Thursday, 17 July 2014

Alphaland sells stake in Shangri-La hotel to Malaysia's Kuok Group - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Alphaland sells stake in Shangri-La hotel to Malaysia's Kuok Group - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Alphaland sells stake in Shangri-La hotel to Malaysia's Kuok Group

Posted: 30 Apr 2014 04:17 AM PDT

InterAksyon.com means BUSINESS

MANILA - The property firm of former trade minister Roberto V. Ongpin has sold its entire stake in the Shangri-La at the Fort to the property arm of Malaysia's Kuok Group.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Alphaland Corp said its wholly owned subsidiary completed today a deal to sell its 20 percent interest in the hotel to units of Shang Properties Inc for a cash consideration of P1.7 billion.

The upscale leisure developer's divestment comes at a time when it is faced with difficulties, stemming from its dispute with former controlling shareholder Ashmore Group.

According to Alphaland, the UK-based fund had refused to fund the property developer and had intended to divest but has yet to find a buyer for its stake. Banks had declined to lend money to Alphaland amid uncertainty over the ownership structure of the Philippine firm.

Alphaland last January called for more capital from shareholders, allowing the Ongpin group to wrest control of the property developer.

The PSE has suspended trading of Alphaland shares since January 20 as the bourse evaluates the repercussions of a disclosure related to the alleged simulated sale of the company's shares in 2012 so the firm can maintain its listed status. The bourse is also reviewing the leisure developer's recent issuance of shares pursuant to a property swap and capital call.

Last month, the PSE found Alphaland in violation of its rules for failure to submit full, fair, accurate and timely disclosures of material information. Citing the property firm's repeated violations of disclosures rules, the bourse initiated involuntary delisting procedures over the company and its securities.

Alphaland is entitled to a delisting hearing under the Exchange's Rules on Delisting.

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

THE LARGEST GREEN HOTEL OFFICIALLY OPENS IN MALAYSIA ... - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

THE LARGEST GREEN HOTEL OFFICIALLY OPENS IN MALAYSIA ... - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

THE LARGEST GREEN HOTEL OFFICIALLY OPENS IN MALAYSIA ...

Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:55 AM PDT

Tune Hotels is part of the lifestyle business conglomerate Tune Group that was founded by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun. Tune Hotels seeks to innovate and revolutionise the way services are made available and has employed efficient web-based technologies to reach and engage its customers, presenting a unique lifestyle opportunity. All Tune Hotels' properties high-quality amenities: a five-star bed, powerful hot showers and energy-conserving ceiling fans along with housekeeping services, electronic keycard access into rooms, CCTV surveillance, and 24-hour security. The Tune Group companies are Tune Air (a substantial shareholder of AirAsia), Tune Hotels, Tune Money, Tune Insurance, Tune Talk, the AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme, Tune Box, Tune Studios, Caterham Group, Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR) and the Epsom College in Malaysia.

In Malaysia, the BEI benchmark for similar performance rating is at 200KWH/m2/yr for 'up to 3-star' hotels and 290KWh/m2/yr for '4-star and above' hotel categories while the BSEEP benchmark is 187KWh/m2/yr. In comparison to the Australian hotel industry benchmarked 'best practice' performance indicator is 208KWh/m2 for accommodation hotels and 292 KWh/m2 for business hotels.

Another key highlight of Tune Hotel klia2 is water efficiency which is estimated at more than 40% water savings compared to a conventionally designed hotel building. This is attributed mainly towards the use of harvested rainwater for the water closet (WC), cleaning and irrigation purposes.

Landscape plant selection also played a key role in that, only native or locally adaptive plants which required minimal or almost no irrigation was planted. Notably, the landscape provision for this project exceeded the local authority requirements by 154%.

The 400-room Tune Hotel klia2 opened for business on 9 May 2014. The hotel is directly connected to the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) terminal via a covered walkway and link bridge, allowing easy and convenient access to check-in counters as well as the Gateway@klia2 shopping mall.

Tune Hotels has innovatively transformed the guestroom experience into a modern-style accommodation featuring the all-new room design with a sleek writing table, luggage platform and a 32-inch flat screen LED TV, bringing about an improved, sophisticated but cool ambience throughout the Tune Hotel klia2.

To add to the guest experience and comfort, the hotel's spacious lobby features a cool casual seating lounge with free wifi and an expansive open-air courtyard lounge, overlooked by a 24-hour restaurant and beverage centre. For guests with further transportation needs, the hotel includes a transport counter for overland transport needs and for flights, two AirAsia self check-in kiosks and klia2's flight information displays are provided within the lobby for added convenience to hotel guests.

Guests at Tune Hotel klia2 enjoy great connectivity to the Kuala Lumpur city and its surrounding suburbs as the klia2 Terminal boasts not only bus and taxi services but also the Express Rail Link (ERL) train service that connects to and from Kuala Lumpur Sentral. For guests arriving at or departing from the KLIA Main Terminal, they can make use of the scheduled shuttle service via the ERL that costs just RM2 one way and stroll over to the hotel via its covered link bridge.

The hotel also features 167 parking bays which are conveniently located just a few steps away from the airport terminal. A portion of the parking area has been allocated exclusively for green, electric and hybrid vehicles.

With a projected annual capacity of 45 million passengers, the klia2 is the world's largest purpose-built terminal dedicated for low cost carriers (LCCs). The new airport commenced commercial operations on 2 May 2014.

Tune Hotels is part of Tune Group, a lifestyle business conglomerate co-founded by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, who are the Group CEO and Executive Chairman respectively of Asia's largest low cost carrier AirAsia.

There are currently 45 Tune Hotels available for booking across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, England, Scotland, Australia, India and Japan.

For real-time updates and promotion alerts, guests can stay connected with Tune Hotels via Facebook at www.facebook.com/tunehotels and on Twitter via www.twitter.com/tunehotels.

For booking and further information, visit www.tunehotels.com.

Tune Hotel - Downtown Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur ... - TripAdvisor

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 12:00 AM PDT

Always my favorite choice when in come to choosing a hotel. My favorite when I am single and now, when I travel with my wife, Tune Hotel always our favorite choice. Price always the main factor, but the cleanliness, the location, the service. I found something new at KL Tune Hotel, Blue Cab with Tune logo. Ease of mind when... More

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Container Hotel (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) | WANDERLUST - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Container Hotel (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) | WANDERLUST - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Container Hotel (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) | WANDERLUST

Posted: 11 Jun 2014 08:35 PM PDT

(photo credits: http://www.containerhotel.com.my)

I have never thought that staying in a budget hotel can be this comfortable. Don't get me wrong, I also like luxury hotels and the feeling that it gives, but during my trip to Malaysia I'm up for some adventure! I have booked my reservation through www.booking.com, they don't charge fees whatsoever for the reservation, you will only need a credit card to guarantee your booking with them and you will pay the total amount on the hotel itself when you arrive.

Our check in time should be before 2pm, but the hotel is so kind that they have acknowledged my emai that we will be arriving around 8pm since Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 is less than an hour from the City Centre. We stayed there for 1 night, and the experience is amazing! the place is designed very well made out of containers and even the rooms! Yes, even the rooms! And the place has Wifi too!

Container Hotel is an eco-friendly hotel that emphasises on going green, plus it wont hurt your wallet, and how they design the place is very artistic and one of a kind! Located at No 1, Jalan Delima, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, approx. 10 -15 minutes from Petronas Tower.

They have 4 types of rooms:

1. OUTGOING (Double Decker Single Bed ( Dormitory )

Outgoing

(photo credits: http://www.containerhotel.com.my)

2. ADVENTURE (1 Super Single Bed)

Adventure

(photo credits: http://www.containerhotel.com.my)

where we actually stayed for a night. and it is sooooo cool! ( i mean it! )

3. CONSERVATIVE (1 Queen Bed)

Conservative

4. OUTGOING (group)

Outgoing - Group

You will meet a lot of back-packers too who's also up for an adventure!

Here are some photos I took during my stay

the container rooms

if you are staying at an adventure room like we did, you will need to use this panel with this huge mirror, what is more beautiful when you meet people while brushing your teeth or scrubbing your face? haha

look how Zen-type it is…
this is the shared bathroom and comfort room

the Zen-type Comfortable lounge, so you can have a seat and grab some Ice-cold beer, and well of course meet new people! they serve coffee, bread with spreads and tea for free! :)

Some of their designs that I find very nice …

Well, it was indeed a one-of-a-kind stay and experience, gave me a different feeling of excitement and let me explore other place to stay. The Hotels Supervisor/Crew JB is very nice! We had a good laugh talking about the hotel and Malaysia! You might wanna give it a shot!

Over all, my verdict during my stay is (comparing to other budget hostels/hotels) :

Rating : 8.5/10 (Very Good)

Price: 4 /5 stars (very cheap room starts at 85RM)

Facilities: 3.5 /5 stars

Location: 4/5 stars

Service: 5/5 stars

Useful Links and Information/s you might find helpful:

They were ranked #10 out of 254 B&B and Inn in Kuala Lumpur by Tripadvisor

To book your stay or to know more about Container Hotel - http://www.containerhotel.com.my/

*this post is not sponsored and not paid, purely my reviews and opinion about the hotel

Deanna ( http://talkaboutbeauty.wordpress.com/ )

3.223426 101.716727

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Friday, 11 July 2014

Hotel Review: Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Malaysia - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Hotel Review: Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Malaysia - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Hotel Review: Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Malaysia

Posted: 08 Jul 2014 07:08 AM PDT

Our kids love hotel staycations and this time, we're staying right in the heart of the city at Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre. We arrived at the hotel a little after lunch time and check-in was done in no time at all. Our kids were both presented with a welcome gift each - a yo-yo for the boy and a soft toy keychain for the girl. :)

We head up to our room, the Junior Suite, which is the largest room available in the hotel. It is spacious and can easily accommodate our family of 4 comfortably. The suite includes a bedroom and a separate lounge area. The bathroom is also pretty big, with a separate shower and bath. There is a large window in the bathroom which looks out into the bedroom, but there is a blind you can put down just in case you need some privacy ;)

There is a LCD TV in the lounge area, 2 work desks (1 in the bedroom and 1 in the lounge),coffee machine and complimentary wifi throughout the hotel. Our suite has a partial view of the Twin Towers, which the kids love.

Comfortable king-sized bed

Looks out into the bedroom

Coffee machine

View from our room

After relaxing in the suite, we head on downstairs to the pool - our kids favorite place! Despite there being a heatwave in KL, we were pleasantly surprised that the pool area at Novotel is pretty cool, thanks to the shade from the skyscrapers and office buildings nearby and hence allowing us to enjoy long afternoons by the poolside. :)

Playing in the paddling pool

Chilling

The hotel is located within walking distance to KL's main shopping malls such as Pavilion KL and Starhill. There is a covered walkway linking to Suria KLCC and the Petronas Twin Towers. Very convenient for a spot of shopping in the evening before dinnertime.

There are 2 restaurants in the hotel - The Square, which serves international and Asian cuisine. You can choose from the a la carte menu during lunch and dinner. We enjoyed the Beef Burger (RM40) and Nasi Goreng Kampung Istimewa (RM35) here. The kids were given an activity pad while they waited for their Lamb Chops (RM60) to be served. They also do a kids menu here. Qing Zhen is the hotel's Chinese restaurant and we had a really enjoyable, delicious meal there - do read my full review here.

Beef Burger - big, juicy burger!

Nasi Goreng Kampung Istimewa - I like the acar and serunding.... very tasty.

Lamb Chops, for the kids

Guests staying in any of the 41 Premier Rooms and 17 Junior Suites can also enjoy the Premier Lounge facilities, such as complimentary breakfast at the lounge as well as evening cocktail and canapes between 5.30pm to 7.30pm. The hotel staff here are always very polite and ready to assist.

Enjoy a glass of wine and some bites

Breakfast time!

Pool time again! ;)

Chicken wings by the poolside.... YUMMY!

Thank you Novotel KL for the wonderful stay! :)

Room rates: RM600 for Junior Suite.

Location: Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 2 Jalan Kia Peng, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2147 0888

GPS Coordinates: 3.151861, 101.719673

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Sunday, 6 July 2014

Seenak Citarasa Malaysia Buffet Dinner, Empire Hotel ... - KYspeaks - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Seenak Citarasa Malaysia Buffet Dinner, Empire Hotel ... - KYspeaks - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Seenak Citarasa Malaysia Buffet Dinner, Empire Hotel ... - KYspeaks

Posted: 05 Jul 2014 07:56 AM PDT

Fifth review on this buka puasa buffet 2014 series is the Seenak Citarasa Malaysia buffet dinner at Empire Hotel's Kitchen Art Brasserie.

Located at Subang Jaya right next to the iconic Subang Parade, the hotel can be access directly via Empire Mall with the two sharing the same parking arrangements. Not having to pay more just because you're in a hotel instead of the mall is surely a minor bonus.

Seenak Citarasa Malaysia buffet at Empire Hotel

Kitchen Art Brasserie is located at hotel's level 2, which somehow translate to just a floor above the top floor of Empire Mall.

I like the whole set up, with a glass walls by two sides overseeing the ever busy Federal Highway and tastefully done interior decoration.

ulam, cold seafood, fruits, salad, salted duck egg

The Seenak Citarasa Malaysia buffet dinner is priced at RM 108++ for adults, RM 88++ for children and senior citizens. The buffet is available from 28th June to 29th July, 2014.

Interestingly, diners will also standa a chance to win a Hermes watch worth about RM 12k by taking part in a contest during this ramadan period.

traditional main dishes from different states in Malaysia

The buffet spread at Empire Hotel celebrates each of the 13 states in Malaysia and features more than 60 different main dishes in addition to starters such as ulam, prawns, mussels, salted duck egg, clams, salads, and even cendol and rojak.

There's also a Ghazal band performing nightly, in line with the whole local theme.

cucur udang, ikan bakar, nangka, and of course – roast lamb

To make things simple, here are the list of 13 traditional flavors from the different states:

sup gear box (beef shank broth with spices) – Utara Kedah
briyani ayam dengan kismis (braised chicken with golden raisin – Johor
daging masak lemak dengan nangka muda (beef cooked in turmeric gravey with young jackfruit) – Negeri Sembilan
terong goreng berlada dengan ikan bilis (fried eggplant with chilli and anchovies) – Selangor
ikan masak asam pedas bunga kantan (braised fish in tamarind gravy with ginger flower) – Melaka
gulai kawah Terengganu dengan kantang (beef curry with potato) – Terengganu
ikan patin masak lemak tempoyak (fish cooked with spicy durian gravy) – Pahang
ayam bakar berempah (roasted chicken with Malay spices) – Kelantan
briyani kambing (mutton cooked in local spices) – Pulau Pinang
hivana roe fish – Sabah
braised chicken in bamboo – Sarawak
bubur gandum – Perlis
rendang tok – Perak

Pinky and I absolutely loved the sup gearbox, check out how huge it is

Of the various offerings, I particularly enjoy the sup gear box the most. The serving was huge, with the bone neatly saw off at one end and a straw provided so that you can suck out the marrow, absolutely fantastic!

The roast lamb here, as with the other buffet spread I tried so far, did not disappoint. I also really enjoyed the fish gravey with bunga kantan and of course, ulam with intoxicating sambal.

selection of western desserts and traditional kuih, including tapai

As for desserts, there's a rather wide selection of local kuih as well as a selection of Western desserts. I picked tapai ubi and was obviously not disappointed. For those who fancy the traditional sweet drinks popular during Ramadan, there's more than half a dozen colorful cold drinks to choose from, as well as teh tarik, of course.

Empire Mall map

Address:
Kitchen Art Brasserie, Level 2,
Empire Hotel, Jalan SS16/1,
Subang Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan
GPS: 3.082109, 101.582716
Tel: 03-5565 1228

Heritage Celebration Programme- part 1 | 1926 Heritage Hotel ...

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 06:02 AM PDT

on July 1, 2014 • • festival, Information, lifestyle Events / Festivals

Celebrate George Town's living legacies with the community in the city's street with craft workshop, heritage food, walking trails, talks , film screenings and open houses!

Spirit Flowers and Masks of the Ma' Betise
by Dato' Dr Wazir Jahan Karim

Date: 6 July 2014, Sunday
Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Venue: Function Room, Armenian Street Heritage Hotel, Lebuh Carnarvon

The Traditional Malay Pottery and Ironsmith Industries of Penang
by Salwa Ayob

Date: 6 July 2014, Sunday
Time: 3.00pm – 4.00pm
Venue: Function Room, Armenian Street Heritage Hotel, Lebuh Carnarvon

Nyonya Pastime Crafts
by Lillian Tong

Date: 6 July 2014, Sunday
Time: 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Venue: Function Room, Armenian Street Heritage Hotel, Lebuh Carnarvon

More info: http://heritagecelebrations.info/programme/public-talk-on-traditional-craftstapestry-of-culture-craft/the-traditional-malay-pottery-and-ironsmith-industries-of-penang/ — in George Town.

Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Thursday, 17 July 2014