I really enjoy Southeast Asia, and Kuala Lumpur is a favorite destination there. I was excited to have a little more time to explore and eat in this fun city. And gawk at the Petronas Towers…
Moon over the Petronas Towers
My time in Kuala Lumpur (KL) was just a bonus due to flight schedules. I only had about 24 hours on the ground there. To keep things simple, I booked my stay at the Le Meridien. This hotel shares a building with the Hilton KL where I stayed before. This was easy to access, as it is across the street from KL Sentral train station, which has frequent (3 or 4 times an hour) train service from the airport. Its not really in central KL, but with trains/trams/taxis, etc its easy enough to get around from there. This seemed like a good way to maximize my limited time in the city.
Here are some views of the hotels; first outside (from Flickr):
And inside:
The towers are separate, but they share an entrance
I was split between the Le Meridien and an Aloft nearby. The price was basically the same, and I used cash and points anyway, so I chose the more full-service hotel. This was SPG category 2, so it cost 2000 SPG points plus $35.
Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur Club Corner Room
I was given a corner room on a club floor, but a few floors away from the lounge, which was on floor 33. Included was breakfast in the lounge or the main restaurant. Lounge access including evening cocktails and Hors d’ oeuvres. All SPG platinum members also receive up to RM 29 in laundry credit and free pressing. I didn’t really have too much dirty laundry yet, but I figured I’d take advantage of this benefit while I could. It is always hot and humid in this part of the world, especially in June, so I appreciated this unexpected benefit to have clean clothes for nearly free.
The room was nice, and like many chain hotels in KL, a really good value. I was pleased to use cash and points. Some facilities are shared with the Hilton, and the gym and pool are excellent. I didn’t use the pool, but appreciated finally getting to work out after several days of travel.
Here are some photos of my room. No suite upgrade, but I was given a slightly larger corner room on a club floor.
Room was pretty typical, it had a king sized bed and a large flat screen tv.
The closet had an iron, robe, safe, and a prayer mat.
The highlight of the room was the excellent large bathroom with both a shower and separate tub. The toilet was Toto, with various wash and heating functions. There were 3 600ml water bottles in the bathroom, and a few other scattered about the room. There was also a large window with nice views from the high floor.
View of and from the bathroom
Exploring KL
I didn’t spend too much time in the hotel beyond the time I spent there sleeping. I went out to explore the city, including one of my favorite meals in KL, banana leaf rice. This south Indian styled meal is available all over the city, but I like some of the places in the Brickfields area near Sentral station. Some great fresh Indian food, and more than enough food for only a few dollars.
Later I returned to the hotel to grab my camera and head to the KLCC area, and the famous landmark of the city, the Petronas towers. Besides the photo at the top of this post, I took countless more. Here are a few:
Looking up: one of my favorite ways to photo buildings
The Petronas towers and the Suria KLCC mall at dusk
Kuala Lumpur is a favorite city of mine in Southeast Asia. To me it feels a little more authentic than Singapore, although both are excellent spots for food. After my day, I had a few hours in the morning, and I didn’t do much beyond have a workout in the gym, and get breakfast at the main restaurant at the Le Meridien. Then I had to head to the airport for my flight on to Siem Reap. At the airport I did finally get to have a standard of KL food that I had missed up to that point, Teh Tarik. It is black tea mixed and sweetened with condensed milk. A little sweet for me, but I’m glad to say I finally had it. My short stay in KL was over, and next would be the intended destination of my trip, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Other posts in this series:
- Air Canada to Toronto and The Maple Leaf Lounge
- First Class all to myself: Lufthansa Inaugural Toronto to Munich
- Munich Lufthansa First Class lounge then transiting Frankfurt
- Thai Airways Royal First Class on the Airbus A380 Frankfurt to Bangkok
- Thai Airways Royal Silk Business Class Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
- My time in Kuala Lumpur and at the Le Meridien
- Malaysia Airlines economy from Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap
- The Le Meridien Angkor, my home base in Siem Reap
- A Picture Tour of the Angkor Wat Temples Around Siem Reap
- Best Western Amaranth for a short layover in Bangkok
- Thai Airways Royal First Class Lounge and Spa
- Thai Airways Royal First Class Bangkok to Hong Kong
- Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounges in Hong Kong
- Cathay Pacific Business Class Hong Kong to Seoul
- Hyatt Regency Incheon Airport
- Asiana Airlines First Class Lounge in Seoul
- The only passenger in Asiana Airlines First Class Seoul to Frankfurt
- The best lounge in the world? Back at the Lufthansa First Class Terminal
- Lufthansa First Class with a seat and a bed Frankfurt to Toronto
