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 Hotel
Puri Melaka is a boutique hotel in the heart of the old city
of Malacca. It is a 20 minute drive from the North-South Highway
(Malacca/Ayer Keroh exit), and 5 minutes from the central
bus station. Surrounded by antique and bric-a-brac shops,
it is only a stroll away from Malacca's historical precinct.
The hotel
is a carefully restored Peranakan house which once belonged
to the decendants of an eminent philanthropist and rubber
plantation owner, Tan Kim Seng. Extending 100 metres long,
its distinct characteristics are its beautiful and intricately
decorated façade and the impressive length of the house.
Retaining its old charm, Hotel Puri Melaka provides modern
amenities to its hotel guests.
 Hotel
Puri has a distinguished beginning. It was the ancestral home
of the descendants of Tan Kim Seng (1805-1864). He was a third
generation Straits Chinese born in Malacca. His grandfather
migrated to Malacca in the 18th century from Eng Choon district
of Fujian Province, China. He became a very successful businessman
in Malacca. When Singapore was founded in 1819 by Stamford Raffles,
Tan Kim Seng moved to Singapore. Growing even richer in Singapore,
he contributed generously to society. He built the Kim Seng
Bridge to facilitate people crossing the Singapore River. He
w as
the first to donate 880 Straits Dollars towards a fund for the
establishment of the first Chinese school in Singapore called
Chong Wen Ge in Telok Ayer Street. The building still stands
today adjoining the Thian Hock Keng Temple, the oldest temple
in Singapore. In 1854, he donated $13,000 to the British Government
for the construction of the first reservoir and the introduction
of pipe water to Singapore. The Kim Seng Fountain in Elizabeth
Walk was built in commemoration of this contribution.
Tan Kim Seng
never forgot his place of birth, Malacca. His contributions
to Malacca were equally significant. The Malacca Kim Seng Bridge
and Kim Seng Clock Tower are but just some of his legacies.
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