Cycling the Malaysia Interstate: Support and Hotels - lovingthebike ... - Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Cycling the Malaysia Interstate: Support and Hotels - lovingthebike ...
Hotel review: Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) | the ...
Legoland Hotel Malaysia | Life in the Wee Hours

Cycling the Malaysia Interstate: Support and Hotels - lovingthebike ...

Posted: 16 Sep 2014 05:08 AM PDT

Last week I wrote up my experience riding Interstate, a three-day, 525 km ride in Malaysia. During the event I spent a good chunk riding, and slightly more time in the van doing support for other riders. Having done support for an ultracyclist, I was familiar with how it should work, and how important it to be quick and efficient.

Before the ride we had loaded the vans with water, Revive, bananas and the ever important Coca-Cola. By the end almost everything disappeared, except some less-than-appetizing bananas. Whenever we stopped the van I'd hop out and grab bottles from bikes to fill up, dole out bananas to our riders, and even do banana hand-outs to other riders going past. This last bit means I got a lot of thanks in elevators at the hotel later on, and everyone knew our team name OK Go!.

Having a van or two running support for such an event meant if someone needed food, water or had mechanical or medical trouble, it was available. Also, if someone couldn't ride on, they could get in the van and enjoy the aircon and recover for the next day.

Moving on to other aspects of the event: accommodations. I didn't know what to expect staying in random hotels in Malaysia. My experiences have only been at pricey places here on the island, so I was a bit spoiled.

The first night, before the ride, was Tune Hotel. None of the rooms had any windows, so it was a little weird feeling like I was in a closed-in box. Hello claustrophobia. Tune Hotels are a bit like AirAsia, if you've ever flown them, in that you pay for any extras. Wifi, air-con, even towels are extra, but thankfully included with our rooms this time around. Overall, the place was clean and that's really what matters.

The second night, oh boy. Fraser Pines is not a place I care to ever see again. It was old, dirty, falling down and generally just very gross. In one of my team's apartments there were dozens of bees congregating around a recessed light. The only thing I dared to touch was the bed, and even then I found it hard to get any sleep due to bright lights just outside the window. At least it had windows?

The third night was way better than the previous two, at Star Regency Hotel. This was also apartment/suite style so the team could hang out after dinner, prepping bikes and talking shit about the day's riding. The place was clean and considering it was freezing on top of Cameron Highlands the hot shower was seriously appreciated.

Finally, the place that clearly cost the most and caused some skimping on previous nights: Swiss Garden Hotel and Resort. While older and the beach less than great, here was like other places I had stayed: clean, big rooms, coffee and water pot provided and upgraded bathrooms. If I was ever in the area again, I would definitely stay there, again.

That about wraps up my posts on Interstate. I'm looking forward to next year's ride, since it will most likely be a tad easier of a route. Maybe I'll actually train for it?

Hotel review: Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) | the ...

Posted: 10 Sep 2014 05:58 AM PDT

Wednesday newsletters always feature a luxury hotel and/or flight review.

Today (September 10, 2014): Hotel review: Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Located between the flowering gardens of the City Centre Park and the dramatic heights of the Petronas Twin Towers, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur offers the perfect combination of comfort and luxury. Beautifully designed with elegant interiors, spacious rooms and a wealth of dining options, this is one of Kuala Lumpur most luxurious hotels.

In this review (more info and photos below our Youtube clip & slideshow):

Pros & things we like
Cons & things to know
Our verdict
Tips for future guests & save money
Best time to visit
How to get there

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PROS & THINGS WE LIKE:

The Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur enjoys the best location in town, one that is very convenient for both tourists and business visitors. The hotel is part of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre complex that also houses the Petronas Twin Towers, the convention centre, the KLCC Aquaria, the wonderful Symphony Fountain, the six floor Suria shopping mall.

A large green patch, Kuala Lumpur's City Centre Park, is located right in front of the Park and the ideal place for a stroll or to relax after a day of sightseeing or business meetings.

The hotel belongs to the portfolio of the Mandarin Oriental hotel group, one of the most luxurious hotel brands in the world, and this particular property excels at meeting the exceedingly high Mandarin Oriental standards. Service is top-notch.

Public areas are impressive: spacious, elegant & dramatic. Marble is omnipresent, although this may not suit everyone's taste.

The hotel's full-service infinity pool on the third floor is a wonderful escape from the city heat and enjoys stunning skyline views. There is also a kid's pool and a hot tub.

Fusing elegance, comfort and enviable style, all 643 luxurious rooms and 41 suites enjoy city views. Rooms and suites are generously sized, traditionally designed and have all the comforts you could dream of. The bathroom facilities are fine, with a separate bathtub, a walk-in shower and luxurious toiletries.

Breakfast is a gracious and sedate affair. There is a good selection of bread, pastries and food and little pots of bircher muesli. Yoghurts are packed though and hot options are limited. Those with a sweet tooth may be tempted by the crackle pops and big jar of sweets.

There is a superb afternoon tea in the piano lounge which has stunning views of the gardens; just the sort of thing to revive a tired traveller.

The facilities are great, with a beautifully designed spa, a huge gym for working out (with range of classes including yoga and Tai Chi), two outdoor tennis courts, an indoor golf, and a hair and beauty salon

The hotel has a fine selection of dining and entertainment options, with – amongst others – classic Cantonese at Lai Po Heen, contemporary Californian-Japanese cuisine at Wasabi Bistro, and grill dishes at Mandarin Grill.

Room rates are rather modest (this is probably one of the cheapest Mandarin Oriental properties around).

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CONS & THINGS TO KNOW:

While unquestionably luxurious, the hotel has some issues you need to beware of:

Oddly enough, because the hotel is so close to the Petronas Towers (with a new skyscraper in between them), it does not have a view of the Towers, except for a few rooms and its Club Lounge. The Grand Hyatt and the Traders Hotel, both located across the park, have a better vantage point to soak in full views of the landmark skyscrapers.

WiFi is only complimentary for bookings made through the hotel website and for Club Floor guests, otherwise costs are very high (30RM an hour, which is about $10 US an hour). On a positive note, the hotel provides by far the highest level of bandwidth in the city and once logged in, you may use up to 6 devices on your account. Nevertheless, the lack of frree WiFi really is an eyesore for most guests, particularly given WiFi is widely available in Malaysia, even at the airports and basic cafés.

The hotel itself is a bit dated: it doesn't look like a fresh fashion model but rather a grand dame. Especially the rooms and bathrooms are a bit old-fashioned and definitely more 20th century than 21st century. They are in need of a makeover if the hotel hopes to compete with hotels like the contemporary Grand Hyatt and the soon-to-open St Regis hotel. However, despite the fact that the hotel is showing its age, property maintenance is excellent.

The hotel arranged a regular taxi for our trip to the airport and charged us 160 RM. However, the regular taxi fare between the hotel and the airport is about 100 RM, so 160 RM is a total rip-off. The nearby Traders Hotel charges 130 RM for the same trip with a larger, hotel-owned vehicle.

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OUR VERDICT:

Location: 9/10
Design: 6/10
Rooms: 7/10
Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Overall experience: good: 7,6/10

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TIPS FOR FUTURE GUESTS & SAVE MONEY:

Request a high floor room for the best views.

To avoid a high WiFi fee, book through the official hotel website.

Avoid booking a hotel transfer through the hotel as this costs more as compared to paying directly to the official taxi driver.

Save money: read our tips on how to book the cheapest rate for a room at a luxury hotel like the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur (and/or receive many free perks).

Save money: book your room with an additional 10% off making use of a Best Rate Guarantee.

Read our tips on how to prepare your trip in time.

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BEST TIME TO VISIT:

Kuala Lumpur experiences a tropical climate, with year-round high temperatures averaging in the upper 80s and low 90s. Heavy rains are expected throughout much of the year, but June through August are relatively drier months.

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HOW TO GET THERE:

As Malaysia's principal international gateway and the crossroads for domestic bus, train and taxi travel there's no shortage of ways in and out of Kuala Lumpur. Its main airport is Kuala Lumpur International Airport, 75km south of the city centre at Sepang. It is served by most airlines (for an update, check the wikipedia page of the airport). All of domestic operator Air Asia's flights are handled by the nearby Low Cost Carrier Terminal (which is not connected by public transport to the international airport). Tiny Berjaya Air's flights go from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport at Subang, around 20km west of the city centre.

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HOTEL (LEFT) WITH PETRONAS TOWERS

HOTEL ENTRANCE

LOBBY

INFINITY POOL

KID'S POOL

INFINITY POOL WITH LOUNGERS

INFINITY POOL

HOTEL CORRIDOR

DELUXE CITY VIEW ROOM

BATHROOM

DELUXE CITY VIEW ROOM

VIEW FROM ROOM: ST REGIS HOTEL NEXT DOOR

FRESH FRUIT IN ROOM

IN-ROOM BAR

PARK SUITE DINNG ROOM

CLUB PREMIUM CITY VIEW ROOM

LOBBY BAR

SULTAN LOUNGE

MOSAIC RESTAURANT

LOBBY BAR

MANDARIN GRILL

MANDARIN CAKE SHOP

LOUNGE ON THE PARK

CASHBAH

CASCADE

PETRONAS TOWERS: DETAIL

SURIA SHOPPING MALL

PETRONAS TOWERS

KUALA LUMPUR SKYLINE

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Legoland Hotel Malaysia | Life in the Wee Hours

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 07:25 AM PST

The Legoland Hotel in Malaysia opened on 29 November so we just had to make a trip there to experience it for ourselves. We drove over on Adrian's birthday and stayed for two nights. The kids loved it! We got there at about 10am and couldn't check in until 4pm so we left our luggage there (in a very secure holding area) and went to the theme park.

The process of checking in wasn't the smoothest. We booked a Kingdom-themed room but the room that was meant for us had some maintenance issues so we were asked to wait about half an hour, then upgraded to a premium Adventure-themed room in the end. The good thing is there's so much for the kids to do in the lobby that they didn't mind the wait.

Legoland Hotel

kids headed straight for this pit

view from Legoland Park

huge Lego figures

in miniature

castle in the hotel lobby

pirate ship in the hotel lobby

wall of Lego figures

Lego flowers

I thought the Adventure room was really fun but Anya had some issues with the Egyptian mummies, spiders, scorpions, etc there. I think she would have preferred the Kingdom room. The room is very decent but strangely doesn't come with any toothbrushes and toothpaste so we had to buy some from Medini Mall. There are several bottles of mineral water provided though and those were very useful for our trips to the theme park and water park!

There was a treasure map with clues that need to be solved in order to open a treasure box in the room. However, after solving the clues, we opened the box to find… the same treasure map. It was quite anti-climatic to say the least. The 'treasure' was supposed to be a box of Lego for the kids to play with. Our box of Lego was already sitting on the shelf and was therefore not in the treasure box. It's a fun idea in theory, but the hotel staff need to carry it out consistently to ensure that kids have fun finding the treasure.

outside our room

Adam getting comfy

the kids' bunk bed

they had their own TV!

some treasures

scorpion in the toilet

solving clues to open our treasure box

I'm looking really tubby but this is the only photo of all of us

off on an adventure

We had the buffet dinner in the Bricks restaurant on the first evening because we were very tired and didn't want to head out to the mall. I wouldn't recommend the buffet dinner. It's RM68++ for adults (above 11 years old) and RM39++ for children (3-11 years old). For that price, you don't even get free-flow drinks from a soda dispenser. Other than coffee, tea and water, you need to pay extra for drinks. The food wasn't spectacular either and some items were not replenished after they ran out.

cute ice-cream sculpture

Bricks Restaurant

food for kids

cold cuts

meat

dim sum and noodles

some spicy stuff

catch of the day

the kids went gaga over this decadent display of sweets

cakes

chocolate fountain and ice-cream counter

The Legoland Hotel is so much fun for the kids and we really liked being able to head back for a nap in the afternoon and staying at the park until closing time without worrying about driving in the dark. I think the kids had more fun because they were able to come back and rest in between when the sun was at its hottest (or when it was raining) without rushing or being dragged around the entire day.

We would definitely stay there again the next time we want to visit Legoland theme park and the water park. I hope they improve the buffet meals at the restaurant or at least introduce an a la carte menu though!

Hotel in Malaysia Blog

Saturday, 20 September 2014