The devil\'s in the details and Element exceeded all expectations
 

Check In Element KL is situated on the top-most floors of the majestic 60 storey Foster and Partners designed Ilham Tower, which also houses Ilham Gallery, an open to public art gallery promoting modern and contemporary Malaysian art. Art pieces in this genre can be seen in the public areas of the hotel. The building's interior and finishing is as impressive as the exterior.The entrance is not exactly obvious if you're not looking for it. There's a certain sense of subtlety throughout which I really love, like the hidden/depressed buttons integrated into the side of the lifts. One may argue this to be bad for guest experience, but I'm happy some choices were made style over function. I made my way up to the lobby on level 40.I did not make a reservation prior to arriving because I was skeptical. I wanted to scope out the place and get a feel before commiting. The lowest rate on day of was the flex rate at RM392. Not the cheapest, but an absolute steal for what the hotel offers. Read on.The staff came off as well trained and proactive. They couldn't offer me the same rate advertised on SPG.com, they could only sell RACK. They suggested that I book online and they would put me in a room straight away, even though there is a significant lag before the reservation would sync and show up in their local system. Instead of distrust, they would rather give the benefit of the doubt. This is definitely not the norm in Malaysia.I was proactively offered an upgrade to a one bedroom suite (she said with a smile, the skyline side which has amazing views) and late checkout at 5pm, without me asking. I also went for the breakfast option as my choice of amenity and the benefit was graciously extended to an additional guest even though the official rules state it would be for one person only. Lovely.There is no special happy hour for platinum guests, but on Mon-Thurs they have a "relax hour" of free flow red/white wine, beers and other beverages with canapes from 5:30pm to 7pm.What a great tone to start the stay with. I was suitably impressed. Room I was greeted with footage of Brian "The Points Guy" Kelly doing yoga on the SPG channel.The one bedroom suite I was put it was on the 45th floor, with spectacular views as alluded to, looking over the twin towers and KL tower. The room's finish and detail was above average, especially so by Malaysian standards. The cheap applicances in the kitchen threw it off, but was not a big deal. There is also filtered water from a separate tap which I appreciated, as water is not potable in Malaysia. It also saves them having to provide bottled water. Spotless, gorgeous bathroom. The soap and shampoo were from Pharmacopia which seems to be locally sourced. "Natural and Organic Bodycare", as it claims on the labels. On the dispensers I guess they read the whiny complaints about the lack of pots and pans and now they've stocked it in the kitchen. Bedroom was similarly done out with muted tones. Bed was heavenly, like sleeping on a cloud, if not a bit too soft. First world problems. The only small complaint I would have if I was being nitpicky was that the room felt too sparse. An addition of a small dining table would be great. Not a deal breaker though, I felt like I was staying in an art gallery, it felt like an extension of the space especially with the art on the walls. Very nice. Dining I headed down to Trace, their only in-house dining option for lunch. They had a couple choices of bento boxes in addition to the usual menu. I went with a bento box consisting of fish, chicken, steamed rice, a starter salad, a dessert of mango creme brulee and a choice of beverage for RM31.80. An absolute bargain. Location Being in the KLCC neighbourhood without being too close is an upside from my point of view. You get easy access to the area without the presense of plebs invading the pedestrian spaces, a problem Traders, MO, and other hotels situated immediately next to the towers have.Use a car service, people. Forget the LRT. Overall Fantasic. This Element goes above and beyond what Starwood standards dictate it should be.

Great trip report. Looks simple and modern :) Unfiltered tap water in Malaysia (especially in KL/Selangor) is technically potable, just that most Malaysians do not trust the government's testing standards :p

Am i right, that the Hotel is offering breakfast as a platinum benefit? Because there're also rates without breakfast. And I thought that Element is not offering breakfast as a platinum benefit. What about Suite upgrade?
Do they have a lounge?

In house at the moment and while the staff was very welcoming, the hotel is aesthetically inviting and the 1bdr room layout is nice there's a few things that bring down my feeling of the hotel.

On one side of the bed there are two USB plugs and the outlet is used for the lamp, on the other side the outlet is used by the alarm clock and there's no USB. For a new build I'd expect at least an open socket for use. There is one phone in the suite and that's on the desk and not wireless. When the master switches are turned on upon entering the room the TV's, both, also turn on to the hotel station; I already turned off the TVs once, I don't want to turn them off every time I enter the room nor do I want to leave lights on if I'm out of the room.

Also, based upon this and this, as well as a picture in the extensive review by markis10 above mentioning the Evening Reception, I anticipated there might be some type of gathering however staff will only say it's been cancelled and was only for the first year of operation. I find that somewhat disappointing.

Also, and this doesn't effect me, just stating for the sake of information, the pool is currently closed for unstated reasons.

That said, the views are quite nice and the location is good as well.

Element kl
 

27th May 2018

Just finished a two night stay.

Pool was closed for maintenance no warning and a big pain as my guests in room 2 had a young child that was excited about swimming so high up.

Restaurant refused me al a carte menu at 5.40pm and atempted to push the expensive seasonal buffet on me even though it was not ready for another 20 mins. Later told al a carte menu no problem.

Smoke alarm went off three times on day 1 and again at 1.30am on check out day.

Took almost an hour and several calls to get laundry delivered.

The bed matress was way to soft and left me with a sore back room 5412

Grumpy Woman at check out.

Gorgeous property in a great location.

Free breakfast for Platinum.

I will stick with Le Meridien in future or the new W opening 3Q 2018

I likened it to sleeping on a marshmallow.

How does it compare to Le Meridien?
 

I checked the starwood reviews on this property. They are all over the map.
For point redemptions, this property is on par with both the Sheraton & Le Meridien Putrajaya.
For a 1st stay, seems that Meridien is more predictable?

I have done a few stays now, and I think on points they are a good option, if you want to spend the points, given KL is so cheap. I have never stayed at any of the PJ options, for city alternatives the element is well priced if you don’t value lounge offerings or want to have more of a DYI experience be it cook your own food or do your own laundry.

Is breakfast still a Platinum benefit at the KL Element? It's odd to see numerous reports of receiving breakfast as a benefit here on FT contradicted by numerous reports of zero benefits for Platinum members on Tripadvisor.

Can any Plat / Plat Premier who has stayed at the KL Element since the loyalty program merger report back about their experiences?

Seems that the Element in Ubud has stopped offering any breakfast / room upgrade benefits post-merger...

I'm currently at the property. I'm staying on points and was given a 1-bedroom suite and breakfast (chosen in lieu of points). This is my third stay here and I just love it. The management is so attentive and remembers my name and preferences at every turn.

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