By Michael Aquino
Southeast Asia Travel Expert, about.com
If you can't live like a King in Mandalay, what about living like the King's next-door neighbor?
The
Sedona Mandalay stands across from the southeastern corner of
Mandalay's Royal Palace walls. As a guest, you'll feel as if you can
just pop over to the palace to borrow a cup of sugar (or whatever it is
neighbors do in Myanmar).
Proximity
provides real, non-imaginary perks: an unmatched view of the palace
moat and the hill beyond, a central location in the middle of Myanmar's
downtown area, and plenty of space to move around in, four hectares'
worth of real estate providing plenty of wiggle room.
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Luckily, space isn't the only thing that the Sedona borrows from next door.
The Sedona Mandalay's Club Suite
The
Mandalay bus station is located some distance from the city center, but
not too far for Sedona Mandalay's chauffeur service to come to one's
rescue.
I'd arrived about one hour ahead of schedule, in
the dead of night - an apologetic call to Sedona's front desk and thirty
minutes later, the Sedona's Mitsubishi 4x4 arrived at the station to
pick me up pronto.
(I learned two things here: one, never count on the information on the Myanmar bus ticket, and two, a working prepaid Myanmar SIM is a godsend.)
The Club Suite
more than made up for the scheduling snafu. The two-room suite takes up
64 square meters on the fourth-storey Club floor, with windows
overlooking the palace moat and walls. Mandalay Sedona guests have a
choice of palace and mountain views; the Ambassador Suite and the Royal
Sedona Suite also boast of views from the bathtubs and an actual
verandah to take the view in from.
- Image of the Club Suite, Sedona Mandalay
A Place to Do Business
The
living room and bedroom are separated by a sliding door; both rooms had
32-inch LED TVs with satellite TV access. The room décor bears just a
suggestion of the local color, with earth tones and natural fabrics
creating an impression of understated luxury.
WiFi was strong in the room, but the bathroom en suite was the
room's best amenity bar none. It seemed like that to me, at least,
showering off the grime of an overnight journey from Nyaungshwe and
soaking in some hot bubbly water courtesy of the bathtub.
Like the
rest of the Club Suite, the bathroom was also divided in two, with the
bath facilities separated from the toilet by a lockable door. This is by
design, as the setup allows executives doing business at the Club Suite
to entertain guests at the living room (or permit guests to use the
toilets) without allowing access into the suite's more intimate areas.
[post_ads]Dining Well at the Sedona Mandalay
The
Sedona Mandalay caters mainly to executives doing business in Myanmar's
newly liberal regime. Thus the hotel's F&B and amenities tend to be
more middle-of-the-road, in deference to their appetites - luxurious
but nothing too experimental.
Breakfast is served at the 80-seater
Mandalay Café, where the breakfast buffet dispenses a combination of
Asian and Western favorites. The hot dimsum table was an interesting
plus. Myanmar breakfast favorites like mohinga are also available, as
are other Myanmar dishes on an a la carte basis.
Dinner
was even better: the understated 20-seater Shwe Li restaurant feels
like a throwback to British colonial Myanmar with its rattan chairs;
dignified oil paintings on the walls; and a menu of hearty dinners best
paired with wine, as with the lusciously tender beef with baby potatoes I
enjoyed there.
How close is the Sedona Mandalay to the city's other attractions? Find out in the next page.
Getting around Mandalay from the Sedona Mandalay is quite easy - the
city doesn't suffer the density problems of Southeast Asia cities like
Hanoi, Bangkok or Manila. By motorcycle taxi, the ten-minute trip from
the Sedona Mandalay to Zegyo Market cost less than 500 kyat.
Taxis can reach the Mandalay Palace and the Mahamuni Pagoda with ease. Getting to the bus station and Mandalay International Airport, though, will take a long expensive slog: the airport is over 20 miles away, and takes an hour's drive to reach.
Accessibility & Amenities
From my Club Suite, the
Mandalay Palace walls looked mighty tempting; I figured the best way to
see it would be to walk - not ride - from the hotel doors to the palace
itself.
That was a mistake on my part. First of all, I blame the
foreshortening of the palace wall, as it made the distance from the
hotel to the palace gate seem negligible (pro tip: it isn't - it took me
about 20 minutes just to get to the gate).
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I also didn't factor in the distance from the gate to the palace itself (pro tip: that isn't peanuts, either).
I'll
talk about the Mandalay Palace experience elsewhere - needless to say I
was panting like a thirsty dog by the time I arrived back at the hotel,
the round trip on foot alone taking me about an hour to complete.
So
no, the King's house was far further than I thought it was. But the
consolation for the long walk was fantastic - I eagerly stripped down to
trunks and cooled my overheating body at the massive Sedona Mandalay
pool. Surrounded by a spa, tennis court, gym, and a pool bar, the
Sedona's recreational complex was just what the doctor ordered after an
afternoon out exploring the city.
Sedona Mandalay: the Lowdown
As
Mandalay's foremost four-star business hotel, the Sedona Mandalay
caters towards pampered but quotidian tastes. As a window into Myanmar
culture, it's not quite in the same league as culture-centered resorts
like the Thahara Inle Heritage
- but executives and family travelers looking for comfort, attentive
care from friendly staff, and plenty of modern amenities will find
everything they want in the Sedona Mandalay.
The Sedona Mandalay's staff gets extra snaps for going above and beyond. I asked the concierge for tips on finding balachaung,
a kind of fish-based relish the Myanma love to sprinkle on their food.
That afternoon, the concierge showed up with two packs of balachaung for me to take home, gratis - this surprising act of kindness completely made my day.
The Sedona Mandalay at a Glance
Location: 1 Junction of 26th & 66th Street, Chan Aye Tharzan Township, Mandalay, Myanmar. Location of the Sedona Mandalay (Google Maps). One hour drive from Mandalay International Airport.
Rooms: 251 guestrooms, including Superior, Deluxe, Club Room, Premiere Suite, Club Suite, Ambassador Suite and Royal Sedona Suite. Choice of palace, city and pool views.
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Amenities:
WiFi access in all rooms. Spa, swimming pool with pool bar, and tennis
court. Breakfast at Café Mandalay; European and Asian meals at Shwe Li;
cigars and drinks at the Planters Lounge Bar; and Italian cuisine adjoining a Mercedes-Benz showroom at Uno. Airport & Bus transfers available upon request.
Guests
staying at Club rooms get access to Executive Club Lounge at fourth
floor and its food and beverage offerings. Lounge serves buffet
breakfast in the mornings, and light snacks with non-alcoholic beverages
from 11am to 9pm.
Contact Details: Phone +95 2 36488, sedonahotels.com.sg/mandalay
