Review: The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur (1-Bedroom Suite)

Nightly rate: MYR 405 nett (S$138)
Nightly rate after Citi Prestige 4NF rebate: MYR 330 (S$108)
Length of stay: 4 nights
Membership level: Titanium Elite

I have actually made a booking at JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur but since that hotel is still closed because of the pandemic, all guests are upgraded to The Ritz-Carlton next door. Both properties are part of the Marriott Bonvoy family and owned by YTL Hotels.

If you don’t already know, Ritz-Carlton branded hotels are not required to offer benefits like complimentary breakfast, executive lounge access, room upgrades or late-check-outs to Platinum members and above. However, this hotel offers all 4, even in pre-COVID times! Subject to availability, of course.

The lowest nightly rate that I could find before the pandemic was around MYR 600 nett. Now that is a steal, surely? Let’s find out!

The location of this hotel is fantastic, only about 2-3 minutes’ walk from Bukit Bintang shopping district. The most convenient way to get to the shopping district is via the walkway to JW Marriott.

Arrival

After checking in on MySejahtera mobile app and getting my temperature taken, I went to the reception for the proper check-in. I was pre-upgraded to the 1-bedroom suite and offered complimentary breakfast at The Library. I was also told that the Executive Lounge was closed and that they would send me a complimentary bottle of wine to make up for it!

The room

This time, my experience started at the door. I could not get it to open after tapping my key card and trying multiple times. I got one of the hotel staff to assist and he demonstrated that I should pull the handle really hard before turning it and pushing the door open. The handle isn’t the most ergonomic either. That’s a lot of work just to get into the room every time, but okay.

Room 1703 felt very spacious although I could immediately sense its age. The floor plan shows that there is only one suite on this floor. There was a type-written welcome letter from the General Manager and also a “covid pack” with masks and hand sanitizer in it. A few minutes after entering the room, the butler came with my complimentary bottle of red wine.

The beverage area was designed poorly. Every time I wanted to make myself a cup of coffee, I had to carry the whole machine out because the top lever would hit the top of the shelf and I couldn’t get the capsule into the machine otherwise.

The mattress is one of the hardest that I have slept on. Not good!

The dressing area is very poorly lit. While it looks good in pictures, I doubt anyone would prefer doing their make-up here over the bathroom.

While the hotel is located in a great location, the view out my window wasn’t great.

There are 2 bathrooms and nothing screams luxury more than white marble tiles! I am also a fan of the nice-smelling Asprey toiletries.

I never liked old-fashion dual-faucets like those in this bathroom. It is nothing but a pointless challenge to be a mixologist every time you want to wash your hands by finding the perfect balance between cold and burning water.

There is a television near the bathtub but sadly, it has poor viewing angles. There is no way anyone could enjoy a show while sitting in the tub.

The knob to drain the water in the bath tub wasn’t working. The only way was to dig my nails into the stopper at bottom of the tub and pull it out. Gross!

As if that wasn’t enough, the knob at the shower pulls right out.

And that’s not all. The bathroom floor is so poorly constructed that it does not have any gradient fall for water to flow into the drain. Because of this, there is always a cold puddle of water in the shower area.

There was no way to regulate the room temperature. Both air conditioners in my room were set to “off” throughout my 4-nights stay and the room temperature stayed between the uncomfortable range of 22.5 and 23 degrees Celsius.

Here’s something that cheered me up. I had a chat with one of the hotel staff about how much I’ve missed travelling and didn’t get the chance to celebrate my birthday. To my surprise, the butlers sent a 3-tiered “towel cake” with fairy lights and a mini-big-bird on each side! There was a real chocolate cake next to it, of course, and it was delicious! What’s even more hilarious is that my birthday was in July! I was embarrassed but so touched!

Breakfast

Well, breakfast wasn’t Ritz-Carlton-ey either. While it was scaled down because of the pandemic, there were only 5 options to choose from. While every table gets a basket of pastries, here’s what’s disappointing, I was only allowed to choose ONE set. Want to try out the buttermilk pancake? That would be your whole breakfast, no eggs for you! I could understand the stinge if the breakfast quality was amazing. Well, it was just okay. No better than what you would get in a Four Points.

Also, there were no fresh juices served at breakfast. Come on!

The gym

The gym is large with sufficient equipment but it is dimly lit. The view out the window is also mostly blocked.

The swimming pool

There are two pools in the hotel and both of them do not offer good views and are surrounded by walls and buildings.

Conclusion

I appreciated all the Titanium benefits, the belated birthday surprise and the great location. While the hardware of this hotel is absolutely poor for a Ritz-Carlton, be reminded that it has been priced out. In my opinion, the only thing that is “Ritz-Carlton” about this hotel are the white marble bathroom walls and great butler service. Hardware-wise, it should be rebranded to something between Four Points and Marriott.

Ratings

Breakfast: Scaled down because of the pandemic
Service: 9/10
Location: 9/10
Room: 3/10
Facilities: 6/10
Executive lounge: Closed because of the pandemic
Elite member recognition: 10/10
Value: 9/10

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