hockeyinsider

That's what makes choosing between the Renaissance and the J.W. Marriott a difficult decision.

In my opinion, the food in the lounge at the Renaissance was more consistent. For example, there was always a Ceasar salad option. However, I think the food at the J.W. Marriott was of a higher quality. Also, the J.W. Marriott had a chef every night who served hot food and would make anything you want, if you had special requests, dietary restrictions or so forth.

On the other hand, the drinks were more substantial at the J.W. Marriott, not only because the open bar was longer but also because they had sparkling wine. The lounge staff at the Renaissance never let my glass go empty and they even gave me the bottle of wine to finish when the complimentary drinks ended. I did, however, like the sparkling wine at the J.W. Marriott.

The Renaissance, however, in my opinion, has a better lounge if only because the east tower lounge is spread across two floors and has natural light -- to say nothing of an excellent view of the Twin Towers. The J.W. Marriott lounge can be crowded. Plus, it has zero natural lighting. It can be kind of dark and depressing.

Service wise, the J.W. Marriott is a notch or two more upscale and luxurious. That's for sure. I had repeated issues with housekeeping at the Renaissance. Some days you would get all the toiletries but no face towels. Other days you would get face towels and no toiletries. This didn't seem isolated to me as Trip Advisor and other reports seem to indicate it is a reoccurring problem. The J.W. Marriott pool was closed for renovation so guests could use the Ritz-Carlton pool, which was pathetic. The Ritz-Carlton ties the J.W. Marriott Marquis in Miami and the Renaissance in San Diego (now the Hotel Republic, Autograph Collection) for having the worst rooftop pool. The Renaissance has an amazing pool -- supposedly the biggest in Kuala Lumpur.

At both the J.W. Marriott and Renaissance you can have breakfast in the restaurant in lieu of the lounges. The J.W. Marriott restaurant is in the basement and is a complete zoo. The Renaissance restaurant in the east tower lobby (the restaurant in the west tower wasn't consistently open for breakfast when I stayed) could also be busy. In my opinion, both breakfast buffets at each hotel were a little basic and not that high of quality. For example, no Greek yogurt. The coffee was pretty industrial, too. The selection was good just not high quality. I'd rather have quality over quantity.

Ultimately, it would come down to price, I think. The Majestic is probably in the best location for anyone who wants to walk around and see the sights of historical Kuala Lumpur, although Uber is so cheap in Malaysia that you go just about anywhere with Uber X for under $5-6. There are lots of malls, brand name stores, restaurants and other nightlife within walking distance of the J.W Marriott. The Renaissance felt a little more isolated, if only because it was basically a 10-minute walk to the shopping mall at the Twin Towers for any stores or restaurants.

barracuda93

I have 2 LNF approved for the same date, for RC and JW, and both are about 400+ MYR plus taxes. I tend to go for RC, since the only good thing about JW there is a sparkling wine (I do hope RC lounge has it), other than that it seems rather uninspiring.

Majestic looks great on photos. Not sure of drinks and foods in its lounge though.
I am actually very surprised to hear its location is good. I was sure it's in a middle of nowhere and the only positive point is that it's barely walkable to Central.
If I go for it, which wing to choose? Modern one seems to have better rooms and better views, but I don't know whether that matches reality.

hockeyinsider

What's LNF?

I don't think the Ritz-Carlton is worth the premium over the J.W. Marriott, especially given that the club lounge at the Ritz-Carlton isn't complimentary for elite status guests. My colleague stayed at the Ritz-Carlton while I was at the J.W. Marriott. He said the rooms are exactly the same. The general manager seems to manage both properties, as when an issue arose at my stay he had to come over from the Ritz-Carlton, which is attached to the J.W. Marriott through a high-end shopping mall.

I stayed one night at The Majestic so I could mark it off my bucket list. It was OK, but I can see why it so cheap compared to the other Marriott portfolio hotels in Kuala Lumpur. I thought parts of the old wing were shabby chic, some might even say run down. Yes, parts of the hotel are an older building but that doesn't mean bathroom tile can't be re-grouted, walls can't be stripped of old paint and repainted, and so forth. The exterior of the building by the rooftop pool in the new wing needed a good power wash/new paint job. Staff was pretty good, though. I also appreciated the little things like hotel stationary with the hotel's name on it. You could walk from The Majestic to the colonial-era buildings of Kuala Lumpur as well as the fabulous park, which is really popular with runners, walkers and joggers at daybreak.

barracuda93

"Look No Further", a way Marriott labels BRG.

Thanks for review of Majestic.
Besides, Stripes is even cheaper, but I really liked it. Everything apart from Club lounge there was awesome.

hockeyinsider

You would get a much better value at the J.W. Marriott or Renaissance than the Stripes, especially now that renovations are almost complete at both of those properties. The lounge (and free alcohol) alone is worth $100 a day. I really liked Malaysia and would go back. So much cheaper than Singapore but a similar experience, probably like what Singapore was like 30 years ago.

barracuda93

Did you misspell JW rate? 220 MYR???

Srisarin

barracuda93

Not about ringgit of course. 220! JW has lowest rates around 700+ MYR and via BRG rate I got it around 460 MYR. 220 MYR sounds absolutely unbelievable, even with BRG.

Srisarin

quant88

The thread is 15 years old. Rates may have changed a lot..

crfgon

Can anyone here confirm what is offered in the Business Center of the JW Kuala Lumpur? Or, if there is a meeting room within the Executive Lounge at the JW? I will be staying there, and on my second night I will have to make an online conference video call at 2 AM (Kuala Lumpur time, 10AM Chicago time). I can provide my own computer and equipment, but I do need a quiet and private space, as I cannot use my hotel room since my family will be asleep by then.

If this is the wrong thread, then I apologize.
Any answers are sincerely appreciated!

crfgon

Srisarin

broadwayboy

I recently stayed at JW Marriott KL. This is my first stay at a Marriott property in years. As a Plat (from SPG), I was upgraded to a corner King (referred as Studio Suite). It is slightly larger than a deluxe room and it has a dining table for 4 (with furniture that looked like left-overs from pre-renovated rooms). Since I reserved a twin-bedded room, I asked for a rollaway. They didn't have any. They offered to place sheets and pillow on the sofa - except that the sofa is rock hard. The mattress is very firm as well, similar to many mattresses at Hyatt chains and in hotels in China. The walk-in shower with a tub has fabulous water pressure. Bath amenity is by Aromatherapy Associates. Lounge offering at night can substitute for dinner for most people. 2 lifts are currently OOO, so there was a bit of a wait for elevator. Breakfast at Shook was alright. There was a minor communication problem between Concierge and Exec Lounge Reception Staff that almost made me scream, but in the end, it all worked out.

hockeyinsider

You didn't invoke the guarantee for bed type? As I understand it, only the nonsmoking preference isn't applicable internationally.

As for Shook, it was kind of a zoo and I didn't think the quality was any better than the executive lounge breakfast, which was fairly comprehensive and had a chef there to make eggs or whatever you wanted.

Srisarin