Hard Rock Hotel Penang, Malaysia

The Beetles welcoming you with open arms - view from poolside

Whenever I’m in Penang, I always make it a point to try assam laksa (a dish that is world famous) and one of my favourite drink - nutmeg juice (not so world famous). However, when I was in Penang last year, I make it a point to stay in Hard Rock Hotel for some rest and relax before attending a conference in Georgetown city. For that I stayed in another hotel which is not worth mentioning here.


fun for kids; relaxation for parents

Situated in Batu Feringghi beach, Hard Rock Hotel is very much a luxury and leisure hotel for everyone. For those travelling with children, you will find endless fun in the water features situation by the pool. You can sit and chill by the deck chair while keeping an eye on your kids as they enjoy themselves sliding down the water slides and other fun water activities. For others (singles, couples, etc) there are rooms that open directly into the pool (lagoon deluxe) but these rooms are not available for those with kids under 12 of age.

Lil' Rock - kids love it! p.s. model available for hire

You can also enjoy the many beach activites (para-sailing, horse riding, etc) but these are organised by private/individual contractors and not part of the hotel.

I booked my room online through the official web and managed to get the internet rate of RM360++ inclusive of breakfast for 2 adults for a deluxe room.

I'm feeling sleepy just looking at the bed

The room is very spacious and the bed is just too comfortable for words. It is also very well equipped for in-room entertainment with docking stations for your ipod, CD and DVD players and a comprehensive international channels for you to choose from over the television.


complimentary coffee, tea & milo only

The rooms also come with free wifi which is great if you need to get some work done or you just need to be connected at all times but not willing to pay for it.

The bathroom is a bit small but we’re ok with that.

Burgers from kid's menu, calamari ring & nachos

While staying in Hard Rock Hotel, you must also make it a point to dine at Hard Rock Cafe which is situated within the hotel itself but with a different entrance/exit. Dinning here is an experience in itself although it does get noisy when the live band starts playing but what do you expect? it is Hard Rock Cafe after all!


Breakfast by the beach



End your stay with a delicious breakfast from either the coffee house or by the beach.  Naturally, we opted to have our breakfast by the beach front.  It is indeed a wonderful holiday in a wonderful hotel having wonderful (but standard) breakfast with wonderful sea view.

We can't wait to go back there!

Renovated Rooms in Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu

These are the renovated rooms in Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu.  I forgot what category of room this is but they have a few designs (so far I have stayin in 3 different types) and this is just one of them.

The rooms are generally very spacious and a family of 2 adults and 2 kids or a total of 3 adults can fit into this room comfortably.

All rooms come with an extremely comfy bed, plasma TV and a writing desk which can be turned into a dinning table if you order room service.  If you enjoy uninterupted TV viewing like I do, the hotel has quite a comprehensive tv selection from Vision 4 to Star TV and AXN among others.  I can't remember if there's any cartoon channel for kids. 

You can relax and watch tv while soaking in the bath tub after a long day of work or play, depending on the purpose of your trip.  Don't worry, you can close up the glasses of bathroom with the vertical blind if you are travelling with others and watching tv while soaking in the tub is not an option at all.

Needless to say, the aminities are very complete with mini bar and lots of tempting chocolates whilc you have to pay but complimentary coffee and tea (Sabah tea).

I enjoy staying in Hyatt Kota Kinabalu not just due to it's strategic location for shopping and for food but also for it's hospitality.

Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur

I will always equate Renaissance Hotel KL with the HINDRAF rally in Nov 2007). That's because I was staying here when our country created history on 24 November with the much talked about and much publised rally that perhaps was a contributing element in the changing of the political landscape of Malaysia.

I have been to Renaissance for dinners and meetings previously but it was my first visit as an in-house guest. I was a bit lost in trying to check in upon arrival as I didn’t know that there are 2 wings in this hotel, the East Wing and the West Wing and the hotel practised separate check-in for the different wings.

My room was booked in the East Wing. My cab dropped me at the West Wing I confidently tried to check in there. Upon referencing my room confirmation number, I was told that I have to check in at a different lobby. The front office staff was hospitable enough to usher this 'lost' guest to the East Wing. Great service in action!

My room is standard enough with its king size bed and elegant furnishing.

BathroomThe bathroom wasn’t very spacious. The shower and the bathtub’s together and again pretty standard looking but it’s very clean.

Snack Bar
The snack bar for that very important midnight craving. Hm……again, pretty standard although the brand of the items provided are pretty impressive.

Renaissance features an attractive looking swimming pool.
The hotel provides WIFI in their public area and meeting rooms but not for guest rooms. Broadband internet in guest rooms are chargable. Generally, I find that the room lacks character and doesn’t have any particular signature characteristics. I didn’t try the breakfast Renaissance as breakfast cost about RM45++ per pax and it should featured quite an impressive spread.

Address :
Corner of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang
Kuala Lumpur, 50450 Malaysia
Phone: 60 3 2162 2233
Fax: 60 3 2163 1122
Sales: 60 3 2162 2233 ext. 3415
Sales fax: 60 3 2161 5555
Toll-free: 1800 38 7272


What’s available in the room :
Standard toiletteries
bedroom slipper
standard complimentary coffee and tea and 2 bottles of water
TV programmes – Vision 4, national TV, Astro Star movie

Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu Sabah

This is my favourite hotel in Malaysia.  It is located in the heart of Kota Kinabalu facing the South China Sea.

The hotel is going through some major renovation and refurblishment of the rooms.  I want to post this photo which I took when I was there about 2 years ago before the hotel looks different after the renovation.  I stayed in the newly refurblished room last month but that's another post for another time.

RM15 Mini bar

While browsing through some photos, I came across these which shows what I was talking about here.

So, do you think it’s worth it?

PJ Hilton Petaling Jaya

Petaling Jaya Hilton or PJ Hilton as it's more commonly known is ‘the’ hotel to hang out during the early to mid 90s. From the coffee house to the pub, it’s the place to be. However, that’s the 90s and in this new Y2K generation, it might no longer be a ‘cool’ place to be at.

Anyway, PJ Hilton brings back some memories of yester-years. Although I have been there many times before, I have not stayed in this hotel previously so it’s quite exciting to be able to stay there this time round.

Cab from the airport cost about RM65 and it’s much convenient to take a cab directly from KLIA to the hotel rather than taking the train (ERL Express) and then catching a cab from KL Sentral. It will also cost more actually.

I book my room from a web portal at only RM175 net but standard rate is around RM250++ so ya, I got a good offer. If I’m not mistaken, this offer runs till March 2010. It comes with breakfast for 2 people. Let me tell you, the breakfast in PJ Hilton is legendary and deserves a post of its own but sorry I didn’t take any photos nor take any notes. I was too busy eating. Maybe if I get to stay there again, I will do up a post on the breakfast in Paya Serai. The hotel also housed a rather famous Japanese restaurant.

the room I was in

Anyway, the room I was allocated was at the old wing (maybe that explains why it’s at only MR175 net) which was served by 3 tiny lifts. I have not seen lifts so small before so it was rather cute. The room I stayed in is rather old - nothing to shout about. They don’t even have LCD TV in the room. The carpet looks warn and the furnishing looks a bit old but the room is clean and that is the most important.

view from the room

Like I said before, TV is rather important for me when I travel. Even I don’t watch it, I would just keep it on for some background noise. In PJ Hilton, the TV channels available are Vision 4 (4 channels to choose from), HBO and Star Movie, ESPN, Starsports for the sports fans, CNBC and a few others. For personal interest, it is hereby noted that there’s no Playhouse Disney or any channels for kids.

I do recommend this hotel for business travellers and even holiday makers too just for the fact that the promotional rate is very attractive and they are not very far from malls such as Mid Valley or even Sunway Pyramid Mall. This would be quite an ideal choice too for those are keen to go to Sunway Lagoon Resort but not willing to pay extra for hotels in Suway Resort.

Click on the title for the weblink.

Post a comment if you want to know more about the RM175 rate.

Imperial Hotel, Miri Sarawak

standard room

Nothing much can be written about this hotel. It's cheap, it's reasonably clean cos the rooms were refurbished a couple of years back, it's convenient (next to a shopping mall).

The standard rooms are quite small but just nice for one person.

If you watch a lot of tv like me when I travel for work, you might be slightly disappointed cos there's only the standard Malaysian national tv. From cable, it's just CNN, HBO, ESPN, NIK, Pheonix and Discovery. Like most other places in Miri, RTB (from Brunei) is available too.

Good news however, is that broadband is free in the room but remember to bring your own network cable. Wifi reception is not very good in the room but excellent at lobby and function rooms on 5th floor.

You can contact them for booking at 085 431 133.