Detailed review by roseycheeks
roseycheeks(32)
Bad Bramstedt, Germany98%
June 2008, my fiance and I went to Kuala Lumpur for our friends wedding. We flew with Etihad Airways from London Heathrow and stopover in Abu Dhabi for a few hours and then from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. I do not suggest anyone to take this indirect flight because it takes a long time to transit at Abu Dhabi airport and the airport is really quite small and boring, but unless you wanted to save some money. The best way is to go with Malaysia Airline and they fly directly from London Heathrow everyday to Kuala Lumpur.
It was our first time to be in Malaysia and we needed to attend the hen and stag night straight after we landed. So when my fiancé is collecting the luggages and I went to look for transportation. I was walking around the luggage hall and I came to this VIP service desk. This VIP package cost MYR130 (EUR27) for the 2 of us. It included a personal guide to take care of our luggage, 2 one-way train tickets from the airport to KL sentral train station and then a private car to take us from the sentral train station to our hotel. I thought the price was reasonable so I took this package. The guide was very nice and took care of our luggages and took us to the train station. Then he came with us on the train. The train journey took about 28 minutes. Once we arrived, his colleague was already waiting for us to arrive and took us to the private car. The car journey supposed to take about 10 minutes, but in the end it took about 20 minutes. Because the traffic is Kuala Lumpur is really bad and even worst during rush hours.
Price of the hotel
I did a lot of research about hotels in Kuala Lumpur. We wanted to find one that is good value for money and not too far from the city centre. After searching for a long time with different travel agencies websites and hotels websites. This hotel really caught my eye. You must make the booking through the hotel own website to get the deals. They have different deals like Super Saver, Air Asia weekday specials, Urban Escape, Family Fun and Golden Moments. The Super Saver is the best deal for us. It included complimentary upgrade to Premier Rooms with a minimum of 2 nights stay, buffet breakfast for 2, guaranteed free late check-out till 2pm, 15% discount on any treatment at the Spa and complimentary shuttle service to KLCC, Chinatown and Bintang Walk. It costed MYR250 (EUR53) a night. So we booked for 5 nights at this 4-star hotel.
Check-in
The hotel looks really nice from the outside and the lobby is quite spacious and modern with a few check-in desks opened. There was no queue so we got checked-in straight away. The staff was quite friendly and took about 10 minutes before we get the key.
Room amenities
We could not wait to see our room since we have got complimentary upgraded. The room didnt disappoint us at all. Our room was really spacious, clean and modern. The bed is queen sized, the bed spread was so clean, smelled fresh and very comfortable. The size of the deluxe room is 28 square meters and equipped with a LCD flat-screen Samsung satellite television, writing desk with a mirror, tea and coffer making facilities, electronic safety deposit box, stocked mini bar, iron and ironing board, telephone, hair-dryer in a drawer, air-conditioned and 2 bottles of complimentary mineral waters. The en-suite bathroom was quite modern and clean equipped with a bathtub with shower, a sink and a toilet. The shower is pretty hot and powerful and the temperature maintained through-out. Malaysia is a Muslim country so there is a facility next to the toilet for their needs.
Food and drinks
There is a restaurant above the lobby and this is where we had our complimentary breakfast every morning. It serves breakfast from 6am to 10.30am. You will have to hand in your breakfast voucher at the entrance. The room is very spacious with lots of sittings. The breakfast is continental style and with a bit of Chinese style breakfast. The hot buffet breakfast included bacon, sausage, boiled egg, scrambled egg, mushrooms, porridge, fried rice, fried noodles etc. Choices of yoghurts like strawberry, chocolate and banana and choices of fruits like watermelon, papaya, pineapple, melon, orange and grapes etc. There are bread, cold-cuts, milk, tea, coffee and fresh fruit juices. Breakfast was really great overall and I really enjoyed the fresh fruits!
There is a lounge with live music, a cafe at the lobby level with variety of freshly baked organic bread and an outdoor pool bar with refreshing juices. But we did not try any of the food or drinks there.
Hotel amenities
There is an outdoor swimming pool with a pool bar and sundeck, a sauna, a Spa centre, non-smoking floor, same day laundry and dry cleaning service, souvenir kiosk, tour desk and gymnasium.
Location
This hotel is in the city centre and you can walk to the main shopping places in foot. But be prepare to walk in the heat. It takes about 20-25 minutes to get to the main shopping street called Bintang walk. You can also get there by taxi but I think it is better to go on foot because the traffic is really bad there. There is a really nice shopping mall called Pavilion and it has been opened for 1 year. You must try to go to the food court at the Pavilion. There are so many different cuisines for you to try! The shopping mall is very modern and clean. The shops are quite expensive in this shopping mall but the price for the food court is reasonable.
Check-out
It is pretty easy just drop your key at the check-in.
Staffs
The staffs are really friendly and nice.
Transportation back to Airport
We took a taxi to the Sentral Train station and it costed about MYR40 (EUR8) and then bought a single train ticket to the airport. It costed MYR35 (EUR8) per person, so in total it is EUR24. So we saved a bit of money by making our our way back to the airport.
Tips
When you take a taxi in Kuala Lumpur make sure you and the driver agreed on the price before entering the taxi. Or you can demand the driver to put on the metre. It is usually cheaper to have the metre on but most of the driver are not willing to do so.
Recommendation
Overall we really enjoyed our stay at this hotel and everything was perfect. I would highly recommend any type of tourists to stay here.
Swiss Garden Kuala Lumpur9
