blueDC

The new Four Seasons KL will be a 38-storey tower in the Four Seasons Centre adjacent to the Petronas Twin Towers (on the east side) in the KLCC area.

holtju2

Just spent Friday and Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.

Frangipani is the place to be on a Friday night. Is more like a restaurant/lounge bar that turns in to a small "disco" when people start dancing on the main floor after midnight. There were quite a few girls with their gay friends so it is not exclusively gay. I really liked the place and the crowd.

On SundayI went to La Queen that is more "normal" gay nightclub/disco. I walked past around 11PM on my way to my hotel MO (such a dump) and went to the nightclub around 1AM. There are no afterhours so it dies at 3AM.

After having some steaming fun at the Day Thermas I had a quick peek at the Blue Boy at 11PM. There was nobody there but it was early anyway. The bar looked really small though. According to some website that bar caters to more "professionals".

kyushuman

Hey! I'm in KL now.... went to Frangipani last night, and it really is quite nice--unique place, the bar is on the 2nd Floor, above the restaurant, but both are around an atrium with a lovely pool below it. Really cool place, and seems quite friendly, though I already had a friend.
As for Saturday--I have read here that La Queen and Liquid are popluar... maybe will try one or the other, though not really into standing and posing. (OK, standing I do quite often, but posing??).
Might end up, after shopping, at Otot2, and then finishing with a quiet night--am enjoying the Westin KL, a gorgeous Suite--with a great gym, nice Club breakfast, and great location.
Thanks for the tips!

WillFlyer

Bump...

I'll be in KL next month for the first time. Do you think Frangipani is still the place to go on Friday night? Also, I'd appreciate any current suggestions for moderately-priced hotels near the scene and rapid transit.

Many thanks!

RandyNZ

WillFlyer, can't tell you which place is most happening right now, but can ask. My bf is from KL and has friends still there.

As for hotels, like other posts said, Bukit Bintang area is the most happening. I would recommend Westin or Marriott - their prices are quite moderate (KL is great for 4-5* hotel deals). I stayed at the Mandarin Oriental previously, which was wonderful, but is a bit of a way from Bukit Bintang (the bf insisted on walking, NOW that was an experience in KL traffic!).

RandyNZ

Fridae has a good rundown of places to go - I recommend their City Guides for several SE Asian cities.

For KL: http://www.fridae.com/cityguides2/guide.php?p=4

JumboJetLA

I was there in 2006 and stayed at the Concorde hotel near the Hard Rock Cafe and it was about $70USD which was very reasonable and was on like the 15th floor which overlooked the towers very amazingly

The Ritz is next to the towers and is about $140 which is low for the Ritz by any standards but the quality is great!

I loved Fragipani but was there on a week day and it was dead.

Malaysian16

Loads of hotels in the Bukit Bintang area - Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Novotel, Millenium (originally the Regent as posted by original poster), Parkroyal - all budgets catered for. There is also a nice boutique hotel in the area - i forget its name however - it was in a local UK sunday paper here (the Observer newspaper wrote it up) as being a nice boutique gem.. let me know if you still need it as will search for the paper at home).

KL has certainly matured in its culture and proves to remain ahead in the game with places to eat, drink, dance, etc - and TimeOut now do a monthly listings magazine - best just pick one up at any newsagent on arrival.

Shame there are still so few airlines flying into this dynamic city!!!

SojournsOf

Bump...

Where would you stay? What would you do (sights, shops, clubs, food, day trips, etc.)?

First stay, arrive Kuala Lumpur 20h05 on a Monday night, depart for Phuket the next morning at 09h30. Second stay, arrive Kuala Lumpur 12h50 on a Friday, depart for home on Sunday at 20h40.

Have been offered the same rates at NZD285 per night (give or take a few dollars) for a Hilton Grand Executive Suite and a Ritz-Carlton Executive Deluxe Room. We're 23 and 24. Don't want too stuffy (main concern about the Ritz) but want legit five-star. Want good club floor and good breakfast. Looking for a convenient bed for the first stay. Will probably want to hit the clubs (don't like exclusively gay clubs) and do a heap of sightseeing and shopping on the Friday and Saturday night second stay. Tad worried the Hilton is a little out of the way for doing this at night, but don't really mind taxis or public transport provided it is cheap and convenient.

(This is kind of a double post with the luxury hotels section, but looking to get some advice from I guess a more relevant point of view)

AirlineDork

The last few times I was in KL for work, I stayed along Bukit Bintang. I've tried the JW Marriott, Ritz and Westin. Of the three, I really liked the Westin the most. I had a room on the Club floor and their Club lounge had great views and the service was impeccable. Of course, my gaydar was going off like crazy, as I thought most of the staff on the club floor were gay! The room I had at the Westin was extremely modern, with great decor.

The Marriott was nice, very traditional, and same for Ritz. The Westin has a great fitness center, but the JW's spa area is a bit nicer. Still, all three hotels were just under USD $100 a night - and I think I got lucky with the Ritz package I booked because that room rate included free laundry, free internet and free breakfast. But being a young 30-something, I have to say I liked the Westin the most because it's more my style... JW and Ritz were a bit "stuffier" I guess you could say.

All 3 hotels walking distance to some great restaurants (check out the ones attached to the hotels/lower level) and also TONS of shopping. Although the Sungei Wang shopping center a block away looks a bit dodgy, you can find some cool things there, including cheap DVDs of current movies and TV series.

Gay nightlife - see the other posts, but also check out www.gaydar.co.uk and www.utopia-asia.com and www.fridae.com, in addition to gay.com/chat... you can meet locals and expats that way and get some current info - aside from the posts here.

Food tip - if you like satay, you can order some from room service at the hotels (all 3 of the ones above) for under $10 USD... that was the cheapest room service meal I have ever eaten!

SojournsOf

Thanks for the reply. I think we're going with the Hilton for the first stay. We're only there for 13h25m so we'll probably just get a standard room with breakfast included. Second stay I'm leaning towards the Ritz-Carlton. Had a colleague stay at the Westin and she hugely weren't impressed. I've never had the chance to stay at a Ritz-Carlton and think I should take up the opportunity! (Even if people say it is a second-rate Ritz-Carlton...) We'll probably head out to the Hilton's Zeta Bar on one of the nights anyway. That place sounds pretty cool!

AirlineDork

On second thought, you might want to consider the Pan Pacific hotel which is ATTACHED to the airport terminal if it's a short stay. It's a great hotel and I've stayed there for overnight layovers at KUL, and even done a few day room bookings there while in transit. Nice outdoor pool, some good facilities and great rooms. They have a golf cart service to take you to/from the hotel/terminal through the walkway/tunnel.

The journey into the city can sometimes take you over an hour or so... even if you take the fast train into KLCC (and they do have an airline check in facility there for some airlines for your departing flight). If your flight is running late or if you wanted to do some duty free shopping or enjoy lounges on your departure, that really cuts into your 13h ground time.

Just another option to consider... and you can get miles at the Pan Pacific for some airline FF programs.

Malaysian16

by the time you arrive and exit the airport -it would be quite late getting into KL itself - the train being the quickest route in (at 25mins to KL Sentral where the KL Hilton is - nb - there is another Hilton in the satellite city of Petaling Jaya - west of KL - near the old airport).

I personally - would check into the PanPacific KLIA - supposedly one of the better airport hotels in the world.

Next best option is to catch the KL Ekspress train and head straight to the KL Hilton. Around Sentral - you can catch a taxi to Bangsar which is a trendy suburb nearby - loads of bars and al fresco restaurants - but unless its the weekend - it can be quite quiet.
(Ask the cab to take you to Bangsar Village - which is the mall at the hub of Bangsar). If its the weekend - most people will be out till about 2am so you'll be fine for a late night... mid-week it could be quite quiet (as expected).

(bearing in mind - you will need to check in at KL Sentral by 0730 the next morning)

KL Hilton itself has a fine array of restaurants to dine at - or try the Middle Eastern restaurant at LeMeridien next door - it is absolutely fab with private dining rooms and chill-out rooms.

On your return - i would still recommend the Hilton or Meridien - KL Sentral is a pretty good point to see KL. Tours (KL Hop-on/off) regularly stop at KL Sentral and you also have the LRT and Monorail lines at your doorstep to get you across the city to the Petronas KLCC (Towers) and also to the Bukit Bintang shopping district.

You could of course stay at the KLCC or Bukit Bintang areas but i just find the less distance to lug luggage the better (and both LeMeridien and KL Hilton have that great advantage of being able to drop/check-in at your doorstep).

For what its worth - the Shangri-La, Mandarin Oriental, KL Hilton, Le Meridien, Ritz-Carlton and Nikko are pretty much the top hotels in the city. I read with interest that both the FourSeasons and St.Regis are due to open next and will probably take the lead once they open...

bostontraveler

anyone stayed at the Hotel Maya? I have to spend 3 days in KL in December and saw it on Tablet Hotels... better than the Westin?

kyushuman

Unless they've had renovations in the last 6-7 years, it was a TOTAL dump. Not even worth the $35 it cost post-crisis.
Location is great, but then again there are at least 20 hotels within a 5-minute walk of the Maya.