Le Méridien Putrajaya, Malaysia [Master Thread]
 

Check In Lobby AreaLatitudeLift lobby areaCheck-in was straightforward. Staff to guest ratio is quite high (new opening). I called ahead to check if they were operating the suites yet and was FD was able to block one for me (x13, L shaped). A lot of the staff were transferred in from Four Points Puchong. Room Atelier Suite Living RoomAtelier Suite Bedroom/BathroomAtelier Suite DeskAs noted by theaccesscard, the furniture/finishings is definietely of noticably lower grade, similar to Le Meridien Survanabumi.The suite offers a half bathroom near the entrance, a smaller than usual living area (probably due to the weird L shape). Dining Latest Recipe EntranceLatest Recipe Buffet AreaLatest Recipe Buffet/Dining AreaLatest Recipe Dining AreaLe Mei EntranceLe Mei Dining AreaLe Mei Private RoomThis Le Meridien only has two restaurants - Latest Recipe and Le Mei. Bamboo Chic, Favola and other Le Meridien usuals are missing. According to one of the hotel associates, Le Mei is a Chinese/Cantonese restaurant that is new to Le Meridien - a creation of this particular property's owner. A little strange. Amenities Le Meridien Putrajaya Foyer EscalatorsLe Meridien Main Event Hall SpaceLe Meridien Putrajaya FloristLe Meridien Putrajaya Wedding PlannersA lot of space is given to event hall spaces. The hotel management probably expects this to be a revenue driver given the sets of dedicated escalators to the 2nd and 3rd levels, plus a space dedicated to wedding planning! Pool Le Meridien Putrajaya Swimming PoolThe pool is 'open' in a sense that the water is safe to swim in and there's a trolley of towels nearby. According to a friendly associate (who's supposed to work in the Kid's Club - opening soon!) they've ordered the deck chairs and are waiting for their arrival.Construction work was still ongoing and it seems like they're quickly putting together the finishing touches on an adjacent bar to the pool, as well as the event spaces and meeting halls on the 2nd and 3rd levels. Gym Le Meridien Putrajaya GymThe gym is 'open' 24hrs. Service Considering the staff to guest ratio is at times being 5:1, it gets a little overwhemling because the eagerness becomes a little much. I'm generally chatty, but could see some of the other no-nonsense Six Sigma types being annoyed.But even so, there were minor missteps and hiccups. Once the property sees more volume I predict will be a lot more apparent if the staff aren't actively brought up to speed. My hopes are high for this property though. Where there were mistakes made, managers were quick to react and train. Location The hotel is situated at a corner of Putrajaya that isn't exactly near the main ERL station. That makes getting to the hotel a little difficult with public transportation. Uber works very well, the hotel and its surrounding premises is clearly marked.The hotel is connected to a huge shopping mall and is part of a larger development by IOI, called "IOI Resort City". The attached mall (IOI City Mall) has a huge cinema with latest "motion seats", a bowling alley and a ice rink. Platinum Recognition In lieu of the club lounge access (ready by end September), Platinum members are offered free access to Latest Recipe's dinner buffet (worth RM128++) until 10:30pm. This is quite a nice perk as most Plat evening benefits end at 8 or 9. Breakfast is offered from 6:30am to 10:30am, also at Latest Recipe.The wide array of dishes both local and international is overwhemling. Even at 10pm when I stepped in, most of the food present on the various buffet islands were unfresh and untouched probably due to the low number of guests. Overall During this 'soft opening' period the hotel did pretty well considering it was the 6th day of operation. There were no major hiccups and every member of the staff I spoke to were professional and very familiar with Starwood and SPG. Effort was made to acknowledge loyalty.At RM340 or 4000 starpoints this was an absolute bargain.

Thanks for the report! I stay at LM KL for overnight stopovers several times a year; I usually BRG it for about 300MYR, and with the 2000 point BRG bonus, that's a stellar deal given the quality of club and breakfast offering. I had high hopes for LM Putrajaya, but it sounds as though reaching it from the airport will be more difficult than LM KL, even though probably a bit cheaper than the 55MYR each way airport express fare (or 100MYR RT, or 40 each way with online discount). How much are taxi/Uber rides, and how much time do you have to budget?

@jpdx my pleasure. Stopover-wise I think LMKL wins hands down. You would need 40mins approx to reach LM Putrajaya by car. Uber prices out to be RM35 (~100 starpoints RT w/ 5x). The only upside to Putrajaya would probably be its 'country resort' location :D

have a stay coming up ... tend to be at Shangri-La or Pullman when in Putrajaya.

any idea how the Club Lounge is ?

I booked the lowest rate and received a upgrade to a Atelier Suite with great view to the golfcourse.
Breakfast in the lounge is better than in mainrestaurant. In the evening you have so many choices for food and trinks ( beer, wines, j.walker black )
​​​​​​​My stay was in Feb.2017.

Anyone tried the Gallery Suite?
Had the Atelier Suite the last time and wondering if they are any better

AUGUST UPDATE

Decided to give this hotel and area a try. The hotel is situated on the outskirts of Putrajaya, and is attached to the huge IOI mall which is getting huge-r, and is set to rival Mid-Valley Mall in size and variety of shops. The whole 788-acre area is owned by the IOI Group and it owns the other two hotels next to the mall - the Marriot Putrajaya and the Palm Garden Hotel. There's an 18-hole golf course directly opposite, and numerous condos and office buildings are coming up or are planned. Check this link if you're interested in the developement.


A. Transport To/From KLIA
. I took the KLIA Transit which uses the same tracks as the KLIA Ekspres airport train. The Transit makes 3 additional stops as compared to the Ekspres. Trains are similar but with less seating and more open areas and standing room and I didn't see luggage racks
. Putrajaya is the second stop from KLIA, takes 17 mins and costs 8.50 MYR if you use the self service machine which only accepts credit cards

. Upon arrival at Putrajaya Sentral Station, you'll discover that the main entrance (turn left from the platform stairs) has been boarded up for renovations - so you should head in the opposite direction (turn right) and go to the taxi area
. If you prefer Uber like me, you are given a choice of a pickup point at the Main Entrance (which isn't really usable though there is a 5-min walkway around the renovation site), or the Bus Terminal. However, most people seem to be getting pickups from the curbside next to the first staircase before reaching the bus terminal. You can find it by following the temporary signage for the "hospital shuttle". The ride is 10-15 mins w/o traffic. I did notice that the highway was packed in the direction of station->hotel during rush hour, so I would schedule my arrival for off-peak if possible

. A note about Uber prices - UberX gets you from the station to the hotel for ~ 10-15 MYR non-peak. UberBlack consistently showed me rates of 65-75 MYR. Yet returning from the hotel to the station I found a rate of 25 MYR for UberBlack *shrug*
. Uber directly from KLIA seems to be about 75 MYR / 150 MYR respectively and takes about 10mins longer though if you factor in wait time for the less-frequent KLIA Transit train it might end up being the same


B. Gallery Suite
. Won't touch on the hotel and facilities - all well-documented in previous review
. Saw an Atlier Suite, and was given a Gallery Suite so am well-placed to compare the two
. Gallery Suite is about 33-50% bigger, most of it in the living room and guest toilet area. The guest toilet is the size of most normal hotel bathrooms. The living room is 2.5x the size of the one Atlier Suite one, with one end occupied by a small round dining table for 4, and the other end with the TV and L-shaped couch config. And lots of empty space in between. Lots
. The bedroom is about 1.5x the size of the Atlier, and is a long rectangle - in my room I had a small desk on the left, bed in the centre, and daybed/couch area on the right. The suites seem to be situated in the corners so views are great in either
. The bathroom is about 1.5x larger, with a proper tub next to the window, and a separate shower stall. It's totally separate from the bedroom; there is a pseudo-walk in closet area between
. The bathroom in the Atlier Suite I saw was next to the bedroom and had a glass window looking out onto the room - this is the same layout as in the standard Signature Rooms - it's also the same layout as the Le Meridien KUL, for those who are familiar

. the Gallery Suite is big compared to the Atlier Suite, but they haven't used the space as well. The living room is mostly wasted space. The dining table and the sideboards appear cheap. It's like they put in the TV and sofa area and couldn't figure out what to do with the rest of it... something I also saw in the Element KUL
. the Atlier Suite is smaller and more compact, but because of that they've had to be thoughtful in the layout and design and I think it works better. But both suites are very nice

. Neither suite had a coffee maker; instead you have a plunger
. Neither suite had a DVD or BD player though I guess most people wouldn't need that these days
. Toiletries are the new range of Malin+Goetz ones, though they were still clearing stock of the old Cinq Monde moisturisers :D


C. Lounge
. the lounge is really large, and the food areas follows the LM KUL - it's a separate room closed off in the day by sliding doors
. they serve breakfast from 0630-1030H, tea from 1430-1630H (2 savouries and 2 sweets, very very very small bites), and "dinner"/cocktails from 1730-1930H
. "dinner" food quantity and quality is definitely sufficient for a full meal. There appeared to be just one red and one white, and the usual 5-6 bottles of vodka etc. I hardly drink liquor so I really can't comment
. breakfast looked decent, but I went downstairs. My rate included breakfast and I forgot to ask if Plats get a choice


D. Comparison with LM KUL
. on the whole, LM Putrajaya is like the country cousin, but a modern country cousin. The room and hotel fittings seem less luxurious. The food variety in the lounge and main restaurant seems less, and definitely the liquors. The quality varies, but overall is a little bit less than the LM KUL
. the Signature (standard) Rooms are comparable in size and layout/fittings to the LM KUL. The Gallery suite definitely feels bigger than the LM Suite in KUL but then again it's a second tier upgrade so don't expect that as a norm. The Atlier Suite feels smaller than the LM Suite in KUL but is comparable otherwise

. transport is a bit more of a hassle, but still not difficult. Easy enough for it to be a transit hotel IMO

. the IOI Mall is huge in comparison to NuSentral next to LM KUL. But there isn't much else around there and getting anywhere else may take a while

. rates are pretty good for now - seem to be consistently around 300MYR. LM and Aloft KUL can go sky high at times. The other 300 MYR hotel in KL is the Sheraton and between the two I'd probably pick this

. would I stay again? Sure. But just for a break and for some shopping. Not if I had to do stuff in the city or wanted the variety available in central KL. Admittedly I didn't try to get into the city, but one option would be the 10min ride back to the station, then take the KLIA Transit train into KL Sentral (20mins)

so since my post here in Feb, I've stayed at this hotel ~7 times.

Rates as others have pointed out are around RM300 for standard and RM500 nett for Executive (single).

Lounge has been on a downward slide, currently typing this out at cocktail hour and offering has gone from 2 types of white + red , to single white + red (both Maipo brand), black label to famous grouse whisky ... food offerings is also getting simpler and not up to dinner standards. Ice cream however has gone from 2/3 to 4 flavors :p and draught calsburg is still on offer

one tip for room service : go for the kid burger. I've ordered their regular (RM50++) and the burger off the kids menu (RM18++) ... basically the same size and ingredients. Difference is the kid one comes as 2 separate burgers !

In house restaurants here are quite poor, apart from the main restaurant only 1 other chinese restaurant. Noticed the lobby bar has started to do live entertainment at night, currently have a whole day happy hour deal (RM50 for 2 pints calsburg ... while bottle of wine for RM100?) Food is nothing to shout about, and definitely pales to the F&B at LM KL. Even at breakfast, they rotate the availability of baked beans for certain days ...

IOI Mall is a huge plus for this hotel. Plenty of shops and a Tesco makes this hotel very convenient especially in Putrajaya where everything is very spread out. The only other hotel nearby with a mall is the Everly connected to Alamanda Mall. Hardware wise both hotels are quite similar ... but cleanliness Everly gets 2.5/5 while LM 4/5 for me.

I checked out of this hotel last week and must say that I agree fully with the comments above. Add to that the hotel staff seems to be by and large ignorant (for example no one knew if there was a bus or shuttle service to Putrajaya Central or KTM Serdang, although both operate from the mall basement), no laundry benefit for SPG Plats (unlike the KL Le Meridien) and the food in the lounge is borderline inedible.

Le Meridien Putrajaya
 

Decided to stay at Le Meridien Putrajaya for a quick 2 nights and cancelled the Sheraton Imperial prior to our departure to Langkawi. This Le Meridien looks quite new and it looks as though it is slightly closer to the airport. We are really only there a full day on a Sunday so thought it would be worth a shot. On the way back through we are staying at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur which seems to have great reviews.
Any feedback on this hotel? How is the Platinum Benefits? We are arriving later in the evening on a Saturday and curious if there is anything near walking distance to go for a drink or something other than the hotel? No biggie if there is not as we will be exhausted after hours on end on flights.
We are landing at approximately 8:00 pm. - What are the best options to getting here. Just cab it or can I try GRAB or UBER at the airport? Probably won't be getting to the hotel till I am guessing 10:00 - 10:30?
Any information would be fantastic.

I've stayed in other SPGs in the area (all great experiences), but not this one, so I'll let others respond to your food and hotel questions.

For transfer, yes I'd just call a Grab or Uber. I tend to find Grab has better rates, but a driver told me Uber has a better queue system at KUL (this was 2 months ago and may have changed), so it's often cheaper to Grab but sometimes faster to Uber. I've landed later than you at KUL and didn't have a problem getting a car very quickly.

If you can't find food near the hotel, then the airport may be a good option. KLIA2, in my opinion, has better food options outside security than KLIA1, but the vast majority of legacy and long distance flights land at KLIA1. Hope this helps and enjoy Langkawi -- it's a beautiful place!

we are planning our first stay in January as have been to KL several times previously and wanted somewhere closer to the airport so have done a bit of research. There is a big shopping mall attached to the hotel (or very close) with multiple food outlets, not sure about bars but doubt they will be open when you arrive, also bear in mind malaysia is a Muslim country. I would just grab a normal cab as they are very cheap in malaysia, should take around 20 minutes that’s of night. There is a very good Chinese restaurant at the hotel.

I know of 3 choices for a drink around 10pm , the hotel lobby bar, Morganfields and Buddies . The latter 2 are in the al fresco part of the mall, about a minute walk from the hotel's front door. Price wise I would think they would be similar since the hotel has been doing a "whole day happy hour" so around RM30 a pint. If you reach earlier, there is a Tesco supermarket in the mall which does stock alcohol (not to be taken for granted in Putrajaya).

Best option for transport from KLIA would be the airport limo. It's coupon based which is bought from designated counters, just remember to ask for a Budget car ...it'll cost around RM75 (Similar to Grab), while Uber is around RM50? But it's hard getting a Grab or Uber to bring you to Putrajaya and you may get drivers asking you to cancel the booking etc. Just don't take the metered taxi's ... these also require a RM2 coupon.

Great!! Excellent information! I will have to give kudos to the Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur on the customer service part. I received a PM from them as well with some excellent information and really a welcoming gesture prior to even arriving there. Really looking forward to our trip - it looks like a quick stay at Le Meridien Putrajaya; Westin Lankgawi; Andaman and then the Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur to finish our trip up! Can't wait!!

Great 1-Night Stay
 

Introduction I recently had a great 1-night stay here during a long layover at KUL that we wished had been longer. My ambassador had a hand in the great treatment we received, but the hotel staff nonetheless contributed and executed perfectly to make it a short but memorable stay. We checked in at around 4pm and were allowed to check out the next day at 6pm. We were also allowed to stay in the Club Lounge on the second evening until we took the taxi at 7:30pm, so we had happy hour twice for a 1-night stay, which was quite generous. Location In terms of location LM Putrajaya is connected to a large shopping mall which is convenient. The hotel is closer than LM Kuala Lumpur to the airport, but probably less convenient to get there. We took the KLIA Transit to Putrajaya station, and then you need to take a taxi to the hotel which will cost a bit under 20 MYR plus tip. Total travel time is probably similar to taking the KLIA Ekspres straight to LM Kuala Lumpur although the total distance is greater. I have stayed in the city before so I wanted to try a new property in order to compare, and to mix things up. Dining Some in this thread mentioned that the Club Lounge has gone downhill recently. Personally I found the evening offerings to be quite nice and more than enough for a dinner. Also the reported downgrade of wine from 2 whites 2 reds to 1 white 1 red seems to have been undone. There were 2 of each when I was there. The lounge is very spacious and was not crowded at all. There is a noodle soup station, several desserts including choice of ice cream, there is a good choice of sushis, two hot dishes (in addition to soup), and several cold appetizers plus salad. Breakfast in the lounge was adequate as well and I was pleased with the choice. Room I booked the standard room for a rock-bottom 2k starpoints. This property is cat 1 but unfortunately is going up to cat 2 next month. At this level it was a steal and I think even as cat 2 it’s still a good deal on points. Several platinums in this thread reported an upgraded to the Atelier Suite. Perhaps due to my Ambassador prepping the hotel, I received an upgrade to the Meridien Suite, which is a couple of categories higher. The room was very large and modern. Even the powder room is so big that it seems quite empty. The main bathroom has a nice stand-alone shower in addition to a large bath which was pre-filled with warm water, bubbles, and flower petals right before our arrival. The water was still warm when we arrived at the hotel so they obviously timed our arrival perfectly. The living room has a large sitting area and behind it there is a dining table. The computer / working desk is in the bedroom. With over 120 square meters, nothing is cramped at all. Overall To be honest, I do not have anything negative to say about this property, perhaps because the hotel staff went above and beyond to please us for a special occasion. But at the very least, it shows they care and try to take care of guests. If you want to visit KL city center, the location of LM Putrajaya might not be ideal, but if you need to be in Putrajaya then this property should be a no brainer in my humble opinion especially if you book on points and Platinums can expect generous upgrades.