Mandarin Oriental Hotel,Kuala Lumpur

...my love affair with the Mandarin Oriental chain started and it all began in Kuala Lumpur.

I have visited this property many times and shall write today based on my visit of February 2008, having not been back to the MO since I last left KL in June 2006. I was missing my second home, I was missing the people and I was prepared to return and as excited as ever.

For those of you have read my review on the Mandarin Oriental ...
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==The Room==
Mandarin Oriental is one of the city’s largest hotels and is a full service hotel catering for every need for the leisure or business traveler.

They have a number of different room categories from standard, club and suite.

Club and Suite rooms also have access to the Mandarin Oriental club which I shall elaborate on more later. All rooms are available in either City, Tower or Park view. The city ... more

Now before you think I have become a KL obsessive let me give you some background. I used to live In Kuala Lumpur the capital city of Malaysia whilst I went to University there. It is without doubt one of the best experiences of my life and I loved every minute of my studies there.

Whilst I was there I got to grips with Asian culture and the Malaysian way of life and their fantastic levels of hospitality. At the same time I got to experience what I can only describe as some of the best hotels in the world. They are all so opulent, luxurious and with service that you just do not find in the western world.

It was back in 2005 that my love affair with the Mandarin Oriental chain started and it all began in Kuala Lumpur.

I have visited this property many times and shall write today based on my visit of February 2008, having not been back to the MO since I last left KL in June 2006. I was missing my second home, I was missing the people and I was prepared to return and as excited as ever.

For those of you have read my review on the Mandarin Oriental Prague, this is where my love affair really began and still continues to this day!

Booking

I booked my stay which would be for seven says direct with the property. As a returning guest they already had my profile in the system so I called the hotel directly to arrange the reservation. I was booked in under their standard rate which for a ‘Club Tower Room’ came to RM650 roughly translating to £100 per night based on the exchange rate at the time. This room today would cost RM900 and the with the exchange rate currently you would look to pay around £170 per night for the room. Damn recession!

Booking was simple and as all my details were saved they carried them across to the booking and organised the reservation.

When I used to live in KL I would use the limousine service of the hotel on a regular basis so much so I had my own regular driver fondly known as Mr Choo. Rather than take the airport train to the hotel I arranged for Mr Choo to collect me. For £80 the hotel can provide their limousine service to collect and return you to the airport in one of their prestigious S-Class Mercedes-Benz limousines starting and finishing your stay with a touch of class.

Arrival

Once I had cleared customs at KLIA I came out to the arrivals area. For those who have yet to experience this there are tens of taxi, limousine and hotel staff trying to grab the attention of their guests. Sure enough I looked for the trusty MO logo and my name and a member of staff came over and took my bags for me. They then took me outside to the waiting area where Choo was waiting in the car for me. After an emotional reunion we set on our journey.
Choo and I caught up on old times and it was great to see that he had remembered a lot about me and vice versa, sharing our love for a certain football team and many other local things. Choo also brought me up to speed on the changes in KL to keep me fully up to date.

As we pulled into the hotel driveway I felt like I had come home. Lone behold my next surprise.

As the doorman approached the car the rear door was opened to allow me to get out, the gentleman whom I had not seen for over two years and who must see hundreds of guests every day had remembered my name. “Welcome back to MO, Mr David” I was astounded. This humble doorman had remembered my name from years gone by and I was shocked. I do not believe him to have been briefed before my arrival and I genuinely believe that his care and knowledge of the hotel’s guests is what made him remember me. I was shocked and humbled by this and thanked him for welcoming me back to the hotel.

Check In

As expected there was a duty manager waiting to greet me at the entrance to the property. After the Asian introductions and exchanging of business cards etc he took me straight to my room for the week. He was able to inform me of the changes to the property and the local events for the week. Once we reached my room and the obligatory credit card and passport checks I was left alone to relax after my flight. There was a lovely welcome note from the general manager and an invitation to the cocktail hour that evening in the Club lounge. My week of MO luxury had begun and it was already exceeding my expectations after less than an hour!

The Room

Mandarin Oriental is one of the city’s largest hotels and is a full service hotel catering for every need for the leisure or business traveler.

They have a number of different room categories from standard, club and suite.

Club and Suite rooms also have access to the Mandarin Oriental club which I shall elaborate on more later. All rooms are available in either City, Tower or Park view. The city view rooms look out over the skyscrapers of Kuala Lumpur. The Tower rooms look over the adjoining Petronas Twin Towers the tallest twin towers in the world (I think?) and finally the Park view gives you views out over the Suria KLCC park which is a beautiful green park, part of the towers complex.

My room was a Club Tower room, which had views out over the towers.

The rooms as you would expect are kitted out to a brilliant level of luxury. In keeping with the location of the hotel a significant amount of Malaysian styled fabrics have been used including Batik to showcase the local traditions. The room had a king size bed with a mattress and bedding to die for with the finest cottons and pillows to keep you comfortable at night.

There is also a writing desk with a complimentary broadband connection and telephone and a wide range of stationery. As part of the welcome pack the club lounge print you a selection of personalized stationary with your own name ‘in residence’ at Mandarin Oriental. Yet another personal touch.

There was also a seating area in front of the window overlooking the towers along with a TV with full satellite channels. A mini bar and tea tray are also provided, however when staying in a club room you would be foolish not to take advantage of the club lounge.

The bathroom is fitted out with the best marbles and granites available and provides for a luxurious bathing ritual should you want one. Another privilege of the club rooms is the facility to call on your personal butler to run the bath for you, amongst many other things. However I found myself more than capable of running my own bath! The toiletries were again the finest quality products all supplied by Elemis.

Sleeping was a dream and I always awoke feeling refreshed.

Another personal touch to add about the room is a few small things. The hotel takes not for an awful lot of your preferences throughout your stay without you even necessarily knowing about it.One is the favorite temperature of your room. Before my arrival the air conditioning had been set to my preferred setting and this was pointed out to me during check in. In addition, I also like to have a fax machine available so the hotel had ensured one had been placed in my room with a direct line setup ready for my use. Again all provided without even asking. They take note and they deliver. Each night when the room is turned down for bed, the TV was set to CNN for me to grab the news when I return to go to bed. These are all such small touches but they make your stay that even more special!

Club @ Mandarin Oriental

A large part of any major hotel chain is now the provision of an Club Level or Executive Level where guests in these rooms are extended a variety of privileges. Those at MO included,

• Access to the club lounge where complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails and canapé’s would be served.
• Full soft drinks service all day
• Complimentary access to the business centre and boardroom should you need to hold a meeting
• A wide selection of the latest magazines, international newspapers and books.
• Five pieces of complimentary laundry/pressing/dry cleaning every day.
• Complimentary internet access
• Complimentary butler service where required.

The club level on average in MO is around an extra £25 a night compared to the standard rooms and in my opinion is worth every penny. The staff get to know you on a more personal basis and aim to deliver to your every whim and requirement. Remembering your favorite beverage of how you like your eggs made in the morning. Again they want to know you for the right reasons and it is extremely endearing. When you go to leave at the end of your stay you can settle your bill at the Club reception and the staff will pass you their best wishes!

Restaurant/Bar

The hotel has five restaurants and one bar, although it now has a further bar I shall not count that as this was not there during my recent stay.

Lai Po Heen is the signature Cantonese restaurant of the hotel. It is styled as a very upmarket Chinese colonial restaurant with a large main dining area and more intimate private dining rooms should you wish to dine in privacy. The cusine is to die for and serves what is arguably the best Cantonese food in KL. The service is MO service and the food is brilliant. Worth a visit for any lover of Chinese cusine.

Biba’s Café is an international buffet restaurant. The location for breakfast in the morning it serves a buffet lunch and dinner throughout the rest of the day. There is an international spread of food and desserts and it a brilliant selection if you are a fussy group as there will for sure be something for everyone. The price is also competitive at around £10 per head. Eat as much you like, without feeling like you are in a cheap Pizza Hut or Chinese Buffet in the UK. The food and surroundings are again luxurious!

Wasabi Bistro is a Japanese restaurant situated in the basement. It serves traditional Japanese food and sushi. I have never eaten here but any of my friends have and they all give it rave reviews.

Lounge on the Park is the hotel’s lobby lounge. It is a very open bar and allows you to take in the architecture of the reception and lobby area which is stunning along with views of the parkland just outside. There is a pianist who plays on a daily basis in the afternoon and there is always a good crowd here which gives it an excellent atmosphere. The bar serves a cracking afternoon tea and has an extensive drinks selection for the evenings.

Pacifica Bar and Grill provides a more modern take on fusion cusine where east meets west. The food is again of a high standard and you can expect more western dishes with an eastern flair to them. Definitely worth a visit.

Cascade restaurant and bar provides an al fresco dining experience, situated next to the pool area. The menu is a standard hotel menu of western and eastern dishes but provides brilliant views over the parklands beneath.

Facilities

The hotel can cater for conferences, banquets and events and has a selection of rooms of which can be used to host these events including the largest ballroom in Kuala Lumpur. I have had the pleasure of hosting an event within this ballroom and found the conference and banqueting team to be first class. This hotel is used to dealing with large scale events and also powerful individuals. It is the hotel of choice for any traveling dignitary and has the largest presidential suite in the city. Although the hotel can deal with conferences in excess of 1000 people you can still get lost and take a holiday at the same time. The hotel is of such a large size that you don’t feel that your holiday is overtaken by a large corporate event or the like. There is plenty of room for you to relax.

There is a fully fitted gymnasium, which has some of the best equipment I have seen in a hotel gym. Not having the chance to use it doesn’t allow me to say much for it, however it looked very sufficient for a good work out and the hotel also runs classes of yoga and tai chi. There are plenty of staff around to support your fitness requirements just ask!

The hotel is also home to a Mandarin Oriental Spa being one of the signature items of any MO property, bringing Asian spa values to those who need them. I did not sample the delights but there seemed to be plenty of guests.

The hotel also has possibly one of the best swimming pools I have ever experienced. An infinity pool situated on the fifth floor going right upto the edge of the park side, giving excellent views whilst you relax under the equatorial sun. A perfect way to spend your afternoon or on one of the sun loungers as the pool staff supply you with ice chilled water to sip.

Inside there is also a steam room, sauna and Jacuzzi and plunge pool for the brave. Definitely sufficient enough to relax in!

There is also a hairdresser and a gift shop to provide you with your emergency needs which seems to cater for everything I can think if, including as much hotel memorabilia or bath robes you want to buy to take home!

Finally there is a large car park in the basement of the hotel. Free for in-house guests or around £1 each time you ask for the valet to park your car.

Breakfast

I took breakfast every day in the club lounge. The selection was fantastic with both continental and western ranges, supported by more traditional Asian dishes such as nasi lemak or noodles etc. Service was buffet and table. It was entirely up to you how you chose to be served. One thing was for sure and that was you would eat like a king!

Check out

After a week of re-acquainting myself with my Malaysian life the time had come to leave and fly on to Australia. I bid farewell to my friends and finally the hotel and it’s staff, many of which have become my friends today. I checked out at the club lounge and returned to the ground floor to bid farewell to the doorman before Mr Choo took me onto the airport in the limousine. The 2008 MO chapter had come to a close.

Summary

Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur has to be the best Mandarin Oriental on the planet based on the service and the price you pay for this. I would ask anyone to go and visit this hotel and find somewhere that can deliver service with as much care and attention to detail as to this property.

As I outlined in my Prague review, MO aim to deliver ‘Moments of Delight’ to all of their guests and then better these each and every time they return.

An interesting fact to note is that MO do not have a loyalty scheme like many of their western competitors. They do not offer points or promotions to encourage repeat business and I can only conclude that this is because they don’t need to. They deliver 100% all of the time and therefore guests such as myself will return. We will pay the rate for the service at MO because we can be sure we will get an exceptional service. You will find cheaper five star hotels in KL and many are very good. I have stayed in many, but I still consider MO to retain the upper hand.

MO won my heart back in 2005 when I first stepped foot inside the door of their KL property and they still have my heart today.

Go see for yourself. You will not be disappointed!

Stay completed March 2008. Booked via the hotel direct or you can look at www.mandarinoriental.com and book online.

Enjoy your stay!
 

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