What it's like to stay at the new Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur - a star of the city's luxury hotel renaissance
Situated next to the Petronas Twin Towers, the hotel-residences-mall enjoys a superb downtown location, offering luxury, relaxation, fine dining and magnificent shopping
Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia has been undergoing a bit of a luxury hotel renaissance lately with a spate of new openings, among them the Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur. Located just next to the Petronas Twin Towers, the 65-storey hotel-residences-shopping mall, which had its soft launch in August, is in one of the city’s prime locations.
I was met at the airport by the hotel’s limo service, which took about an hour to transport me downtown in relatively busy traffic. As the hotel faces away from the main Jalan Ampang thoroughfare, the first thing you notice when the car turns into the road is Robinson’s, the department store that is the main tenant for the Shoppes at Four Seasons.
Like many new hotels these days, the lobby of the Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur isn’t situated on the ground floor, despite its sweeping driveway; you will have to take the lift up to the higher floor. The lobby has ultra-high ceilings and there was a wonderful sense of space – especially after cramped Hong Kong. Carpets were a soothing light blush green, and thankfully there was none of the overpowering scents that seem to permeate a lot of hotels these days.
Check-in was quick and friendly and within minutes I was on my way to my room which was reasonably large. Like all Four Seasons, the bed was very soft. An elegant writing table and a comfortable sofa took up one end of the room. The wardrobe was big, as was the bathroom.
Controls were all digital and there were sufficient bedside sockets for charging phones and battery packs. One of my major joys was flicking through the wide range of TV channels available – and mostly in English!
Although my view Twin Towers was almost fully blocked by Maxis Tower, the floor-to-ceiling windows afforded me a great park view which was made more stunning at night with a colourful display of the fountains. And if that wasn’t enough, the bathtub offered a great view of the bustling Jalan Ampang.
The hotel has a decent-sized pool and I loved how secluded it was. As you had to pass the gym and spa areas to get there, there was no chance of people just sauntering in to gawk. Not all the rooms were fully opened, so my morning there was relatively quiet. Unfortunately, the spa wasn’t ready when I was there.