Dendrite

I find this hotel has lost the warm touch. Staff are efficient, but will not make effort to smile, greet and make you feel welcome.

werldporks

+1 i've stayed maybe 150 nights at that property over the past 3 years .
it's died the death of a thousand cuts as far as i'm concerned I'll not bore you all with the list of all the little things they used to do/have and have been eroded by penny-pinching shortsightedness over that period but we've (reluctantly) given up on the place.
lamer idian .

kevino

werldporks, if they don't take care of you to your satisfaction after so many nights there, it doesn't bode well for the rest of us. I will still stay there if the price is right since it's convenient, but I will lower my expectations. Thanks.

LarryU

I have stayed at this property a half dozen or so times since 2007 and I have never found them to be especially warm and friendly. This was in marked contrast to the staff I encountered at the Sheraton, Westin and the neighboring Hilton, all of whom have been very pleasant to deal with.

I am planning to be in Kuala Lumpur for about six nights in late January and was waiting for all of the 2010 rates to be loaded before making reservations. Given your recent reports about this property, I guess that will help me to narrow down my choices.

my44

Interesting. The previous 5 posts summarized my latest experience to a T!

Here are my posts from other threads:

Service without a smile? Check.
Crappy club lounge? Check.
Unable to honour reservation made for official 3pm check-in? Check.
Still unable to get SPG preference correctly after 'x' number of stays? Check

My stays in January will go someplace else.

VanMan

Wow, what happened?

I had lots of excellent stays this year, marred only by some strange upgrade shenanigans late in the year, see this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...idien-kul.html

I'm not ready to give up on this hotel...yet.

mario33

My latest stay was a few months back and I was very satisfied with the level of service in the lounge. My non-smoking suite (upgraded without asking) did have a slight hint of cigarette smell and the lounge staff took immediate action to rectify the situation and later followed up to ensure everything was satisfactory. One of the lounge agent went further, and on her own initiative offered me a bottle of wine as token of apology.

While I agree the food offering in the evening is rather limitted, I cannot fault the lounge in terms of design or atmosphere. Sure its not as nice as the Hilton's lounge next door, but its definitely much more pleasant than the lounge at Sheraton Imperial or the Westin.

Another positive move by the management was the extension of non-smoking zone to include both sections of Le Royal Lounge and also at the main restaurant Latest Recipe (alright they implemented it a while back); such initiative is very rare in the third world and credit has to be given to the GM who implemented this bold move ^

mario33

Am I guessing correctly the poster is a newly minted Platinum ... with slightly unrealistic expectations

my44

OK no suite upgrade but no excuse of not being able to provide a REGULAR room at 3pm. It's not like I just walked in and suddenly begging for a room.

Put it this way, at other hotels, even Gold status was provided with a clear handout of what benefit one should entail.

I think the way you are chiding me is unacceptable. Sorry, that's how I feel. So if a 100-year-old SPG Platinum voices his/her opinion, then it's OK? The fact that you had a "nice experience" some "few months ago" does not mean everyone else will encounter the same thing. Other posters also mentioned about overall deterioration of the hotel. How is that not being informed about a room is ready after waiting for an hour is high expectation? That's just basic customer service, whether it is at the lounge or down below.

Geez.

mario33

Room not ready at check-in time is not unusual, and I cant remember the last time a hotel has given me a print-out outlining the privileges without me prompting them (though it used to be pretty consistent before)

Adjust your expectations. If such things bother you so much, you will have a rough time ahead

mario33

If you were upgraded to a Premier Club room (as you have posted), its hardly a REGULAR room.

schley

This thread is why I choose the Sheraton Imperial KL. I'll be there for 2 nights on a cash and points stay.

my44

Good choice. Either that or The Westin. I'm sure it won't be any worse than Le Meridien.

stimpy

FWIW I have stayed at the LM many times since it opened and always received great service. As for the Club, sometimes the staff is busy and can't give you super personal service. You have to deal with that at any hotel. Often when I arrive, one of the girls in the lobby recognizes me and escorts me to the Club. ^

mario33

Yes, choose the Sheraton Imperial (or Westin) for better location and more comfortable rooms.

However if you are after a better lounge experience or service, you will be very disappointed. I also do not believe the poster who has made the harsh remarks on LM has actually used the lounge at SI or Westin.

As for Platinum benefits, do note that the LM comp internet in suites (and I presume club rooms) and you have the option of breakfast in the main restaurant. The Westin allow breakfast in the main restaurant but no comp internet in the room, while the SI breakfast is restricted to the lounge and no comp internet in room.