Head photo courtesy of Expedia.
84, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hotel Website
+60 3-2028 8888
This is a very good simple hotel in the heart of KL that offers everything you need in a short stay or stopover for a very affordable price, and has easy access to KL main sights, shopping malls and eateries.
Herewith a wrap-up of my experience.
THE GOOD
> Great location, at about 12 minutes walking distance from the heart of KL, where you can find the posh Pavilion Shopping Centre, the affordable Fahrenheight 88 Shopping Centre, the Lot10 underground Malaysian and Japanese eateries, the monorail, and much more.
> Safe and secure hotel and rooms. Overall, I found the corridors and common areas quiet.
> Spotless common areas and rooms.
> Spacious room for a budget hotel!
> Good comfy mattress and pillows.
> Plenty of power points and light points in the room.
> Safety box, 2 bottles of water and coffee/tea facilities in the room, plus an empty mini-fridge, which I always find super handy to bring in goodies you want to buy and consume indoors.
> Fast reliable internet during your stay. If you are going to be around after your checkout, they kindly offer you a complimentary guest connection for you to use while in the lobby.
> Acceptable varied buffet breakfast included in the price.
> Staff are welcoming and willing to help.
> Tour desk has good prices
> There is a Family Mart, a decently sized grocery store with some simple eateries inside, plus two other posher cafes at barely 100 metres from the hotel.
> The three lines of free city loop buses can caught in the bus stop across the road.
> Plenty of metered taxis around.
SO-SO
The Lobby is comfortable enough, but they could make an effort and revamp it a bit.
DOWNSIDES
>The escalators that go from the ground level to the lobby didn't work any of the days I stayed there.
> The many lifts in the building can take quite a while to stop at your floor.
> Tiny wardrobe for a person, not to say for two.
> Staff need further training to reply questions about airport transfers to/from hotel.
> Tour desk only works with 2 people or more, forget it if you are traveling on your own. There are barely people visiting the desk and it is because they seem not to be interested in doing business, if you know what I mean.
> No massage center or beauty salon in the premises.
> If you happen to come down for breakfast at, say, 10am, you will find that they don't refill the trays, so you might find very little to eat. Some of the bakery goods are in a bakery cabinet to be kept warm, but the cabinet wasn't turned on and they were cold.
MIND
>
Toiletries aren't available. You will find dispensers of soap/shampoo
in the bathroom, and have to request other things at reception. Hair conditioner is not
provided either at the room or at reception. It would cost nothing
providing a dispenser of conditioner and another of body milk.
>
Tourists are charged 10 Ringitt per day, so those fees have to be added
to your booking fees later on, if you are booking online.
> Lobby is on the first floor, not on the ground floor, which would be handier.
> There is a transfer desk outside the hotel, apparently not linked to the hotel. They offer private transfers at the usual rates, which are way higher than the taxis or Grab cars around.
> It takes around 1 hour to get to/from the airport. A metered taxi, Grab or arranged taxi driver will cost you 65-85 Ringitt.
Pacific Regency Hotel Suites
KH Tower, Jalan Punchak,
Off Jalan P. Ramlee.
50250 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Tel : 603 2332 7777
Fax : 603 2031 2492
http://www.pacific-regency.com/
info@pacific-regency.com
reservation@pacific-regency.com
The Hotel is in the heart of the city, at walking distance from shopping malls, sights and transport nods. The KL Tower and the Petronas are minutes away, and so are the Pavillion and Suria Shopping Malls, the restaurant, coffee and pub strip, the Hop-on Hop-off Bus, the monorail and the metro. Location Location!
My apartment-room was huge, and had a separate lounge and bedroom, a complete kitchen, a huge bathroom with a decent selection of amenities, a king-size hard bed, two plasma TVs, a good selection of international channels, the newspaper delivered daily for free, among other things - A litte home away from home.
The staff (at reception, housekeeping and tour-desk) were super-friendly, always ready to help. I thought they guys at reception desk were flatted out sometimes and that they needed a bigger desk and at least two extra hands to attend cues, and also an extra hand to attend to in-house guests going out or coming in with their keys and queries. The same pleasant impression I got from he taxi-drivers that work at the entrance of the hotel, although I did used them rarely. They were courteous, never pushy, and informative if you want to walk around. If Saita is available, let her take you around.
I booked a room for
non-smoker but this was not available and I was given one in a smoking
floor. However, my room was sprayed and no odour was perceptible;
however, the external corridors smelled a bit. The room was also sprayed for pests during my stay; I thought that they should have done so when the room was empty; although there was no smell after the spray, this could spark all sort of allergic or poisonous reactions.
The kitchen barely had a few items of crockery, cutlery and glasses, which were not enough to cook basic stuff in the apartment, so I had to contact Housekeeping. I expect a hotel like this to provide guests with basic kitchenware without the guest having to call the housekeeper for it. Moreover, there was no microwave! I mean, this is a four-star hotel and we are in the 21st century.
There is a one restaurant, café-bar and night bar in the hotel, but I did not visit them. I found more interesting wandering the surrounding area or heading to posh Suria Mall and finding my treat of the day there.
One of the main downs of the hotel is the level of noise in some rooms - namely mine. The aircon is old and rattles a lot, especially during the night if you leave it on, or if your neighbours do so, as the hotel has ducted aircon, not individual pieces. Moreover, my apartment was close (almost at arm's reach!) to a huge crane doing demolition/construction works, and the noise bas a bother sometimes, especially at night.
Overall, this is a very good hotel, good-priced and good-serviced, but needs to be updated to provide the guest with a better selection of kitchenware and a silent air-con system. The new wing is already refurbished and open, and I hope the old rooms, like the one I stayed in, are updated by now.
Stayed December 2011
Hotel Sentral
30 Jalan Thambypillai
Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur 50470,
Malaysia
http://www.hotelsentral.com.my/
Tel No: 603-2272-6000
Fax No: 603-2272-6099
Email: hskl@hotelsentral.com.my
The hotel is centrally located, at 2 minutes from the monorail, 7 minutes walking distance from KL Sentral Station and the Skybus/Airbus buses to the LCCT Airport, with plenty of local cheap eateries in the same street.
This is not a fancy
hotel, still a good and comfortable one. The room is basic,
still clean, with a decent set of amenities in the bathroom, coffee
facilities, and anything that you can need for a short stay or
overnight. Free wi-fi and free buffet breakfast included! The staff were lovely, very helpful and friendly.
My room was a bit small, but this is not a problem for me, me being small. However, it could be a problem if you are travelling with your partner or you are big.
On the down side, the safety box and the fridge were not working. However, the staff offered me to take my valuables downstairs and to put it in the hotel's safe, which was great, while I was away wandering around the city.
There were a few local eateries in the same street, those not frequented by Westerners, which are always a hit with me.
Stayed December 2011
Piccolo Hotel
101 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Kuala Lumpur 55100, Malaysia
Tel : 603 - 2146 5000
Fax : 603 - 2146 5001
Email: reservation@piccolohotel.com.my
http://www.thepiccolohotel.com/
http://www.piccolohotel.com.my/Home.html?page=index
Piccolo Hotel is pretty and trendy hotel located in the heart of the posh shopping area of KL that defines itself as eco-friendly. I found it very comfortable for the days I stayed. They have free fast Internet, a cozy spacious room, great design and lighting, original open concept bathroom, good plasma TV and entertainment program, and free newspaper every morning.
The toilet amenities are good quality but very limited. No hair conditioner (if you are a lady with long hair you need it), no toothbrush, no cotton buds, no rubbish bin in the toilet!, no robe. These details are unimportant, still expected in a hotel that pretends to be trendy, especially when average hotels in KL have the above mentioned things.
The level of noise in my room was dreadful! There is a nearby open disco that goes bombastic from 10pm until 3am or so. Moreover, the walls between rooms are paper-thin and you can hear the shower/sewage of the next-door room! The corridors can be be noisy, and if they are, you will hear everything as the rooms are not sound proofed. The music at the shopping mall public areas starts at about 7am.
The concierge and tour people were really friendly and helpful, but the people at the reception desk were helpful but unwelcoming and not warm at all. They are at the bottom list of the many hotels I have visited in Malaysia so far. Smile!!! Make people welcome! Is that so difficult?
I truly recommend the Morino Kaze Fish Spa experience, for the fish spa which I found to be an amazing experience!
The heritage food trail is at one minute from the hotel; a fantastic food hall to savour different Asian delicacies. However, you can find any western, Asian or Middle Eastern food restaurant at 5 minutes from the hotel, as well as bars and shopping malls. There are two restaurants at the lobby, but they are always empty...
A great hotel for young and modern-minded people looking for a great location to move around the best shopping area in KL.
Room Tip: If you are a slight sleeper ask for a room facing the lateral alleys.
Visited January 2012
