Great Value, Great Breakfast at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur
For our 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur I was excited to be returning to the Le Meridien in KL Sentral. I’d stayed there before when taking advantage of the Malaysia Air mistake fare years ago and was eager to go back. It also helped that the pre-paid price often dropped as low $92 a night, nights when the Grand Hyatt was over $150.
I didn’t want to book a non-refundable reservation though until I knew my Korean Airlines ticket was issued, so I missed the < $100 price. Still, when I showed up, it turned out the pre-paid rate I had booked had dropped and they were crediting me the difference!
But I digress. We arrived late at night from our flight from Seoul. Since the hotel is across the street from the train station, we just took the express train from the airport for a little over $11 each. It was much easier to navigate all the hallways and levels too when the place was empty of people!
With a fun champagne bar across from the check in area.
The first thing I noticed was that the lobby had been updated, but still kept the funky Le Meridien vibe. Check in was quick — they had upgraded me to a suite last time as a gold (years ago) but I didn’t want to chance it so had used some of my suite upgrade nights as a platinum to confirm a nice room. I’d been hoping for a further upgrade as a Starwood Platinum, but no luck.
But as a platinum I did receive a laundry credit each day, so the cost of getting some of my trips clothes cleaned dropped to a few dollars each.
The good news is the room was just as I remembered it! (and I had loved it). You walk into a small foyer with a guest bath off to the left.
Then a spacious sitting room.
And a decent size bedroom with an enormous bathroom. I did note that the toilet in the master bath had been upgraded to an electronic one.
What I loved most about the hotel was the club lounge. It has beautiful 3 story ceilings with windows on either side looking out on the Kuala Lumpur cityscape. Â The evening appetizers are very generous — multiple hot dishes both western and Malaysian as well as salad makings and desserts.
And a great wine steward who recommended against any of the current reds, remarking they used to have a good South African pinotage and referred me instead to the prosecco.
The first day we hung out in the afternoon, arriving just in time for a huge downpour that was actually fun to watch come sweeping across the horizon. Perfect timing to grab lunch at the pool-side bar.
Once it cleared we explored the pool which appears to be shared with the adjacent Hilton, but actually has a cleverly concealed dividing wall. I wasn’t sure if guests could visit both because it would have been fun to try out the Hilton’s water slide 🙂
One of the reasons I most love this hotel though is the breakfast buffet. It is amazing!
Like Malaysian cuisine, it draws from many different influences and half a dozen stations each representing a different cuisine — Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Western, Malaysian, etc.
They also had a crepe station at the entrance.
I was particularly enthralled with the Indian food and the dim sum. Though the stated opening time is 6:30, when we had to eat early on our last day to make our flight, we found it open at 6AM, though not all the stations were ready yet.
The only two downsides was skimpy tea service — a thermos with only enough hot water for one cup–and limited sliced fruit options — only 4 selections which are changed daily. Definitely limitations I can accept 🙂
A few other random observations — though the website says they have a cash machine, it turns out the closest location is at the train station across the road. The concierge was super helpful, even offering to buy postcard stamps and mail them out on our behalf when the hotel was out of stock.
I also made a trip to the spa, the hilarious scene of previous spa underwear woes. This time I had a treatment room that was accessed by a staircase through the gym — a well equipped, loud and crowded room which detracted somewhat from the spa serenity.
I had a good but unremarkable massage, though it got a lot better when I signed the bill and saw Starwood elites got an unpublicized 25% discount!
Though I’ve heard amazing things about the Grand Hyatt in town, I really really like this hotel. The location is extremely convenient, the lounge has amazing views, the price is usually right, and you can’t beat the buffet breakfast.
More posts from the trip:
Checking In and Air France Lounge at IAD
Korean Airlines First Class IAD-ICN
Hyatt Regency Incheon: Great Service, Hard Beds
Accidentally Seeing Seoul Like a Native
Tight Quarters at the Park Hyatt Seoul
Worth a Hike — Bukchon Hanok Village
Checking In for a Flight from Downtown SeoulÂ
Korean Airlines First Class Lounge Incheon Airport
Korean Airlines First Class Seoul to Kuala Lumpur
You Don’t Get Massaged By a Blind Paralympic Everyday...
Agree that Le Meridien KL is a great value and has the most convenient location, but in my experience, it has one of the worst services of any SPG property in Asia. Up to 25 minutes waiting for coffee in the morning, breakfast in the downstairs restaurant usually extremely overcrowded, staff at the front desk can be quite rude and non-responsive, the club lounge staff lacks basic English skills, etc. etc. I don’t think I’ve ever had a good stay in this hotel (btw, I’m an SPG platinum). Love the pool area though 🙂