Ever enthusiastic to try out a new property, and despite the wonderful stay we’d had at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur for the first few nights of our trip, I booked Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur for our final night before returning back to dreary Dublin.
Le Meridien, along with the adjoining Hilton, are two of KL Sentral’s most – pardon the pun – centrally located hotels, alongside the Aloft, which I’ve stayed at several times before. The St. Regis, while also located within KL Sentral, is actually an awkward walk from the station – which I just can’t justify with luggage.
Accessible right from within the station, it actually follows the same path from arrivals up the lifts and along a corridor, to the condo block I used to live in back in the day – how I continue to miss that fantastically upscale time of my life. Anyway, I digress – up the lift, along the corridor, and the entryway to both Le Meridien and Hilton is right there, talk about convenience!
The lobby is large with plenty of seating for you to while away the requisite time for your car to arrive (which will require time, given the loop-the-loop nature of the entry roadways). Pretty much throughout our time there, there was always an abundance of areas to be seated – even when I variously cashed in the free coffee, and later, the free ice cream, more on that in a second!
Given the late hour of our arrival, check-in was handled very quickly and I was thanked for my very paltry Bonvoy membership level, along with being offered a plethora of paper coupons and vouchers for a free coffee, a drink at a bar, and then a wheel of fortune was presented for me to spin, for which I won scoops of ice cream for my trouble. It was almost comical the sheer amount of coupons and vouchers and wheel-spinning involved, if not for the amount of freebies it all seemed to generate.
Finally, we were on our way up to the room – a standard Guest Room; buying up to something fancier just didn’t seem worth the effort given the brevity of our stay.
First impressions – it was pleasant, clean and cosy, but a little, strangely, on the tighter side I’d have to say.
The bed was parked, as they usually are, in against the wall, with a TV and working desk tucked in on the opposite side of the room. Certainly, while the room was very pleasant, we weren’t flush with space after opening our two suitcases.
That theme continued on into the modern bathroom, where a pleasant, but tight shower, sink and toilet could be found. Nevertheless, it was more than adequate for our brief stay and had everything you could need.
Unfortunately during our stay, the pool and gym facilities at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur were closely for renovation – and this was evident during our walk around the property. Thankfully there seemed to be just about enough seating at the neighbouring Hilton pool, which we were entitled to use, but it would definitely put me off if I noticed it again or had even noticed in advance of time.
The pool and gym facilities at the Hilton however were both spot on; we visited the gym the next morning and found that, despite the exercise-hungry crowd, there was more than enough equipment for everyone at all times.
Similarly, the pool at the Hilton was very enjoyable – unfortunately the slide, probably intended for kids but which I had otherwise intended to use, was also out of action, but sunchairs were decorated with ready-to-use rolled up towels and a single orchid. Similarly, they were cleared quickly when vacated, and the pool, while a little narrow in parts, was well capable of accommodating all those using it while we were there. There’s also a jacuzzi for adults, if you can manage to sit in steaming hot water while sitting outdoors in steaming hot weather.
Breakfast was handled at the main buffet restaurant in Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur, Latest Recipe. We were quickly welcomed inside and shown to our seats, and I found service staff to be very attentive, quick and friendly.
There’s a wide selection of foods available across multiple stalls and nobody should have an issue finding something to eat – generally, if there’s one thing mid/upscale Malaysian hotels do well it’s breakfast selection and quality, and this was no different. After four espresso’s, multiple fruit juices, rendang and several roti canai’s, I could barely move let alone head back upstairs to pack.
Overall, we had a pleasant if relatively unmemorable stay at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur. Though service generally was excellent, the room would be a little tighter than I’d want to stay in for more than a night or two, while the rates don’t especially compare well with equivalent or even slightly nicer properties – especially coupled with the pool being out of service during our stay. We’d likely stay here again in a pinch on an overnighter, or to be in a good location to get the airport train the next day – but would more likely buy up to a nicer room in the nearby Aloft, which is also connected to KL Sentral.
