I had a magnificent stay at the Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, which has instantly become one of my favorite hotels in the world. Beyond the novelty of being over 100 stories off the ground, this hotel delivers with solid service, fabulous food, amazing amenities, and superb suites. Here’s my full review.
Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Review
When I say this hotel is on a whole different “level” of luxury, I mean it quite literally, since this is truly a hotel in the sky. Located in Merdeka 118, the second-tallest building in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, this hotel has 252 guest rooms, including 27 suites. The Park Hyatt occupies floor 75 (for the lobby and restaurants), 99 (for the pool, spa, and gym) and floors 100 – 112 for guest rooms. It’s just amazing to look up at that building when you are standing at ground level.
The nightly rate for my stay was over 700 USD (often, though, it is half that), which made it a perfect opportunity to use points for my stay. As a Category 5 hotel, a free night ranges from 17,000 (low) to 20,000 (standard) to 23,000 (peak) points per night. It cost me 20,000 points per night.
If you’re not currently a World of Hyatt Globalist, you can book Hyatt Privé ratesbook Hyatt Privé rates (with similar benefits included) behind the password: Private
Check-In
As I drove from the Hyatt Regency in KL Midtown to this property, you cannot help but to notice how Merdeka 118 towers above already tall skyscrapers.
Arriving at the hotel, ground staff were waiting to open the car door and escort me through a vast building lobby, up an escalatory to a small sitting area for hotel guests, then into an elevator to whisk me quickly up to the 75th floor, for check-in.
The 75th floor lobby has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the skyline and sitting areas clustered around the restaurants and bars.
Suite
I used a “Guest of Honor” award for my stay (essentially, I was treated as a World of Hyatt Globalist member) and was upgraded to a Park Suite on the 107th floor, 10721, a beautiful and spacious room with a large living room, bedroom, dressing room, bathroom, and guest bathroom.
I don’t ever recall staying in a hotel with a walk-in closet so large and the windows offered even more impressive views than from the lobby along with great natural light.
The room so comfortable, with a bed I did not want to get up from and plenty of room to move around (ironic that my best upgrades always come when traveling solo…).
A welcome amenity included fresh berries, along with some local delicacies and some green tea kombucha that was made in-house.
I also appreciated the bedside wireless charging, slippers, and bathroom amenities.
The room also had a fully-stocked mini-bar and a Nespresso espresso machine.
Pool
A definite highlight of this hotel is the 99th floor pool, which offer soaring views of KL and is also a great place to swim. Most puzzling to me (not that I was complaining), was that I had the pool to myself for the entire afternoon…even though the hotel was sold out.
Fitness Center
The hotel offers an excellent fitness center with 24/7 access and the gym features LifeFitness equipment, which I prefer to the generally more “premium” TechnoGym equipment (though I do think I like the gym at the Hyatt Regency better).
Wellness + Spa
A full service spa offers massage, skin treatments, and salon services. Wellness facilities are available to al hotel guests, even if they do not get a spa treatment.
The wellness area features a large locker room as well as a jacuzzi, steam room, and a “Himalayan Salt Alcove.” I greatly prefer a traditional sauna…the salt alcove was not hot enough.
This area also has one of those tricked out showers with several different spray modes, lights, and sounds, meant to create a superior sensory experience.
Dining
There are great food and beverage options at this hotel, including a spectacular breakfast, but this is pricey, especially for KL.
Park Lounge
The biggest treat of my stay was breakfast, a true feast with the highest-quality ingredients and a huge buffet and a la carte menu. Yes, I even tried local dishes, though the shakshuka was among the best I’ve ever had and the fresh-squeezed juice and coffee were excellent. It was included with my stay (as a Guest of Honor), but would have cost MYR 130 (about 33USD for adults and MYR 75 or about 19 USD…which, by the way, would have been worth every penny). Breakfast runs from 6:30 am to 10:30 am today.
The buffet includes a wide assortment of dishes including pastries, bread, salads, fruit, yogurt, cereals, cheese, meat, and juices, plus a few hot items like sausage, scrambled eggs, and mushrooms.
I (may have) went overboard with breakfast and enjoyed many dishes from the a la carte menu, including kaya toast, shakshuka, beef noodle soup, and nasi lemak.
What a feast! And I cannot emphasize enough how great the coffee was…
Merdeka Grill
The Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur has a high-end restaurant called Merdeka Grill. The restaurant offers a “modern grill experience on Level 75, where premium meats, sustainable seafood, and locally sourced produce take center stage, complemented by a curated beverage program” (yawn). The menu is here. One of the specialties is salmon roasted on cedar wood, served with cucumber, grape, caviar, and smoked butter sauce at a cost of 295 Malaysian Ringgit, or about 71.50 USD. I didn’t pay that much for fish even on at The Brando in French Polynesia! But as I looked through the menu, I suddenly had a taste for fish.
I ended up having fish around the corner for 8.50 USD instead…
I suspect it was not as good, but it was still delicious.
Cacao Mixology & Chocolate
I don’t drink alone and don’t drink much at all these days, but but was impressed by the chocolate-themed hotel bar, which was a beautiful space and had a wide variety of cocktails and other adult beverages.
Room Service
24/7 room service is available, with a very large menu. Here it is:
Service
Jonah, the restaurant manager, was a prime example of what made service so excellent at this hotel. Chatting with me (and the guests seated around me), he made several recommendations and really encouraged me to try food for breakfast regular readers know I typically do not eat. He personally waited on my table.
Earlier in the morning, around 6:30 am when I woke up, I went down to the restaurant to get a cup of coffee because I greatly prefer it to the Nespresso in the room. The hotel could have made a big deal about it or charged me, but instead they just made me one and gave it to me, knowing I’d be back later for breakfast…it was perfect.
The spa and pool staff were excellent and the ground level staff was very helpful. Great, polished service at this hotel.
Location
I wrote about this during my stay, but this hotel is also located in a very cool area of Kuala Lumpur around Chinatown. It’s absolutely worth your time to venture out of the hotel and around the corner.
> Read More: A Hidden World Behind The Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur: Exploring Chinatown
CONCLUION
If you’re loyal to Hyatt, Kuala Lumpur has many excellent options, but none as grand or regent as the Park Hyatt. It’s worth the splurge to stay here and as fun as it is being high as a kite without ingesting any drugs, the true draw of this hotel is the excellent service, amenities, and comfort.
Excellent review! I’d really like to return to KL even if just to stay at this new PH. There aren’t many hotels at that those higher levels (like at least 70+ stories), even in other skyscrapers. For whatever reason, even though we have ample towers in NYC, no hotels are really that high-up. Outside the city, the only ones I can think of that I’ve stayed at include the Signiel in Seoul, South Korea; the InterContinental Landmark 72 in Hanoi; the Shangri-La at the Shard in London; and, the Four Seasons in Philadelphia. Not for those with vertigo!
@ 1990 — The pictures of this hotel reminded me of our stay at the InterContinental Landmark 72 in Hanoi.
At night with the lights this PH reminds me of Tron or Blade Runner.
I’ve been to some high offices and high residences, but this hotel would easily set a record for me in terms of floor for an overnight stay.
What an amazing looking place! It’s a destination in itself. Thanks for the review.
@ Matthew — Wow, I cannot wait to stay here!
Hotel looks amazing, although KL has lost a lot of it’s charm exactly because of too many buildings like this one.
Sounds great. I love me some Grand Hyatt in KL though, with the nice outdoor pool, incredible club lounge, ridiculously good breakfast, and great location. I’d love to hear your thoughts in comparing the two hotels.
Wow! I always say that KL is littered with good hotels, but this looks superlative. I will stay here next time. Even if it’s 23K.
Was kind of hoping for a response to the flip flop traveler’s review and commentary on your quick take. To each their own I guess.
I actually forgot about that. Will see if I can find it.
Thanks for the nice review. I haven’t gotten around to this hotel yet, but look forward to checking it out later this year on my next visit to Malaysia.
Incredible! Great review, Matthew.
As others noted earlier, an inspirational stopping point, all on it’s own.
Thanks for your recap.
Thanks for a great review- happy you enjoyed it