out of curiosity about the price, I decided to spend a week at
Fairfield by Marriott Chow Kit Kuala Lumpur because it is one of the cheapest Marriotts in the world at just 200 MYR / $45 USD per night. The hotel is pretty good, a very good deal for the price. I received an upgrade to the premier room with a city view. A desk is not visible in the website pictures, but the rooms do come with a desk in the corner. The bed is very comfortable, good sheets, good towels, the rooms don't feel cheap and the air conditioning is very good. Reliable WiFi, light switches next to the bed, USB plugs etc.
The notable problem with the hotel is that it is next to
a highway and an area with outdoor restaurants that play loud music at night, which I guess is why each hotel room has a couple of 3M Earplugs next to the bed. Personally, I like the noise of people having fun late at night, it has no impact on my sleep, but I imagine it might make the hotel a non-starter for some others.
The one downside for me personally is the lack of a laundry service. The self-service laundry machines on site (2 washers, 2 dryers) only take payment using coins, the coin vending machine only accepts small bills (1, 5, 10) and the nearest bank's ATM dispenses 20 as the smallest bill. A wash cycle costs 10 RM and a dry cycle costs 10 RM too, so going on a quest to break a 20 in 2 x 10s so that I can then spend 20 on the laundry felt like punishment for not doing my own laundry in years.
I'm not sure if I will stay here again because I like other hotels in KL and the price difference isn't meaningful between this and premium Marriott brands in KL, but I'll have no problem returning if I'm ever looking for a cheap place to stay. I'm staying at
AC Hotel Kuala Lumpur next, I will return here with a comparison next week.