Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: InterContinental Kuala Lumpur

Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks

More from this series:

• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Introduction
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: United First Class Tampa to Washington to Los Angeles, United Red Carpet Club Washington Dulles, Lufthansa Senator Lounge Washington Dulles
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Holiday Inn Express Los Angeles Airport
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: reLAX Lounge LAX
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Star Alliance Lounge Los Angeles, Singapore Airlines Business Class Los Angeles to Tokyo to Singapore, ANA Business Class Lounge Tokyo
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge Terminal 3, a Day at Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore Airlines Business Class Singapore to Kuala Lumpur
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: InterContinental Kuala Lumpur
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Exploring Kuala Lumpur
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur, Sri Lankan Business Class Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Marina Bay Sands Singapore
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Exploring Singapore
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Qantas First Class Lounge Singapore, Qantas A380 First Class Singapore to Sydney
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Holiday Inn Sydney Airport
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Exploring Sydney
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Qantas Business Class Lounge Sydney, Qantas Business Class Sydney to Melbourne
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Park Hyatt Melbourne
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Exploring Melbourne
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Qantas First Class Lounge Melbourne
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Qantas A380 First Class Melbourne to Singapore
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Qantas A380 First Class Singapore to London
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: British Airways First Class Lounge London, British Airways Club Europe London to Vienna
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Le Meridien Vienna
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Exploring Vienna
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Austrian Business Class Lounge Vienna, British Midland Business Class Vienna to London, Great British Lounge London
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Star Alliance Lounge London, Air New Zealand Business Premier London to Los Angeles
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Andaz West Hollywood
• Four Continents and 37,000 Miles in Two Weeks: Conclusion

I should probably start by mentioning my hotel booking strategy. I had three nights in Kuala Lumpur. Logic would dictate I’d spend all three nights in one place, though I decided to hotel hop instead. Priority Club has a promotion whereby you get double points for stays, while Starwood has a promotion whereby you earn a free resort nights after every three stays. So as a result I decided to spend my first night at the InterContinental, my second night at the Le Meridien on the other side of town, and my third night at the InterContinental again. My rate at the InterContinental the first night was a very reasonable $120USD all-in.

Anyway, as I pulled into the InterContinental the porters immediately helped me with my bags and directed me to check-in.

Hotel exterior

Lobby

Lobby

As I handed the lady at check-in my credit card and Royal Ambassador card, she probably thanked me a dozen times for my business and immediately called over the guest relations manager to escort me to my room for in-room check-in. He appeared less than a minute later, introduced himself, gave me his business card, and we walked me up to my room on the 27th floor.

Hallway

He showed me the features of the club room I had been upgraded to and processed check-in. He explained the club lounge was serving canapés until 8PM, and since it was approaching that time, asked me if I still wanted anything. I said I would, and he insisted on calling up to ensure that they put some food aside for me. I had mentioned I would be back in two nights (without explaining why I’d be gone for one night), at which point he said he would block off the same room for me for that stay.

The process was seamless, a picture perfect example of good customer service.

The InterContinental Kuala Lumpur seems to have a club room as the standard Royal Ambassador upgrade. Frankly, the room was on the big side for a “standard” room, so it’s just as nice as a suite for me when traveling alone. The room featured the biggest bed I’ve ever slept in, a sofa, a work desk, and a huge bathroom with tub and shower. It even had one of those fancy toilets that has instructions on how to operate it. Oy.

Club room

Sofa

Desk

Club room

View from my room

Bathroom

Bathtub

Toilet instructions

The minibar was pretty well stocked, and as a Royal Ambassador beverages are complimentary.

Minibar

The welcome gift consisted of a plate with fruit and some sweets, along with a couple of bottles of water. Then on the table next to it was another plate with apples and two more bottles of water.

Fruit plate and water

Apples and water

The club lounge was a floor below mine, and quite possibly one of the “classiest” club lounges with some of the best service of any InterContinental I’ve stayed at. For one, the lounge was never crowded. More importantly, though, the people working in the lounge were eager to please. In particular, there was a lady from the Netherlands that was top notch. The first evening she asked what she may refer to me as, and I said “Ben” would be great. The following morning for breakfast she greeted me as “Mr. Ben” when I walked in, and then even during my stay a couple of days later, she still remembered my name. Very, very impressive.

Club InterContinental

Club InterContinental

Lounge exterior

The lounge features evening canapés from 6PM to 8PM, and unlike most club lounges which have buffets of pre-prepared food, this lounge features a chef that freshly prepares a “sampling plate” with five different daily specials. Not only was it a work of art, but it was delicious, and having more than one plate was encouraged.

Tasting plate

Then there was also a small buffet set up with cheese, nuts, etc.

The breakfast spread was equally good. They had cereal, yogurt, fruit, pastries, juices, etc., with a buffet set up, and then a chef on hand to prepare omelets, pancakes, waffles, etc.

Breakfast buffet

Breakfast

The hotel features a modest pool and gym, though I didn’t have a chance to try either of them out.

Pool

Gym

I did on my last day get a massage. It’s very rare I do that, but in Asia it’s tough to turn down given the prices. In the spa the InterContinental it was about $60USD all-in for an hour-long massage (including tax and service charge). While that might not be cheap compared to a massage somewhere on the street, I figured it was a decent enough price for a massage at an international hotel chain, since you’d likely pay at least double that in the US or elsewhere (and that likely wouldn’t include tip).

The location of the hotel was also ideal. It was within walking distance of the Petronas Towers and Kuala Lumpur Tower, and pretty much within walking distance of anything else one would want to see.

So all-in-all, I was really impressed by the InterContinental. It’s a great hotel at a great price (cheaper than the Crowne Plaza, actually). They have their customer service down, and I really like the ambiance and offerings in the club. Even if you’re not a Royal Ambassador, the premium for a club room is minimal, so well worth the money. Every employee I came across seemed to genuinely want to go the extra mile, and that was appreciated.

It’s interesting to note that this hotel used to be a Hotel Nikko, until a few months ago, when it was converted to an InterContinental. I asked several employees how they felt about the rebranding, and they were all very upbeat about it. Apparently most of the employees are the same, and it’s just the management that changed. One person I spoke with seemed especially excited about the change, saying that the new management is much more organized and realistic than the old management team, and seems to actually have a “plan.”