Curtain Falls on The Majestic Station Hotel

So I heard from Yen sometime last week that the Majestic Station Hotel in Ipoh would be closing down by the end of the month or so. It was designed by A.B. Hubback, the same person behind the Old Railway Station in KL. While both stations have been turned into hubs for the new Electric Train Service (ETS), the station hotels have both shared a similar dismal fate.

Read the report here. And more on the hotel at its website here.

Last year some of the PKVians visited Ipoh and stayed from 6-8 September at the Majestic. It was quite an awesome experience; the connection with the past and all.

Jia Hui waiting for the Electric Train at the Old Railway Station, KL. We caught the first train at 6.22 a.m.

Sleepy passengers Divya and Ruth in the Electric Train. The serene rural landscapes are punctuated by factories and industrial landmarks.

Ipoh Station. Grander than I last remembered it from the visit in early 2008.

The spacious dressing area (there's a word for this but I can't seem to remember it) in the Majestic's rooms.

Adele, Jia Hui, Divya, Adelene, Suit Lin in the room, while Joy peeks out of the dressing area.

Girls again; sidelit shot.

Ruth sitting on one of the lounge chairs along the long, tiled, open-air corridor.

Photographing the photographers, outside a room. Yen said that the floor reminded her of Alice in Wonderland.

The doors open out into the corridor, much like how kampung and colonial houses open into a verandah. These were the days before the cramped, dark corridors of many hotels today.

One of the highlights of our stay was the old-fashioned lift. This was nearly exactly like the lift leading to Lionel Logue's office in The King's Speech.

The main stairwell runs around the lift well, somewhat like a 'backbone' in the layout of the hotel.

Adrian, Jia Hui, Titus and me taking a ride in the lift. Both doors had to be closed before the lift could be operated.

Adrian and the access to the attic/lift control chamber.

On our last day, while waiting for the train the Penang (for the second part of the trip, coming soon!), George and I climbed into the lift control chamber.

Gears, circuit boards, odds and ends... and a fire extinguisher! (Got Yen the shot she'd assigned me.)

Flags flying majestically atop the Majestic.


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This post is for the group of PKV Ipoh II; Jia Hui, Suit Lin, Adelene, Titus, Yen, Ruth Choy, Emily Chow, Mun Siong, Adele, Adrian, Joy and Divya. It was one memorable trip!

Photographs shot on Kodak Portra 160VC, Kodak Tri-X 400 and Fujichrome Astia 100.