Kuala Lumpur: Staying at Aloft, Dining at Jalan Alor

[yflyer]

I spent last weekend in KL. On previous visits to KL, I've stayed at the Westin, the Sheraton Imperial, Le Meridien and the Hilton. On my most recent trip, based on wonderful stays at the Aloft San Francisco Airport, I thought I would give the Aloft KL Sentral a try.

This is a very new hotel, which opened in March 2013. It is apparently one of the largest (if not THE largest) Aloft properties, according to one of the KL staff members. And as part of the Starwood group, I would also be earning SPG points on this stay.

The Aloft KL Sentral has a lot in common, in terms of vibe and decor, with other Aloft properties like the Aloft SF Airport, but compared to those hotels, this is much more of a full-service hotel than the Aloft properties in North America for example. In fact, some of the hotel features, such as 24 hour room service and amenities like bedroom slippers and bathrobes, are positively five star.

I also ate a memorable dinner at Jalan Alor, Malaysia's outdoor food street, which I will also briefly cover off. (A comprehensive tour of Jalan Alor is worth a TR on its own! Is anyone up to the challenge? No shortage of foodies on SQTalk!)

Interested? Read on...

[yflyer]

After arriving in KL on one of Silkair's new 738's (TR here), I took the KLIA Express train to KL Sentral. This is my preferred way to get from the airport to the city. This is a comfortable 29 minute ride from KLIA to KL Sentral.

Apart from Le Meridien and the Hilton, there is now a 3rd hotel at KL Sentral: The Aloft.



When you disembark from the KLIA Express, you will see signs point you to the hotels in the area.

That said, apart from the first sign which indicates where to go for the 3 hotels, the subsequent signage only points to the original two (Le Meridien, Hilton). No other signage to point you to the Aloft. I took a wild guess and headed in the opposite direction to signs directing people to the Le Meridien and the Hilton, and in this case, my gamble paid off: The Aloft is on the opposite side of the train station from the Hilton and Le Meridien. It is right next to the Nu Sentral mall (Also a recent development).





There is a covered walkway from the train station that leads you to the Nu Sentral mall, and then to the Aloft hotel.

[yflyer]

The public areas of this hotel are done up in the Aloft house style: modern, trendy and colourful, almost psychedelic.

The front desk has a nice layout, with separate queues for checking in and checking out...



This is a very comfortable lobby, with inviting sofas and bean bags...





...and a pool table.



There was also a lobby bar and a stage for live music (Which seems to be standard feature for Aloft properties).

[yflyer]

The lobby area also contained a self service pantry, where food, beverages and snacks could be purchased and charged to your room.





I liked the fact that many of the snacks and beverages on offer were localised, and not just bland international selections.

For example, potong ice cream...

[yflyer]

There were also workstations and Macs available in the lobby area...

[yflyer]

A stunning feature of this hotel is the infinity pool on the rooftop.



Not a very large pool, and not as jawdropping as the Sky Park at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, but a very striking place to swim or grab a tan.



The pool area was just as busy on the night I was there...

[yflyer]

There is also a bar/lounge on the top floor...



...with both indoor and outdoor seating, close to the pool.



The gym on one of the lower floors was also quite well equipped.

[yflyer]

The rooms are large and brightly decorated.







The rooms are spacious and modern, with a large LCD flatscreen TV and wireless internet.

A whimsical feature is a cartoon above the bed in each room, done by a local artist (there are different cartoons).



Small sofa...



A minifridge which is empty -- which is how I prefer it actually. You can stock it up from the self-service pantry in the lobby.



The view from my room...



My room was not perfect, though: The work desk was a little small, and the bright sunlight from the window made it difficult to use my computer unless I lowered the window blind. And right next to the desk was an empty wall, which could easily have been used to install a larger work top. Not a showstopper, but a quirk which should have been picked up at design stage.



So a very good room, rather than a excellent one, purely on account of the smallish desk, which I found a little too small for productive work.

[yflyer]

The bathroom, with a shower stall (shower only, no tub)...

[yflyer]

Quite a few amenities...



...including bathrobes...

[yflyer]

A wide variety of dishes available through room service, including several local selections.

[yflyer]

But why order room service, when the restaurant in the Aloft has such wonderful food? And come to think of it, why eat in the hotel at all, when KL must be one of the food capitals of Asia, if not the world? I dined at both the hotel restaurant and at Jalan Alor, a famous open air food street near Bukit Bintang.

To be continued...

[MAN Flyer]

Thanks for the report and picture, yflyer.

I have watched this place go up over the last few years from both the Hilton and LM. Still haven't stayed there yet though, if I do stay at Sentral it tends to be LM, which is much better after the recent refurb. We had engineers there for ten months a couple of years ago so we all got quite used to the place and the staff.

When you disembark from the KLIA Express, you will see signs point you to the hotels in the area.

That said, apart from the first sign which indicates where to go for the 3 hotels, the subsequent signage only points to the original two (Le Meridien, Hilton). .

That sign is new, is much better that what was there before and would explain why the others only have Hilton and LM on them.

[yflyer]

Thanks for the report and picture, yflyer.

I have watched this place go up over the last few years from both the Hilton and LM. Still haven't stayed there yet though, if I do stay at Sentral it tends to be LM, which is much better after the recent refurb. We had engineers there for ten months a couple of years ago so we all got quite used to the place and the staff.

Thanks, MAN Flyer!

I've stayed at the Le Meridien before the refurbishment, and I thought the original rooms were very good. I didn't know they had been refurbished -- time to give them another try...

[yflyer]

There is a full service restaurant in the Aloft, called "Nook", which services both a la carte and buffet selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I was quite impressed with Nook.

Many purportedly "high end" hotel restaurants in Asia have over ambitious buffet spreads and offer premium/luxury fare like oysters, sushi and other fancy sounding western dishes etc only to fall flat when the quality is poor.

Nook does not pitch itself at the high end. Instead, they provide top notch, lovingly prepared, casual dining, both international and Asian, and do a fantastic job of it.

More importantly for me, they did a great job of showcasing authentic local fare as part of their buffet spread.



I also felt that the unique, whimsical decor made dining there even more of an experience.