bostonbali

Would you recommend visiting this hotel, or KK in general, for a couple looking for a relaxing vacation?

We will be spending 2 weeks in SE Asia. We'll spend the 1st week at the LM Khao Lak, and wanted to spend the 2nd part of the vacation in Malaysia.

Not overly impressed with the Cat4 Westin or the Cat3 Sheraton on Langwaki, so we were considering spending some time at the LM KK, and checking out this area - island hopping, etc.

Is this more of a business hotel, or a vacationing/relaxing type of resort/town?

mario33

A very nice business hotel in a seafront city.

bostonbali

So would you go there for a 5-day relaxing vacation in Malaysia, or would you recommend another beachfront/seaside location?
SPG properties are a bonus, though I would also be happy to use my Hilton or Hyatt points...

GibSpmuh

I quite like Kota Kinabalu personally, and the Le Meridien there as well, but not sure if it'll tick the boxes that you want for a relaxing seaside location. As mentioned by Mario33, it's a business hotel with a seaside location in the city centre. It's not a huge city, but still it's a commercial centre rather than a resort destination.

That being said, there's plenty of activities out and about around the KK area, with some off-shore islands a pleasant enough day trip. There's other day trip activities like the North Borneo Railway or heading up to Mount Kinabalu (though it's an overnight trip if you want to climb to the top unless you're *very* fit!).

There's beaches outside of the city centre, but they're just OK, nothing special - I wouldn't be flying half way around the world for a beach holiday at them anyway . But if you have an interest in some of the other attractions in the area it's a pleasant enough place to take a trip to.

camsean

Unless you were interested in climbing Mount Kinabalu, KK doesn't have all that much to offer, although it is pleasant enough.

I'd recommend Kuching as a better destination. There is much more to do from a tourist perspective.

The Hilton there is very nice, and I've heard a few good reports about the new 4points, although its location is poor. The CP is also pretty good.

MAN Flyer

I would recommend KK for a vacation, but I wouldn't spend 5 nights at LM. There are a number of beach front resorts in KK, including two Shangri-La's which are nice, so I would split the stay. Although the price I paid in one of the Shangri-La's a few weeks ago was double what I was paying a couple of years ago.

The LM is definitely a business hotel, although it does have nice sea view rooms.

Ooh no, I would disagree with this. As a tourist I find KK/Sabah far better than Kuching/Sarawak.

bostonbali

Thanks for the tip. I think KK will be a nice change of scenery for us, especially after we spend 10 days on the Thai beaches (Khao Lak, Phuket).

That being said, we have points with both SPG (Le Meridien) and Hyatt. Would you recommend splitting our stay between the two hotels, or just stick to one (presumably, the LM since it's newer/more strategically located?)

Thanks again for the advice,
Bostonbali

mario33

I prefer KK to Kuching.

Having said that 6 days is probably too long for KK especially if you are staying in the city centre, I would do 3-4 days in KK and 2-3 days in Kuching.

The Hilton in Kuching is very well located but is long overdue for a makeover. The CP next door has apparently been rebranded while the new 4P is near the airport.

Traveling Consultant

I stayed at both the Hyatt and Le Meridien in Fall '07. At the time was Diamond at Hyatt and Platinum at SPG. The Hyatt is acceptable, but it has seen better days. I was upgraded at both hotels, the jr. suites at Le Meridian were miles better than the room I was upgraded to at the Hyatt. Also the executive lounge is not only better in appearance terms (at Le Meridian) but also in regards to the food quality and selection. Le Meridian also had a better location as well. Just my 2 cents...

LarryU

When I last visited KK in 2008, I also split my stays between the Le Meridien and the Hyatt, primarily to maximize my SPG stays as part of a mattress run. Although I rarely stay at Hyatts, for some reason they thought I was a Diamond so I had an opportunity to compare both hotels from an upper level tier point of view, included lounges.

The bottom line is that there is no comparison. The Le Meridien is a far superior property in every sense of the word. They invariably provided me with a top floor corner suite, choice of breakfast in the lounge or in the restaurant and a nice selection of evening munchies and booze that I could enjoy while watching the sun go down over the South China Sea. All staff interactions were extraordinarily pleasant at all times and the location of the hotel was not a problem for me.

I am not much of a beach person and its central location afforded me with an excellent launch point for day trips in the area. The Le Meridien KK is actually one of my favorite SPG properties and the only reason I do not have any plans to return there any time soon is that I have fairly well exhausted most of the tourism opportunities in the area.

camsean

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

I find Kuching a much more interesting city.

my44

OK, too many info to digest. Here's my 2-cent, being a Malaysian and an avid traveler to both Kota Kinabalu & Kuching.

- There are of course +ves and -ves of each city. Kota Kinabalu is endowed with azure-blue ocean but Kuching is the cleanest city in Malaysia

- For tourist-friendly cultural attractions, Kuching wins hands down. For scuba diving 30 minutes from downtown, Kota Kinabalu is no match.

- Le Meridien is quite old, but Hyatt Regency is much, much older. But IMHO, both hotels offer great rooms and services.

- Hilton Kuching is indeed in need of massive renovation.

- Four Points Kuching looks nice but a little out of the way. I'll be a better judge after my planned stay in Aug-09.

OK folks, did I miss anything else?

MAN Flyer

I would agree that 6 days would be too long at LM, but have regularly (well into double figures now) spent that long and longer in the Shangri-La resorts, and used KK as a base to travel around Sabah and Sarawak.

Indeed.



Le Meridien is not old at all, it's only been open about 4 years!.

The Hyatt is of course much older and has been around for years. However I think they are in the process of doing some renovations at the moment as I had a meeting there a few weeks ago with a guy who was staying there and the club lounge was closed for renovation.

mario33

I also do not understand the comment about the LM KK being "old".

I thought the property is reasonably well maintained and feels relatively fresh; the word "old" should be reserved for properties like the (former) LM Singapore or ... the LM Piccadilly London !

larrylim

I stayed at LM KK in Feb this year and it was old to me, e.g. paint peeling, bathroom door dropping, etc.

I also did Kuching in that same trip and IMO, KK has more attractions than Kuching and also easier to get around.

In bostonbali's case, I would recommend going to Langkawi instead. The stay in Westin Langkawi is much better, there are more attractions there and a wider variety of food. You could also take a short trip (via ferry or 20mins flight) to Penang - a UNESCO heritage city.