Kuala Lumpur "Stay-cation"

It did feel like a stay-cation of sort when we spent a few nights at The Majestic in Kuala Lumpur as we slipped out of town for a quick getaway after Christmas - barring a few occasions when we went out to eat, we essentially stayed in most of the time and made full use of all the facilities in-house.

A quick hop on our Grab car from the airport brought us into the hotel at the fringe of the city center in slightly less than an hour. The location is definitely not a selling point of this property (not much around and taxi, ride-sharing cars or hotel shuttle are the only options to get to places) but the building and the interior were the highlight, itself being a national heritage building. The hotel was split into two wings - the Majestic Wing was essentially the original building first in operation in the 1930's (and went through numerous renovation since, of course) while the more modern Tower Wing was built as part of the revamp project done around 10 years ago when the hotel was re-opened.

We spent our first night at the Majestic Wing and the rest over at the Tower Wing so we got a taste of both sides. The colonial design of the Majestic Wing of the hotel reminded me very much of The Raffles in Singapore or The Strand in Yangon, both of which were built a few decades before The Majestic with the same colonial style facade painted in ivory white. The high ceiling and large window pane at what used to be the grand lobby (now part of the tea lounge and café) was both for the grandeur and for practical reasons to let in more cool air for the comfort of guests who are not so used to the tropical weather – at least back in the days when there’s no air conditioning.

Check-in was a breeze (done in the lounge exclusive to Majestic Wing guests) and we were led into the Governor Suite at one end on the second floor (one of the 40-odd rooms in this wing and just one level down from their top Majestic Suite in terms of room category) The room was spacious with separate bedroom and living area and my favorite part was its bathroom in art deco design with black and white chequered tiles and a free-standing soaking tub. It certainly made perfect Instagram photos. My only complaints were the lack of view from the room and the dim interior lighting which may be consistent with the room style but not what I preferred.

Traditional afternoon tea is a popular attraction at the hotel, and one could choose to be seated at the spacious Colonial Cafe or Tea Lounge in the common area (with live piano performance during the service), or the cozier Drawing Room or the Orchid Conservatory, a greenhouse surrounded by pots of colorful orchid plants. Finger snacks were served in a 3-tiered tray with numerous sweet and savory items - some more traditional, some with a Malaysian twist. I love the scones - warm and fluffy with Devonshire cream and strawberry preserve on the side - and there were a few festive snacks too such as the bite-sized fruit cake and mini chocolate log cake. More hot items were served in a lidded copper box including the mini quiche and the curry puff. I am not particularly into afternoon tea but I loved the ambiance and the opportunity to just chill after our flight.

There's no executive lounge at the property but guests staying on the Majestic Wing has access to the small lounge on the ground floor with food and drinks served throughout the day - sufficient but nothing to write home about to be honest. The Smoke House is another unique feature under the roof, reminiscent of the old school Gentlemen's Club but now open to all with a well-stocked bar, cigar room, pool table, and even a full-service barber shop downstairs – perfect place for a cut and shave before dressing up for the dinner reception one evening. Also housed on the Majestic Wing side is the hotel spa - there's nothing more relaxing than spending one afternoon away from the heat and enjoy the massage treatment in the cozy, quiet and well-designed couple room there away from the crowd (maybe a bit pricier than an average spa in town but our massages came as part of our room package)

For the final two nights we stayed at the Tower Wing. There's no segregation of living and sleeping area in our Junior Suite, but it did look even more spacious though they are of similar size of the suite we stayed the night before - maybe the better lighting helped. Still came with a full-sized bathroom with separate shower booth and free-standing bathtub, and from a higher floor we got a panoramic view of part of the city. Breakfast was served at the cafe at the lobby level in buffet style - on par with any high-end property in Asia with good variety of choices including a few Malaysian specialty dishes. I am no Malaysian cuisine expert but their Nasi Lemak was delicious, coming with all sorts of condiments that one could choose from. We didn't get much time using the pool and gym but those were pretty basic (and crowded at times) so we didn't miss much.

Well, our stay did come with some minor issues - we didn't get much of the "butler service" advertised as part of our stay at the Majestic Wing (except the complimentary laundry service which was a much-appreciated perk); the "In-room Butler Served Breakfast" was nothing more than any typical room service with a few pieces of toasts and pastries and a jug of lukewarm coffee delivered. Service was at times slow with waiting lines often seen at the hotel reception, and there was the billing hiccups at check-out which I wasn't too happy about (at least it's resolved at the end but only after I spotted the discrepancy myself) But overall, we had a good time at this legendary property for a quick getaway holiday during the festive season and certainly didn’t mind staying here again next time we are in town.

When? December 27 2019
Where? The Majestic Hotel, 5 Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Web: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/kulak-the-majestic-hotel-kuala-lumpur-autograph-collection/