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Quirky Sekeping Kong Heng hotel in Ipoh, Malaysia, comes with a warning: it’s not for everyone

  • A cross between upmarket youth hostel and bare-faced chic boutique, this weirdly wonderful property located in the heart of Ipoh’s old town will leave you with some stark memories

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The Sekeping Kong Heng, in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Where is it? Few hotels hesitate to sing their own praises. A property warning that it may not be to everyone’s taste is a rare animal indeed. So full marks to Sekeping Kong Heng (“bright prosperous”) for kicking off its web­site’s FAQ by advising potential guests to “read on to find out if [we] are compatible”.

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Located in the heart of the old town of Ipoh – birthplace of actress Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng and Mohammad Nor bin Khalid, aka Lat, Malaysia’s wittiest popular cartoonist – Sekeping Kong Heng traces its genesis to the 1920s, when it was a hostel for a nearby theatre that catered to the mainly Chinese populace. After falling into disuse, the building was sensitively restored and expanded a decade ago, emerging as a cross between an upmarket youth hostel and a bare-faced chic boutique.

It takes its cue from the Kong Heng “coffee shop” (more like a cafe) at street level – rumbustious, utterly authentic and light years removed from the insipidness that is Starbucks. In short, the hotel is exotic, eclectic, mildly eccentric and quite the most appealing pied-à-terre in Ipoh.

A family room at the Sekeping Kong Heng, in Ipoh.
A family room at the Sekeping Kong Heng, in Ipoh.

What’s the accommodation like? There are 32 rooms strung between the main building and an adjacent new block, the kips ranging from single-bed pods with a shared bathroom and family rooms (above) to small, self-contained flats. Guests should expect a shelf of paper­backs rather than flat-screens, and bare walls whose white­wash has been allowed to fade into pastels.

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The most charis­matic room (below) mea­sures about 200 square metres, with solid wooden floors, arched windows and two glass boxes – each contain­ing a double mattress and curtains – sus­pended from the ceiling and reached via a ladder. A pair of bathrooms spreads across one end of the room. Staircases connect the floors of the main building, although a dedicated lift copes with heavier luggage.

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