mario33

This hotel was already a Le Meridien before LM decided to be a W.
Actually it was already a LM before LM became part of Starwood.

I think you would find majority of LM to be similar to Sheraton / Westin rather than W.

starpoint_galaxy

I did not mention W in my post and frankly don't thinking mentioning W in this thread is relevant at all.

This property, which I am in right now, reminds me of a Sheraton. There is nothing LM about it, except for the SoundScape in the elevator. Other than that, it looks like a Sheraton.

... and having slept in SW properties about 200 nights in 2011.. I do have something to compare too....

This property is not like any LM I stayed in in 2011. It is like many Sheratons I have stayed in; as mentioned, W is not relevant in this discussion, IMHO.

yosithezet

You mentioned fresh, young, vibrant, unique. This is where newer LMs like the newer one in BKK are similar to Ws. It blurs the line a bit. Most LMs are older and not really like that. Most Ws are like that.

mario33

...... which is more reason for you to know that majority of LM are not W-ish ( or as you put it "new, fresh, young, progressive, vibrant, unique" )

The original concept of LMs is one of French - European flair, until Starwood took over the brand and tried to change the concept with it's hip & modern styling. Based on my substantially less than "200 nights/yr" stays at Starwood hotels (but stretching over several years), I would say more than 2/3 of LM are of either the old school type or contemporary modern (eg Westin or somewhere between Westin and Sheraton).

StationaryTraveller

Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu

Stay Period - 2010.7.19 ~ 2010.7.28
Room - Classic Seaview

- Bad room condition & Not a good Linen
- LCD TV is very small
- Platinum Benefit is a breakfast and Happy Hour (Happy Hour is good) ^
- Dinner buffet is not much taste
- Hotel location is good
- A lot of group tours come
- Takes 10 minutes from the airport to the hotel by taxi is 30 MYR
- Starwood Privilege Card (F&B card) is available ^

Starwood Privilege Card
The fee varies by country. Valid for 1 year


Approximately 100 photos and the reviews written in Korean
To see the reviews you need a very fast internet speeds

Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu - Classic Seaview

acnev

Stayed here last month - 2 night stay. As a plat was upgraded to a suite (xx19) facing the sea and overlooking the night market that sets up right in front of the hotel. Room was large as was the bathroom. Was provided a bowl of fruit.

Local amenity was some nice golf T-shirts (men's and women). Since I had booked 2 rooms, they gave me 2 amenities. Lounge was nice with free alcohol in the evenings.

Overall - nice stay - great location.

jpdx

I'm curious about the comments from the beginning of the thread that the hotel is only a few years old. When was it actually built? Surely not 6-7 years ago?

I wouldn't necessarily say that it's in bad shape; sure, there's wear and tear, but you have that anywhere. However, the design has a distinctly 80s feel to me. Were they going for that on purpose?

Apart from that, overall a great stay. Upgraded to xx19 suite, nice club with good evening spread, buffet breakfast in restaurant (could have taken it in club as well), very friendly staff who remembered my name. Great Cat 2 value!

mario33

Apparently it was originally meant to be branded as a Marriott, but that didn't happen and new owner took over and open it as a Le Meridien.

I wouldn't necessarily say the design is outdated, I thought it's more 'European' than 'modern' which were Le Meridien's theme before Starwood took over the brand.

jpdx

'European' in the sense, "Elena Ceausescu would have approved."

In all seriousness, it struck me as a weird design, but there's nothing wrong with the hotel.

angeline77

Hi, acnev. I m going to book 2 rooms. So I wish to know your both room got upgraded to lounge access or you have to book club room?

beachfan

Any updates?

Max Power

I've been staying at the LM in KK for the past 2 weeks (a business trip), I have another 2 weeks to go here.

I'm generally pretty happy with this hotel, by small-town Asia standards, it's very good. I don't think I would choose this hotel if I was coming here for a holiday, because it is right downtown, and there is nothing of interest for a holiday visitor in downtown KK - it's just another small, stinky, crowded little city. If I was coming here for a holiday, I would "for sure" recommend the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru, which is a proper resort hotel located on the edge of town. The LM is a business hotel, not a resort. I think you would have a hard time doing better than the LM here in KK, unless you stay at the above-mentioned resort.

The LM KK is a reasonably new hotel (probably about 8 years old). Very nice rooms, great amenities, very pleasant staff, very nice lobby and restaurants. Others have mentioned the small size flat panel TVs - this is true, they are kind of small, but to me, that's a minor item.

The biggest problem I have at this hotel is dreadfully slow and unreliable internet service - it's almost impossible to do business with it. I'm not sure that is the hotel's fault, though, because internet access is horribly slow throughout the whole town of KK - at my workplace, at other high end hotels, even via cell phone. It's possible that there is no fibre optic cable to this down, and everyone gets the internet via satellite.

If I had to come back to KK for business again, I would not hesitate to once again stay at the LM. But I sure wouldn't come here for a holiday - not due to any fault of the hotel, but simply because downtown KK is just not a holiday destination. It would be like going to downtown Rabbithash, Kansas for a holiday.

Michael

kevino

KK is slightly more interesting than Kansas.

beachfan

My bad, I should have updated since I have been there.

I agree with Max's post overall. I liked KK somewhat more, but I was there for only 3 nights. The museum in town is excellent, with shrunken heads. (I didn't see those in Kansas).

Internet wasn't that bad for me, and lounge was very nice, albeit crowded for the sunset. However, it has an awesome view.

My only complaint is that the windows are sort of small relative to the size of the room so the view, which is amazing from the oceanfront, is somewhat less imposing that it would have been with picture windows.

Great value. Great Platinum treatment.

Max Power

Not by much, especially if you have to spend a month here.

Michael