Hi all, i'm looking the for the best hotel in KL, what would you suggest ? Mandarin Oriental, Ritz Carlton, Shangri-La ? Or Carcosa Seri Negara ? Or is there something close (accessible by car in ~30 mins) ? Do you have any great restaurant recommendations (serving wine, top notch places) for : - Malay food - Indian food - Japanese food ? Among side trips, what is best ? Cameroon Heights, Langkawi, Brunei ?
Shangri-La is pretty old fashion. go for the Mandarian Oriental if u want a nice, classy stay. as for places, here's a site i dug up. http://www.tourism.gov.my/
also, i forgot to mention. proper restaurants don't serve the typical malaysian food, indian, malay, chinese foods. it's normal stalls that serves the best tasting food. typically i mean.
The Westin KL is a very modern hotel. Swanky lights and restaurants at the basement of Starhill too. I would recommend it if u want to be downtown in the centre of attraction. The Petronas twin towers are just 5 minutes away. The J.W. Mariott is just next door, and the Ritz Carlton is behind too. If u are just in KL for a few days, this is the right location. Traffic jams are a nightmare in KL if u are staying in the outskirts of the city. There is a great French/Japanese fusion restaurant nearby at Micasa Hotel called Cilantro. Very good food and excellent wine list. About US$80 per person excluding wine would be more than enough for a memorable meal. The restaurant has won food awards and is consistenly in the top ten restaurants list in KL. For a local restaurant specialising in modern Malay cuisine, try Halia located in a colonial bungalow. Great ambiance and service in a tropical setting. Dont even comtemplate renting a car in KL. Cabs are the easiest way to move around. From the Westin to any downtown nightspot would cost u max us$5.
Cabs / L.R.T / Monorail. there's also a hop on tourist bus. u pay somewhere like RM40, and they take u to the whole of KL, good deal, IMO. beware of certain cabbies, they might take advantage of you, and u'll end up paying much more of the correct price. always insist that the cabbies use the meter.
Thanks for the tips. What sort of price is to be expected for trips inside downtown and downtown to damansara ? Also, what is the best way to get to cameroon heights, taking a cab or what (i doubt there is a plane flying there...) ?
Cab fares can be costly & horrific if you get into "pirate" cab drivers who won't turn on meters or tempered meters. I always use the blue chartered cabs from hotels, costs more but runs on meter with good English speaking drivers & knowledgeable. About Euro15-20 for 30/45mins ride & traffic jams can be bad during peak hours. Otherwise cabbies from the street are very cheap but most don't speak good English or not knowledgeable. I normally buy the city's LRT tickets which are very cheap & fast to move around. There's nothing much to do in Cameron Highlands. Good scenery though & cool air+some orchards, tea plantations, strawberry farms, insect museum. You can spend a night there. About 2-3hrs drive away from KL? Some cab drivers can bring you there from KL & back for a price. Maybe can try local tours when you're @ hotel. It's better to book a seperate trip to Langkawi or Penang (old town history). Or if you like tropical nature, book an overnight trip to Pahang's national park, do river rafting & stay in 5stars hotel in the rainforest. I normally stay @ the Hilton (don't do Meridien which is the next tower) which is in KL Sentral where the city's main transport interchange is right @ the doorstep. Rooms are good & modern with 42" plamas. Good restaurants & bars too. You can take the airport railway, 28mins? & walk right up. All LRTs, taxis, railways etc are here though the main shopping is a distance away. Good all round scenery as it's a twin towers in the middle of low rise estate. JW Marriott is a fine hotel but breakfast is so-so while Starhill shopping mall is connected & the new Pavillion Mall is just opp. The suites @ Traders Hotel is not bad either for good value & scenery, facing the KL twin towers & walking distance to it. Mandarin Oriental is one of the finer one. Ritz Carlton is a little hidden behind the main street & a very congested area with little scenery but good Chinese restaurants are just 5mins walk @ Imbi. If you're @ DH, it's about 20mins to get to city centre & again depends on traffic.
If you like driving twisties. Rent a manual car & head up Cameron etc. Good 45mins up from base & you can stop mid-way for a tea. I did such a trip 2yrs ago. Let me check the thread for you with pics. Found it. Have fun, most things haven't changed much since. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92440&highlight=malaysia+trip
wah J, u also know KL inside out! I have to admit my 5 years there were a lot of partying and eating but hardly any sightseeing or even taking in the local sights...
yup. 2000 to 2005. Best partying years of my life! Malaysia....ahh...what can I say? Unique system of getting things done there. Malaysia Boleh !!! Good thing I came back to Sgp tho...just to time to catch the wave here.
i will be in KL as well from 2/29 - 3/2. i stayed at Regent and Ritz carlton before, old a$$ POS, avoid it. thinking of either mandarin or westin this time, whats the vote? i like new hotels with updated amentities such as plasma tv, ipod docking and etc. any suggestions?
Yes, the Regent is very old. And the Ritz had bad location. The Westin has ipod docking, if I remember correctly. Plasmas too. Hip and Swanky hotel
When did you last stay @ Regent? It's been sold to another group, renamed & just had a new lobby, I'm not sure if they did the rooms though but that would be the norm. Location is still one of the best @ Bt Bintang.
stayed at regents in '04. stayed at ritz carlton in march '07 for the sepang F1. so who owns regent now? four season??
Hi, I had to revive the thread one last time Do you know if there are good tailors in KL ? Thanks again !
The Regent has been renamed Grand Millenium, after being taken over and spruced up by Singapore's OBS.
