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Kawan Kawan Guest House Malacca (Melaka) Review

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Malacca doesn’t seem to be much of a backpacker town, most of the tourists we see are local and/or considerably richer than us, which isn’t hard. Maybe all the backpackers are in other districts rather than the Old Town. Finding cheap accommodation (for a family of 4 in particular) in Malacca has been tricky. We feel that hotels and guest houses in Malaysia on the whole are quite expensive for South East Asia and you don’t get much for your money (remember in Thailand and Laos we were sometimes paying $12/night outside the big cities and beaches). So far in Malaysia we have only stayed in Malacca, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Maybe the less touristy parts are cheaper, we’ll find out eventually. One of the places we stayed in Malacca (Melaka) was Kawan Kawan Guest House, find our review and thoughts on this budget hotel or hostel below.

Cheap family accommodation in Malacca Malaysia. Kawan Kawan guest house

Weekends are the busiest time in Malacca, everywhere fills up as local tourists head to the old town. Vacancies were scarce, I don’t often say this, but book ahead. Some places have tried to charge us a 50% weekend supplement.

Much of the accommodation is in the lovely old shop house buildings that line the narrow streets. See the pictures in Malacca. First Impressions to give you an idea. We’ve stayed in several now and they have loads of charm but wooden floors and stud walls do little to deaden sounds from your neighbours or the street. It’s fine for us, but light sleepers may want to stay elsewhere.

We found very little accommodation that included a bathroom at a reasonable price, shared bathroom facilities were pretty common as we searched. Also many places do not take children, I guess this is down to safety in the old buildings and noise concerns.

Note: I always point out a few negatives. Obviously, if they’d been a big deal to us we wouldn’t have stayed, I just find a few for the benefit of others who may be sensitive to noise or shared showers or whatever. They’re not my negatives, we’re pretty easy to please.

Booking Information.

Book Kawan Kawan here on Agoda

Or return to our Malacca page here or our post on Malacca for kids here.

Kawan Kawan Review

Kawan Kawan is in the Old Town, right in the heart of it, on a narrow street opposite a Chinese Temple. The second place we stayed in Malacca, Casa Blanca, is a 2 minute walk to Jonker St. or the waterfront, but in a more modern building in a less pretty area. It’s right behind the big Casa Del Rio Hotel.

Kawan Kawan Guest House

Cost per night: for a 4 bed room $20-$30 US plus tourist tax. For a twin or double approx $20 plus tax. Delux double with bathroom approx $20 plus tax.

Number of beds: 4 single beds

 Kawan Kawan 4 person room.Cheap family accommodation Malacca Malaysia. 4 person room malaysia
A 4 person room at Kawan Kawan, there is little floor space but the 4 beds are comfortable and have their own reading lights.

What we got for our money: A fan, shared bathroom facilities and common areas in a lovely old shop house building with a great Old Town location. Free Wifi.

 Kawan Kawan Malacca Cheap Family Accommodation Malaysia
Shared washing and shower facilities in a downstairs semi-covered courtyard. Showers were fine and we never had to queue.

Kawan Kawan was simple but absolutely fine. The beds were comfortable and the bedding clean. It is a well known guest house and is listed on Agoda Check Prices and Availability for Kawan Kawan here.  We booked online as we were arriving after dark.


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The bathrooms were shared but spotlessly clean, the showers were great. The wifi was excellent. The room was tiny, we had a small amount of floor space and no furniture, no big deal. Individual reading lights and power sockets at each bed were a nice touch. We had no top sheet, just a small, clean, cotton blanket, that seems standard in our experience in Malaysia. I was cold, mostly because my kids love to sleep with the air-con set to Arctic.

You can hear the call to prayer in the mornings from the mosque up the road (before 6 am) and the gongs of the Chinese Temple opposite. That doesn’t bother me, it’s atmospheric. What did stop me from sleeping was the noisy group in the next room (just bad luck) and the musical bicycle rickshaws on the road outside. The road is one way only and very quiet other than the odd rickshaw, it could be much worse if you’re on a main road.

We stayed 2 nights at Kawan Kawan Guest House, we had to move on because they were fully booked over the weekend, we would happily have stayed longer and would go back.

 

If you'd like to hire a car during your stay, use this car rental comparison tool to find the best deal!

We also suggest you take a look at this company to get a quote for all kinds of the more tricky adventure or extended travel insurance.

Try Stayz / VRBO for an alternative way to find rentals on homes/apartments/condos in any country!

Sheralyn

Tuesday 5th of November 2013

Thank-you so much for posting this stuff! We'll be spending about 6 months in Malaysia starting about a year from now, and I'm collecting as much info as I can on places to stay - $33 a night is our budget, so this is great! :)

Bronwyn Joy

Monday 4th of November 2013

We nearly headed out there this weekend just past. One of these days when we're a bit more in the mood we'll have to go for it - can tuck these two suggestions away for that time! Family accommodation is always a bit of a pain in the neck, unless you're prepared to split over two separate rooms.

You'll definitely find cheaper accommodation in other areas of Malaysia. Won't be down to Laotian prices, though.

chris

Monday 4th of November 2013

Thanks for posting these reviews - they are very helpful. My wife & I will be in Malacca in February and needing some budget accommodation and this is great info. Cheers Chris

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