puchong

For my next stay in KL, the Renaissance & Sheraton Imperial both have similar rates. I know that both hotels are faded and well past their prime, but between these two hotels which one would you choose? Where are Plats treated better?

Would have like to try out the Majestic, but for my dates their rates are much higher. Also, should I consider the Stripes at all?

helvetic

I would recommend against the Ren. I stayed here and was not impressed. Can't imagine the Sheraton would be significantly worse.

ftrichard

As I noted in the Sheraton's Master Thread, they've just finished a refurbishment that they evidently consider to be so astoundingly game-changing that they've convinced TripAdvisor to delete each and every one of the reviews and scores from before mid-February this year. There were 13 reviews this morning all dated from mid-February onwards so there's an archive comprising several hundred years of reviews for this ancient hotel erased from history now.

Given that (a) this is the same hotel, (b) the staff are the same, (c) apparently the bathrooms weren't refurbished and are still the same marble slip-traps, (d) apparently neither were the lobby areas, and (e) hotels are refurbished all the time to varying degrees, I'd be fascinated to see if this brand spanking new Sheraton Imperial is really a transformative experience that justifies the culling of reviews.

Perhaps you could take one for the team, stay there and let us all know.

puchong

Honestly, I was very tempted to do so. However, I opted for the Element instead; the area around the hotel does not have much 'character' but the hotel itself is new and nice, although the staff is pretty inexperienced. Frankly, reading about the pseudo renovations at the Sheraton, I was less inclined to make a guinea pig of myself.

BTW, today's Sunday (New Straits) Times has a full page advertorial about the Sheraton's 'upgrades' - mainly society snaps than anything useful though.

barracuda93

Stripes has great team, awesome rooms and cool view from the roof pool area in the evening. However, their lounge is a joke and they do not have Suites.
Ren has very solid lounge offerings (the best I have seen at its price point) and a bit better location. Rooms and suites are nice, though nothing special.

If the rate is identical, I would definitely pick Ren among the three.

hockeyinsider

For what it's worth, YTL owns and manages The Majestic Hotel, Autograph Collection; the J.W. Marriott; The Ritz-Carlton; and Hotel Stripes, Autograph Collection. YTL generally does a good job -- they have their own hotel school for employees -- although there are exceptions.

Hotel Majestic is 5 stars, for sure. Most people have, however, reported Hotel Stripes needs improvement, especially in the lounge. Those same complaints were also my experience at The Glasshouse, Autograph Collection, another property YTL owns and manages in Edinburgh, Scotland. So despite all three being Autograph Collection there was a noticeable difference, both in terms of amenities and service.

The Renaissance is managed by Marriott.

I don't know about the Sheraton, Westin and other current or pending Marriott-flagged properties in Kuala Lumpur.

Regardless, you can get a really good value in Kuala Lumpur compared to Singapore or Hong Kong. I think only the Ritz-Carlton is priced high. I'd rather stay at the J.W. Marriott, which is attached to the Ritz-Carlton through a shopping mall, and get both breakfast and lounge access than pay the premium for the Ritz-Carlton and get nothing.

lost_in_translation

Stayed at the St. Regis and JWM this week in KL, will provide a bit of a fuller write up on each but in short: St. Regis - was shocked how good this place was, JWM - mediocre at best.

St. Regis first - wonderful staff at check-in, pre-upgraded to a St. Regis Suite with a lovely view over to Petronas Towers. Surprised how much I like the decor, looking at photos online before staying I thought it all looked a bit tacky but in person it works much better, quality of finish also much better than I was expecting and very, very good for a hotel in SE Asia. Service everywhere great, breakfast both peaceful and high quality, food quality throughout high, liked the pool area a lot. Small negative notes would be i) I don’t understand why they installed an LCD screen at the pool blocking the view across to central KL, ii) there isn’t a fully air conditioned walk from KL Sentral and iii) it wasn’t explained to me on check-in that the F&B credit didn’t include alcohol so I was hit with a nice bill for champagne on check out (as much my fault for not checking the T&Cs fully as anything). Overall, can’t wait to go back next week.

lost_in_translation

JWM - started so well, with a great doorman offering to take bags and engaging in conversation to work out if I had status so he could direct me to the lounge for check in rather than into the queue downstairs. Unfortunately, downhill from there. Got to the lounge to be told in a rather panicky way they were having system issues and there were four people in the queue ahead of me, so please have a seat. Unfortunately, this turned into a wait of almost an hour before someone came to check me in. Upgrade was to an executive room despite all other room types being available online (I had assumed perhaps they were waiting for a good room to be available which is what was taking so long, obviously not). Having handed me the key and taken my credit card to authorise they then came back after I had finished setting up the WiFi on my devices to say actually, they were changing my room and took the key back, so I had to do it all again. Got to the room and it was fine, but a fairly strong musty smell as you get at older hotels in the tropics. Bath comically small (smaller than Marriotts in BKK small) but nice shower. Bed firm but very nice pillows. Luggage delivery whilst I was out consisted of dropping the suitcase behind the door rather than attempting to put it in the wardrobe or on the shelf. Turndown service was missed despite me being out all evening.

Wasn’t impressed by the evening lounge spread (basically some fried stuff, raw vegetables and fruit). The bar had some obscurer stuff like curaçao but was missing a simple bottle of gin! Breakfast downstairs was OK, quite a wide selection with a lot of Indian food, but quality not great (e.g. there were about 8 different fruit juices but all I tried were oversweetened and watery, clearly from a quite cheap carton). More than expensive ingredients such as smoked salmon conspicuously absent. Plenty of fruit flies around the honeydew melon.

Lifts painfully slow slow to higher floors, pool area a bit uninspiring. One employee was great (Sara, the hotel really should be trying to keep him) but rest of service was a bit haphazard. Wasn’t asked on check out how my stay was so didn’t give any feedback (I tend to view this as being as much for the hotel’s benefit as mine).

Overall then, a bit mediocre. I’m still to work out what makes a JWM a JWM being from the SPG side. It seems all that differentiates them from a standard Marriott is different toiletries, a bit more marble and higher prices. If you compare what Hilton has done with Conrad to JWM the JWM brand is meaningless. This was a four star hotel absolutely and I’m not sure why it would be priced above the Le Meridien etc. other than the more central location.

CO-PLAT

I've stayed in eleven JWs and KL was definitely the worst.

itravelalot

JW Marriott properties tend on average to be fuller staffed with bellmen, doormen and an actual concierge. They generally have a guest relations team as well. Services typically include services not offered at many Marriott, Sheraton or Renaissance properties like turndown service, shoeshine service, etc. As for toiletries and other amenities, you'll typically find a shaving kit, dental kit, mouthwash, robe, and slippers as standard. If the dental or shaving kits aren't carried in the room they have them. Also, there's typically stationary. Marriott International also nominally manages more JW Marriott properties than it manages Marriott properties, especially internationally.

As for this JW Marriott, the one in Kuala Lumpur, it is managed by the same company that owns and operates the neighboring Ritz-Carlton as well as a couple of Autograph Collection properties. Marriott International doesn't manage it.

gora14

I am taking family to SE Asia and decided to pop into KL. I have a lot of points and booked the JW on points. I am now looking at the receipt and seeing an "extra person fee" of about $50 per night(!). I've checked all the other Bonvoys in KL and all have a similar fee. I'm titanium, so do enjoy the lounges, and am seeing that KL's seem to like to charge for this also, on the order of $50/day pp. It doesn't make any sense to do this as that is practically the cost of a room. If my other daughter joins, it will be more. Can I book two rooms and get lounge access for both? It would be cheaper than sharing a room.

GalaxyChris

Tried JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton and Hotel Stripes Autograph C. end of March / early April

JW Marriott - BRG rate - 1 std room - No upgrade (Marriott apps showing room and suites) - asked about upgrade - Clerk (in the lounge) pretending full book - Food in the lounge so uninspiring that I did not touched it (evening cocktail), when discovering the room, we laughed about the bathtub size.
Hotel Stripes Autograph C. - BRG rate - 2 std room upgraded to studio at check in - nice staff - breakfast just Ok but boring (4 days stay) - nice rooftop pool.
Ritz Carlton - BRG rate with breakfast - 1 std room - Upgraded to suite and get complimentary club access - great staff - great food (breakfast crowded - liked the evening cocktail)

JW Marriott lost me definitively for future stay. I will never come back.

lost_in_translation

That’s fine, but I’m still not any clearer. Marriotts in Asia tend to have basically all those things you’ve just listed as being the JWM brand standard, which is my point! I’m not sure the last time I stayed at a Marriott in Europe that didn’t have all those in room amenities either.

nirmnet

Not sure if it was mentioned before but Le Meridien in KL has an AMAZING club lounge. It has to be the largest and best I have seen to date.
The breakfast is also something special, super vast.
The location is OK although I have heard that it is not the safest at night.

shevboyz

The location around KL sentral is perfectly fine. I have no worry about that at all. Just practice the usual precaution like avoid dark alley similar to anywhere in the world.