We stayed here as a family, mid August, and really, I wished I had stayed in one of Malacca's quaint boutique hotels.
The only reason I checked into this hotel is because of the reviews on TripAdvisor, which at that point, was brimming with positivity. Well, not anymore I suppose.
Check-In: BIGGEST nightmare, i felt i was checking-in under some nasty tour company. The wait was impossible. Once i reached my turn, the front desk officer was not at all friendly. I was there slightly after 3pm, and was told my room was not ready, and i'd have to wait half an hour in their massively crowded 'waiting area' *if you can even call it that*. I was traveling with my 4 yr old, who was extremely tired after her trip to the zoo and wanted only to lay down, and was made to wait. I had to speak to the manager, who promised to speed up the process, and rightfully she did, within 15 mins we were checked in.
Swimming Pool: It was alrite. I found the swimming pool rather big only thing is the bar is not operational yet, so pool snacks had to be ordered thru the towel-tenders.
Room: Big and spacious. All in all, the rooms are good.
I requested for a late check out, chargeable at half day rate, the DAY BEFORE i checked out. This was agreed upon, and i had an early morning, sightseeing with my kids. We got back to the hotel at 3pm and as expected, our key cards were not operational, so we had to backtrack to the reception, ask for an extension of the key card, and when i got into the room, the room had NOT been done (althogh i reminded Housekeeping at 9am that morning, that i was checking out late and I'd be back after lunch, to which they agreed to sort my room out). I summoned for the manager to my room, no way was i going all the way back down to see her, and flatly refused to pay the half day charges, to which she agreed.
All in all, the property in itself is good. But the staff has much to learn, in terms of hospitality and service. Would i go back to the Hatten? I'm afraid not.