- Introduction: Flying With Royalty (Or Not)
- Review: Air Canada Premium Rouge 767 Tampa To Toronto
- Review: Sheraton Gateway Toronto Airport
- Review: EgyptAir Business Class 777 Toronto To Cairo
- Review: Cairo Airport Lounge Terminal 2
- Review: Royal Jordanian Business Class Embraer 175 Cairo To Amman
- Review: Grand Hyatt Amman
- Review: Royal Jordanian Lounge Amman Airport
- Review: Royal Jordanian Business Class 787 Amman To Kuala Lumpur
- Review: St. Regis Kuala Lumpur
- Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Kuala Lumpur
- Review: Royal Brunei Business Class A320 Kuala Lumpur To Bandar Seri Begawan
- Review: Radisson Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei
- Review: Royal Brunei Lounge Bandar Seri Begawan
- Review: Royal Brunei Business Class 787 Bandar Seri Begawan To Dubai
- Review: W Dubai Al Habtoor City
- Review: St. Regis Dubai
- Review: Emirates Business Class Lounge Dubai
- Review: Emirates Business Class A380 Dubai To Los Angeles
I had a quick one night layover in Kuala Lumpur. My flight from Amman was arriving at around 4:30PM, while I was departing the next day at around 12PM. I’ve reviewed quite a few hotels in Kuala Lumpur over the years, including the Mandarin Oriental, Grand Hyatt, Le Meridien, and InterContinental.
In this case there wasn’t even a question about which hotel I wanted to stay at. The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur opened recently, and since I’m a huge fan of the St. Regis brand, I wanted to check it out. Best of all, the St. Regis is near the KLIA Express station, which is the best way to get between the airport and the city (it only takes 30 minutes).
The hotel contacted me before my stay to send me the shuttle schedule between the station and the hotel. This confused me a bit, since it looked like the St. Regis was just a short walk from the station, and I always prefer walking rather than taking a shuttle. However, it quickly became apparent what the problem was. While the St. Regis is close to the station, the roads are quite tough to cross. So with carry-ons you probably could walk there if you’re willing to jaywalk across five lane streets, but I can certainly see the merit to taking the shuttle.
Here’s the map that the hotel sent me about the shuttle service:
And here’s the schedule:
Sure enough, upon exiting the terminal I saw signage for all the hotel shuttles, which was easy enough to follow.
KLIA Express station
Hotel shuttles at KLIA Express station
As expected, the St. Regis shuttle arrived within a few minutes. You really have to be on the lookout, because there’s only a small sign inside the car indicating that the shuttle is for the St. Regis — the car isn’t otherwise marked.
Van from KLIA Express to St. Regis
The drive to the hotel took maybe three minutes, and upon arriving there I was immediately welcomed by the bellman and escorted to check-in.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur exterior
The hotel has a gorgeous lobby with massive art and sit down check-in. The associate who helped me was really friendly, and insisted on escorting me up to my room.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur reception
For what it’s worth, I had Ford book this stay for me through Starwood Luxury Privileges. The Luxury Privileges rate is the same as the flexible rate, and comes with the following benefits:
- Complimentary fourth night for stays through June 30, 2017; the promotion may be repeated during stay. Complimentary night will be adjusted at check-out.
- One 100 USD hotel credit per room, per stay (valid for food, beverages and spa services)
- Daily full breakfast for two guests
- Complimentary standard in-room internet access
- Upgrade on arrival, early check-in and late check-out which are all subject to availability
In this case the rate was ~215USD for my one night stay, so that was a heck of a deal (if you want to book a Luxury Privileges reservation, you can reach Ford at [email protected]).
As stated above, I was escorted to the elevators and my room. The elevators were past reception and to the left.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur lobby
Once on the 10th floor, we turned left, and then my room was at the very end.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur hallway
Probably thanks to a combination of my Platinum status and booking through Luxury Privileges, I got an incredible upgrade to a St. Regis Suite — in this case, room 1009.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur room entrance
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur floorplan
The suite was advertised as being 1,485 square feet, and was incredible. There was an entryway with a half bath on the left.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite entryway
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite guest bathroom
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite guest bathroom
The living room was big, and featured a dining table with four chairs, office area, and a living area with a couch and two chairs, facing a wall mounted TV.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite living room
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite living room
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite living room
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite living room
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite desk
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite dining table
The minibar was in the far corner of the room, and was also an impressive setup (it reminded me a lot of the minibars at the Park Hyatt New York and Park Hyatt Vienna). That’s also where the coffee machine and kettle were located.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite minibar
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite minibar
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite coffee machine
On the living room table was a fruit plate and some chocolates, along with a welcome note.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite welcome amenity
The views from the suite weren’t that exciting. In general I don’t find KL’s skyline to be especially inspiring, aside from the Petronas Towers.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite view
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite view
The living room was connected to the bedroom by a door. The bedroom had the signature St. Regis bed with five decorative pillows, as well as a chair with a side table by the window.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite bedroom
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite bedroom
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite bedroom
Next to the bedroom was a large walk-in closet with a vanity.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite closet & vanity
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite closet
Past that was a private massage room — hah!
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite massage room
Then across from that was the master bathroom, with double sinks, a toilet in a separate room, and a shower and tub compound.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite bathroom
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite bathroom
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite toilet
The shower setup was incredible.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite shower & tub
There was a gorgeous soaking tub overlooking the city.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite bathtub
Then the shower had both a rainforest showerhead, as well as a handheld one.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite shower
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite shower
Toiletries were Remede branded, as is the norm at St. Regis properties.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite toiletries
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur St. Regis Suite Remede toiletries
The room was simply incredible, I’m not sure what else to say in that regard. The Wi-Fi was fast as well.
Within a few minutes of arriving in my room, the butler came by to introduce himself. I’ve never utilized the St. Regis butler services much aside from the 24/7 complimentary coffee & tea. Since I just got off a redeye and was tired, I decided to order a coffee to stay awake, which was quickly delivered.
St. Regis butler coffee service
Once I was settled in, I decided to check out the hotel’s pool and gym, located on the sixth floor. The hotel has two outdoor pools next to one another, and they’re both infinity-esque. One of them even has a big built-in TV screen.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur pool
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur pool
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur pool
There’s a bunch of seating, though the pool was mostly empty at this hour.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur pool
There was also a great view of the exterior of the hotel from the pool. The hotel only goes to the 21st floor, though I believe they have residences above that.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur exterior
The gym was located next to the pool, and was well equipped.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur gym
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur gym
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur gym
I also briefly checked out The Drawing Room, which is the hotel’s lobby bar. I didn’t actually have a drink, but loved the horse statue centerpiece. This is like the British Airways Concorde Room horse on steroids.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur The Drawing Room
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur The Drawing Room
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur The Drawing Room
I worked for most of the evening, and then decided to order room service dinner, given that I had the food & beverage credit to spend. I ordered scallops and an appetizer from the hotel’s signature restaurant. They were delicious, though pricey and the portion was small (both of which were fine — the price, because I had a credit, and the portion, because I wasn’t very hungry).
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur room service dinner
Shortly before bedtime the butler came by to see if I wanted turndown service. I didn’t need it since I hadn’t used the bed yet, though he gave me a note as well as some nuts and cheese — what a nice touch!
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur turndown service amenities
The next morning I had breakfast at The Brasserie, which is located on the second floor. Breakfast is served from 6:30AM until 10:30AM. I arrived at the restaurant at around 6:35AM, though found it was still closed. I sat down outside, and within about five minutes the restaurant opened.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur The Brasserie restaurant
The restaurant was a stunning space — I really loved the design of every part of this hotel.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur The Brasserie restaurant
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur The Brasserie restaurant
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur The Brasserie restaurant
For breakfast you could get as much as you wanted from the buffet, and then also order a main off the menu, which read as follows:
The breakfast spread was top notch as well.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast buffet
I just ordered a veggie and cheese omelet from the menu.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur breakfast
After breakfast I worked for a bit, and then at around 9:30AM headed back to the airport.
St. Regis Kuala Lumpur bottom line
My stay at the new St. Regis Kuala Lumpur was flawless. The hotel is gorgeous, the service was top notch, and I love that it’s so close to the KLIA Express station.
Kuala Lumpur is one of the best cities in the world for cheap luxury hotels, though the problem is that many of them are outdated. That’s why the St. Regis is such a nice addition. The hotel is especially conveniently located if you just have an overnight in KL and want to stay somewhere luxurious, given that there aren’t many good hotels near the airport, and the KLIA Express is so efficient.
In general if I were actually visiting KL, I’d prefer to be closer to the Petronas Towers. However, it’s only a 15 minute (or so) taxi ride to that area, so I’d probably still recommend staying here. There’s a new W supposedly opening near the Petronas Towers in 2018, so I’d be curious to check that out when it opens.
The St. Regis is by far my favorite hotel I’ve stayed at in KL, and I can’t recommend is enough.
I live in KL and work in the media so I've stayed in nearly all the swanky hotels. I disagree with the notion that they're "dated" as a general statement. Maybe some are, but I can't think of a major brand 5-star hotel in KL that I'd consider tired or terribly dated. Indeed,MO recently dropped a trainload of cash updating and refurbishing, and so did the InterContinental (whose executive lounge continues to be one of...
I live in KL and work in the media so I've stayed in nearly all the swanky hotels. I disagree with the notion that they're "dated" as a general statement. Maybe some are, but I can't think of a major brand 5-star hotel in KL that I'd consider tired or terribly dated. Indeed,MO recently dropped a trainload of cash updating and refurbishing, and so did the InterContinental (whose executive lounge continues to be one of my favorites in KL, and their F&B offerings are also outstanding), and so did the Ritz-Carlton. And KL's skyline is incredible... though certainly not from the St. Regis, whose peculiar location continues to baffle me.
mr ben, if i want to book through mr ford to get the extra privilege, how will i do that?
I thinking to try experience the st regis kl but if with luxury privilege have more perks why not...
thanks
I know that the upgrades Ben gets all the time make this site less relevant to the "ordinary" miles and points traveller but at the same time this site has always had a huge "aspirational" appeal and that's a valid reason for its existence in my view. I also think it's entirely appropriate for him to promote his partner's career/service. It's his site at the end of the day and that's what people do, help...
I know that the upgrades Ben gets all the time make this site less relevant to the "ordinary" miles and points traveller but at the same time this site has always had a huge "aspirational" appeal and that's a valid reason for its existence in my view. I also think it's entirely appropriate for him to promote his partner's career/service. It's his site at the end of the day and that's what people do, help friends and family. I'm not a massive OMAAT fan boy but I try to be fair.
As a IHG Elite - I prefer the IC. I normally take the KLIA express then change onto the subway at Central - its only a few stops to Ampang.
I normally just jump on a train and go the one stop to KLCC (Petronas Towers) to eat at night - lots of great food courts there where a Malaysian meal costs about $10 USD.
Lots of choices if you then want to walk thru the airconditioned links to Pavillion etc.
Equally if you have to take a taxi - it costs next to nothing
Can anyone compare the grand Hyatt and the St Regis? I was considering the GH so I could use a DSU upgrade on it. Will be traveling with the family so the suite is a must have.
@ Elijah, Don't worry about my life, I am doing quite well, thank you for your "concern" though. Anyways, I have been a reader of the blog for years now and what I did was to point out the fact that the reviews are getting less and less objective and more influenced by the special treatment that Ben is receiving due to his "popularity"as a blogger.
For an average traveller wo does not need to be based in KL Sentral, the MO and the GH are much better options.
Or you take the LRT from KLSentral right into KLCC which is air conditioned and very quick.
Good to hear that this hotel has gotten its act together. I was there during opening week and it was a disaster.
With that being said, >$200 for a luxury hotel in KL is still on the high end of the spectrum and not necessarily a good value, seeing that other 5* competitors like the Le Meridien, Hilton KL, GH KL, Ritz Carlton, IC can be had for $100-$160 or so.
Great review. the hotel looks fantastic!
I would also recommend staying on the Club Floor at the Shangri-La KL. It is in a great part of town.
@Palermo Get over it. This kind of treatment and service is for everyone who's entitled to it. Tall poppy syndrome with you me thinks.
Great review Ben.
Thanks for the review!
Perhaps you could one day have a longer layover in KL or/and BKK to review multiple hotels since there seem to be lots of good and quite reasonably priced ones - also those that aren't part of a big chain? Though I realize the idea of your blog is to maximise value with points.
Looking at the glass wall in the bathup, I am just wondering whether it is visible from outside the building? Or it is like one-way visible only from inside?
@Jason, I was JUST there couple of days ago and I could not agree more! Plus the breakfast was AMAZING and included because of my Hilton gold status :-)
Which room did you initially booked that you got upgrade to such a fantastic suite?
Great review, ugh with the Ford pimping. I just can't.
Obviously this is not for you but some of your readers might find it useful. KL has a CAT 2 Doubletree property and it is probably my favorite DT in the world. Just 10,000 HH pts a night and it is one hack of a deal!
You'll have to return to review their bloody mary. Clearly that's what's most important to your readers! :)
Yet again spending all day eating overpriced food in a hotel instead of checking out the excellent night markets in KL.
Thanks for the review - what a spectacular-looking place!
I would also recommend the Aloft Kuala Lumpur. Stayed there three years ago. Obviously it's not in nearly in the same league as the St. Regis luxury-wise, but it was clean, comfortable, nicely designed, only a few years old, and even had a rooftop infinity pool. Right next to the KLIA Express station - didn't even need to take a shuttle. Paid about $90/night including taxes...
Thanks for the review - what a spectacular-looking place!
I would also recommend the Aloft Kuala Lumpur. Stayed there three years ago. Obviously it's not in nearly in the same league as the St. Regis luxury-wise, but it was clean, comfortable, nicely designed, only a few years old, and even had a rooftop infinity pool. Right next to the KLIA Express station - didn't even need to take a shuttle. Paid about $90/night including taxes and fees, but I believe it's less now in USD due to the exchange rate.
Ben, They clearly knew you were coming and they treated you accordingly. I can't help wondering how this is a useful comparison for the average traveller? As you are given a special treatment (above and beyond your status), your reviews are losing objective and thus they are missing the point completely in my view. On the other hand, I appreciate that you are honest as to the location of the hotel which is a big...
Ben, They clearly knew you were coming and they treated you accordingly. I can't help wondering how this is a useful comparison for the average traveller? As you are given a special treatment (above and beyond your status), your reviews are losing objective and thus they are missing the point completely in my view. On the other hand, I appreciate that you are honest as to the location of the hotel which is a big factor in this case given the terrible cab situation in KL. I have been to KL many times and as you mentioned, KLCC area or BB area would be much better location for more than an overnight
Impressive, for sure. Will consider next time in KL.
No St. Regis Bloody Mary?
No time for a Bloody Mary?
That design looks amazing
Beautiful property! Had planned to stay there last July but the property was too new still with many parts of the hotel still under construction. Will definitely give it a try next time I'm in Kuala Lumpur!