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.

Grand Palace Hotel - Miri, Sarawak

I don’t know why but I would always be motivated to blog whenever I’m in Miri. Could it be due to the free broadband in hotel rooms in most hotel in Miri? Actually not all hotels provide free broadband in their room. Marriott Miri charged exorbitantly for usage of broadband in their hotel rooms.

a standard room

Anyway, this is not the first time I’m staying in Grand Palace. One reason I enjoy staying here is due to the fact that it’s near the place that I need to go for work. Another reason could be due to the fact that the rooms were recently refurbished and thus clean, and also that the beds and bedspreads and linens are new. It certainly could not be due to the boring breakfast they served each morning.

The anemities in room are pretty all standard. However, the hotel has something to offer that is quite unique. Grand Palace Hotel is promoting their mini-bar at only RM15+ for the whole set. One set consist of 6 cans of soft drinks, 3 types of peanut and 1 bar of kit kat. However, if you don’t want the whole set, you can opt for individual items but each item is like RM5+ per item. So, it’s more worth it to get the whole set. This is quite innovative. I was quite tempted to try.

I must put it on record now for my own reference that there’s no AXN in Grand Palace Hotel. I must have confused it with Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Grand Palace has only Star movie, disney and the usual sports, discovery, CNN among other channels and like most hotels/houses in Miri, they are able to receive broadcast from Brunei as well. Let it be noted that they do not have Vision TV.

view from my room

Oh ya, I paid RM198 for my room. It’s a promotional rate. The standard rate for this is is around RM250 if I'm not mistaken.

Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur - fountain club

I received my Fountain Club renewal card from Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur recently.

It's quite a useful card as you can get discounts when you dine in the F&B outlets in Nikko KL. At the same time, you can accummulate points when you stay in the hotel rooms or organise functions in Nikko KL.

Like any reward points, you can redeem them for free meals vouchers, free stay in Nikko KL and shopping vouchers.

For more information, contact Hotel Nikko KL at

165, Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 603 2161 1111
Fax : 603 2161 1122

Email : sales@hotelnikko.com.my; reservation@hotelnikko.com.my; catering@hotelnikko.com.my