Shangrila-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I was in KL over the weekend, 2 weekends ago, with my flatmates. My flatmate Kri works in the travel industry so luckily she had special room rates for Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur. The lobby layout looks very similar to the lobby of Shangri-La Makati in Manila, Philippines - ceiling to floor windows with "rainforest-like" views.

What I love about this hotel chain is that their lobbies are always grand and spacious. It really exudes that feeling of extravagance and elegance.

It seems like the hotel was recently renovated (I'm guessing) as we saw this "boulangerie" at the lobby. I noticed these french bakeries are the in thing nowadays. I see quite a lot of them sprouting around here in Singapore.

The rooms are OK. Yes it feels and looks grand with all the gold but I feel it looks dated. I still prefer the rooms of Hilton Kuala Lumpur.

City view from our room

Welcome Fruit Tray

I really appreciate hotels who still do welcome treats. A small gesture but it makes you feel like you got your money's worth. Perhaps more fruits than just 2 pieces would be better. :-)

As with most hotels I've stayed at in Kuala Lumpur, they also have complimentary shuttle buses to the nearby shopping centers. Although, we took taxis the whole time as they are pretty cheap in KL. Even the hotel taxis from Shangri-La, which charged a small premium, are still cheap.

Toiletries were a let down. For hotels this caliber, I expect signature toiletries. Although, they did smell really good especially the body wash. And I don't see a lot of hotels giving out hair bands haha.

Of course, you can't leave KL without having a glimpse of the majestic Petronas Towers. I've seen these towers quite a few times but it always leaves me in awe each time, especially at night!

Groupie! (L-R) Myself, Kri, Mico and Lenin

I slept early the night before so I had the chance to explore the hotel early in the morning the following day. If you've been following my blog, this was the first weekend on my cohen diet so I was very tired and weak the previous day and slept early. The pool looked old and tired. Plus, a bit small for a hotel that size. I wasn't able to swim as it was raining.

The haze was also terrible in KL that morning! Just look at the above photo. I think it's worse in KL.

The gym was huge! This was probably the most modern looking area in the hotel. Not bad at all.

The men's locker room was also huge. The above photo was like a lounge area where you could watch movies and enjoy free drinks (see photo below). I've never seen such a feature in any hotel I've stayed at in all the countries I've been to haha. Nice effort but I doubt if anyone really hangs out here.

Now the jacuzzi in the men's locker was definitely the highlight of the hotel for me. The locker area in itself was huge humongous! The above photo shows the hot jacuzzi. There is a smaller cold jacuzzi to the right of that (not captured in photo). There was also a sauna and steam room. This was truly first class. This can very well be the biggest locker room I have ever been to in any hotel I've seen in all the countries I've been to. Haha now that's a statement!

There ya go! I'll be in Bali this weekend. Thanks to my company for this travel incentive :-).