mario33

While I do not doubt your observations (eventhough I have not seen the level of wear close to what you have described), a hotel does not feel "old" simply by zooming in on one or two isolated defects.

Maybe I have very low expectations but the carpets are generally in good conditions, the bathroom marbles still gleaming, the wallpapers intact etc etc Only area where I find some wear is the wooden floor at the dressing area outside the bathroom (for the suites).

As I have said before, if you find this hotel "old" you should try the Le Meridien Piccadilly

bostonbali

Thanks for the advice and recommendation. We'll have 15 days in SE Asia. We'll spend the first 4 on Phuket (Hilton Acadia) and the next five at the LM Khao Lak. Therefore, we felt that Langkawi would be similar to what we've just experienced, and perhaps KK or Kuching would allow us to see something different while still being able to lounge by a pool/beach.

Not to mention that the LM KK is only a Cat 1 while the Westin Langkawi is a Cat 4...

Still trying to decide between KK and Kuching for a 5-day stay, but then again, we have plenty of time to decide before our Xmas 2009 trip.

Where would you rather spend New Year's Eve - KK or Kuching? Where would there be more tourist-friendly spots to celebrate NYE?

MAN Flyer

I was there about 3 weeks ago and I also don't get this 'old' comment. Less than top end luxury you may find at other Hotels (including LM's) ? Of course. But it's only a CAT1, so what do you expect ?. As I said, it's only 4 years 'old'.

That's not as bad as the old LM Singapore.

That's a no brainer for me, KK, although you'd be better off in a resort on NYE. A lot of locals head down to Tanjung Aru beach on NYE, which is where one of the Shangri-La's is located.

I accept people may well like Kuching better (for reasons I can't fathom myself ) but if you are looking for what has the bigger tourist-friendly areas then there is no comparison, and comparing the tourist accomodation options tells its own own story.

KK has 2 x Shangri-La Resorts, the 2 x Sutera Resorts (Pacific and Magellan) and the Nexus Resort at Karumbanai. Kuching has got a tired Hilton and a Four Points near the airport.

estnet

Can anyone give idea if free internet for plat either in room or in lounge? Also is Nov. good time for snorkeling, diving? Who are recommended companies?

mario33

Yes its free in the lounge with 3 PCs, but make sure you put on your winter wear since that section of the lounge is usually freezing cold.

I have not brought my laptop to KK, but I remember it as being complimentary in the suites/club floor rooms. I would imagine theres free wifi in the lounge as well, but honestly I dont remember seeing any guest with a notebook up there (its usually very quiet in the lounge)

camsean

A 'tired' Hilton that gets very positive feedabck generally, and a HI and a Crowne Plaza.

jaejaez

I read from TA that there are a series of small islands nearby LM KK great for daytrips. Any experiences to share from anyone?

Just googled some photos of Manukan Island & the Gayana Island (both within 20 mins from KK by speedboat) and both look fab! I wonder if there are accomodations in these nearby Islands for an over-night stay?

Any insights would be much appreciated!

mario33

The islands are "pleasant" but not pristine. There are basic accomodations on some of the islands; I had a peek at the rooms and it looked decent enough but I cant remember which island it was.

MAN Flyer

The islands are nice for a day trip, but I personally wouldn't bother staying overnight.

estnet

Manukan (as well as 2 other islands) are served by ferry's from the pier (about 4 USD rt from multiple vendors more if u want to pay for your own boat). There is a fee (small) for entry to the island. There are 2 other small islands (forgot their names) which are about 5 or 10 minutes from Manukan (which is the only one with overnight accom.) but it looks pretty primitive and I wouldn't stay there as it is very expensive and pretty uninteresting compared to staying in town.
The other 2 islands served by the day ferry's have not been recommended by people I have met. One b/c the fish bite a lot (which is partly a problem of selling bread to feed them which is also true at Man. but hasn't seemed to cause as much biting), and the other b/c it just wasn't interesting. If u do decide to visit more than one island keep the voucher u get for paying the entry (park) fee b/c it is good for all 3 islands on the same day.

There are some other resort(s) which are private and not served by the day ferry, but I haven't been and can't comment.

If u go to KK don't miss the fish market which is set up each night, loads of fresh fish, produce, etc for sale. But since you're unlikely to want to cook you'll be interested in the various food stalls selling all sorts of interesting food and multiple stalls selling grilled fish of various sorts including HUGE shrimp. You can get the same thing in a restaurant nearby, prepared to order, but at a much higher cost.

Condition One

I'm finishing up a stay here, and am quite impressed. Prior to check-in, I saw that I was upgraded to a Club Suite. When I arrived, I was sent to the Executive Lounge on the 12th floor to check in. I was told that my suite wasn't available, but was given a corner room to use in the meantime. The xx18 room was a decent size on the far left side of the hotel, with a spectacular view of the ocean. Seeing that all the suites faced the city, I opted to just stay in the corner room.

Things were great until 1am, when I was dreaming that I was back in the college dorms and some idiot above me was playing loud music with a thumping beat. I woke up, and realized that the bass was coming from this restaurant/plaza about a block and a half down the street. At 2am, the music still hadn't stopped, so I threw on my clothes, went downstairs and requested my suite. I have a boring view now, but at least I can sleep.

Both of my rooms were in excellent shape. Nothing worn or anything that I noticed. The corner room had a standalone shower, but had nowhere to put your soap and shampoo. I ended up putting it on the raised marble ledge that doesn't allow water to seep out of the shower. It wasn't exactly the cleanest place. The corners were downright nasty. Fortunately, the suite has a soap dish. Plenty of free bottled water in each room. The suite had slightly better toiletries. Both rooms may have been Cinq du Mondes, but the toiletries in the suite were larger and packaged better.

All of the staff I interacted with are great, and remembered my name. Breakfast downstairs is probably the most varied I've ever encountered. It was a Western and Asian/Malaysian selection, and was so vast that one couldn't try everything in one go. I tried, but failed. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. The dinner buffet prices are quite reasonable. There's a seafood buffet on Saturdays for RM88++. It was good, but nothing to write home about. All other nights are RM55++, with a decent food selection. Food quality is above average.

As a side note, what's with the signature smoothie shots at LMs? Every one that I've tried over the past 2 years have been foul beyond all description. I don't know why I keep trying them. Maybe because it's free. No more for me; I'll never touch another one of those concoctions again.

The gym is pretty decent, with a great view of the ocean and market activity below. The cardio machines are right next to the window though, so things get warm. The AC in the gym blows air on the weight machines, but the circulation doesn't reach the cardio machines.

There's also a hotel spa that wasn't advertised on the website. A one hour massage is RM150. However, if you exit the hotel lobby, make a left and cross the street, there's a place named Helen's Reflexology (or something like that) where I got a 90 minute massage for RM63. It's a no frills place, with a bunch of massage tables upstairs with privacy curtains. Some guy next to me was snoring away, and another lady yelped periodically. However, you can't beat the price. Foot massages are downstairs. I think a 1 hour body massage plus a 30 minute foot massage was in the ballpark of RM45.

There's an independent tour desk in the lobby where one can book various tours. It's not cheap though. A typical full day tour runs RM300. A private car and driver for 8 hours ran me RM480, but I think I could have saved RM50 had a cheaper car been available. The tour desk takes Mastercard and Visa, but you can't charge tours to your room.

VanMan

Thanks for this...very useful.

TrueBlueFlyer

I can see how this hotel can be viewed as old or dated by western standards but compared to other similar hotels in asia, it wasn't too bad

I guess I was lucky enough to book a room here for under $50 SGD thanks to some Groupon/Hotelclub.com combination. Got a room on the 12th floor as well, it too was a corner room with some view of the three islands in the South China Sea. But the biggest gripe I had about my room it really smelled like smoke, and I asked for a non-smoking room.


I had a friend show me around Kota Kinabalu and the weirdest thing happened leaving this hotel.... I completely forgot to check out. Luckily they didn't penalize me for it, I finally was able to speak to someone about my mistake once I arrived back in Singapore.

hypermodern

Really late post, but stayed here 1st half of this year.

Booked 3 club rooms for 7 people for 4D/3N. 1 room was upgraded to a suite, extra bed fee was waived, including the breakfast for the 7th person.

Enjoyed the stay. Great recognition by staff. All our rooms (including the suite) had the sea/island view. Requested early on for a non-smoking and connecting rooms.


No status then (just corporate, for a non-corporate rate and stay)


Nothing much to do in Kota Kinabalu. Tried island hopping, went to local clubs (Bed and the one in Hyatt), but mostly, enjoyed the hotel.

starpoint_galaxy

Just stayed here for four nights.

Honestly, the property is a better fit to be branded as a Sheraton than a LM. It is appropriately a SW Category 2 property; and exceeded expectations of a Cat 2 SW property.

Just a few notes:

- No turn down service.
- Club Lounge was nice for a Cat 2 property.
- Property seems "dated", for example, oldish style carpet, furniture, etc.
- Seems like a Cat 2 Sheraton, not a LM (should be rebranded, IMHO).
- Staff exceeded expectations for a Cat 2 property.
- Internet in room painfully slow most of the time.

Would not hesitate to stay here again if in Kota Kinabalu. Did not meet my expectations of a LM (new, fresh, young, progressive, vibrant, unique); but exceeded my expectations for a Cat 2 property in Sabah. Well done!