The Empire Hotel & Country Club, Bandar Seri Begawan

The hotel building was begun in the good old days - before Brunei's wealth mysteriously vapoured away in the late 90's. Bulding plans were curtly curtailed - the big marina, for example, where the yachts of the rich and famous were presumably meant to berth, failed to materialise. Some sports facilities remained a concrete shell for years.

But what did get finished is opulent enough. Think gold leaf, tiger eye detailing, huge mirrors, ...
...The site is idyllic - overlooking the South China Sea. The extensive buildings and grounds with pools and lawns and tropical plants are impressive. The interiors are great and the food is good but but but - it was the little details that spoilt our stay.

For a start we had reserved a room with twin (each big) beds so all the family could be in one room. When we got there the room had one bed. We rang the desk and were told that they ... more

The hotel building was begun in the good old days - before Brunei's wealth mysteriously vapoured away in the late 90's. Bulding plans were curtly curtailed - the big marina, for example, where the yachts of the rich and famous were presumably meant to berth, failed to materialise. Some sports facilities remained a concrete shell for years.

But what did get finished is opulent enough. Think gold leaf, tiger eye detailing, huge mirrors, marble floors with mosaics, and sea views through massive windows. The site is idyllic - overlooking the South China Sea. The extensive buildings and grounds with pools and lawns and tropical plants are impressive. The interiors are great and the food is good but but but - it was the little details that spoilt our stay.

For a start we had reserved a room with twin (each big) beds so all the family could be in one room. When we got there the room had one bed. We rang the desk and were told that they might not have another room for us. This was daft because the hotel has 423 rooms and probably does not often reach more than 10% occupancy! When we said we were therefore leaving, a twin bedded room along the corridor was produced.

We went swimming. It wasn't the hotel's fault that there were sandflies in the sand by the pool. They give a bad bite. Then my husband went back to the room to fetch something but forgot the room number. He made a guess at a couple of wrong rooms and tried our key in the doors. It opened both! Both were occupied - although fortunately the occupants were out. Good thing he is honest and didn't steal their things! But how many other guests could get into our room with their key?

Then at night the room was very airless despite the aircon. I think they maybe set it on 'recycle the stale air in the room' setting. So we had to open the window and try to anchor the net curtain so it didn't blow up in the breeze and let mosquitoes in. I got little sleep.

The hotel has several restaurants including the popular Atrium Restaurant where you can eat a great buffet meal. You can also eat in the grounds in a restaurant near the pool. No alcohol tho - Brunei is a dry country.

There are huge swimming pools - salt and fresh water, and kids faciltiies, and a distance away the country club, where you can swim indoors in a pool like a Roman baths, have a sauna, use the gym etc.

As you can imagine, none of this is cheap.

The hotel, however, lacks basics that one woujld expect from somewhere like this. The last time I was there in 2004 there was no hair salon/beauty place. You couldn't buy postcards or get a hotel brochure even.

All in all the whole experience was all a bit hit and miss.

 

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