Asian Hotel Room

It was my second visit to Kuala Lumpur. Because I arrived late night I was thinking about either booking the Pan Pacific Airport hotel or a hotel close to Sentral KL station. KL Sentral is the railway station in Kuala Lumpur that tourists arrive at via KLIA Ekspres, the highspeed train connecting KL international airport with the city, a 37 minute ride for the price of 35 Ringit.

Opposite KL Sentral there is a twin tower building that hosts 2 hotels: The Hilton and Le Meridien. The later is the cheaper of the two so I gave it a try. I booked a club room and was lucky to receive a complimentary upgrade to a jr. suite on one of the top floors as I am Gold SPG member. The room was very nice with a beautiful view of parks and the south of the city (the opposite side of Menara and Petronas towers). Very comfortable bed, good high speed internet and a wonderful bathroom with a corner view. On the downside they would not offer any late check-out and the complimentary water was 'hidden' on an upper shelf in inside the bathroom that made me buy the expensive Evian water out of the mininbar to satisfy my thirst in the middle of the night.
The location of the Kuala Lumpur Le Meridien is perfect when you arrive by air and take the KLIA Ekspres train into town. It's just a short walk across the street. I would recommend booking a room including the breakfast. They have a great breakfast buffet with Japanese, Chinese, Continental and local dishes. A perfect treat to start a busy day as a tourist in Malaysia. Some of the facilities are shared with the Hilton next door, like a real nice pool area and a great little gym with some of the best fitness equipment including a Concept2 rowing machine and equipment made by Hammer Strength as well as a heavy bag for a quick boxing workout.

Bird's view from my Junior Suite on a high floor overlooking the beautiful swimming pool. Unfortunately, the pool was closed due to heavy rain :-(

Back in September 2008 I had to make a short 2 day trip to Kuala Lumpur. One of the best areas to stay in is surrounding the famous Petronas Towers and the KLCC park. Most brand name hotel chains have their hotels aligned around this belt. I stayed a couple of streets off at the Crown Plaza Kuala Lumpur. As usual I booked over the IHG website and secured a club room a day in advance. The room was very nice with ample space, open design with sliding dividers between the bathroom and the sleeping area. They offer wired internet access for a fee, but I did not check it this time as my laptop had no ethernet port and there was no wifi signal in my room. I was disappointed about the cleanliness of my Crown Plaza hotel room. The working desk and the furniture were covered with a fine layer of dust. As I was entitled to a late check out I was very disappointed that they had moved me out of my room during my absence ignoring the DND sign on my door and neglecting the late checkout privilege. They threw all my belongings into my suitcase. Not a nice way of treating a club room customer. The lady in the club lounge reception explained it with a glitch in the housekeeping system and said she was sorry, but it did not sound very convincing. It's a pitty. This hotel is in a great location and the hotel rooms are nicely equipped, but the attitude of staff and cleanliness leave a lot to be desired imho. I will try a different hotel when returning to Kuala Lumpur.

An outside view of the Kuala Lumpur Crown Plaza hotel on a sunny day.

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