Luxury and Style at the Courtyard @ Heeren Boutique Hotel
Wander along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock in Melaka’s Chinatown and the sights and sounds of this city’s colourful past still play on your senses. This has been called ‘rich man’s street’ as it’s where the old Chinese and Peranakan merchants built their homes. They left their mark on the area—in its style, in the beauty of the buildings and ornamented facades, and in the atmosphere of luxury glimpsed through open doors and windows. The city’s history and tradition is the inspiration of the Courtyard @ Heeren Boutique Hotel, which offers a taste of the old world combined with the best in modern design and convenience.
Historic Melaka
Melaka is the smallest state in Malaysia, but makes up for its size in its concentration of attractions for the tourist, which have made it one of the most popular holiday destinations in this part of the world. A melting pot of eastern and western cultures, the state and city of Melaka have an irresistible pull. If you are looking for historic sights, such as St John’s Fort and St Paul’s Hill, remnants of the Portuguese colonisation, or to explore the cafes and the unique little shops of Jonkers Walk and to pick up a bargain, you are sure to come away satisfied, whether you are here for an extended stay or only for a day’s shore excursion on a Far East cruise. You can explore the heart of the city by boat along the Melaka River, discover the unique cuisine of the area, which has Chinese, Malay and Peranakan influences, soak up the atmosphere of Chinatown, or visit the theme parks and wildlife attractions of Ayer Keroh on the outskirts of the city. Melaka was originally a small fishing village, but developed into one of the richest ports in the world. It remains one of the gems in Malaysia’s tourism crown.
Superior accommodation
The Courtyard @ Heeren takes the best of traditional Melaka style and adds its own modern twist. Whichever type of room you choose, each offers a distinct experience of luxury living with a style that is designed to be individual. There are fourteen rooms and suites in total, all with air conditioning, LCD TV, safe deposit box, writing desk, rain shower, mini bar fridge and hair dryer as standard. Each also has complimentary tea and coffee making facilities, mineral water, basic toiletries and daily newspaper.
There are four types of rooms and three types of suites. In the Courtyard @ Heeren there is no such thing as a basic room. We start with the superior room, which lives up to its name with its clean, modern lines and that touch of traditional design and decoration. These rooms have a generous use of quality wooden furniture and fittings and modern colour schemes in either a range of muted earth colours or black and white with accent colours and restrained use of decorative elements. In the Superior rooms, you can choose between twin beds or a double bed.
The Deluxe room is more spacious and has the added facility of iPod and Android docking with Bluetooth. These rooms have a wealth of traditional style and comfort, with large ornate beds, wood panelling, decorative carving or bamboo screening, generous drapes and tiled floors. Move up to the Superior Family Room and the traditional style and modern fittings are carried through into a more generous space that can accommodate two adults and two children. Here you’ll find children’s accommodation that is beautifully fitted out on a raised polished wood floor, surrounded by carved screens and with floor to ceiling curtains to close it off from the main room. In the Deluxe Family Room, style and decoration take a leap to another level, with a beautiful interplay of modern stripped-back style, traditional wood carving and antique wooden furniture.
Luxury suites
The Family Suite has all the standard and extra features of the Deluxe and Superior family Rooms, with a living room and two bedrooms fitted to accommodate up to eight people. The suite combines the privacy and intimacy of the master bedroom and its traditionally ornate, curtained four poster bed, the second bedroom’s more modern but no less luxurious style, with the stunning open space of the living room. This has a high wooden ceiling raised above dark wooden beams that echo the lines of the mezzanine floor, which leads to the bedrooms. These are reached by a carved and polished wooden spiral staircase that dominates the room and matches the tall wood-framed windows and the carved wooden furniture. The luxury bathroom includes a rain shower and Jacuzzi.
The Junior Suite offers accommodation for two, with a king sized bed and a private balcony with a view of the garden. The style is modern throughout, with a colour scheme of black, white and grey accented with wood and restrained decorative elements. The feeling of contemporary luxury is nowhere more typified than in the modern take on the four poster bed, with its simple steel frame rising up to the high ceiling and from which hangs an elegantly simple white translucent curtain. The clever design of its footings gives the bed the appearance of floating in space.
For those who prefer the more decorative, traditionally inspired style, the Executive Suite has all the special features of the Junior Suite, including the private balcony and garden view, but with the warmth of polished wooden floors instead of black and white tile, and greater use of decoration. The king sized bed is a modern design, without the posts and curtains of the Junior Suite, but instead sits comfortably under a high pitched wooden roof that forms the apex of a design with a taste of tradition while still being thoroughly modern in its comfort and uncluttered elegance.
‘Contributor – Susie Mather’