I’ve always loved staying in a place with a story[1]. I feel like the staycation is more authentic, in some way. And more often than not, I love sharing that priceless story and experience with other travellers.
Last month, my husband and I stayed at The Nest House Melaka. There is a very interesting story about the land where The Nest House was built on. However, what was more engaging are the “masterminds” behind The Nest House and how it became what it is today.
The Nest House Melaka
Location & Architecture
The welcoming drinks for us – bird’s nest & pineapple tart!
The Nest House Melaka is located right smack in Bandar Hilir, behind Jalan Melaka Raya. Due to it’s hidden location, even though it takes less than 10-minutes walk to Dataran Pahlawan Melaka, the guest house itself is very quiet and cosy, away from loud noises and heavy traffic.
I love that The Nest House Melaka is incredibly nearby to restaurants, spas and shops. At first, I imagine the guest house would be slightly away from Melaka town when the car we came with drove up along it’s quiet street (and what we locals would call, the back lane) but when we walked a few feet from the guest house, we realised that it was only behind the famous Restaurant Nyonya Makko and also a walking distance from Thai Odyssey.
The creation of the building took a lot of thought, time and love. This was made successful by both the masterminds of The Nest House, Mr. Tong (owner) and Ms Melanie Bayoud (artist).
You could see many thoughtful touches at every corner of the guest house. For instance, the use of ventilation block feature walls at the lobby and the ground floor rooms with tall and expansive windows – to allow natural air flow throughout the building. The use of heat-reflective glass (windows) so that the building can maintain cool temperature without over-using the air-conditioner.
Ms. Melanie Bayoud and Mr. Tong has been friends for many years. When Mr. Tong first purchased the land that is now The Nest House Melaka and decided to build a guest house, he roped in Ms. Melanie and her artistic skills to make The Nest House a beautiful and comfortable guest house for both locals and non-locals.
And that is why you can find many instagram-worthy paintings, photos, custom-made pieces and designs all throughout the building. Look at this huge bird in front of the building. How can anyone miss such an incredibly gorgeous bird? And this was made by Ms. Melanie in 36 hours!
Trivia: The Nest House Melaka got it’s name because Mr. Tong is an owner of a Bird’s Nest business. He wanted to incorporate his business and the guest house together, hence why most of the art found in The Nest House are bird-related. Bird’s Nest are also sold at The Nest House Melaka.
Rooms & Amenities
I find the room names at The Nest House Melaka very interesting. Each room are named after famous Melaka streets. Even the nameplate on the doors are copied exactly like those found in Melaka.
There are 5 types of rooms available at The Nest House that totalled up to 10 rooms.
- Standard Queen (RM 158 Weekday, RM 188 Weekend)
- Deluxe Queen (RM 178 Weekday, RM 208 Weekend)
- Deluxe Twin (RM 188 Weekday, RM 218 Weekend)
- Deluxe King (RM 238 Weekday, RM 268 Weekend)
- Premium King With Own Garden (RM288 Weekday, RM318 Weekend)
*Prices above on May 2018.
My husband and I stayed in the Premium King With Own Garden room named Jonker Walk. We enjoyed our private garden a lot, with the swing, plants and ventilation blocks that kept us away from prying eyes. We love that even though The Nest House is a guest house, each rooms have it’s own en suite bathroom, and it’s shower stall has a unique open-feature window – not too big that people can spy on you showering but enough to let natural light in.
Another thing I like is that the shower foam, shampoo and conditioner dispenser are huge! This is what we need in every guest houses, homestay and hotels!
I have stayed at guest houses before and most of the time the rooms and facilities are adequate but at The Nest House Melaka, I just didn’t want to get out of it’s 5-star hotel bed!
I also loved the unique artwork in my room – every room at The Nest House also have their own unique and distinct artwork.
Other Facilities
The garden courtyard is perfect to hang out in the morning or at night whereas the open rooftop is perfect to hang around with friends in the evening, gossiping and having fun until dark. Both the garden courtyard and open rooftop are well-lit so you can even hang out at these places by yourself. There’s also a skydeck that offers 360o view of Melaka.
Day time
Night time
Dinner at the rooftop
My husband and I enjoyed the gorgeous wings painted on the open rooftop’s wall. We took many pictures and had dinner with friends here too. We love the cold breeze at night.
The Nest House Melaka is a guest house anyway so if you’re hungry or thirsty, the pantry at the Lobby is where you need to head on to. What I love about the pantry is that it’s open 24 hours so, for someone like me who might need a little munchies and hot chocolate at 2 o’clock in the morning, the 24-hour pantry is a blessing. Most of the thing you need can be found at the pantry including tea, instant coffee, sugar, hot or cold water, fruits, snacks, sink, cups, plates, bowls, jam and more.
Wifi? For those who can’t live without the internet, room wifi and lobby wifi are available upon check-in and throughout the whole stay.
Check out more of Melanie Bayoud’s artwork at @embeedesigns and photos of The Nest House Melaka at @thenesthousemelaka[2][3]
Services By Staffs
The Nest House Melaka is owned by a family person. The establishment is very friendly and the staffs are close-knit which made our stay very comfortable and fun. The staffs are approachable and helpful in assisting and answering any inquiries.
Rating:
References
- ^ a place with a story (runawaybella.com)
- ^ embeedesigns (instagram.com)
- ^ thenesthousemelaka (instagram.com)
