Tag: Malaysia

REVIEW: Hilton Kuala Lumpur, Executive Plus King Room

Hilton fans in Singapore will definitely be familiar with Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Located adjacent to KL’s main transport node KL Sentral, the hotel is a well-appointed property suited for both business and leisure needs.

Hilton Kuala Lumpur (credit: Agoda)

In this post:
• The hotel
• Checking in
• The room
• Executive lounge
• Breakfast at Vasco’s
• Other facilities
• Final thoughts

The hotel

Located conveniently at KL Sentral, Hilton Kuala Lumpur is literally next door to the train station and offers more than 500 rooms in its giant 35-storey building. The hotel also has 14 meeting rooms capable of holding business events for up to 1,500 people.

Hilton Kuala Lumpur lobby

While the hotel opened its doors back in 2004, it was last refurbished in 2013. At first glance, the hotel still looks pretty swanky to the extent of being a little glitzy; a big welcoming lobby, tall ceilings and a modern-looking cafe and bar at the lobby adds to the glamour of the property.

The hotel is part of a joint development with Le Meridien hotel located next door, which has been owned by Japanese billionaire Katsumi Tada since it opened its doors in 2004. Just a couple of years back in 2017, Tada has sold the hotel to the owners of Le Meridien next door, Daito Trust Construction Co, another Japanese entity.

Check-in

I tried checking in early at about 11.30am. Hilton KL is pretty good with its upgrades for elite members. As a Hilton Honors Diamond member, I originally booked myself into a Deluxe room, but I saw in my Hilton app that I was given an Executive Plus room.

As I checked in way too early, the front desk offered me a choice of either an Executive standard room if I wanted the room now, or a Executive Plus room if I could come back later in the afternoon. I chose the latter as I wanted to head out for lunch.

One thing to note if you are a diamond member, the priority check-in desk for Hilton Honors members is not located at the same place as the check-in desks. There is a small little signage just before you hit the desks that will point you to the right direction. If you need help, just ask the concierge and they will be happy to point you in the right direction.

Priority check in area for Diamond, Gold members

The room

I originally booked myself into the cheapest room type, but as a Diamond member I was upgraded to an Executive Plus room, which was one of the corner rooms on each floor.

Executive Plus room

While the room was not a junior suite, it boasted of a very generously sized bedroom, as well as an equally generous bathroom. The room comfortably fitted a King sized bed, as well as a couch right by the window which served us well as a daybed.

Work desk (right) and TV

There was also a full sized work desk if working in the room is what you need.

The bathroom had a generous bath tub, big enough for two people. As with all other Hilton properties, there are separate shower and toilet stalls, each with their own door. There was only a single vanity however, but this is often not an issue for me.

Bathroom vanity and bathtub

The amenities Hilton Kuala Lumpur uses is Crabtree and Evelyn, consistent with the other Hilton brands in this part of the world.

Crabtree & Evelyn amenities

One interesting offering by Hilton KL is a bath preparation service, with a complete menu of different scented baths that staff can prepare for you for RM58 nett. There are four options to choose from, including a jetsetter’s Boost Bath, which is a “refreshing blend of tangerine and lemongrass to sooth, relieve and revitalise the body.”

For couples on a getaway, there’s also a “Pure Romance Bath” for RM180 nett, which comes with two glasses of sparkling wine, not too bad a deal considering that a glass of wine costs at least RM50 in a hotel.

It might sound rather extravagant, but I can see how this is useful for couples on a romantic getaway, or even perhaps for parents who will want to delight their kids.

If you want something even more luxurious, there’s always an in-room massage service offered by the hotel’s spa, but I was shocked at the price tag which was something to the tune of over RM400 for an hour of bliss.

Bedside table – telephone, mini hotel guide

The room also comes with a Nespresso machine, as well as four bottles of complimentary bottled water. I am quite a water guzzler, so the first thing when I got to the room was to request for even more bottled water, which the hotel gladly acceded to.

Nespresso machine and bottled water

As with most hotels there’s also a fully stocked in-room mini bar right under the counter, which will be replenished daily and charged to your account if you consume any of it (you shouldn’t).

The only downside to the corner room is the fact that the room is not completely blacked out in the morning. The doors to the bathroom are a pair of translucent sliding doors facing the bed, and there are no curtains within the bathroom. Go figure.

Executive Lounge

Hilton Kuala Lumpur’s executive lounge is located on the 33rd floor. All guests staying in executive rooms and suites, as well as Hilton Honors Diamond members can access the lounge during their stay.

Hilton KL Executive Lounge

The lounge is open from 6am to 11pm daily, and serves up daily breakfast, as well as afternoon tea and evening cocktails.

The lounge runs on two sides of the corridor, a bigger lounge on the right side where the food and drinks are located, and a smaller lounge on the left side with the reception desk. Both rooms feature high ceilings and full length windows offering a view of the city.

View from the executive lounge

The other side of the excutive lounge

I managed to check out the afternoon tea (2.30pm to 4.30pm) shortly after returning to the hotel and getting my keys. Hilton KL’s afternoon tea serves an assortment of light savoury and sweet bites, along with coffee, tea and soft drinks. The bites of the day included tempeh sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, beef wraps and scones.

Sandwiches and scones served during afternoon tea

The sandwiches were delicious and right sized so despite being full from lunch, I went back for seconds. I was rather suspicious of the scones at first, but they turned out tasting better than they looked.

Evening cocktails ran from 6pm to 8pm. I tend to go up and find a choice spot just before evening cocktails begin, and even when I got there at 5.45pm, about half the lounge was already occupied. Right at 6pm, more people came in and practically every single table was taken up.

Evening cocktails refreshments, including salads, dips and hot food

Hilton Kuala Lumpur offers a good spread of hot and cold foods during the evening cocktail hours. There were some interesting bites, such as a savoury profiteroles with mackerel mousse, and also a rather amazing pasta seafood salad with generous servings of mussels. The sweets were slightly less appealing although there was still a rather good assortment.

Evening cocktail refreshments

A worthy mention here will be the level of service offered at the lounge, despite the crowd. Team members went table to table taking drink orders and served them rather promptly. The staff was also very proactive in going around the tables to top up wines during the two-hour window, and offering incredibly generous pours.

The very generous wine pours

What I didn’t like about the lounge was the fact that large families could bring young children into the lounge. A kid was screaming and running around the lounge for the good part of an hour, which I thought was a safety hazard. Personally I would very much prefer if Hilton could run their lounge like some other hotels where children were not allowed into the lounge during even cocktail hours.

Breakfast at Vasco’s

As a diamond member, I could choose to have my breakfast either at the main restaurant Vasco’s in the lobby, or at the executive lounge. Whenever I’m in Asia, I generally prefer to dine in the main restaurant as the spread tends to be a lot more generous and hearty than what you will get in the lounge.

Vasco’s – Hilton KL breakfast restaurant

The downside of having breakfast in the main restaurant is that it usually gets pretty crowded. On a Sunday morning at about 9am, there was a short queue into the restaurant, although I didn’t have to wait for long. With ample capacity to hold more than 100 guests, the restaurant was still packed and I didn’t get much choice as to where I wanted to sit.

Vasco’s – Hilton KL breakfast restaurant
Seats by the window

Hilton Kuala Lumpur serves up a solid breakfast buffet. Apart from the usual American breakfast offerings, there was also a substantial Asian selection, including local breakfast choices of nasi lemak and roti canai, as well as Japanese and Indian fares. Each of these sections is a selection from one of the hotel’s wide range of restaurants, so I figure it’s also good marketing for each of these restaurants.

Roti canai

My choice of breakfast in Malysian hotels is always nasi lemak, and Hilton’s rendition didn’t fail to deliver. The curry chicken complements the fragrant steamed coconut rice, with the sambal chilli hitting all the right spots as well.

Oh, and if you are into noodles, don’t forget to try the curry noodles from the noodle station!

If there’s one thing I’d complain about, it’s probably the coffee. Not worth wasting your caffeine consumption on it.

For those who don’t have breakfast included in your room rate or as part of your Hilton Honors perks, the walk-in rate for breakfast is RM88 nett per person, so it pays to book a room with breakfast if hotel breakfast is your thing.

Outside breakfast hours, Vasco’s serve as an international buffet restaurant for lunch and dinner, with themes from month to month. If you fancy something else, there are four other restaurants on-site for you to choose from: Chambers Grill for your grill favourites, GRAZE which serves modern European cuisine, Chynna dishing out Cantonese favourites and Iketeru, a Japanese restaurant.

Other facilities

Hilton Kuala Lumpur is a full service hotel, complete with an array of facilities for any visit.

On the recreational front, the hotel boasts of a massive gym with a good range of equipment. Apart from the usual cardio machines, the gym is well invested, with a squat rack and also a good range of free weights for serious trainers. Within a gym also lies a group exercise room, complete with scheduled gym classes every day of the week.

Note that the gym and spa serves both Hilton and the adjacent Le Meridien hotel, so it can get rather crowded. The gym also offers public memberships for non-hotel guests.

Apart from the gym there’s also a full spa service, including in-room massage services if you are too lazy to even walk down to the spa. The spa shares the same changing rooms with the gym, and is fully equipped with a sauna, hot tub and steam room for those who like a good soak after their workout.

Outside the gym, there’s also a picturesque swimming pool and a pool bar. The swimming pool is not ideal for serious swimmers, but good enough for a lap or two or if you want to get some sun.

For event organisers looking to hold events at Hilton KL, this is probably one of the best options you can find in town. There are 14 meeting rooms in varying configurations, capable of holding up to 1,500 people.

Final thoughts

Hilton Kuala Lumpur is undoubtedly one of my most favourite hotels in the city, for good reasons. An excellent five star hotel, armed with a wide range of excellent facilities, dining options and an incredibly convenient location, the property is usually my first choice in the city and it takes a lot of consideration for me to stay anywhere else.

While some may content that the service is not as personalised as what you’d get at higher end hotels such as St Regis, I contend that this is sufficient for me. I typically get a little suffocated with overly attentive service, so this works just fine for me.

If there’s anything I might pick on, it’s probably just that the hotel is starting to show signs of age. Fading furnishing, tired looking facilities, but these are really minor details. After all, a good hotel is a balance of service and hardware, and as far as Hilton Kuala Lumpur is concerned, it’s pretty much there.

Hilton is definitely increasing its footprint in Kuala Lumpur, with a leap in the number of properties in the last few years. Just in the last two years alone, Hilton chose KL as the city for its first three Hilton Garden Inn properties in Malaysia: two in Chow Kit and one in Puchong. Just a little further down south, Hilton’s DoubleTree will also open its doors in Putrajaya later this year.

In the pipeline is also Canopy and Conrad KL, which I’ll definitely be looking forward to check out when they open over the next few years.

13 March 20

Emirates to operate Singapore-Penang flights from April 2020

However, this is still not the world’s shortest first class flight.

In a surprise move, Emirates will start operating to Penang from 9 April 2019. The daily service will be operated via Singapore using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offering three cabins.

Emirates is probably the world’s largest operator of fifth-freedom flights, given its reputation as the world’s super connector. However, there are still some cities that it is not serving at the moment, such as Penang.

After Emirates announced that it was going to pull its EK432/433 Dubai-Singapore-Brisbane flights, this new service came as a surprise, although not unexpected. Anna.aero has observed that with the cessation of the Dubai-Singapore-Brisbane flights, this new Dubai-Singapore-Penang service will allow Emirates to maintain the number of services between Singapore and Dubai at four daily.

Emirates will also be the only airline operating a widebody between the two city, and the only airline offering a first class service between both cities. This is, however, not the world’s shortest first class flight – that honour goes to Emirates’ Dubai-Muscat service, at 40 minutes long.

The schedule

The service will operate daily with the following schedule:

Sector	Flight No.	Departure	Arrival	Duration	Days	Aircraft
DXB-SIN	EK348	0230	1405	7h 35m	Daily	B777-300ER
SIN-PEN	EK348	1535	1715	1h 40m	Daily	B777-300ER
PEN-SIN	EK349	2220	2350	1h 30m	Daily	B777-300ER
SIN-DXB	EK349	0140	0455	7h 15m	Daily	B777-300ER

The aircraft

Emirates will be using the Boeing 777-300ER for this service, similar to the ones that they are using for the Singapore-Brisbane and Singapore-Melbourne service.

The aircraft carries 8 first class seats, 42 business class seats and 304 or 310 economy class seats, depending on which variant you are on.

For those eyeing a business class redemption for this short haul flight, note that this is the 2-3-2 configuration, which is alright for a short haul flight but may not be worth the cash. (Read here for a review of the seat I took from Dubai to Singapore.)

*Emirates Boeing 777-300ER business class seat*

In economy class, this will be in a 3-4-3 configuration, and I’ll be horrified to be disembarking in Penang with 300 other people on the same flight – the immigration facility there can be a little small so this will be a race to the front of the line.

Very affordable economy class fares

The launch fare for economy class is a very affordable… $117.10.

*Emirates economy class fare from Singapore to Penang*

The $11710 price is in T class under the Saver fare family, with a base fare of $50. In case the T class fares run out, the next two fares, L & Q classes (also in the Saver family), runs at $70 or $90 respectively, so they are still very affordable after adding taxes and surcharges.

Redemption using Qantas Frequent Flyer

If you are thinking of splurging but refuse to pay $1,000 for a return business class fare, you can also use your Qantas points to redeem for Emirates flights.

Qantas and Emirates have a joint venture, which means that frequent flyer members of both airlines can use their points to redeem for virtually all flights on both networks.

While the flights have not been loaded into the award availability system, a look at QFF’s chart priced the flight at the following mileage:

Class of travel	One-way QFF points required
Economy	8,000
Business	18,400
First	27,600

No. of QFF points required for award ticket on SIN-PEN, one way

Note that Qantas imposes a surcharge for award redemption, so be sure to find out how much they are before redeeming your points.

But if you do splurge for a first class ticket, it’s a great chance to use the Qantas First Class lounge at Changi, given that Emirates customers and elite frequent flyer members will have access to Qantas’ network of lounges.

Final thoughts

This is definitely a rather intriguing new service, given that Singapore-Penang has been served by low-cost carriers for a while now.

For the record, the other carriers on this route include Silkair, AirAsia, Jetstar and Scoot, with Silkair being the only full service airline.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, given that airlines typically try new markets as a tag-on service, especially when they are not confident of the financial viability of the market. Using Singapore as the intermediary point, this will allow Emirates to soften the potential downside of the Penang route.

For now, I’ll be keen to hear if anyone is willing to blow $1,540 on a return first class ticket to Penang!

28 January 20

REVIEW: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Melaka, Twin Guest Room

I have not been to Melaka in a while, so when a friend wanted to head up for a weekend to get some matters settled, I thought it was a good opportunity to visit the historical city.

For those not residing in Southeast Asia, Melaka – also spelt Malacca – is a city in Malaysia, about two and a half hours away from capital Kuala Lumpur. The UNESCO World Heritage listed historic city is famous for its Dutch and Portugese roots and more importantly, the abundance of great food.

For the longest time, Melaka did not have any international-branded hotels, relying on a series of small independent operators to provide accommodations. There are also some larger properties, almost all of which are independently managed.

In this post:
• Introduction
• The hotel
• The room
• The facilities
• Final thoughts

I was playing around with the Hilton Honors app and realised there was a property – DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Melaka – that has opened in recent years (that’s how long I’ve not been there). DoubleTree Melaka is part of the mixed development, Elements Mall, owned by the Hatten Group and opened in 2016. The project is part of a larger plan called Hatten City, comprising several different developments including commercial, residential and hotel buildings, aimed at shoring up Melaka’s appeal for both tourists and businesses.

DoubleTree By Hilton, Melaka

My stay at DoubleTree Melaka was in October 2019, and sad to say, the mall co-located with the hotel, Elements Mall, was barely opened, with only the ground floor filled with a couple of tenants. There were a few other outlets sparsely located across the 11-storey high mall, and the rest of the space were shuttered.

The hotel

DoubleTree Melaka is located on the 12th to 28th floor in one tower of the building. While there is a ground floor lobby, the check-in reception is located on the 12th floor of the building.

The lobby on ground floor, reception is on level 12

The hotel lobby on the 12th floor is bright and fresh, boasting of high ceilings and a great view of the city centre. The lobby lounge and restaurants were tucked to a side of the floor, so that means that the area right in front of the check-in desks were quiet and affords seating for guests.

Check-in desks on level 12

Parking is also available within the building, from the 5th to 9th floors. Note that the car park is shared with the mall, as well as another hotel on the other tower of the building.

I arrived at about 1pm, hoping to check in before the standard time of 3pm. Thankfully, there were rooms available so we were able to get our rooms. The check in process, however, was painfully slow.

As I was travelling with a group of friends, I requested for a joining room. However, the check-in agent said all of their connecting rooms were between a King room and a Twin room, and they were fully booked in the King room category for the day so they were unable to accede to my request.

This is when I suppose it gets a little contentious. I believe that what differentiates a good and an excellent agent is that for the latter, they will remember the request and offer to check for you later in the day if there’s one available, rather than to say no outright. Nonetheless, the agent offered us rooms that are side by side, so I guess we had to settle for that.

The room

DoubleTree Melaka has over 270 rooms, including 27 suites, across six room categories, including the topmost presidential suite. I booked myself into the entry level room, the twin guest room. At 40 square metres, the room is probably one of the most generous in terms of size for a DoubleTree property.

Twin guest room – DoubleTree by Hilton, Melaka

My room boasted of two generous single beds, a flat screen TV, a work desk more than enough for you to work from your room. You could also opt for a single king-sized bed if you want to.

Work desk and television

There is also a mini fridge in the room for guests to use. DoubleTree Melaka doesn’t run an in-room minibar service, so if you needed any food or snacks, you will either have to order from the room service menu, or head down to the 24-hour convenience store on the ground floor of the building to get some.

Bathroom

In the bathroom, there is a separate shower stall and toilet. As with most other DoubleTree properties, most lower grade rooms do not have bathtubs. With all other Hilton and DoubleTree properties, the hotel uses Crabtree and Evelyn amenities, which is always easy on the skin.

While the front desk was able to offer us immediate access into the rooms ahead of the 3pm standard check-in time, the state of the room leaves a little much to be desired.

When I first stepped in, the foyer area – which was not carpeted – was wet. It seemed like the air conditioning wasn’t working well and the condensation dripped from the vent onto the floor. I had to call housekeeping to deal with it, and they sure took their time to come and get it cleaned up.

Wet patch on the floor in the room upon check-in

The room doesn’t rely on a key card to trigger the room electricals, but instead uses motion sensors. While environmentally friendly, I feel this is a wrong move as you will not be able to leave anything in the room to charge while you are out.

The facilities

With over 270 rooms, DoubleTree Melaka boasts of a pretty extensive range of facilities, although it is short of an executive lounge.

On the recreational front, there is a pretty sizeable swimming pool on the 13th floor, as well as a 24-hour fitness centre. There are also steam rooms and saunas available in the changing rooms, which are open from 6am to 10pm daily. Outside of these hours, the changing rooms are locked so you won’t be able to access them.

Outdoor lap pool

24-hour fitness centre

Steam room and sauna facilities in the changing room, opened 6am to 10pm daily

In terms of dining, there is a main restaurant, Makan Kitchen, which also serves as the breakfast restaurant. Outside of breakfast hours, Makan Kitchen serves up international fare throughout the day.

The hotel also has an Italian restaurant, Tosca, located near the pool. There is alfresco seating available by the poolside, and the restaurant is only open for dinner.

Tosca Italian restaurant

For the mid-day coffee fix or evening happy hour, you can also head to the Axis Lounge located on the lobby level.

Axis lobby lounge

The hotel is also fully equipped with meeting and conference facilities, with an entire level dedicated to it. From a grand ballroom to smaller meeting rooms, this property can also be an option for those corporate retreats.

Final thoughts

Similar to DoubleTree in other parts of Asia, DoubleTree Melaka didn’t disappoint in terms of its offering. The rooms are very spacious and the hotel is fully equipped, making it a great property. However, I would caution that the property needs more urgent and pressing maintenance to keep it in its tip top condition. Housekeeping should also have a bit more sense of urgency, given that I had to call them three times over the course of an hour before the wet floor in my room got cleaned up.

The key downside to the property is that the location failed to deliver. The mall that the property is located in is virtually deserted, save for a few pathetic retail shops on the ground floor with barely a handful of visitors a day.

Jonker Street

While located relatively near to the city centre and to Jonker Street (we are talking about a five-minute drive without traffic), this often becomes easily a 20-minute drive given that traffic in Malacca is generally terrible. The heat also renders walking impossible.

The vicinity also has very little to offer in terms of sights, although food is in abundance if you are familiar with the local languages and types of local food.

At a glance:
• Room type: Twin guest room
• Room rate: RM339 + 10% tax + 6% service charge + RM12 other taxes (as of October 2019)
• Executive lounge: No
• On-site restaurants: Yes
• On-site parking: Yes, complimentary
• Fitness centre: 24 hours
• Swimming pool: Yes, 6am to 10pm
• Spa: Only sauna and steam room in changing rooms, no spa services

14 November 19
REVIEW: Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel, Club Deluxe Room

Having not been to Johor Bahru for a while, I decided to get away for a weekend to the southernmost city of Malaysia as what most Singaporeans love to do. This time round, my hotel of choice was Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel, a Marriott property about 15 minutes away from the Causeway (the bridge link to Singapore).

Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel

You can spot the hotel as you drive down the highway towards Permas Jaya, given its unlikely existence in an industrial estate. The hotel is a two-wing, 17-storey building that is set in a V-shape if you view from the top. The building, while only five years old, is fairly weathered: external walls are showing signs of peeling and browning.

The hotel is a standalone property complete with its own car park set as part of the building. The car park is classically basic as with most Malaysian car parks: dimly lit, narrow in most places and looking a little terrifying.

Lobby check in desks

However, that impression changes when you first enter the lobby. Rather immaculately decorated, the lobby is voluminous, with a high ceiling and ample space for large crowds to gather if necessary.

Arriving in the evening after an agonising three hours at the Singapore-Malaysia border, check-in was very smooth as there was no one else waiting to check in. In a couple of minutes after explaining the club lounge service hours, we were packed off to our room.

The room

The hotel consist of 325 rooms and 20 suites, along with plenty of meeting rooms that can be combined to form a ballroom, which is perfect for weddings.

The entry level room is the Deluxe Room, sitting at 34-36 square metres in size, depending on which room you get. For a premium you will get a bay view room, or you could also opt for a room on the 6th floor that gets direct access to the swimming pool (tip: not great). The pool terrace rooms, as well as the Club rooms, do get access to the Executive Lounge on 16th floor along with Club benefits.

Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel, Club Deluxe Room

There are also two types of suites in the hotel: a junior suite which is about 69 square metres, and a Presidential Suite spanning 153 square metres that comes with a separate living room, lavish bedroom and spacious bathroom on the topmost floor of the property.

I booked myself into a Club Deluxe room this time, and I was given a room on one of the Club floors on 15th floor. There didn’t seem to be any material difference between a club and non-club room, apart from the floor.

The room was fairly standard, with a king-sized bed coupled with a couch at the foot of the bed facing the TV screen. The room overlooks an industrial area with a mall, Permas Jaya Aeon, not too far away, but overall not a great view.

View from the room

Disappointingly, the bathroom didn’t have a bathtub. Modestly sized, the bathroom had a walk-in rain shower, a simple vanity and a segregated toilet. While it’s not my dream setup, of course I’m also concious I’m not exactly at Capella.

Club Lounge

While only a Rewards Category 2 hotel under Marriott’s new charts, Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel do offer club rooms with access to the Club Lounge.

The Club Lounge is located on the 16th floor and is open from 6am to 10.30pm daily, offering breakfast in the morning, light snacks in the afternoon and evening cocktails and refreshments from 5.30pm to 7.30pm daily with drinks available for another hour until 8.30pm. Confusing, yes I know.

Club lounge on 16th floor

The layout however baffled me a little. Most hotels that I’ve been to have the Club Lounge close to the lift lobby, or tucked away from most of the guest rooms, if not both.

In Renaissance JB’s case, given the unique layout of the hotel, the Club Lounge was located on one end of the building. While this is not entirely strange, what is strange is that the entrance to the Club Lounge faces a guest room — I would hate to be in that room.

Having said that, having arrived at the hotel only at about 7pm, I immediately dashed to the Club Lounge to check out what’s on offer. To my dismay, most of the snacks have emptied out, even though there was still half an hour to go. When I checked with the staff if they were still refilling the dishes, they initially said no, but I think enough people asked them so they eventually did so about 20 minutes later.

Evening cocktails and refreshments – lamb rendang, fish fritters, fried rice

What was on offer that evening was a chicken wrap, salted fish fried rice, a mushroom fritter and a mutton rendang. On the other side, there were some vegetable sticks and dips, as well as cakes. The food was actually quite palatable, even though the selection wasn’t wide. Perhaps I was running a little hungry, I actually went for a second serving of the fried rice.

The evening cocktail hours were also structured in a very confusing manner. Refreshments were available from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, while alcholic beverages were served from 5.30pm till 8.30pm, and non-alcoholic beverages for the rest of the evening until 10.30pm. It would have been heaps easier if they have aligned the food and alcoholic beverage service timings.

The Club Lounge is also furnished in an incredibly uncomfortable manner. All the seating were in the form of dining tables, and there were no sofa seating save for a couple of armchairs with a coffee table in the library corner. This also means that even if I had arrived earlier, I would have been rather unlikely to spend my day in the lounge reading over a cup of coffee.

Club lounge – Not the best latte I had

With a fairly uncomfortable seating for having a drink and reading a book, I lingered in the lounge up to about 9pm over a few more glasses of drinks, before heading back to my room for the night.

The facilities

Beyond the club lounge, Renaissance Johor Bahru also has a swimming pool and a 24-hour fitness centre, both on the 6th floor. For those who fancy some pampering at a spa, unfortunately there isn’t any at the hotel. However, you will be spoiled for choice with an array of options for massages in Johor, so the lack of a in-hotel spa should not be a problem.

Lap pool

There are two pools, a larger rectangular pool that you can do laps in, and a small whirlpool that’s good enough for you to let your kids play in. Alongside the swimming pool are deck chairs for those who love a good tan, as well as cabanas to lie in if you fancy that instead.

The gym is rather well equipped and spacious, complete with a dumbbell rack, cardio machines and various machines. The gym can be accessed with your key card 24 hours daily, so regardless whether you are an early riser who wants to get a workout before breakfast, or a late night gym junkie, you can get your workout anytime you wish.

The gym

For those who love a good spa facility, there’s only a sauna that’s available within the changing rooms, but not a steam room. The sauna is also fairly small size, but usually unoccupied during the few times I used it.

The food

The next morning, I had breakfast at the lobby restaurant. I typically love Malaysian hotel breakfasts as they have proven time and time again to have fantastic Asian offerings, such as the E&O in Penang which offered my favourites such as cooked-to-order roti canai.

As with most larger hotels, the breakfast restaurant is fairly large sized, with seating of over a hundred people from what I saw. Of course, the restaurants are fully halal, so don’t expect bak kut teh (pork ribs soup) here!

Breakfast restaurant at lobby

Just a sampling of what was available at the buffet: dim sum, roti canai, nasi lemak, congee, along with western options of eggs, sausages, waffles, pancakes, cereal, fruits, and more.

Given the glutton I am, I had to try a little of everything. The roti canai was not cooked-to-order, so there was only the plain ones on offer. However, there was thosai that could be ordered so that more than made up for it. The nasi lemak was pre-wrapped in a banana leaf, and offered the standard condiments including hard boiled eggs, sambal, ikan bilis and cucumber. The rice was on point: fragrant and not too soft, and when paired with the sambal, good enough on its own.

Breakfast at Renaissance JB Hotel

There was also dim sum available, although this was a little disappointing. There wasn’t the usual siew mai (dumplings) available, but instead there was many buns (not my favourites) and also some unidentifiable steamed items.

To top off breakfast, there was a soft serve machine too, serving up chocolate and vanilla soft serve, complete with toppings such as crushed peanuts, candy rice and more. This was certainly a great way to end the morning.

My thoughts

Overall, this is a fairly decent Marriott property, taking into consideration the price you pay for a club room.

The room itself was fairly comfortable, and I loved that couch at the feet of the bed, which allowed me a choice of either lounge on the couch or on the bed to watch TV. As with most hotel rooms, I couldn’t get the smart TV to cast my phone content so that was a pity.

The lounge was clearly a disappointment, since it wasn’t exactly designed for one to lounge in it, but rather built almost like a restaurant. Service was acceptable for the category, so I’m not going to lose much sleep over it. However, there are araes where the service can be tightened or simplified, for instance, ensuring that food is available right to the end of the evening cocktail hours.

Club Lounge

The highlight of the stay would most likely be the breakfast. While it was great on its own, it’s certainly not the best I had in Malaysia before. In fact, DoubleTree by Hilton over at Johor Bahru city centre might offer a better breakfast, although it’s immensely crowded.

Despite the above, Renaissance Hotel Johor Bahru is certainly a great value for money especially if you need a cheap option to clock nights to qualify for the new Marriott Elite status!

13 October 18
REVIEW: InterContinental Kuala Lumpur, Grand Premier Room with Club access

In a frantic attempt to complete the IHG Accelerate challenge by 31 July 2018, the end of the promotion period, I had to clock two nights at any InterContinental properties across Asia Pacific or the Middle East.

Given that I’m not going to hop on a seven-hour flight to the Middle East for a stay, I began scouring this region. The cheapest InterContinental property in Asia Pacific turned out to be right next door: Kuala Lumpur.

I booked myself into the entry level room for two nights at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur for a total of just under RM1,100 over two nights. The property has also offered a e-Upgrade option where you can opt for certain payable upgrades, which will be confirmed at check-in.

For this stay, apart from offering a paid room upgrade opportunity, the hotel also offered Club InterContinental access for RM150++ per person per day. Since I was going to stay alone, this is much more worth it than paying RM230++ for an upgrade to a Club InterContinental Room.

The Hotel

InterContinental Kuala Lumpur is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur near Ampang Park, or a stone’s throw away from KLCC. The hotel is easily accessible from KL Sentral via the LRT, so travelling from the airport to the hotel is relatively fuss-free on public transport.

InterContinental Kuala Lumpur, formerly Hotel Nikko

The 473-room property took on the InterContinental brand only in February 2011. Previously Hotel Nikko, the hotel was built in 1997, which explains the design of the hotel: a large front lawn lined up with flag poles and a large driveway; a voluminous lobby adorned with a giant and rather gaudy chandelier. Having said that, the hotel was renovated when InterContinental took over in 2011.

While this is touted as a five star hotel, the hotel had only rather standard amenities. Apart from meetings and conference venues, the hotel only had a 24-hour gym and a swimming pool for recreation. There’s an on-site spa, but beyond offering treatments, the spa did not have any relaxation facilities such as a jacuzzi or sauna.

Fairly good sized swimming pool

The Room

Checking in was a breeze considering I arrived in the middle of the day. The check-in staff did acknowledge my IHG Rewards Club membership, and proactively offered an upgrade to the Grand Premier Room.

InterContinental Ambassador dedicated check-in counters

Of course, while that sounded awesome, a closer look at the website showed that the first three room types – Deluxe, Premier and Grand Premier – were all of the same size, and offered the same amenities. And Kuala Lumpur is not a city with a great cityscape, so view is definitely not worth any premium.

Entrance to the Grand Premier Room

At 42 square metres, InterContinental Kuala Lumpur offers up a generous room size, consistent with other hotels built around the same time. The Grand Premier Room, later I found out, was more recently renovated than some of the lower tier rooms.

The room featured a rather standard layout, with an oversized King bed backed upon a beige soft panel against one side and the TV on the other. I believe the bed could take up to an entire family of two adults with two very small children.

Grand Premier Room, InterContinental Kuala Lumpur

The bed was rather firm to my liking, but the pillows were rather lacking in support. Both mornings I woke up with a slight neckache, which was a pity given that excellent bed.

The bathroom now has a see-through glass wall that looks into the room, a feature that I don’t quite understand especially for larger rooms like these. In smaller, newer hotel rooms, hotels often do this to make the room more spacious. But in this case, I don’t see any particular function for this except if you’ll like to watch TV while standing up in the bathtub.

Spacious bathroom

Having said that, I appreciated the large bathroom. Arguably one of the better designed toilets, with the details put in sensibly. When else will you need a phone unless you run out of toilet paper while you are on the toilet?

The toiletries were from Agraria as well, similar to what is provided to all InterContinental properties around the world. The American brand markets itself as an aromatherapy brand, but I’m not too big a fan of their bath gels and shampoos as they feel rather watery and I ended up using half the bottle each time.

Club InterContinental

On level 26, certainly not as huge and definitely not as wonderfully designed as the Club InterContinental in Singapore. The decor is a little strange in my opinion, with large gaudy marble table tops and matching ugly chairs. The carpet was incredibly worn out too while the armchairs looked like they needed reupholstering.

Club InterContinental Lounge on Level 26

The centrepiece of the lounge was a full marble countertop where food and drinks were placed throughout the day. Hanging above was an array of lights hung from an equally unappealing reflective metal piece. All in all, they looked like they were designed on a budget in the 1980s and never got refreshed.

As with other Club InterContinental, the lounge offers all-day refreshments, with a la carte breakfast, high tea and evening cocktails for guests to enjoy.

Afternoon tea at Club InterContinental KL

Right after checking in, I went to the lounge for the afternoon tea. The afternoon tea is available daily between 2.30pm to 4.30pm. Similar to InterContinental Singapore, there’s a three-tier afternoon tea set that’s served up, but you can also pick and choose from items if you are feeling peckish but don’t quite feel like a glutton.

Scones were delightful but a little too starchy, clotted cream was on point. The rest of the items were passable, but nowhere near memorable by KL standards, given that you could get incredibly delicious food anywhere.

Afternoon tea at Club InterContinental KL

I asked for a flat white to go with the high tea, but disappointingly what came was more like a cafe au lait.

This is when I start to find the service a little awkward. The staff were all incredibly polite and attentive, but the presentation of food and beverage is pretty much awkward. The coffee I requested for came filled to the brim of the cup, which also means that the wait staff struggled not to spill anything while bringing it to me. The sparkling water that I asked for came at room temperature and a single ice cube, again filled right to the brim and I found myself trying not to spill any while lifting it off the table to bringing it to my lips.

In the evening, cocktail hours was from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Similar to the other InterContinental hotels, the Club lounge serve up a selection of hot hor d’oeuvres, along with a light buffet spread of canapés, cut fruits and cakes.

Evening cocktails canapés

I got there at a little over 6pm, and the lounge was well attended, but not filled to the brim. I ended up at one of the high benches as most of the choice tables were taken up.

What I thought was good effort on the hotel’s part was to have a theme each day. The first evening I was there, the food were essentially French, with a seafood skewer, some random beef cube and a mushroom tart. This was great, so I had a couple of servings through the evening along with the canapés and desserts.

Hot hor d’oeuvres, French themed

The second evening was Japanese, with a trio of karaage items for the hot food, and other appetising selections such as spinach in sesame sauce, unagi with seaweed, cucumber and ponzu sauce as well as an assortment of sushi (it was just California maki and inari sushi). Even the desserts were Japanese themed, featuring mochi, azuki cakes and azuki matcha creme.

Having said that, the quality of food was acceptable. It wasn’t mind blowing, but palatable enough for you to waste a bit of calories. Be sure to leave space to venture out and get yourself a wonderful Malaysian dinner.

Breakfast

As a Club InterContinental guest, you get a choice of breakfast either at Serena Brasserie at the lobby, or at the Club InterContinental lounge.

I checked out Serena on the first day. Even before 9am, the restaurant was filled to the brim and there was a line outside waiting for tables. Not totally unexpected, given the size of the hotel. I was seated rather quickly given I was alone and the groups ahead of me were waiting for larger tables.

Breakfast at Serena Brasserie

I usually have rather high expectations of Malaysian hotel breakfast buffets. In my opinion, they are always much better than the Singapore hotels. For instance, the made-to-order roti canai at Eastern & Oriental Hotel in Penang still lingers in my mind (and its imaginary tastebuds).

The variety of food at Serena Brasserie was pretty reasonable, with a splattering of offerings such as western options, to your local dishes such as congee with condiments, live cooking noodle station, dim sum and Indian curries. However, the quality was pretty dismal: while there’s a staff making roti canai, they were not cooked to order. It was more of a showroom, where he makes it, cuts it into smaller pieces and brings it out to one of the buffet tray.

Roti canai & dim sum, Serena Brasserie

The noodles were also incredibly underwhelming, lacking flavour in the soup base. The ingredients were pretty dubious too, and I had no idea what the balls were.

Above all, given the volume of guests, the trays often empty out quickly and the staff were slow in replenishing the food. I was staring at the empty tray of nasi lemak, with some remnants of rice left atop a banana leaf base, wondering if I should scrape the bottom of the tray.

The only thing worth eating in that place? The chicken siew mais. I probably had six.

The morning of the day I left, I decided to head up to the club lounge for my breakfast instead. As with other Club InterContinental lounges, it features a part buffet, part a la carte menu.

Breakfast at Club InterContinental KL

While the menu wasn’t extensive, it had a bit of everything: some local options, along with the usual western eggs and even lighter options.

Unsure of the portions, I decided to go for eggs first, done over easy. The single egg arrived slightly burnt, with two oily small tomatoes and some asparagus on the side.

Pancakes with berries

Obviously a single egg is not going to fill me up. So after I was done with the egg, I ordered the pancakes. The serving was small, but totally unappetizing. For some reason, the pancakes came slightly cold and almost tasteless on its own. I gave up after one pancake.

The buffet spread was slightly better, especially the nonya kuehs. That kind of was the saving grace for me.

Final words

Overall the hotel is pretty underwhelming for an InterContinental property. The rooms are decent, but the quality of food and service is pretty much lacking. For a foodie city, the quality of food, both in the lounge and at the breakfast restaurant, has to go up several notches to attract people to want to spend time in the hotel, although one can argue that you shouldn’t be spending time in any hotel in KL.

InterContinental Kuala Lumpur

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that the service is bad. What is lacking is the refinement in the service, particularly of the wait staff in the lounges. The staff were friendly, but when it comes to plating food, serving drinks, you could tell that they needed a lot more training.

While InterContinental Kuala Lumpur has got pretty good rooms and plenty of space to work with, the hotel will be hard pressed to compete with other properties in the city, especially if it wants to be a hotel of choice for business and premium leisure travellers alike.

18 August 18