Sanctuary Garden, A Home Away From Home

By Noor Farhana Ahmad Norain ARAU (Perlis, Malaysia), Nov 14 (Bernama) -- The orange, three-storey building looked like a budget hotel from the outside. Stepping into Sanctuary Garden proved to be a different experience. The lobby is decorated like a mini garden, complete with grass-like carpet, garden table and chairs and even a real Kesinai tree. A grand bookshelf sits at a corner, replete with books of multiple genres. "In many hotels, guests would stay in their rooms. I don't want to brag but most of our guests prefer to spend their time in the lobby or living area," said hotel owner Foo Siang Leng. The 40-year-old maintained that despite its hotel-like façade, Sanctuary Garden was a homestay accommodation that focused on the concept of homelike comfort. "Besides having a cafe serving family favourites, we also have a private library, board games and traditional games available for those seeking leisure activities," said Foo who developed the homestay with his three siblings. FOOTBALL FAN The Perlis-born Foo led the writer to the upper floors to look at the rooms. Instead of numbers, the doors to each room appear decorated with emblems of popular international and English football clubs. The colour scheme and decoration of each room also matched the emblem at the door. The "Chelsea" room, for example, was decked in blue while the "Oranje" (Netherland’s national team) room was in orange. "It is because of this theme that sometimes we even have guests coming in wearing team jerseys," he said. There are 19 rooms at the homestay, including a disabled-friendly room on the ground floor. "Our rooms are priced between US$23 (RM80) and US$47 (RM160) per night, and the rooms vary in size to cater for two to seven persons," he said. A FAMILY AFFAIR While the football concept was Foo's personal touch, his younger brother River Foo said that other parts of the homestay was a manifestation of the other siblings' personality, experience and interest. "The reading material at our private library, collectible films and stills, artworks by local artists on our walls, traditional items on display and games – depict what we are sharing with everyone who comes to Sanctuary Garden," he added. He said his older brother Bill, a restaurateur in London, had designed the homestay’s kitchen layout, café, and its menu. "The youngest is our sister Yean, an artist and amateur photographer in Bangkok. We have dedicated walls for her photography artwork," he said. A HOME AWAY FROM HOME Foo, who also owns an engineering firm in China, said some US$298,681 (RM1 million) had been invested in the construction and furnishing of the hotel. He said his work overseas was what inspired him to build the homestay. "I visited Poland in 2007 and stayed at a hotel highlighting the family concept. I was deeply fascinated by it and thought that I could apply the same idea for an accommodation in Malaysia," he explained. In deciding the concept of the homestay, he thought about what was missing from his numerous hotel stays overseas. "I wanted to make sure what I felt lacking there would be added to this homestay," he said. This included sufficient pillows, a clothesline and rain showers. Development for Sanctuary Garden started in 2011, but due to work commitments, he was only able to supervise it to completion about a month before the Malaysia Games (Sukma). "It was full house for the first three weeks, perhaps because of Sukma and the start of the new academic year for university students here. "I think we opened at the right time but time will decide how this business goes," he said. -- BERNAMA