Malay Mail Exclusive: 102-Year-Old Ban Loong Hotel @ Old Town Ipoh (2017)

IPOH: History has a peculiar way of repeating itself, and the building on Jalan Bandar Timah, Ipoh, is a perfect example.

Ninety years ago, this building functioned as a hardware store and a temporary stopover for Chinese migrants stepping into Ipoh, the tin-mining hub of yore. Today, the 102-year-old building is revisiting its role of accommodating travellers, albeit as a modern boutique hotel.

In what is best described as a labour of love, 46-year-old engineer Ir Loh Ban Ho set up the hotel to preserve the building, which has been in his family for four generations.

About 126 years ago, his great-grandfather left a small village near Dabu, China, to find work in Malaya, settling in Sungai Siput and starting a family. In 1926, son Mee Loon purchased a shophouse in the center of Ipoh at age 23.

“In those days, the British assumed you were a communist if you didn’t own property. So my grandfather decided to purchase a shoplot to show that he was only an honest businessman,” Loh said.

It was around this time he learnt the business of weighing scales and set up shop in the building.

World War II brought destruction to the city, but Loh’s grandfather expanded into hardware, which furthered the family business. The store became a community hub, providing meals and rooms for migrant workers and their families.

“People used to come to the store looking for their relatives. The store took on the role of a community centre,” he said.

The store remained in operation until recent years when GST affected the business. Inspired by this history, Ir Loh Ban Ho transformed the ancestral home into a hotel, preserving the original structure while adhering to modern safety standards.

Restoration began in 2015, replacing wooden floors and staircases with concrete slabs and reinforcing the building with a new steel framework.

“We basically built a new building within the old one. Only by maintaining the original bricks and mortar could we adequately portray the history and stories that still live in the building,” he explained.

The hotel, expected to open in April, features nine rooms while maintaining the spirit and heritage of the original structure.

“This building meant so much to so many people, especially my family who called it our ancestral home. Five generations have stood in its halls. With the work we have put in, I hope another five generations can do so as well.”

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Ban Loong Hotel Contact:

• Address: 51, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

• Tel: 05-2555989 / 016-2580989

• Website: www.banloonghotel.com

• Email: reservation@banloonghotel.com

• Waze Coordinates: https://waze.to/lr/hw0zfhh67