Our stay at The Smokehouse was indeed a nice experience. We stayed at The Ashley Room, perhaps one of the nicest rooms at The Smokehouse. This hotel is filled with history. We were impressed with details of the decor in each living rooms. At a glance, it was English but when we investigated, the fantastic decors were gifts from loyal guests not just from UK but from europe and around the world. The ambience was simply soothing. We liked our room -The Ashley very much. The weather was very wet, cold and windy when we were there. The temperature dropped quite a bit in the evening and the evening cold wind made our room too cold for comfort but.. our room has a functional fire place! Believe it or not, we got a kick out of keeping the fire alive, using rustic logs and old candles supplied by the housekeeping. Hehe..you don't get fireplace experience in Malaysia! The hotel manager Mr Khaw was a charmer, you feel at home with him, we felt that he added significantly to the nice experience with his impeccable hospitality. We can't say the same about the (non-malaysian) assistant manager who could not even smile when we checked-in and was very abrupt with the do's and don'ts at The Smokehouse. We found out that The Smokehouse was not at all as rigid as he made it. We had breakfast and dinners at this hotel. Overall the food was okay. Phone and internet transmission is very limited here. Something the management should improve on. It is okay not to have phones and tvs in the guest rooms (including in The Ashley) but wireless broadband internet connection should be made available. It is a neccesity in this modern era, it gives guests unlimited freedom to self-entertain without disturbing the privacy of others. The Smokehouse is usually crowded with people during afternoon tea, it is understandable; people come here to spend time with close friends over tea in a beautiful garden in a quiet place, great ambience..and it is close to home..about 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. We will come back :)
- Smokehouse Hotel Bukit Fraser
