Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur
Transportation
I decided to try the KLIA Ekspress train to Kuala Lumpur Central and get a taxi from there to the hotel. Again I could recommend this mode of transport to the center of town. It was easy and clean and not too bad value when compared to a taxi.
When I arrived at KL Central, I went to the budget taxi line and paid for a taxi to the Intercontinental, which cost me 14 MRY. I had read up on this prior and although there was a premium taxi line as well as the budget line, as it was just me, I was happy that the budget taxi would be good enough! The taxi had the smallest boot/trunk in the world and only just fitted in 1 suitcase, the other was in beside me in the back seat. Fifteen minutes later I was pulling up outside the hotel.
Check-in
Booked – 1 King Bed Grand Premier.
Actual – Room No 2718 1 King Bed Executive Club (upgraded at check-in).
Check in was very efficient; when the chap at the main desk saw my reservation was in the Club rooms, he directed me to the lift and up to the Club Floor to check in there. Whilst I understand that this creates a premium experience, especially if it is busy, I think that it is sometimes OK to just get the check-in done if you are at the desk and being dealt with! Anyway, my luggage was dispatched and I made my way up to the 26th floor to check in and then the 27th floor for my room. My bags arrived about 20 mins later.
Room
Overall Impression - The room had a very similar layout to the room in Bangkok, although just a shade older but not anything to be worried about. The bed was huge and had very heavy pillows!!
View – The view was of the shopping center opposite but perfectly acceptable as it was a nice skyline view.
Bathroom - a nice big bathroom awaited me, with a huge bath. The unique thing about this bathroom was it had a window over the bath into the bedroom. This meant that the view you had could be seen from the bath and it made the bathroom seem even bigger than it was. The window could be shuttered closed for privacy if required! The toilet was like something from outer space - dials and knobs just so that you can wash your bum - if you have been to Japan it was very similar to their space age toilets!
Toiletries – Back to the Agriaria toiletries again.
The Ambassador welcome gift was a travel wallet and the fruit and water was also presented. On the other side of the wallet there is a small notepad – it is a useful gift but I am not sure I will use it myself.
Lounge
The lounge was on the 26th floor and had views of the surrounding high rises. It was smaller than the Bangkok one but was also a lot less busy and seemed more intimate. The guys in there were super friendly and welcomed me like a long lost friend despite only having been there for a short period of time. Breakfast was plentiful, with the requisite 5 different fruit juices these lounges seem to pride themselves on - I had pineapple and orange and both were delicious! It also had a hot station, which at breakfast did great omelets. Afternoon tea was a nice selection of small cakes and sandwiches with a tea and coffee choice. Cocktails were a nice affair - there was lots of nibbles and a very nice Chenin Blanc wine, although there was a choice of 2 wines, a sparkly, some reds and a load of hard liquor. The hot station did different things on different evenings – a gnocchi and a chicken dish were the 2 I sampled on my visit. There was also a small salad bar with all the condiments required to have a good feast.
Checkout was very simple and I was in a taxi en route to the airport in no time!