My October trip this year is a product of a long-planned visit to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia that kept pushing back and being shelved to oblivion. Planning for a trip to a country where a visa is not needed is a walk in the park but choosing a place to stay, a hotel, for instance, is a different story. More often than not, the location of the hotel is the maker or breaker of an exciting week-long adventure that's why I am very meticulous, cautious, and almost perfectionist in choosing the right hotel to stay.
My main purpose in visiting Kuala Lumpur for the first time is to see the world-famous twin skyscrapers at the heart of its capital city, along with all other tourist attractions like Menara Kuala Lumpur, KLCC Park, Chinatown, and KL Sentral. Therefore, my main requirement in finding a hotel to stay in is one that sits in the middle of all these tourist spots that I wanted to see. One-click of a button in various travel booking platforms online will yield countless names of hotels in the area, with varying rates, stars, and popularity. After a whole tiring day of comparing features and what-not among these hotels, one stood out from the others. I picked the one that suited all my needs. I chose to stay at Pacific Regency Hotel Suites.
I booked a Superior Suite King just a day before my flight through Agoda. Since it's an online booking, it was pretty quick and easy and I got confirmed right away. I was able to get a 3-night stay for ₱8,548 ($177) which includes hotel tax and service fees of ₱ 1,179.11 ($24) but a separate charge for the Tourism Fee should be paid in the hotel upon arrival. The Tourism Fee depends on the number of nights you'll stay in the hotel. I was charged RM30.00 ($7.25) for my 3-day stay. Note that they ask for the physical card of the credit card that you used in booking the room to be presented to the property upon arrival.
I arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 3:26 pm on October 22nd and I booked a Grab car instantly as I reached the exit of Terminal 1. Booking a Grab car is far easier in Kuala Lumpur than in Manila. I only waited for a few minutes and the cab suddenly emerged from the northeast side and the driver instantly greeted me with a smile. Of all the countries that I have visited so far, Kuala Lumpur has the farthest airport from the capital city. The cab driver drove for more than an hour to get me to my destination at the KH Tower in Jalan Punchak which is just opposite the KL Tower. It'll cost around RM65.00 ($15) to RM73.00 ($17) from the airport depending on the traffic condition.
I arrived at the hotel lobby at 5:08 pm and one of the hotel doormen hurriedly opened the cab door for me while I was still picking up my other stuff. Before I even knew it, my luggage was already picked up by him and he handed it to me as soon as I got out of the cab. I went straight to the front desk where a concierge officer greeted me instantly like I am being expected personally at the hotel. It was kind of awkward but it made me feel like I'm a VIP somehow.
I was the only guest at that time so her attention was all focused on me. I am an annoyingly, ultra-inquisitive person but the officer looked very happy to answer all my questions. Some of them are limited to just a yes or a nod, but I still consider them as positive responses to all that I needed to know. I immediately handed her over my passport and the printed booking confirmation from Agoda and she prepared the paperwork and my keycard right away. I pulled out the RM30.00 from my wallet to pay for the Tourism Fee as stipulated in the booking invoice but I was surprised when she asked me for RM330.00 ($80) instead. I was totally shocked to hear it. She explained that the RM300.00 is for the hotel deposit, which will be refunded upon checkout, while the RM30.00 is for the Travel Tax, and is not refundable. The hotel deposit can be charged to a credit card but since refunds take a while before it gets credited back to the account, I opted to pay it through cash instead. What's good is that there is an ATM on the ground floor of the building.
When she handed me my keycard, she broke another surprising news. She said my room was upgraded to Premier Executive King Suite, instead of Superior Suite King which I originally booked. I didn't bother asking why but I suspected that they thought I was inconvenienced by paying a large amount which wasn't previously made known to me. Hotel deposits are not very common in some hotels in other countries that I have been to, but it's not something new to me. I considered it a gift instead. And that's +100 points for Pacific Regency Hotel Suites.
The hotel doorman on standby assisted me on the way to the lift and pressed 21 for me. I reached the 21st floor in a jiffy and my room is the nearest door at the right-wing. As I opened the door, it was surprisingly huge and I guess it was the most spacious hotel room that I have stayed in so far.
On my left is a roomy full kitchen with a fridge at the corner right beside the sink. Kitchens don't suit me in my travels because I never cook and I prefer staying out the whole day from breakfast to dinner, but seeing a place in the room where I can spend some time making coffee in the morning makes me feel I'm closer to home. The coffee maker is a plus because my mornings are not complete without a sip of coffee. At the far end of the kitchen are the usual complimentary bottled water, coffee, and tea which are being replenished every day.
There is one uninviting thing that caught my eye as I turned the lights on at the range hood vent, though. I saw a tiny cockroach creeping its way on the wall perhaps trying to look for a darker area that would hide her from me. It suddenly vanished from my sight before I could even get rid of it.
Just in front of the kitchen sink is a sliding door that takes you to a wide en-suite bathroom with a glass-enclosure shower area and a freestanding ceramic bathtub adjacent to it. It has both an overhead and a handheld showerhead which is a great combination not found in most hotel rooms that I've been to. The towels are neatly hung on the rack and the toiletries are laid out nicely on a tray at the bathroom sink.
Ironically, the bathroom is the most well-lit area of the entire suite probably because the bright lights installed on the walls and in the ceiling bounce on mirrors against the shiny tiles making the room beaming a bit more. It was so bright that when I suddenly switched the lights on, two other tiny cockroaches crept on the floor in a hurry as if they were surprised that an unexpected gate crasher came into "their" room.
Adjacent to the bathroom wall is a three-door closet which is obviously more than enough for a single guest like me. Inside it is the ironing facilities and an in-room safe box which I rarely use whenever I travel. What I really expect to see is a robe that I could use, which is normally present in most hotels that I have stayed in, but there was nothing in sight. I also don't bring flip-flops on all my travels so I expect that there's always one waiting for me in every hotel that I go to. There's also none. Somehow, this failed my expectation but these did not affect my overall satisfaction in the room anyway.
As cozy as it looks, the queen-size bed perfectly sits in the middle of the room on a thick full room carpet. One of the things I always look for at bedside is a large LCD clock display with alarm, or perhaps a radio, but there isn't. That isn't much of a problem though as there is an alternative media wall at the foot of the bed where a television keeps me company at night while I sleep. Most of the channels are local shows and there are only a few in English audio unless you want to watch their local movies in English subtitles. Luckily, I found a movie channel that runs all-English blockbuster flicks and another sports channel with commentators in English, and my entire stay in the room didn't sound so foreign at all.
One of the things that I liked in the room is the working table which I really need on trips like this. It has a cozy, ergonomic chair and a corner table nearby with a touch lamp on it which is very accessible. One thing to note when visiting Malaysia is that their wall outlets have Type G sockets, the one that has three rectangular prongs that form an isosceles triangle. It's the same socket type that can be seen in Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, and a lot more countries. It is advisable not to forget to bring your universal travel adapter/converter so there won't be a problem plugging in your phone chargers or laptop power cords. But in case you did, you can still charge your phones in the USB port wall charger outlets.
A couch is also available in the corner which I use in the early morning to lie on my back, extend my legs, and sip my coffee while watching the sunrise. I would recommend staying in the right-wing for two reasons - 1) the windows are facing a little southeast which is a good spot to see the sunrise while the rays are not directly striking through the windows, and 2) the Petronas Twin Towers is at the northeast from the hotel so you can see the building peeking at your windows greeting you in the morning or waving goodnight with its gleaming lights before you sleep.
And most importantly, windows are one of my most important requirements to make my stay comfortable, enjoyable, and worthwhile. Since I take a lot of photos of almost anything on my trips, views are very vital for my sightseeing and photography and their windows serve as an observation deck in seeing the gleaming cultural, financial and economic city of the country and its myriad of natural attractions.
The building is facing southwest, just right in front of the iconic KL Tower (Menara Kuala Lumpur), and my room on the right-wing is facing southeast. When you open the windows, you will see the Petronas Twin Towers in the northeast partially covered by the buildings of Crown Regency, UBN Tower, Vortex Suites, and other tall structures towards the direction. Southward is a view of the curved pathway leading to KL Tower if you are coming from Jalan Puncak, which served as my photoshoot spot in taking pictures of KL Tower up close.
And best of all, there are countless restaurants and various places to eat nearby, with a wide array of choices from fast food centers, fine dining, cafeteria, casual dining, budget-meal kiosks, buffet, smörgåsbord, and a lot more. Surprisingly, there is even a convenience store on the ground floor towards the rear side of the building if you suddenly craved instant noodles in the middle of the night. But if for some reason that you just don't want to leave the room but you haven't had a meal yet, you can always dial the operator for room service. The menu is right at the top of the working table where you can expect a lot of mouth-watering dishes specially prepared for hotel guests, albeit pricey. So there's really no excuse to be famished on your entire stay in the hotel.
I also have written about the 10 best-tasting restaurants that I've tried in Kuala Lumpur. You can check it out here.
My itinerary on this trip is to see the icons of the cultural, financial, and economic center of the country primarily the twin skyscrapers which served as the landmark of the capital city known to be the tallest twin towers in the world. Petronas Twin Towers is just a 15-minute walk from the hotel if you would like to take the straight path along Jalan P. Ramlee which takes you directly to the side of Tower B, just right next to the entrance gate of Suria KLCC, a shopping mall at the foot of the twin towers. But during the monsoon seasons, such as the time that I was there, where it always rains the whole afternoon until nighttime, there is an alternate route to keep you dry in case bringing an umbrella is not an option. A right turn to Jalan Perak leads you to a covered walkway that starts at the corner of Menara Perak and will terminate at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. The path is a little longer but I prefer this route as this links to the KLCC Park where you can have a better photoshoot location with Petronas as your backdrop.
Another point of interest that is on top of my list is the Menara Kuala Lumpur, more popularly known as the KL Tower, which is just right at the hotel's doorsteps. In fact, if you step out of the building and look up in the sky, it's hard to miss the roof of its pod as it is just almost right next to the hotel. In just a few steps towards the left is the entrance gate leading to a tropical rain forest in Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, if you intend to just take a stroll and experience a variety of flora and fauna right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
