With no shortage of timeworn shophouses nor hotels eager to make a virtue of their storied past, Malacca has become something of a paragon for a new wave of heritage stays.
At Jonker Walk, Malacca’s instinct at architectural restoration is imposing at every turn: weathered plaster strategically retained, timber shutters faithfully preserved; old staircases refinished and restored; pre-war façades polished anew. What was once simply the architectural fabric of the old town has, in recent years, become something of a design vernacular; and the brief has become so reassuringly familiar from address to address that heritage itself has begun to feel almost formulaic.
It is a crowded field – one increasingly populated by boutique stays and bespoke B&Bs – and in that sea of dime-a-dozen restored shophouse hotels where everyone and their mother is jostling to serve up varying shades of the same nostalgia, the real challenge is no longer simply just to be the best preserver of the past, but increasingly, to have a better way of looking back.
And Liu Men makes a rather convincing case for that.
Liu Men feels particularly characterful for an archetypal boutique hotel: six pre-war shophouses* were brought together beneath one roof with much of their original architecture still intact; and then altogether, afforded a second lease of life.
* six former shophouses = six doors = Liu Men, which literally translate from Chinese to English as, ‘six doors’.
It does not shy away from its lack of a grandiose past: there is no elaborate mythology, no attempt to make legends out of lives that were, in all likelihood, simply lived; and it simply exists, without being beholden to a history they can’t quite lay a claim to. One might even observe that, amidst the thicket of romanticised narratives and grand histories that has become almost de rigueur among heritage properties, Liumen’s backstory reads almost disarmingly simple, because: here lies six houses that were once six separate family homes, and now, they have been brought together as one.
And that is just that.
What remains then, is a space that is allowed to speak for itself: A backdrop of black-and-white, punctuated by dark timber and Peranakan tile flooring that feel antiquated and contemporary both at once; hints of the Orient and Art Deco that polish the space without being overly mannered; and in between, a showcase of Malayan artefacts – not absent-mindedly assembled from a catalogue of decorative things meant to signify ‘old’, but – genuine family antiques curated from the Pang* family collection, rooted around a larger domestic history that extends well beyond the hotel’s own past.
* the Pang family (of Mamee fame) painstakingly researched and restored this property over a course of three years.
And the effect is quietly cohesive. A suggestion, perhaps, that there just might be more to architectural legacy than a building’s historical provenance. That sometimes, inheritance is as much about what is carried forward as what is left behind.
And though a small distinction, it is one that gives Liu Men its soul; for in a state that has excelled perfectly at preserving the visual language of heritage – so much so that it sometimes risks being read as a performance – Liu Men stands out from the masses precisely because it does not belabour a past it can no longer fully recover.
And therein lies, perhaps, its greatest storytelling accomplishment: there could have been a story, but they just, quite simply, chose not to tell.
How Do You Get Here?
There is no single answer to this one because how you get here depends, first and foremost, on how you got to Malacca.
If you are driving up from Singapore or from a different Malaysian state, definitely pick a drop-off point that is within the Jonker Street area. You can then make your way here by foot if you are not travelling heavy. Depending on your specific whereabouts, this will not be more than a fifteen-to-twenty-minute endeavour.
Alternatively, hop on a (very) cheap and (very) quick Grab ride over.
And as for the 1% of you who find yourself in Malacca by plane (tell me again how this transpired?), you have the option of an airport taxi – or, if you are up for navigating the public transport system within the first hours of your time here, then M12 (an hourly BAS.MY local bus service) is an extremely cost-efficient alternative to get your way down first to the central bus station (more colloquially referred to as Melaka Sentral), followed by a quick bus or cab ride to Jonker.
The Inside
The thirty rooms sprawled across Liumen’s three storeys of accommodation take their names from figures and characters associated with Melaka (Parameswara, Cheng Ho, Kapitan, Hang Jebat and Hang Tuah) – not as an exercise to wring a narrative inheritance out of them; but as a quiet nod to the history that surrounds the hotel – quite literally in the case of Hang Jebat, whose grave lies just three-hundred-odd metres away from the property).
I called the Hang Tuah Room home for my entire four-night stay in Malacca.
At about 23 to 27 square metres, this room is one of Liu Men’s more intimate offerings, and immediately feels like an extension of the shophouse’s old-world character. The form and interior lean deep into the bones of its original architecture, with carefully considered furnishings and details that feel more residential than hotel-like. The palette is restrained, with warm timber and touches of old-world ornamentation that give the space a sense of quiet richness without tipping into the overly theatrical.
With two giant sets of luggage, this will not come across as an enormous room, but that is almost beside the point. Everything is proportioned rather thoughtfully, with enough space to settle in without losing the intimacy that makes a shophouse stay appealing in the first place. And then come all the practical comforts you would expect: a well-appointed bathroom, an exceptionally comfortable bed, and the usual in-room necessities – but, it was the smaller details that I found most affecting. Most notably, the snack bar is entirely complimentary – a rarity in any hotels these days ever – and the selection is yours for the taking because they are replenished every single day throughout your stay.
Alongside, a handwritten welcome card that greets you by name also awaits on arrival, lending your entire experience here feel genuinely thoughtful from the first mile, rather than merely performative.
A little tip: ask for the Hang Tuah Room with direct access to the roof terrace. It is the only room in the entire hotel with this delicious feature; and while the terrace in question is technically a shared public space and not your own private extension, it does open up your living space and make the room feel considerably larger.
Across all four nights, not a single soul ventured to the roof terrace; thus transforming into a bonus of sorts that effortlessly extended the room and gave us more room to breathe.
SIDE ETIQUETTE NOTE: If you intend to emulate this arrangement, please be a decent human and book directly with the hotel. Refrain from checking out via a third-party site and then marching straight into their inbox with a special request. If you can find your way to their direct email address, you can definitely also find your way to their direct website. Especially because it has just been linked up above for you.
The Outside
If the rooms are where Liu Men settles into its heritage, then its communal area is where Liu Men most successfully pulls off its curious trick of feeling like a luxurious third space rather than a hotel. There is no grand lobby designed to announce itself; instead, the ground floor opens into a tall, light-filled sitting space that feels almost like the shared living room of a particularly well-appointed old house; and reception, breakfast and afternoon tea all happen here.
The same restraint carries through to the courtyard, where a glass roof draws daylight into the centre of the hotel and the wine-red vintage spiral staircase provides one of the property’s more theatrical moments. There is plenty here to look at, certainly, but very little that feels as though it is clamouring for attention. If anything, it is a space that beckons you to linger without giving you a prescribed reason to do so: to sit, have a drink, wait for breakfast, or simply just, look up.
Where Is the Crowd?
Liu Men sits right in the thick of Malacca’s old town, just off Jonker Street; making it a marvellously appointed base from which to explore the hustle and bustle of the city without actually feeling caught up by it.
Its greatest convenience, however, becomes apparent in the middle of the afternoon, when Malaysia’s infamous afternoon sun starts to burn down on you: duck back into the hotel for quick respite, retreat into the cool of your room. With so much of the old town within easy reach, there is little need to hesitate about time lost because you can simply come and go as you please.
For an inspired take on what you can do while you are here, read this.
Who Do You Take With You?
Liu Men feels particularly well-suited to couples and solo travellers, although I would not discount it for gatherings of larger sizes. My little traipse down the reviews rabbit hole uncovered accounts of sizeable friend reunions to even casual corporate retreats, with the hotel’s unusually exceptional service proving to be the common denominator across the board.
But who do you take with you? Well, anyone who does not mind sharing the romance of an old shophouse with you, really. Couples, certainly; close friends, absolutely; and anyone who values the novelty of stepping briefly into another era, without quite having to relinquish the comforts of the present.
I Should Probably Mention This…
If your visit coincides with a weekend or a public holiday, expect your journey to and fro to be something of an exercise in patience. The tail end of Jonker Walk’s weekend night market spills onto the very street Liu Men sits on, and getting back to the hotel once dusk falls can be a downright ordeal, especially if your mood meter is already wearing thin. The heaving mass of people moves at the speed of a funeral procession, and there is very little to do but surrender to the crawl until you finally reach the relative sanctuary of the hotel.
Then there is the traffic. Equally and just as painfully slow, the network of narrow, largely one-way streets in Melaka’s old town does not exactly lend itself to efficient pick-ups and drop-offs. What looks like a short journey on a map can turn out far longer than you think. Expect your feet to take you to many places more efficiently than your Grab ride can – even for slightly further flung places like Mahkota. Often times, just to get to Mahkota Parade mall, my ride would take such a sprawling detour that I could have sworn we were on the outskirts of the state.
That said, I would hesitate to pin either of these entirely on Liu Men. Any hotel within the Jonker Street precinct is likely to contend with the very same weekend congestion; if anything, Liu Men seems to bear relatively little of the brunt given its position just beyond the busiest stretch.
Still, this is definitely something not to be overlooked if you are considering any hotel in Jonker: on a busy weekend, the enviable centrality morphs into a logistical curse; so come, and come prepared with every last reserve of your patience summoned.
Service Footnotes
Service is perhaps where Liu Men’s small scale becomes its most conspicuous advantage.
My own touchpoint with the team began long before I had even arrived: shortly after my booking came an earnest message thanking me for my reservation – and while it may very well have been a standard pre-arrival template, strangely it did not reek of the usual corporate boilerplate at all.
Somewhat emboldened by the unexpected warmth from this exchange, I then replied on a whim to ask if I might be able to get the Hang Tuah Room with direct roof-terrace access – an uncharacteristically forward move that I would ordinarily not dare to venture to make – and to my absolute most pleasant surprise, a prompt (and real human) response returned almost immediately, acknowledging my message with a tentative approval.
This very same attentiveness continued well upon arrival and into my stay; and that is, perhaps, where I feel Liu Men’s modest scale works most wonderfully in its favour: the daily evening turndown service feels unexpectedly generous (and almost unimaginable) for a property of this size; the fully complimentary (and constantly replenished) snack bar comes across like an indulgence one would expect to have to pay handsomely for elsewhere; and of course, the personally addressed handwritten welcome card on arrival – and a parting gesture by way of a traditional Chinese hand fan presented at checkout – all embody small courtesies that can prove increasingly difficult to sustain at scale.
None of these gestures are particularly grand in isolation, one might argue; but taken together, they do create a rather formidable benchmark for any hotel to contend with, boutique, chain, or otherwise. And for this reason, Liu Men makes a rather compelling case for itself – and at least for me, leaves remarkably little to be desired.
Is It Worth Waking Up Here?
Yes, and emphatically so.
Liu Men is intimate without feeling austere, historic without feeling museum-like; and its strategic perch at the edge of Jonker Street is perhaps our greatest luxury, placing us close enough to the bustle of the old town without quite ever allowing the accompanying hustle to seep into the quiet intimacy of the hotel. You can feel simultaneously immersed in its frenetic rhythms and be wonderfully removed all at once; and this seductive sense of seclusion gives off a thrill from the knowledge that, even as we are quite literally in the thick of things, we will always have the luxury of disappearing from it all.
Add to this to the aforementioned service footnotes, and Liu Men becomes the sort of place that sets a rather unfairly high bar for everywhere else.
If spaces hold worth in the way you travel, you may enjoy slipping into my other stay experiences where mood, tone, and atmosphere take centre stage. ♡
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