After reading reviews of the 'Grand Hotels' chain, I decided to take a gamble and booked a family room for 2 nights at the Grand Continental Kuching. Some reviews on Grand Hotels in other parts of Malaysia left an unsavoury impression (eg. bedbug-infested rooms and poor staff attitude at the Malacca property) and reviews on the Kuching hotle itself seemed a hit-and-miss affair. With several days left before deprture, I paid for the rooms via credit card in full. And indeed, any apprehensions I may have had were unfounded.

A short taxi ride from the airport to the hotel cost RM26 and the coupon can be purchased at the arrival hall. Upon arrival at the Grand Continental, the doorman greeted us with a smile and we walked over to the reception area. The hotel lobby is small, with minimal seats and is right across the hotel restaurant. Although it was only 11am (official check-in is at 2pm), our check-in was processed quickly. I was asked for the hotel booking reference / online receipt, identification and requested to place a refundable RM100 deposit for the duration of the stay. We were allocated a room on the 11th floor and handed the room key. We were asked to wait for a while as the room was still being cleaned.

The family room had a queen + single bed configuration and was spacious. There are the usual amenities like the fridge, large closet, small sofa, writing table and coffee/tea making facilities. Some of the furniture seemed a little dated as was the television, but not to the extent of making our stay less comfortable. I did not notice any 'musty' odour in the room and in general the room was clean. The bathroom was also clean and I did not find the walls to be mouldy as claimed in previous reviews. The bath tub however was showing its age and seemed a little discoloured. Hot water and the water pressure was fine.

At a high floor, you will get a good view of the city as there are no high-rise buildings in the vicinity of the Grand Continental Kuching. However, you are not likely to see the Sarawak river from any room in the hotel as it is a 10-15 minute walk away and there are other tall hotels near the riverfront which would have obscured the view.

The daily buffet breakfast offers a decent spread. It is certainly not outstanding but offers 2 - 3 main dishes which are varied slightly with each day and a standard selection of fruits, salads, cereals and bread. Most of the guests are in the restaurant at around 8 am and the resturant is usually empty by 9:30am. The staff checked on the quantity of food regularly but it seems that after the 'busy hours' refills are not carried out. There is an ala carte menu for lunch and dinner though occassionally there are buffet dinners (check with staff). Otherwise there are good eating outlets nearby (eg Chillippers at the Liwah Hotel across the street).

The hotel is a 3 star property and its facilities are limited. Apart from a conference hall, the restaurant and a small pool (one really wonders whether the pool is necessary, judging by its size which would be comfortable only for a couple of kids to wade around in) there are no other noteworthy facilities or amenities. There is no free wifi (which even the cheap guesthouses provide).

I would recommned this hotel as an in-between among a guesthouse (there are many near the waterfront) or budget hotels and an upmarket hotel like the Hilton or the Pullman Suites. The room rates for the Grand Continental are relatively low, the staff friendly and importantly, the rooms are clean. On the downside, the hotel is a slight walk away from the main tourist area.

Stayed during my outstation travel. Comfortable accommodation in beautiful surroundings and their staff also friendly.

First of all the hotel is really old. The room I stayed leaked heavily during a downpour and left a very bad odour the next day. The hotel itself is 10 minutes away from the river front shops and that is the reason it is slightly cheaper. The rooms however are well kept and very clean. I had buffet dinner in the hotel restaurant and the food was not bad. The staffs are very friendly and helpful.

We stayed for 5 nights in August and found the hotel to be a little dated, however very good value for money. The location was excellent, 10 min walk to the riverfront and restaurants in the area. We stayed on the 7th floor which obviously was not high enough as every early evening the Indian Temple next door would start ringing bells and blowing trumpets for approx an hour which was very disturbing after a long hot day out on day trips. On our last night we had a 4am start to next day and from 10.30pm to midnight they celebrated even more with firecrackers and singing! Very annoying when trying to sleep.