Ver Jaina

My last visit to KK was in October but i didnt stay here. My last stay at this property is at the end of May. I choose newer Vista rooms instead of the typical upgrade to suite becoz it's old.

I passed by the hotel in October and it looks like they're renovating floor 8-9. Not sure about now but i believe the club level will be renovated very soon.
Lounge was quite good but not up to LM KL standards. Only light bites & standard booze offered. I tried the Hyatt lounge & it was actually way better in terms of food offering variety & taste...lol.

wantan

thanks ! typing this from the Hyatt lounge now. Hot food offering is pretty good, with chicken curry, wings, beef stew, naan, spaghetti and tomato soup. Also Cheese, Salad, 2 x "sushi" and a good spread of (only baked) desserts.

Rates when I booked (yesterday) were ~RM750 for LM Club Room vs ~RM830 for Hyatt Club room.

Will post a review on the Hyatt thread once I've check out.

Ver Jaina

Wow that was actually quite overpaid for KK! Damn...you can be off to Shangri La for that price. I hope you have a very good stay in both properties.
I did feel guilty because for Hyatt i got very good corp rates, only RM265 per night in base room. Plus DSU, my 5 nights stay in October was a bargain!

Kelju

Have been enjoying a very pleasant stay at this property.

They are renovating floors 10&11 right now. No singnificant noise to my room on 8th floor. Refurbished rooms are spacious and fresh. However minor details, only one closet to unpack your stuff with basically no shelf space, problems with safetybox etc. Otherwise nice views to south china sea and comfortable bed. By the way, no MAGC anymore at this property (asked from reception) 👎

Lounge is big with spacious layout and propably the best views from the city to watch sunset. Offerings are quite limited, but ok to my taste. Couple of warm options and then some basic finger foods. Wine/beer/spirits available at 5-7pm. Staff attentive and warm.

Pool area ok for a city hotel. Reasonably priced pool bar. Gets easily crowded on afternoons since there are only around 20-30 sunbeds. Sun starts to shine to the pool only after the midday. Also nice gym at the pool level.

Breakfast at the steet level ok, thought a bit crowded. Lots of asian dishes but also egg stadion and western flavours. Bread selection bit blah, with only toast and some other strange breads. No baguette etc.

Location great. You can walk almost anywhere in the city easily. Lot's of restaurants and bars at the pier on the waterfront. Easy to catch a boat infront infront of hotel to one of islands. ^

wolf72

Hotel rates have been high the past 2 months as it's peak tourism season in Kinabalu. Rates at Hyatt and Le Meridian have been nothing short of RM750 upwards.

With Hilton opening it's doors last week, that's three 4/5 star hotels now in downtown Kinabalu.

Will be interesting to see their rates off peak season.

margarita girl

I updated the wiki with more renovation work. Does anyone know if there is a lounge at all now? I have a stay planned for July.

travellermatt

Just checked out today. Renovations on going but really didn't notice anything affecting our 3 day stay. All going on up on roof. I'm spg platinum. There were signs for a lounge, but didn't go there so can't confirm availability. Spg plat gets 2 free breakfast which was plentiful, plus evening drinks 6-7. Drinks are unlimited refills... Got through a fair amount of Johnny walker in my 3 sessions! Spg plat evening 'snacks' were the best I've seen. Basically a full buffet.. starters, mains and desserts! Didn't even have dinner one night, just used the buffet! Also get 20% off all food and drinks at the bars and pool bar. Have to remind the server though.

margarita girl

Great update. Thanks! So where are the drinks and evening snacks served? Makes me think the lounge might be closed if they have such generous offerings in the bar/restaurant.

littlevoices

I've just returned from a 3 night stay at the hotel. Reconstruction is still underway and doesn't look likely to finish anytime soon (most of the hotel is covered in scaffolding at the lower and top levels), as such the December 2018 timeline seems unlikely considering it is almost October. However the rooms (at least mine on the 8th floor) and the main reception appear to have been refurbished.

My overall experience was fairly 'meh':

• I tried an SNA to an ocean view suite, it wasn't accepted but the hotel upgraded me to a 'normal' suite with a fairly boring view at the back of the hotel. The suite was large, but had lots of empty space (it consisted of one bedroom, a large corridor and a living room with a tv/sofa and dining table for 4 and 1.5 bathrooms). We had a welcome gift of 4 pots of nibbles and personal note.
• As there is no lounge platinum members currently get free breakfast and a drinks/nibbles session from 6-7pm in the hotel's pool bar. This has stunning views of the sun setting, however I wasn't hugely impressed as an alternative to a full Asian lounge. Staff are very nice but the drinks on offer were basic (beer, red/white wine, some spirits, or a lot of teas/soft drinks). Food would be considered good by US standards, but in comparison to most Asian competition was fairly limited (a table of salads, rotating 3 hot dishes and then some deserts appeared on all nights, with cheese/fruits as standard). I enjoyed it, and it is better than nothing, but the short hours were less appreciated. Having said that, on my first night I had just gone at 5pm anyway, ordered a few cocktails at happy hour pricing, and the bar staff didn't add it to my bill to say "sorry" for not starting at 5pm, so that was appreciated and unexpected. The snacks were served inside at the bar (later became a casual restaurant with a seafood dinner and chefs), with seating either inside in the AirCon or outside near the pool with a view
• Location is however excellent, right next to the night market and within easy walking distance of KK's town centre and historical monuments, such as they are. Grab taxis were an incredibly cheap way to get around town as well (about 3 USD to/from the airport for example, which is a 'far' trip). Breakfast was also a nice spread, with a good level of variety and Malaysian focused dishes. There wasn't a huge amount of rotation and the area was very busy between 8-10am, but no better or worse than any other 4* hotel in the region (no bacon though).

Next time I am in town I'll try the Marriott to see how it compares, since it is newer, but with a less convenient location. Basically there is nothing wrong with the hotel, but it didn't wow me either. I am still not certain what the Le Meridian brand stands for, being relatively new to SPG after the Marriott takeover.

chad75

I've been a fan of Le Meridien for a while and it is definitely my favourite mid range chain - but this hotel is really below average.

Of course it will vary depending on what work is being done at a given time but I'm currently at the hotel and the construction noise in my room on the tenth floor is actually overwhelming. We're talking constant jackhammering and drilling that reverberates through the room. Attempts to shift rooms were unsuccessful with the one option being a room category less than the one I paid for.

It may depend on the season but this hotel is primarily a tour group hotel. Breakfast is a shambles with a lot of Mainland Chinese tourists and the cultural differences that brings.

Was given a one level upgrade to an Executive Room - which is a typical Le Meridien room so no complaints there. The room is actually very large and would be classified as a Junior Suite in many hotels. However it still has just the standard furniture as the smaller rooms so feels a bit off as it is just a mass of empty space between the bed and seating area. It is located in the circular section of the hotel so has a bank of curved windows that maximise the view so full marks for that (although the windows really need cleaning - as does the bathroom).

The room is fully renovated, appears to be a project taking years so won't say it's rushed but plenty of shoddy workmanship on display. Doesn't effect the stay but it's hard not to notice little things like it appears the carpet wasn't cut and measured correctly so is half an inch or so too wide and is already lifting. Hopefully they keep up the R & M budget. I'd also say zero chance of the construction being finished by December.

Staff are quite friendly so a plus there. Normally I'd give this hotel a three out of five rating but with the noise more like 1.5 out of 5. Despite being a cheapskate I'm pretty much going to wear the loss/cost of the remaining three nights of my prepaid stay and move to another hotel.

chad75

SHLTP

I am shocked they won't give you compensation let alone cancel the pre-paid rates and return your money. Perhaps ask if they can move you for same cost to sister property. I have been offered that in similar situations

chad75

Not an issue after it went further up the food chain.

Thunderroad

A few questions in anticipation of a possible vacation visit by my wife and myself in December:

1. Any recent stays/reviews of this hotel now that the "transformation" work referenced in the wiki is complete (or perhaps nearly so)?
2. I need to do more research on my own, but is KK worth visiting for someone not there on business?
3. Experience with Platinum perks (e.g., upgrades, breakfasts, etc.)?
4. Any sense of how it compares with the new Marriott in KK?
5. If we do visit KK, it would be in connection with a trip that also include's Marriott's Mulu property. I realize that December is at or near the height of the rainy season in Borneo. Are KK and Borneo generally worth visiting then?

Hawwk

Does anybody have a current email address for this hotel? I tried reaching out to them via the email in the wiki but didn't receive a reply.