Review: Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur

While MO here in Kuala Lumpur used to be very good overall, it's at least a decade past its prime. Service has degraded, as well as maintenance of the decor/rooms. Much better and newer hotels to choose from now, though MO does have an amazing location.

Shame you guys didn't get to venture out for a proper taste of KL - which is the street food!

I was at the hotel in September and you definitely got shafted. The room I had stayed in was rennovated recently and was more MO than what they gave you. You really got the worst room in the hotel thats for sure...

How come lunch and dinner buffets are unsanitary and breakfast buffets aren't?

@ Neil S. -- Hah, valid. My point was that breakfast buffets are a pretty standard offering in luxury hotels, so they're something I've become accustomed to. I don't find them sanitary, but I deal with them. Meanwhile lunch and dinner buffets aren't quite as common in luxury hotels in most places, in my experience.

Makes sense. I'm with you.

I also think you're right as far as the branding issue goes. This is an MO first, and in KL second. A brand is either consistent or it isn't. If I normally stay at the MO in Bangkok, and I choose this one because of that experience, I'd be pissed.

The SPG surveys you get after the stay always ask if this "W" experience makes you more or less confident that your next stay will also be good. Clearly they are confident that their experiences from city to city are consistent enough to get a good response.

I've stayed at this hotel 8 years ago and it was fantastic. I know the room looks a little dated but still the location of this property is hard to beat. Also, for $140 I cannot stay at a Hampton Inn in Des Moines,IA so I think I will take an outdated Mandarin over that. 🙂

I'm diggin the internet phone! Great food spread.

For KL, doubletree is my go-to hotel. It's probably below your standard but I find the DT there to be REALLY impressive... Staff there are awesome & elite status recognition are great as well (as a Gold, pretty always the highest floor executive room). The best part about it: it's a CAT 2 property. Possibly the best CAT 2 Hilton you are gonna find in the world & 10K pts/night makes it a no brainer

Le Meridien , KL
Hands down the best for SPG platinum in Asia
The lounge is sensational , with Japanese owners and the out going professionalism from the GM Harvey is top drawer.
I have several colleagues whom are SPG plat and they all say that Le Meridein KL is the Jewell in the crown

KL is perhaps my favorite major city in S.E. Asia although I agree with you that KLIA is too far away. It inst pasteurized, whitewashed, Walt Disney Asia like Singapore, there aren't as many touts as in BKK, and Manila...well so many reasons why its my least favorite.

Curious, do you not check Tripadvisor before booking hotels? I know you were disappointed to find the outdated rooms when you checked in but 2 minutes on tripadvisor would have shown you exactly what the rooms look like before hand. I don't book anything w/o spending a bunch of time on TA first.

On the other hand, if you take the MO brand out of the equation, I would say this was a fantastic stay for $140.

"Back across from the bathroom by the entrance was the minibar. I sort of loved that they had college dorm style ramen noodles for sale."

This is common in Asian culture to have instant noodles, regardless of your financial status/background.

I applaud you for not being snobby like TPG - he posted on instagram a picture of instant ramen in a QR lounge and mentioned how "cheap" and "unhealthy" (apparently he's a nutritionist too) and kind of low class to serve it.

@Jason - Have found the DoubleTree KL has pretty average elite status recognition. No difference between what they want to give Gold and Diamond members.

Also the in-room wi-fi is wonky. Frustrating.

Lucky,

I agree that some Mandarin properties are not that great. However some are amazing. The one in Barcelona is deffently worth visiting. Big rooms(for Europe , amazing service and great amenities. Next time you go to Barcelona, I would highly recommend it.

Great post about a fascinating hotel and hotel brand. Nicely done. I'm interested in your thoughts about visiting and supporting the economy of another country that might be called draconian with regard to their LGBT rights. Do you feel comfortable there?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/lgbt-malaysia_5615359ae4b0cf9984d7cfae

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Malaysia

Thanks for all your work-terrific content!

The irony of putting two "mandarins" as a welcome amenity in the "Mandarin" Oriental. Still an impressive view from the room though.

Well, you are not exactly wrong to say that the MO room might be similar to a Holiday Inn in Asia, but thats be cause some HI in Asia are crazy luxurious...

HI Jakarta for example, has an equally luxury lobby with full marble and chandeliers, not unlike the MO KL, or the MO Jakarta for that matter...

@Lucky I think SE Asia (in particular Malaysia and Singapore), luxury hotels are expected to have an extravagant brunch/lunch/high tea/dinner buffet in at least one of their restaurants.

hmmm; if you go frequently to the UAE, how come you are not accustomed to the buffets? That is buffet land! And they are actually quite good and not unsanitary at all, IMHO.

I have stayed two nights at the Aloft in KL Sentral, which is very convenient when you come from the airport. It was super cheap (58 euro/night booked directly over SPG.com), the room was modern, there was a rooftop pool and I could not complain about anything for that price. They also had a good value dinner buffet with all you can eat Sate Sticks...I really like them 🙂

Regarding buffets in hotels...I think most good/luxury hotels have one buffet restaurant and some a la carte restaurants. For me though, a Shangri-La is a luxury hotel, I have never stayed at a hotel where the standard room costs >300 Euro/night.

Next time in KL you could stay at Traders Hotel, just in front of Twin Towers, with great towers' views during all day. It's not a 5* and the rooms are more or less like the MO's ones but the views are perfetc (at least you hire a room lookinf to the opposite side of the towers...)

@ Burg -- Well because this wasn't the UAE. And there's a difference between being accustomed to something and liking something.

Try the Traders next time! The unobstructed views (the only hotel with this feature) are simply amazing. Even though it sells at a 4star property, my impressions were above that. The top-floor pool is nice as well and the future is by far not that dated 😉

I hope to read a review about this in the future:P