There are several good hotels in Ipoh to choose from. Although Ipoh
itself is a tourist attraction in itself, there are other places to visit
too. Taiping is still our favorite with the Taiping Zoo, Bukit Larut and the
Lake Gardens. South of Ipoh is lies the little town of Kampar with the Gua
Tempurung Caves and white rafting areas.
Most international tourist never make it to Gerik. That's too bad.
Gerik
is an excellent base to explore the villages of the orang asli, the
original inhabitants of Malaysia.
Hotels in Ipoh
With a range of hotels in Ipoh it was a little problem to choose a hotel
for you. We found two which we want to recommend.
The Heritage Hotel Ipoh is located at Jalan Raja DiHillir, just a few
minutes from the North-South Highway interchange into Ipoh City.
The Darul Ridzuan Museum is around an hour away by car, and the hot
springs at Tambun are some 25-minutes from the hotel. This premier business
class hotel enjoys an ideal location in the heart of Ipoh City with a
panoramic view of the adjacent Ipoh Turf Club.
There are a total of 265 well-appointed rooms. The hotel is
air-conditioned and has an entrance hall, a currency exchange facility, lift
access, a restaurant, conference facilities, room and laundry services and
parking for those arriving by car. ust a few min from the North-South
Highway interchange into Ipoh City, you will find the hotel. Directly
adjacent to the hotel is Ipoh's famous Turf Club. Its 220 km or about 2 h 30
min drive from Kuala Lumpur and 190 km or about 2 h and 15 min drive from
Penang.
The Impiana Casuarina is in a convenient location in Ipoh. It offers breath-taking
views of rugged limestone hills from all rooms, while being in an ideal
location for business and leisure travelers.
Here, guests will find excellent facilities as well as hospitality at its
warmest. This city hotel is popular amongst locals and visitors as the
choice hotel for accommodation in Ipoh, as well as being the preferred venue
for Ipoh's most prominent gatherings. The hotel has 200 refurbished deluxe
rooms and suites. It is air-conditioned and has a reception with a safe,
lift access, a hairdressers', dining and parking facilities, as well as a
laundry service.
Hotel Excelsior, Ipoh's first international class hotel provider
comfortable accommodation and personalized service at value for money
prices. The hotel has a total of 181 rooms and is ideally located in the
heart of Ipoh City's Business and Entertainment district. Ipoh is a
gourmet's paradise. Prepare to indulge in a variety of local favorites that
will make you crave for more.
Hotel Seri Malaysia is part of a hotel chain in Malaysia offering very
decent and cheap accommodation. I've stayed here twice in one of the 100
rooms and it was a pleasure. Good and clean rooms and conveniently located
close to the Turf Club.
Suns Inns Ipoh is located not far from The Lost World of Tambun. The
location, with Giant supermarket nearby is beautiful. Some call it little
Guilin because of the limestone karstmountains. That might be a little too
much honor (if you are interested in spectacular limestone mountains look
like,
Guilin/Yangshuo is a much better option).
If you are searching for a bargain and do not expect much luxury, this is a
good deal for the more as it is one of the cheaper hotels in Ipoh.
Although Ipoh is a good central location there are several reasons why
you would want to stay in Gopeng, Kampar,
Taiping or Gerik, let alone Pangkor island.
Taiping
My favorite city in Perak State is still Taiping. It's a very mellow city
with plenty to offer to tourists though many skip Taiping. Taiping is a good
example of "unknown makes unwanted".
At our Pangkor website we have several pages about Taiping. Your starting
point is, of course: the Taiping homepage.
Further we have pages about the Taiping Zoo, Kuala Sepetang and the
activities and places to visit there.
The best hotel is the Laketown Resort Hotel Perak. The Bukit
Merah Laketown Resort presents many attractions and facilities such as
the Waterpark; friendly and comfortable accommodation; eco-attraction haven;
themed-shopping areas as well as banquet and function facilities. To us,
this is the best place to stay.
The Taiping Zoo is a pleasure to visit. The zoo is located at the north
side of Lake Gardens and all animals have a very natural habitat to live in.
The Taiping Zoo is one of the main reasons why people come to Taiping and
stay here.
You can get on the river, all the
way to the Straits of Malacca, which is what we do in our activities and it
is ALWAYS an adventure.
See here what we do, in what we call a "river
cruise".
As you see there are enough reasons to stay a couple of nights in Taiping. We recommend to
stay at the Laketown Resort Hotel Perak.
Book NOW at the Laketown Resort
The Bukit Merah Laketown Resort presents many attractions and
facilities such as the Waterpark; friendly and comfortable accommodation;
eco-attraction haven; themed-shopping areas as well as banquet and function
facilities. It's the best choice in Taiping.
Deep in the mangrove forest of Kuala Sepetang
An amazingly interesting visit in Kuala Sepetang (Matang) can be made to
the charcoal factories. We recommend Mr. Chuah's factory, as he speaks
excellent English, has a good sense of humor, explains the process of making
charcoal very well but is most of all a fantastic host.
Mr. Chuah explains how charcoal is made
Check out more about Mr. Chuah and the charcoal factory
here.
Kampar
South of Ipoh lies the laid back town Kampar. It's an amazing little town
with a few places of interest. The Gua
Tempurung Caves are the longest and
beautiful caves in Malaysia. West of Kampar you will find an array of old
forgotten tin mines which are now in use as fishing ground (see the photo on
the right),
Overlooked by most international tourist is Gerik. That is not fair as
Gerik hosts one of the best places to visit the indigenous people of
Malaysia: the Orang Asli.
Although Gerik is a small town, there's some good hotels to be found. The
best one is the Belum Rainforest Resort Perak.
The resort is located in a 130-million-year-old forest, which has been
divided into Upper Belum (to the north) and the Temenggor Forest Reserve (to
the south).
It is an area with an amazing amount of mammals living here. Among
them are the Asian elephant, Malayan tiger, leopard, sun bear, Sumatran
rhinoceros and Malayan tapir. Ten hornbill species can also be found within
the forest complex, including the endangered plain-pouched hornbill. It is
also home to the biggest flower in the world, the rafflesia.
Lenggong, on the way from Kuala Kangsar to Gerik
The Belum Rainforest Resort is located on Pulau Banding, was recently
opened by the Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah. The resort can help
organise trips into the jungle as well as sightseeing opportunities.
To get there from Kuala Lumpur, take the North-South Expressway heading
north towards Ipoh. Take the Kuala Kangsar exit and head towards Gerik,
bypassing the town of Lenggong (a nice lunch stop although it has a small
resort, Tasek Raban Resort) at the lake side too, no online booking possible) and then to Pulau
Banding. There is no public transport to the resort.
These amazing caves are a real attraction of the surrounding of Ipoh. It
is hardly discovered by tourism. Get into the caves with a guide and explore
the beauty of the limestone mountains.
Mr. Brian Paton from the UK send us some amazing pictures from the late
1950's when he was stationed in Taiping, an important city in Perak. It was in the Merdeka days. We are
very happy to show you these.
We have two photo pages about Taiping, soldiers life in the camp and much
more. We had to create 2 photo pages because we some much material:
The little town of Kampar, just south of Ipoh is certainly worth a visit.
Enjoy the curry bread chicken in the heart of town or visit the
Gua Tempurung Caves.
