is a couple of blocks away. Walking distance from the train station if that's your arrival point.

I love that they had done up the building while leaving the original features in tact. I appreciate the antiques they have dotted within the building, the beautiful tiles, artworks, the little teapots, cups and kolehs they left in our room. The building is also so conveniently located to all the cafes and sightseeing spots within old town. It has its own parking spot so you can leave your car safely in their space while exploring the area. Such a charming place. Bed is comfortable, room size is more than decent. Love it!

We enjoyed our stay in the loft apartment, only one chair upstairs and down was a problem with two people if you wanted to watch tv. A small fridge would have been appreciated.

great location within the city, just a short walk from the Ipoh Railway Station, with plenty of attractions & food choices around the area. the facilities were ok but needs a little more improvement, the interior decorations were amazing, being transformed from an old shophouse to a modern homestay but retaining some of the old charm & landscapes. even the receptionist is polite & helpful. definitely worth it & will definitely return again on my next visit.

Great location in the old town & the reception staff were lovely. Nice heritage features & the room was very clean.

Probably the best and nicest place to stay in the heart of historic Ipoh. Very clean, convenient (an easy walk from the train station) and quirky - lots of character - each room different configuration and decor in this converted historic building. Enjoyed our stay. Staff very friendly too. We (as a couple) stayed in the smallest loft room which was small but perfect for us for a few nights. We left our reservation until late and it was the only room available over a weekend. The aircon was very effective (thankfully) as it was high temperatures and humidity during our stay even by local standards. Very clean and shower pressure great. I wouldn’t stay anywhere else in Ipoh (based upon other options we looked into) from both a location and amenity perspectives.

Paloh was a malay & orang asli (“native”) kampung (“village”) that has been around from at least the 18th century. Apparently the names comes from the founder of the village itself Toh Paloh. Paloh, or palung, also means a depression in the ground that holds water, or a fishing hole to catch fish. It is believed that Paloh was also a boat dock in the past. Some other views hold that the Hakka were the founders of Paloh, and only later came the Cantonese. According to this theory, the origin of the name is a symbolic reference to the dams that were constructed along the Kinta River for fishing purposes. These dams were referred to as “Pa-Lo” in the Cantonese dialect and eventually the area became known as Paloh. Paloh today has of course become the heart of the city of Ipoh. In this old part of the city pre-war Shop Houses line the streets, with a predominantly Chinese character. “Sarang” is a malay word meaning nest, hence “Sarang Paloh” means “The Nest in Paloh”, evoking the image of the hotel as a place of rest for the weary traveller. Located on Jalan Sultan Iskandar (formerly Hugh Low Street), Sarang Paloh is located in pre-war two storey shop houses that originally were the premises of a Goldsmith and a Bank more than 90 years ago. The façade of one of the buildings still has the name of the Goldsmiths on its façade in English, Chinese and Malay (jawi script), with the stately bank building still has the name of Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited on its front. Across the road, Sarang Paloh has another shophouse of which the ground floor has been converted into a carpark. If you have a car, this is where you would park. Parking is complimentary, but you must exercise caution, turning right into the shophouse entrance as Jalan Sultan Iskandar is a pretty high traffic road, and the building inside is quite narrow, with the cars having to be parked bumper to bumper, in two rows. Exit is out through the back of the shophouse into a back lane. Do bear in mind that if the shophouse is full of cars, you may get boxed in by other parked cars and not able to exit! Fortunately this did not happen to us while we stayed here. Getting to the hotel means having to cross the busy road again on foot, with your luggage, from the car to the hotel. The main reception area was in the former Goldsmith’s building, and the entire front of the shop house is dedicated to the reception. To get in the front door, you will need your access card, or the staff inside will have to let you in, if you have yet to check in. The central part of shop house is a courtyard with a spiral staircase going upstairs to the 2nd floor, and in the back is a sort of pantry area with dining table. Staircase at the back also leads upwards. We had booked a room at the back of the shophouse on the 2nd floor, as we were aware of reviews that rooms in front may have some street noise. The rooms are all named after birds, in line with the hotel itself being a “nest”. Our room wa

Great heritage hotel. Nice interior deco. It would be better if the different kinds of tax to be charged can be described clearly when purchasing online.

Lovely, atmospheric heritage building and hotel in the centre of Ipoh. I stayed 1 night and enjoyed it. The room was on 2 floors, with the bed upstairs, and a very nicely modernised bathroom. (The air-con was upstairs, above the bed, but there's a fan downstairs.) No breakfast included but there are a million fab places in Little India, a short walk away, serving delicious South Indian breakfasts and open all hours. The baking/bakeries that Ipoh is famous for are also close by as are several restaurants and nice street food options. All of them are open early and late and make for a nice morning/evening walk. I took a Grab and spent a few hours at the Kek Long Tong cave temple which is well worth a visit. The fare was reasonable though the temple is on the outskirts of town. Like most of their other guests, I struggled with the stairs & luggage. I carted my suitcase up 2+ flights of stairs with no assistance. Given many other guests have mentioned it, I would suggest the hotel consider getting a doorman who could help guests as there is no elevator and it's a real pain. I'm fit and able but those stairs would rule out the hotel for anyone with any mobility issues. The manager showed me to my room but told me she was unable to help with luggage. She was pleasant but generally unhelpful and also told me she wasn't sure I would make the cave temple for closing time and that she knew of no nearby hair salon tho I found, and visited, one about 2 min walk away using Google Maps. I would stay again the next time i'm in Ipoh.