* The Royale Chulan , Kuala Lumpur

I thought The Royale Chulan is just "one of those" city hotels and I wasn't really looking forward to my stay there. It wasn't until I set foot on the hotel premise that I started to marvel at what I saw especially the details put in to give hotel guests a truly Malaysian feel.
The hotel design is of traditional Malay architecture and the setting is a mix of contemporary and Malay traditional luxuries. The fittings many of which are intricate hand-crafted wood carvings really add classic extravagance to the hotel.

This hotel is located at Jalan Conlay which is quite a quiet road. Surrounding this road however are all the busy streets and the most happening places in KL. It takes only 5-8 minutes to walk to these areas, so I would say the location of the hotel is great, serene on one hand and loads of activities to offer on the other.

  Notice the design of the main facade especially the beautiful carvings.

There is a spectacular-looking fountain right at the hotel frontage.

Live petunias lining the front and side of the hotel is a welcoming sight to behold.

The hotel lobby and reception area look quite grand, with beautiful chandeliers and shiny marble floor.

The lobby lounge is furnished with classic-looking leather sofas.

While petunias lined the outside, stretches of live orchids adorn the lobby inside the hotel.

 These stairs leading to the first floor certainly adds grandeur to the spacious lobby.

There are two of such stairs and sandwiched in between is The Lanai Lounge, one of the F&B outlets of the hotel, offering amongst others, hi-tea and live piano performance. 

Photo shows The Lanai Lounge.

Photo shows the lobby lifts.

Displayed at the lobby are all other hotels owned by the same company, ie Boustead Holding Bhd. 

Since we wished to be pampered again, we booked a room that comes with The Royale Club privileges. The Club lounge is located on the fifth floor and it is exclusive for Club Room guests only.

Checking-in and checking-out is personalised and it is done here, at the club lounge. To our surprise, our room was upgraded to Executive Suite. This is probably because we stayed in a sister hotel before ie The Royale Bintang, The Curve. (refer to my earlier posting)

The Royale Club Lounge is a beautiful, cosy place. There is a TV, computers with internet accessibility and free flow of beverages whole day round.

This Club privilege also comes with free hi-tea (3-5pm) and cocktail snacks (6-7.30pm)

After checking-in we headed to the 4th floor which is where our room is.

This is the passageway to our room. The setting and colour tone is, for a change delightfully colonial.

We stayed here: Executive Suite No 471.

I love the place the moment I set my eyes on it. This is the dining area of the suite. There is complimentary tea/coffee/mini fruit platter. There is also a mini-bar but unlike the one in Intercontinental Hotel, the things in it are not complimentary. (See my earlier posting on Intercontinental Hotel)

The suite is about 750sq ft in area.

This is the sitting room. There is a TV here and another one in the bedroom.

The sitting area is tastefully designed with a comfortable sofa set

The wall decors in this room as well as other parts of the hotel mostly depict traditional Malay culture and lifestyles.

Adjacent to the sitting room is the bedroom with a king bed.

The closet which is not very spacious comes with a safety-box, bathrobes, bedroom sandals, iron, ironing board, a coat brush and hangers.

One of the best features in the suite is the washroom. It is exceptionally spacious and bright and has a separate shower cubicle and toilet.

There is also a bathtub and generous bath amenities provided.

At 3pm we went to the Royale Club Lounge for tea.There was a variety of tarts and cakes but none really suit our palette as they were baked with tonnes of sugar. The scones were hard and dry and I was already missing the hi-tea I had at the Club Lounge in Intercontinental Hotel.

To be frank I hardly finished any of these.

At 7pm we went to The Club Lounge again , this time for the complimentary cocktail snacks. There was limited choice of wines (I'm comparing this to Intercontinental Hotel again) and the snacks do not look like they have been freshly prepared.

The chawanmushi is cold and tough but the other items are all right. (not above average though).

The second floor is where you get most of the hotel facilities. Firstly, the swimming pool.

Beside the pool is the hotel gym.

And within the same area is the Spa.

This is the entrance to the Spa. Notice the wood carving on the LHS.

This is another authentic piece of artwork.

This is the first floor of the hotel. A few F&B outlets are located on this floor. 

This is the Chinese restaurant. The design is not very Chinese though.

This is the Malay restaurant and I think it's a beautiful place to dine in.

We took our breakfast at the Warisan Cafe on the lobby floor.

There are many food stations offering a variety of breakfast cuisines.

The food kiosks are well spaced.

Overall our breakfast experience is better than the hi-tea and cocktail snack we had the evening before.

Restaurant guests can also opt to sit outside.

Just beside the Cafe is a landscaped garden.

Beyond this area is the Taman Mahsuri Courtyard where functions like weddings are held.  The good thing about this courtyard is it looks like open-air but it is entirely covered with a see-through roof.

The night view from the hotel frontage is simply superb.

If you feel like window shopping, just take a 6 min stroll and you will reach the Pavillion Shopping Mall. A short distance away is the Bintang walk and many other shopping malls. The hotel also provides shuttle service to this place and to KLCC if you are too lazy to walk.

Just beside the hotel is the Seri Melayu Restaurant offering authentic Malay Cuisines and cultural Malay performances to go along with your meal. The handicraft centre is also only a few steps away.

If you are not a Malaysian and seeking something very Malaysian, this hotel is a great place to lodge in. The service provided by hotel staffs is way above average too.

I would conclude with this: "RECOMMENDED" but not worthwhile paying for the Royale Club privileges.