Starwood Preferred Guest - Malaysia or Indonesia with SPG ?

Hi everybody I need your help. Last year I blew most my SPG points in Italy (Rome & Venice) and this year I wanted to wanted to vacation somewhere we have not been before and the SPG redemption levels seem to be reasonable so I have narrowed it down to Malaysia or Indonesia where Cat 1, 2 or 3 seem to be the norm.
Some background on us we are a couple in our late thirties and want a combination of sun and beaches and lots of cultural sight's and experiences. My wife's not much a beach person as she burns easily in sun despite the massive amounts of sun block. Another option might be Thailand where Starwood has more expensive hotel options but I would prefer a place a little more quieter.
I'd appreciate any advice.

Here's my experience:

Malaysia:

Westin KUL - great suite, great lounge as plat
Imperial KUL - standard room, didn't have time to go to lounge (suites under renovation)
LM KUL - 3/3 Royal Club Suite, nice lounge, free internet

Indonesia:

Sheraton Media Jakarta - tired rathole, bad location, horrible lounge, called me and told me i stole a remote control from that suite - AVOID
LM Jakarta - one horrible experience, one great experience. Renovated suites great, lounge decent. AVOID the non-renovated building, absolutely horrible.
Sheraton Surabaya - an okay experience, decent suite as plat, decent lounge
Sheraton Senggigi Lombok - great suite, no other plat benefits, nice property, poor dining.
Westin DPS - nice resort, free 1h drinks+breakfast for Plat, no upgrade as they were full
Laguna DPS - great suite as Plat, no other benefits.

There are forums in the Travelbuzz section that can help you.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=438

There's a dedicated Asia (separate China and Hong Kongs forums) with coverage of Indonesia and Malaysia topics. There's also a specific Thailand forum.

Many cities with multiple SPG properties (certainly Bangkok) have master threads in this SPG forum discussing relative merits of the various hotels. You can search on a city name or country name.

The Starwood options in Bali are probably your best option - given there's the combination of beach and culture available on the island. Unfortunately it seems as though the Sheraton in Yogyakarta isn't reopening anytime soon, as it's well placed for visiting Borobudur and Prambanan for a cultural experience.

Keep in mind the Le Meridien Angkor in Cambodia is good value for points redemption as well, and there's now cheap flights to Siem Reap out of Malaysia and Singapore too - and Angkor Wat is definitely worth a visit if you're in the region.

As mentioned by LH747FTL, the Starwood options in Jakarta should probably be avoided (I wasn't a fan of them either), though the Sheraton Bandara out at the airport is nice enough. Not a whole lot in the way of sights to see in Jakarta either - a couple of days worth at most. Surabaya has even less to see (though I did quite like the hotel there myself).

Here's my experience:

Westin DPS - nice resort, free 1h drinks+breakfast for Plat, no upgrade as they were full
Laguna DPS - great suite as Plat, no other benefits.


Dear LH747FTL,

Noticed that your stays in Bali were at both the Westin & Laguna properties.
As I have a 3-nite stay at the end of May & am gonna redeem my points. I'd like
to find out how recent was your experience at the 2 Bali properties, and as a Plat, do you think the choice would be at Laguna because of the suite upgrade or is the free 1h drinks+breakfast @ the Westin better? I assume both properties do not have any lounge access .... or where would you choose, with the benefit of hindsight. :D

Btw, which other properties in Asia provide such great lounge access such as the Westin KL & LeMeridien KL? They have remained brilliant as well as their suite upgrades!!

Cheers!!:)

While the Westin Bali has many similarities with the Westin Langkawi (like both were branded "Sheraton" before refurbishment/rebranding and both share common ownership), the level of refurbishment is nowhere near that of Westin Langkawi. It was a very basic renovation;new heavenly bed, new fabrics, new modern lampshades and pictures, thats all. The hallway looks more like a 2 star motel but some suites are quite large (seperate sitting room, dining room, bedroom) and well furnished but a little gaudy in design.
They do have a lounge (beach club) but its not accessible to platinums unless you pay for it :(

here r my random 2 cents thoughts about Malaysia and Indonesia and not specifically the SPG properties.

I love Malaysia as a modern cosmopolitan place with friendly, outstanding and GRRRREAAAT service and great prices for luxury hotels and restaurants and spas and and... go pamper your self in KUL for a few days. If you want to stay at SPG prop the Westin is a great location. However, depending on availability u may find a more luxurious options at a better price. Dont stay at the Meridien, bad location. Other options: the Prince, Shangri La, Mandarin Oriental, Marriott, Ritz, Swiss, Traders, Novotel, Concorde, Renaissance, all great location and can be had around $100. Imperial KUL is nice and resonably priced and a short distance from the epicenter of activities.

Then I would do a few days in Bali. I think you can do more and see more culture on a Bali visit that you can do in Malaysia.

Thanks for all the response guys !