Nestled in the shining silver high rise buildings and money making machines, hidden amongst the hustle and bustle of the city and the contagious pressures of society forever locked in a race against time to succeed, is a not-so-secret sanctuary frozen in time.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Only a half hour's drive from either of the two international airports in Kuala Lumpur is an almost impossible city within a city.
The Mines Resort City is now home to what developers proudly call The Seven Wonders of Malaysia, namely a resort, business, residential, conference, and entertainment facilities all catered for within the 1,000 acres of land.
But once upon a time, it was the largest tin mine in the world.
And then it was nothing.
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| Picture from http://www.minesgolfclub.com/web/index.php/course/history |
The Mines Resort City was built from what others considered to be a wasteland, left behind after its natural resources of tin have been depleted.
In 1988, Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew saw this two kilometres long and a kilometre wide hole that's 200 metres deep and envisioned a city. And then, he built it, taking advantage of it's unique landscape to construct a city that is unlike any other.
The remnants of mining activities, holes left behind that filled with rainwater, were not filled, but incorporated into this city. These two man-made lakes were then connected via a canal and a RM15 million hydraulic water system that allowed boats to travel from one to the other, linking what are now The Mines shopping mall, Waterfront Business Park, Sapura Group HQ Building, and the Mines Resort & Gold Club.
It is within this city, by the shores of the 150-acre lake, that you will find Asia's most extraordinary hotel, a world-class award winning luxury hotel that has been temporary homes to the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, the Sultan of Brunei, Madeleine Albright, Tiger Woods, and many more.
The Palace of the Golden Horses is not just a hotel. It is an escape, an experience, an enlightenment to the senses.
An entourage of golden horses gallops outwards and welcomes you into it's doors, lest you find yourself wandering off to the picturesque lake, eager to take you on a cruise around the city of wonders and show you what it has accomplished.
The grandiose architecture of the palace grounds is as inviting as it can be overwhelming, but the staff (servants?) will show you exactly where you need to go and what you can do.
Sweeping staircases and imposing statues will transport you back in time, filling you with the charms and grandeur that is unattainable in the minimalistic, modernize, -inferior- hotels.
This is not a hotel. It is a palace that has earned it's title.
But beyond the extraordinary decor and well-preserved history, in the comforts of the rooms, the illusion shatters.
The check in process is professional, the linens fresh, the laundry facilities immaculate and the WiFi? Fast and free, of course.
It is an indulgence, certainly, but one that doesn't necessarily have to break bank. You can check out the price of the Golden Horses here, where the starting price for this hotel is RM362.88, something which stunned me at the end of my long research into this hotel and how it came to be. That's RM362.88 inclusive of tax with free breakfast. And judging from the raving reviews, you would get to dine like the queens and kings you (temporarily) are.
The palace grounds is huge and there will no doubt be empty rooms during off-season. For those of you adventurers and daredevils, there is a room that you can go to between 1am to 3am where you might be able to see something.
Or if you're a chicken like me, you'll do well to avoid Room 5044 and room 5042 altogether. Yes, haunted hotel research is something that I do before booking hotels. It's important, alright? Still, the claims of the hotel being haunted are mostly from way back in 2011 and it is possible that the ghosts have moved on.
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| So bright. How to haunt? |
Between you and me, I am as sold by the decadence of the palace and the richness of its history as I am swayed by the simple fact that it is an actual palace. It feeds into the fantasy of being beautiful and fabulous, deserving of all the wonderful things in life.
For all those yearning for a taste of freedom and history, the Palace of the Golden Horses stands tall and proud, an echo of a time past, but not forgotten.
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