Originally Posted by
lamphs
Just checked-in for 3 nights, paid, Platinum.
Taxi (18 MYR, 15 minutes from KL Sentral at 1700 on a Wednesday).
I'll do first impressions while on my mind...and I'll edit with more detail when I return home.
I had to pay attention for a moment as I thought the driver passed the entrance, but it seemed to be blocked. Dropped off at the 2nd available entrance. Turns out I was dropped off at the east tower.
Check-in at elite counter. Went through all of the steps. Asked about a room with a view of the Petronas Towers. Only available in the east wing, but the east wing rooms were not fully renovated. She gave me a room on the 16th floor of the west ring, told me it was a 'deluxe' room, but it was larger than most. She mentioned that upgrades are one level above what was booked and that the west wing was better. Note that the lounge is in the west wing, but I am not on lounge floor.
Platinum amenities - the only one that stands out is that I have a choice of lounge or restaurant breakfast each morning. She highly recommended the restaurant breakfast. Also given 1000 bonus points. I need to be smarter and make separate reservations for each night.
Room - renovated, huge semi-circular room on 16th floor, view of KL tower, so not terrible. Had a minor maintenance issue, called zero, and someone is supposed to take care of it. However, the phone answerer was a bit surprised that my bags had not been delivered (30 minutes had passed).
Lounge - lots of people in non-business like clothing, self included, but my devices are on silent unlike others (both are requested rules). I am glad that I can eat breakfast in the restaurant because there is not a empty seat in the place. Excellent evening spread. Open bar. Noodle bar. Hot and cold choices. And frankly too much attention from the lounge staff. Note that the front desk emphasized that I could only take one friend to the lounge without charge. I told her that I had no friends.
So, pleased so far!
Interesting. When I stayed in 2017 I was upgraded to a suite in the west tower. Only upgrading one category isn't compliant with the new Marriott terms and conditions. Moreover, someone recently said on Flyer Talk that the
legacy Marriott Asia–Pacific suite upgrade promotion is still applicable at the legacy brands.
The east tower lounge was two floors and had floor-to-ceiling views of the Twin Towers. It's a shame that it isn't open again. I'm also surprised that renovations aren't finished as there had been reports, here or somewhere else, that renovations were done by now.
Do they still have the weird separate lobbies for each tower connected by corridors or has this been renovated? Originally, the west tower was a standalone 5-star hotel and the east tower was a standalone 4-star hotel. At some point, they were connected and flagged under Renaissance. The long overdue renovation was supposed to finally incorporate these towers into one, coherent building with consistent rooms and amenities.
Was there was no pre-arrival email?
What is the wine being served now? Apparently, they upgraded to sparkling wine (perhaps even a champagne) to match the J.W. Marriott, but there's been no confirmation of this. What are the hours of the open bar at night?
Can you take pictures?