Kuala Lumpur is a cheap market for branded hotels, and one can easily get a 5* hotel stay for a fraction of the price of what it will cost in other cities like Singapore, New York or Tokyo. Over the years I have stayed in a couple of fancy schermanzy hotels, but nothing could quite compare to the St Regis. It was everything I expected and more, it was luxury at its finest and I daresay one of the best property I have ever stayed in.
The St Regis was located near the KLIA Express station, which is the quickest way to the city from the airport. (Of course Grab and Uber have started offering fixed fares from the airport as well, so depending on the number of people you are travelling with, it might be more economical to get a Grab.) From KL Sentral station, the hotel provides complimentary shuttle service that runs at half an hour intervals. Definitely a nice touch since the route to the hotel, while walk-able was not the most pedestrian friendly.
The drive took roughly 5 minutes and upon arrival there was a massive red carpet that led to the lobby to welcome me. I was basking in my Kim Kardashian moment and thought that the St Regis KL was outdoing itself by giving guests the red carpet treatment. I was immediately whisked to the check in counter where I was blown away by the lobby. There was a massive art display, which overlooked the sit down check in desks and the associate that assisted me explained to me that the King of Malaysia was staying with them that weekend, hence the red carpet, state flags and the tighter security. Speak of luxury accommodation; if the St Regis is fit for the King of Malaysia, it is definitely fit for me too. ;) Anyhow, the front desk agent explained that I have been upgraded to the St Regis suite as part of my platinum benefit and then escorted to my room.
As part of my platinum benefits I also received:
1) Complimentary premium internet access available in the room and in public areas
2) Four pieces of complimentary garment pressing or laundry per day per guest
3) Complimentary late check-out until 4pm.
4) Complimentary breakfast at The Brasserie
I thought the 4 pieces of complimentary laundry for each guest was amazing because this was my last stay for the trip and it was great to have all my clothes washed before I arrive home.
Located on level 13A (basically level 14, but they wanted to avoid using the number 4 because it is inauspicious), the room was right at the end of the corridor. There was a door before the room, which allowed the suite to be converted to a 2-bedroom room if necessary. The suite was YUGE and was the epitome of classiness! Coming in at 138sqm, the room was roughly the same size as the presidential suite I had at Conrad Singapore for my birthday, but WAY fancier. It took me some time to calm down, put away Insta-story and start taking real pictures.
Immediately to the left of the entryway was a half bath for guests. The living and dining room area was YUGE. There was a dining table with four chairs (which I barely touched), a proper work desk, a minibar area, and a full sofa set, which can probably fit a family. The minibar, where the coffee machine, fridge and kettle were located, was cute and came in a trunk liked cabinet. It was very well stock but sadly all the food and drink items in it were way out of my pay grade. The welcome amenity was a fruit bowl and a hand written letter. In this day and age where I barely get mails, receiving a hand written note was a nice gesture.
The view was average. Nothing amazing, considering the location where the hotel is at - KL Sentral is ironically not exactly very central, so Malaysia's only icon - the Petronas Twin Tower was not nearby.
The bedroom was separated from the living room by a door where the legendary St Regis bed was located. The decorative pillows and velvet duvet were so inviting, it took quite a bit of effort to restrain myself from jumping on it for the purpose of this trip report. However, after having spent a night in it, I have to say investing money in a good bed and quality sheets is really important. (Tip to myself for my future house). There was also a chair with armrest as well as a side table by the window. I could totally see myself reading a book there before sleeping, NOT.
Next to the bedroom was the walk in wardrobe where space was aplenty. I really felt like Dorothy Wang at that particular moment and was trying to take it all in. Why would I even need all these space I thought to myself.
Just when I thought that I have seen it all and nothing can impress me, I see myself standing in front of a private massage room. Just WOW!
Opposite the massage room was the bathroom with double sinks, one of those Japanese heat warming/ass cleaning toilet bowls, and a shower and tub combo. I loved the grey marble tiling in the toilet, which made the space feel luxurious. There was a rain shower, a hand held shower and everything that one would need to have the best bath ever. Toiletries, typical of St Regises were Remede branded.
As soon as I finished with all the pictures I needed to write this blog post, the doorbell rang and my butler came to introduce herself. She gave me a short room tour before offering to help me unpack (which I declined since I did not want a stranger to see how messy I am) As part of the St Regis butler service I could also order complimentary coffee and tea 24/7, get her to make my bath, etc. If there was one flaw I could find with the St Regis KL, it would be that the butlers were inexperienced. Even though they were very keen to serve and please there were just instances where you could tell they were not trained well enough. For example my butler did not understand my request for bath salts. I had to describe what bath salts were and she brought me a loofah the first time round. I called the butler service again and the butler brought me more toiletries the second time. It was only on my third attempt did I get the bath salts that I wanted. First world problems….
After settling in, I decided to explore the hotel and headed over to the hotel’s pool. There were 2 outdoor pools located next to each other and one even had a massive television screen. I also paid the gym a visit, which was right next to the pool, and it was well equipped.
The next morning I pulled myself out of bed to have breakfast at The Brasserie. I usually miss breakfast because I value sleep over food, but there was no way I was going to miss it this stay. The restaurant was beautiful and the people inside were beautiful too. There were women in dresses and heels, guys in suits and little boys in their frat boy attire. It was at that point that I realize I was quite underdressed in my $7 Uniqlo t-shirt, beach shorts and slippers combo. I obviously did not get the memo for the dress code.
There was a menu where I could order mains from as well as a buffet section. Although the variety was limited, the quality of food was like no other. I stayed on till the breakfast ended at 10.30am, before heading back to my room where I lazed around till the 4pm late checkout.
Overall the stay at this new property was nothing but perfect. Even though there were some minor hiccups from the butler, the interactions I had with staffs from check in till check out was friendly and genuine. The hardware of the hotel was stunning and I could find no flaws in it. This hotel is definitely my new top favorite in the world. With their generous upgrade policy where i was upgraded to a 3000+MYR suite from the base room, I could definitely see myself staying here again in the near future.