HOTEL STAY: BEST WESTERN PREMIER - THE HAVEN IPOH

HOTEL STAY: BEST WESTERN PREMIER - THE HAVEN IPOH | I had a great weekend retreat with some blogger friends when we took the ETS (Electric Train Service) from KL Sentral all the way to Ipoh and checked into The Haven Ipoh. It was just a 2 1/2 hour ride and we were met and picked up by a van from The Haven. It takes about 15 minutes to get from Ipoh town to The Haven which is located not too far away from the Lost World of Tambun.

The Haven is Perak's tallest and most luxurious resort Condotel and possibly, the only one of its kind in the world where you get to stay near the forest and still be in the city.

The Haven is operated by Best Western International (BWI) family chain of hotels, which is also the world's largest, under its 'Premier' or five-star status. It is Best Western's finest eco-resort in Asia...

The Haven's centerpiece is an iconic 14-storey high, 280-million-year-old limestone outcrop known as "Rockhaven". The picturesque ancient hills half surrounding The Haven are home to many beautiful and unique plants and animals...(if you are lucky you can spot some...)

The tower karst hills there at The Haven are a very unique geological features only found in very few locations in Southeast Asia, and the virgin forest you can see has been deliberately preserved and maintained.

The natural pristine 4-acre 'constantly flowing' lake gives guests and residents a most tranquil environment.

The Haven is among the first developments in Malaysia to make use of all available energy resources-rainwater harvesting, solar energy and even a windmill turbine- all withing a sustainable budget to reduce carbon footprint.. impressive huh...

When we checked in and entered our condotel unit, we were most overwhelmed and excited by the beautiful scenery we saw from our balcony.

There were three rooms in our unit on the 12th floor. two rooms had queen beds and one room with a single bed. The master bedroom had a bathroom attached with a bathtub and shower, whereas the 2nd bedroom had an attached bathroom with a shower, and there was another smaller toilet/shower outside. 

We had a lovely view of the "Rockhaven" , lake and forest from our balcony... and we had a kitchen which can only be use for guest staying for more then a week.

The lush greenery that half surrounds the condominium area is so peaceful and we truly took our time enjoying the glory of nature. It was perfect to have a picnic, or a stroll, or practice yoga moves.

We spent some time taking a slow walk around the lake. Despite thinking the walk around the lake would take quite a while, we were surprise that it only took us about 20- 30 minutes of slow walking with lots of photography stops.. and probably 15 minutes or less with brisk walking. There was a guy who had passed us two or three times while we were taking our pwn sweet time strolling along the path.

And this is a very safe place to jog or walk. Safety and security here is very important with The Haven with their 5 level, 24 hour security .

There was so much to admire strolling around the lake and I had lots of fun taking pictures of the amazing flora and fauna around the pathways.

Look at all the gorgeous flowers I encountered.

There are so many gorgeous views from the walk around the lake of both the "Rockhaven" as well as the condo. And do you know the condominium was painted with the best waterproof paint around and it was painted with a gradual change of colours. Dark green , light green, blue to white and this is to 'fit in' with nature - green for the forest, blue for the sky and white for the clouds.

The Haven is created for the comfort of both business and leisure guests. The well-planned and thoughtfully designed units offer spectacular panoramic views of nature and the surrounding, and ideal for rest, recreation and vacation for both the young and old...and very suitable for parent(s) child(ren) and grandparent(s).

There is an adorable little playground for the kiddies.

There is the Cuisines, the only restaurant for now, though there are plans in place for a more attractive and formal The Premiere restaurant which will be open in soon.

The Cuisines offer the best of Local, Asian and Western cuisines under one roof.

We had our dinner there at Cuisines and were treated to a sumptuous meal fit for a king. We got a glass of their home-made fruit punch, made out of 6 different fruits, and then indulged in Kerabu Chicken and Kerabu Fish, among their unique signature dishes, as well as a lovely bowl of Ipoh Laksa which is very much like our Curry Laksa or Curry Mee but the gravy is thick and just delectable. Then we had some Ipoh Chicken Rice, and a slice of cheesecake to finish our dinner.

I liked the Kerabu Fish and it makes me think a little of Thai Style Steam Fish .. the Ipoh Laksa is yummy with thick flavourful gravy that Cuisines serve dishes made fresh and without artificial flavorings or MSG. The chicken and fish are all juicy and succulent, evidence of the freshness promised...and the chicken rice is just so fragrant. Even the chicken rice soup has been painstakingly made with fresh vegetables that included a different chicken especially just for the soup, carrots, shitake mushroom, celery and cabbage.

After our very filling dinner, we took the time to take yet another stroll around the lake, something I won't normally do... LOL and also explore the lobby and front of the hotel again as when we were checking in, there were too many people and we could not really take a proper picture of the place then.

The lobby is spacious with generous leather sofas neatly arranged for guests comfort.

The signage and entrance of the building. There are three condominiums that make up the Haven Lakeside Residences and only 150 of these are managed by the Best Western International group and open for guests to come stay and enjoy.

After taking some pictures, we made our way back to our condotel unit to watch some TV, check our emails and get online.

The WiFi here is pretty fast as The Haven has their own development provides the condominium with Malaysia's 1st 100% digital living Fibre to a Home Condominium. The Haven has an Integrated FTTH that covers all ELV services including copper cables intensive SMATV and structure cabling Intercom as well as an IPTV system.

We were up early, having set our alarm for about 6 ish in the morning as we wanted to see the breaking dawn, no, not the movie, but the real thing. We wanted to watch the sky turn from dark to light and the sun popping out from behind the "Rockhaven" or the other limestone hill.

Don't you like the mirror effect of the serene lake early in the morning... It just looks so peaceful and beautiful. We went to Cuisines for our buffet breakfast.

They have a pretty reasonably good breakfast buffet spread at Cuisines with local favorites, including the Nasi Lemak with a very unique sambal tumis kacang.. normally I hate kacang (peanuts) in my food. but I actually found this sambal quite delicious. There is of course, the normal egg "live action" stall where you can get your scrambled eggs, omelette or sunny side ups cooked in front of your eyes.

Shortly after breakfast, we went to the Clubhouse to check out the tennis/badminton court, table tennis room as well as the very generous gymnasium. You really have to love the idea of admiring nature in its glory while walking on the treadmill. or exercising being surrounded by lush tropical greenery.

We then took the opportunity to jump into the very unique 5 level pool. The Haven has their pool specially designed in the shape of a 60-metre seahorse and it is also trademarked...We relaxed in the warm pool at the top of the head of the sea horse and jacuzzi at the "eye" of the sea horse. For the kiddies, there is a shallow end of the pool at the "tail" of the sea horse with a water slide as well.

Before we check out, we went to the Cuisines restaurant to have some Mediterranean food for lunch. We had some Lebanese Tabouleh Salad which was refreshing and a favourite with the ladies, some Moutabal and Hummus with Pita Bread as well as Chicken Shawarma , Swish Tawook and Spaghetti Aglio Olio . We also had a fruit cocktail to quench out thirst and a gorgeous creme brulee which I still manage to find space for just because it is a creme brulee and one of my favourite dessert...

For those who love challenges and action sports, The Haven has an amazing adventure challenge site which was unfortunately closed for monthly maintenance while we were there...They have the First Via Ferrata in Peninsular Malaysia, Challenge Courses that consist of a series of physical challenges and obstacles that require a combination of individual commitment and teamwork which include Wobbly Log, Hour Glass, Multi Vines, Rope Traverse, Boardwalk, Rope Climbing, Giant Ladder, Burma Bridge, Flying Fox, Abseiling, 12 ft Wall, Commando Crawl, The Tyres, The Beam, Rock Climbing, Rappelling and a whole load more....

This is definitely a great place to bring your huge family there or your company employees/colleagues there for teambuilding, family day or so on.

And of course, the majestic beauty of The Haven makes it just the perfect place for a romantic garden wedding your guests will remember for a long, long time.

Amongst The Haven's overall achievements are 33 firsts for the state and 12 for the country. and The Haven has won 28 prestigious awards , both locally and internationally thus far, including Best Green Development, Malaysia and is currently in the running to win the Best Eco Resort award by Going Places , the in-flight magazine for Malaysian Airlines.

Story by Miera Nadhirah 

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