The Heritage Station Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, was in its heyday in the 1920s a symbol of colonial decadence with all night parties, dancing, drinking and all the rest. It was unrivalled until the Majestic Hotel opened nearby in 1932.
One could imagine that regular rouser and author Somerset Maughan who often stayed in the city knocking back drinks in the hotel bar. No doubt he would’ve obtained plenty of inspiration for his book the Casuarina Tree which describes the scandalous expat society in 1920s at the Heritage Hotel.
Today, it’s sad to see that the grand old dame seems finally to have closed her doors after a colourful life of over 100 years.
Up until 2009 you could book a room there although by all accounts the place was by then in a poor state with rotten floors and paint peeling off the walls.
It closed in 2010 only to briefly reopen in 2015 when it was taken over by a consortium from Singapore who made an attempt to rescue the place but nothing much seems to have happened and the place today is locked up and the interior derelict.
Malaysia 1786 - 1957 