Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Cathayana Hotel is the newest hotel in Kuantan. It is located on Lorong Tun Ismail 5 and is close by UTC, East Coast Mall and Berjaya Megamall. It opened its doors for business on Friday 17th October. It is awaiting an anticipated 3-star status and stands for now as a budget hotel in the town centre of Kuantan. We were the very first guests to try out the Service Apartment, of which there are 3 units in Cathayana Hotel.

Room rates have not been finalised yet but will be by the end of November. They are anticipated to range roughly between RM100-300.

Cathayana Hotel has 4 room types inclusive of: Superior Deluxe, Triple Deluxe, Family, and Service Apartment. The Hotel Manager, a Mr. Razali Rahman, showed us around the rooms. He has previously worked at Grand Continental Hotel Kuantan, and most recently at Rompin Beach Resort.

The Superior deluxe room at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan features one king size bed and is ideally suited to couples

A king size bed and a single bed are included in the Triple Deluxe rooms at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Cathayana Hotel Kuantan's Family room includes a king and two single beds, ideal for a family of 4 or 5

The Superior Deluxe, Triple Deluxe and Family rooms at Cathayana Hotel come with attached bathrooms with storage space similar to this

And now on to our room for the night which was a Service Apartment. The first impression was very good. Spacious, simple, light, and windows - lots of them. We couldn't believe this was a budget hotel.

We stayed in room 402, one of three Service Apartments at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Service Apartment at Cathayana Hotel in Kuantan

Kitchen area, Service Apartment, Cathayana Hotel, Kuantan

Living area, Service Apartment, Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

It was exciting looking around the apartment, discovering room layouts, storage areas, the bathroom etc. We were fully aware that as this was a brand new hotel, there would most likely be some small teething problems, but they were minimal. Apart from an odour from the bathroom drainage which disappeared after a few hours, everything was fine. In fact, that seems to be a common hurdle with most hotels as we experienced the same thing at The Zenith Hotel Kuantan when we were among the very first guests there too.

First bedroom view at Service Apartment, Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Storage area beside the bathroom, Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Cathayana Hotel Kuantan's bathroom in the Service Apartment

Mr. Razali informed us that we were the very first guests in the Service Apartment and he was slightly worried how things would go for us!

Second bedroom at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan's Service Apartment

We got our girls to sleep together in the second bedroom, which includes two single beds side by side and lovely views of Kuantan. The partition acts as both a storage via two shelves, and on the other side, a make-up area with chair and mirror, and open wardrobe.

Second bedroom view at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan, Service Apartment

In the afternoon, I did my customary exploration of the hotel and nearby surroundings. Cathayana Hotel has an interesting exterior design that resembles a stack of building blocks.

Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Outside Cathayana Hotel Kuantan at Ground Level

The lobby, while not fully complete (there will be a restaurant opening soon to cater to function rooms on the 9th floor), is extremely spacious, which is an immediate plus point for me. Also, I was drawn in to the marvellous paintings on the wall behind the Front Desk. They are very attractive and create a positive first impression.

The spacious lobby at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

A waiting area of the lobby at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Front Desk in the lobby at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Family photo in the Service Apartment, Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

And here we are at the main entrance to Cathayana Hotel Kuantan

Overall we really enjoyed our stay at Cathayana Hotel in Kuantan. It is centrally located and is just a few minutes away from East Coast Mall and Berjaya Megamall, literally just across the road from UTC, and there is a Mydin store 50 yards down the road, along with other shops and restaurants. So everything you need is all just a stone's throw away, making life very simple if you are staying here. There is also private parking on the 1st and 2nd floors.

1st floor parking bay at Cathayana Hotel Kuantan. Parking can be accessed at the back of the hotel. To the right is the climb to the 2nd floor parking. The elevator bay is through the door straight ahead

Thank you to Cathayana Hotel Manager, Mr. Razali Rahman, for making our stay possible and showing us around the hotel. We would definitely recommend Cathayana Hotel to travellers, whether couples or families.

Posing for a photo alonside Mr. Razali Rahman, Cathayana Hotel Manager

Part of the Family - Our Relationship with the Hotel Industry - Part 2

In the previous post, Treated like a King, I discussed how we first met Wayne Lee, the then-Vistana Hotel Kuantan manager.

Soon after meeting him, we became quickly integrated into the Vistana family and treated with the utmost love and attention that a close-knit family naturally provides. I sometimes wonder about the whys and hows we were extended so many privileges, it was almost too good to be true.

The girls enjoying one of our many stays at Vistana Hotel Kuantan

We were grateful indeed for invitations to stay at Vistana Hotel free of charge; I posted a detailed and highly complimentary write-up on this blog each time we were afforded such generosity by the management.

Wayne even took us behind the scenes one time, showing us all the back alleys in the basement where all the real action that keeps the hotel running, takes place. This included a very interesting, if not humid and stuffy, tour and explanation of the laundry room, washing machines, and chemicals used in cleaning. That post can be found here: Vistana behind the scenes

Of course, I didn't expect free food and stays to last forever, even though I was giving the hotel more publicity on the internet through my blog and facebook pages. Wayne was transferred to another YTL property and a new manager, Sharon, came in for her second spell in charge at Vistana Hotel Kuantan. I really didn't feel comfortable with asking Sharon if we could stay for a night, or if we could sit down in the Coffee House and have a lunch on the house. She didn't know us. But over the years we have become good friends with Sharon as well, and we still receive all the emails and invitations to events at the hotel, including this year's Rebranding Launch Event.

Nowadays, I have no problem paying for a room like any other person would have to. However, we remain extremely thankful for the times when things came free. We still have options to enjoy free stays at hotels, on a services exchange kind of basis, as will be explained in Part 3!

Treated like a King - Our relationship with the Hotel Industry - Part 1

Since moving to Kuantan in 2006, we have become very much involved with the hotel industry, both in win-win situations with hotels, and at our own personal cost. Today's post addresses how we first became seriously involved with the hotel industry.

The post can be found at my hotels blog by clicking on this link:

Treated like a King

I'd really appreciate your visit to my blog dedicated solely to my love of hotels, but you can also read the article in full right here.

We go to a hotel expecting a little pleasure, a little pampering, and on the whole, being treated like a King. As the description of my blog states: "Hotels give ordinary people the chance to enjoy a piece of luxury, and to be made to feel extremely important, for 24 hours."

While not all hotels give you that sort of experience, and shame on them if they fail to do so, most hotels will treat you like a King and really hope that you will return in the future.

Posing for a photo in a room at Vistana Hotel Kuantan with then-Hotel Manager Wayne Lee, accompanied by a couple of staff and my family.

One hot and balmy afternoon I was riding my bicycle back home from Teluk Chempedak beach. On the way I would always pass by Vistana Hotel Kuantan. I was curious. It was a hotel I had only ever been inside twice - once for a university function for my wife, and once to look around the meeting room floors out of curiosity. With sweat dripping down  my face on this particular afternoon, I decided to drop in and ask to speak with the Hotel Manager to make a proposal.

Within 5 minutes, this tall and lean man called Wayne Lee approached me in the lobby and we sat down and chatted for a while. I asked him if he would be willing to give us a free stay if in return, I created a blog post to promote his hotel. To my surprise, he immediately agreed and told me to call him as soon as we were ready for our stay!

This was the beginning of a long friendship with Vistana Hotel Kuantan and Wayne Lee, which continues to run now. This extends to Vistana Hotel KL and our comradeship with Pauline Gan too. From my very first contact as a sweaty (and perhaps smelly young man) who came in off the street demanding a free stay, I was treated like a King.

We continue to be treated with the utmost friendliness and respect by all of the hotel staff at Vistana Hotel Kuantan, many of whom we have become good friends with - Sharon, Ms. Fan, Nurul & Nurul, Hanafidhiyah, Carmen, Azam, Sivabalan, Wan, Kamarul, Aazhar, Zul, Hazriq, Zahar, Aman, Roslina, Yok Chi - and many others who have dealt directly with us for the purposes of business and leisure. My thanks and appreciation cannot adequately be expressed in mere words to all of these great people who have treated us like Kings (and Queens) and presented so many opportunities to our family.

When Wayne Lee was transferred to The Majestic Hotel in KL, the same positive treatment was extended to us there and more friendships have been made, particularly with Steven Chen whom we now deal with at Majestic Hotel. We look forward to our next visit to this remarkable hotel!

Wayne Lee, then-Hotel Manager at The Majestic Hotel KL, poses for a photo with a colleague in a beautiful guest room