HotelChatter

Tune Hotels / Hotel Fees / Malaysia Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

Holla'! Tune Hotels is Doing Away With The Room Administration Fee

For being the hotel snobs that we are, we actually dig the "no frills" concept of Tune Hotels. And despite having a room that was only slightly larger than a sleeper cabin on a train, we really enjoyed our stay at the Tune Hotel Westminster in London. The price was right and the room was rather cozy.

But the one thing that did sort of irk us was all the add-ons that the hotel charges, mostly before you even get there.

However, Tune is finally doing away with one fee--the room administration fee. In conjunction/celebration of the new Tune Hotel Bintulu opening in Malaysia, Tune Hotel is dropping this fee across all 12 properties starting today. And you can thank Tune expansion for that.

more ›

Malaysia Hotels / Boutique Hotels / Hotel Openings / → All Tags

The Club at Saujana Is a Quiet, Posh Kuala Lumpur Alternative

Where: 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Labeling itself a "boutique resort," the Club at Saujana is a great compromise if you're wanting or needing to stay in hectic Kuala Lumpur but want a place to sleep that doesn't exactly feel like KL. The Saujana complex where the Club belongs is half an hour out of downtown KL and half an hour away from the airport, so if your plans can accomodate it, this is definitely the quiet way to stay in the Malaysian capital.

The Club at Saujana has 105 rooms set in the middle of a tropical garden and two 18-hole golf courses. Inside, it sounds it's got one like one of those "no expense spared" kind of designs: rooms are "lavishly made with terrazzo floors, marble, and Burmese teakwood, with designer fabrics and European glassware."

Room rates start at 700 Ringgit (almost $200) for a basic Club room, but that includes breakfast and WiFi — so, really, not so bad. They also have a Weekend Escape deal going right now: if you stay over a weekend, you'll score complimentary minibar goodies and cocktails, plus "culinary highlights" in the lounge each evening.

Hotel Video Tours / HotelChatter Reviews / Malaysia Hotels / Taj Hotels / → All Tags

Inside The Taj Rebak Island Resort, Langkawi

Where: Kuah Langkawi, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia

Until last week, if you said “Langkawi" to us, we’d have replied ”Datai”. Admittedly, this is mainly because we once had the pleasure of interviewing his hotness Ewan McGregor, and he said that the Datai was his favourite hotel in the world, and we’ve been indulging in poolside cocktail fantasies ever since. But also, the Datai is pretty synonymous with Langkawi luxury.

Langkawi luxury, Datai-style, comes at a price, though – rooms start at $400 and up. We were looking for luxury on a budget, so when we found rates at $121 at the Taj Rebak Island Resort (formerly known as the Rebak Marina Resort), we decided that Ewan wasn’t really worth an extra $300 a night.

We were a bit hesitant on arrival, because the website wasn’t that inspiring, and TripAdvisor had some very mixed reviews. Speaking to locals, apparently it used to be a little grim before Taj took it over two years ago – but none of them had been out since the revamp.

So we were preparing for the worst. As we were being driven from the airport down a grotty, un-paved path to the hotel jetty (it’s the only resort on Langkawi to be on its own private island, so you have to get a boat to and from the main island of Langkawi), we were having doubts.

But then we reached a pretty little gazebo with snazzy armchairs on the water’s edge, and after a short wait (we timed our flight well) we got onto the boat. It’s about 10-15 minutes to the island, and on our way we spied a pod of dolphins. Things were looking up.

more ›

Hotel Video Tours / HotelChatter Reviews / Malaysia Hotels / Taj Hotels / → All Tags

Inside the Taj Rebak Island Resort, Langkawi

Where: PULAR REBAK BESAR, Langkawi, Malaysia, 07000

Until last week, if you said “Langkawi” to us, we’d have replied . Admittedly, this is mainly because we once had the pleasure of interviewing his hotness Ewan McGregor, and he said that the Datai was his favourite hotel in the world, and we’ve been indulging in poolside cocktail fantasies ever since. But also, the Datai is pretty synonymous with Langkawi luxury.

Langkawi luxury, Datai-style, comes at a price, though – rooms start at $400 and up. We were looking for luxury on a budget, so when we found rates at $121 at the Taj Rebak Island Resort, we decided that Ewan wasn’t really worth an extra $300 a night.

We were a bit hesitant on arrival, because the website wasn’t that inspiring, and TripAdvisor had some very mixed reviews. Speaking to locals, apparently it used to be a little grim, before Taj took it over two years ago – but none of them had been out since the revamp.

So we were preparing for the worst. As we were being driven from the airport down a grotty, un-paved path to the hotel jetty (it’s the only resort on Langkawi to be on its own private island, so you have to get a boat to and from the main island of Langkawi), we were feeling a bit grim.

But then we reached a pretty little gazebo on the water’s edge, with snazzy armchairs, and after a short wait (we timed our flight well) we got onto the boat. It’s about 10-15 minutes to the island, and on our way we spied a pod of dolphins. Things were looking up.

more ›

Hotel Video Tours / HotelChatter Reviews / Shangri-La Hotels / Malaysia Hotels / → All Tags

Inside Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa

Where: Batu Feringgi Beach, Penang, Malaysia, 11100

Ever since a friend of ours stayed here last year and came back declaring it was the “best hotel in the world. Ever” we’ve been intrigued about the Rasa Sayang resort in Penang. Being a Shangri La property, obviously it’s going to be nice. Yet we have an underlying aversion to the word “resort”. Could this one overcome our snobby tendencies?

more ›

Tune Hotels / Cheap Hotels / Budget Hotels / Malaysia Hotels / Hotel Deals / Hotel News / → All Tags

Tune Hotels Now Offering Rooms for a Penny a Night

Where: Malaysia

We are seriously considering giving up our costly New York rent for the impossibly affordable, recently reslashed down to 1 cent a night deal that Tune Hotels is offering at their Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Sepang, Malaysia locations.

Talk about serious basement pricing! The old 85 cents a night price now seems like a massive rip off with the latest one penny a night deal at select Tune Hotels. Folks! Can it get any cheaper!?

more ›

Hard Rock Hotels / Malaysia Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel Pools / → All Tags

Hard Rock (And Pool) Nearly Open in Malaysia

Where: Eden Parade, Jalan Sungai Emas, Batu Ferringhi, Penang, Malaysia, 11100

When we first heard about the Hard Rock Hotel Penang--the first Hard Rock hotel to set up shop in Malaysia--we expected it'd be open by now.

The 2008 opening has now slipped back to a promise of a mid-2009 start. They've only just appointed a general manager although he's already busy hyping up the place--with the main message being that the whole concept of the hotel will make it something unique in Malaysia.

What's rocking us more than the whole Hard Rock thing is simply their "free-form" pool. It's the largest pool in Penang, they say, and for a tropical resort area we figure that's actually an impressive title. Doesn't look so huge from the pictures though so we're hoping Hard Rock isn't lying to us. We love great pools.

Airport Hotels / Hotel Awards / Malaysia Hotels / Pan Pacific Hotels / → All Tags

And the Award for Best Airport Hotel Goes To...

Where: Jalan CTA 48, Sepang, Malaysia, 64000 KLIA

It's been a fruitful year for Kuala Lumpur's Pan Pacific International Hotel, whose 441 rooms essentially sit just off the tarmac of the city's airport. After winning "Best Airport Hotel in Asia" for the seventh year in a row, the full-service property has just claimed the additional title of "World's Leading Airport Hotel."

With open voting hosted by by Business Asia Magazine, ballots "... are cast by 167,000 travel professionals in over 160 countries across the globe with winning categories covering all sectors of the global travel, tourism and hospitality industry." So you see, this was way more than a suggestion box in the hotel's lobby.

Other World winners include:

World's Leading All-Suite Hotel - Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE
World's Leading Boutique Hotel - Saxon Boutique Hotel & Spa, South Africa
World's Leading City Hotel - Swissotel Krasnye Holmy Moscow
World's Leading Design Hotel - Adam & Eve at Belek, Turkey
World's Leading Hotel Brand - Marriott Hotels Resorts & Suites

Check out all of the winners, even regional, at The World Travel Awards website.

[Photo: The Pan Pacific Hotel]

Malaysia Hotels / Asia Hotels / Casino Hotels / → All Tags

Malaysia's First World Hotel is First in Sheer Size

Where: Selangor Pahang Border, Genting, Malaysia, 69000

Who doesn't love superlatives? We're crazy for knowing what's the most expensive, tallest and most haunted of hotels, but the simple title of largest hotel goes to the First World in the highlands of Malaysia. As the star attraction of the region known as Malaysia'a answer to Las Vegas, the First World boasts a staggering 6,118 rooms, having surpassed the MGM Grand's measly 5,690 in 2006 for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.

more ›

Hotel Openings / Malaysia Hotels / → All Tags

Water Ski World Cup Speeds Up Putrajaya Opening

Where: Lot 5P2 Precint 5, Putrajaya, Malaysia, 62000

The Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside Hotel isn't really supposed to be ready until January 2009, but there's nothing like the smell of publicity from a nearby world sports event to get hotel management talking about a soft opening.

Located on Putrajaya Lake in Malaysia, not too far away from Kuala Lumpur, the resort includes a spa, five restaurants and 283 rooms split across four different accommodation wings, each with a different slant on the Malaysian multi-ethnic theme. With a few different purposes in mind, the resort also has more than twenty meeting rooms plus an outdoor amphitheater for 250 people.

With the International Water Ski Federation holding the fifth leg of the World Cup at the water sports complex next door in early November, the folks at Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside obviously decided it was worth trying a soft open. Their website isn't showing any availability for November or early December dates yet, but with the Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup happening on November 7 - 9, we're expecting some rooms to pop up closer to the time when they're sure they'll be (partially) ready.

Hotel Wedding Packages / Malaysia Hotels / Hilton Hotels / Hotel Weddings / → All Tags

Hilton Petaling Jaya Helps You Not Drown Your New Spouse

Where: No 2 Jalan Barat, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, 46200

There are some unusual ways to get married, and the Hilton Petaling Jaya in Malaysia is definitely offering to help you out with one of them: the ol' underwater wedding. Yep, they have a special Underwater Wedding Package for the apparently big enough market of people who want to get married, underwater, in Malaysia.

The first catch is that you have to invite at least 60 guests, but only 8 of them can be underwater including the bride and groom.

more ›

Cubicle Dreamin' / Malaysia Hotels / → All Tags

Cubicle Dreamin': Hotel Maya Kuala Lumpur

Where: 138 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 55000

Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.

In this episode, Hotel Maven Amanda K heads to Kuala Lumpur. Enjoy.

A good friend of mine just came back from a ten-day stay in Malaysia. Apart from raving about the shorts-and-T-shirts weather (where I am we only have rain and cold right now), she told me that I simply must make a trip to Kuala Lumpur soon.

If I could go tomorrow, I think I'd try the Hotel Maya. I kind of like the way they describe themselves as a "boutique urban resort", which seems to take the best of all worlds to create a sanctuary inside a busy city, but perhaps without feeling so resort-like that you never want to leave it and see the real city outside.

The Maya has a special "Visit Malaysia" deal which sounds good: two nights accommodation, early in-room check-in from as early as 7.00am, return transfers to the airport, breakfast each day, one dinner and a floor butler 24 hours a day; that'll put you back 1388 Ringgits in the smaller rooms--a very reasonable $400.

And the Maya also has a spa center so I can relax properly after pounding the city streets.

[Photo: Stéphanielp]

Related Stories:
· Eating It Up in KL [lifestyle+travel]
· Kuala Lumpur Hotel Reviews [HotelChatter]