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Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [Master Thread]

Old Jan 3, 2016, 8:08 am
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Last edit by: margarita girl
Hotel email address: [email protected]

From website Feb 26, 2018:

Transformation Work: January - December 2018



From January 2018 through December 2018, there is ongoing work to add two additional floors for the new Executive Club Lounge, a Rooftop Sky Bar as well as new guest rooms. During this time, the previous Executive Lounge will be closed for transformation work. In addition, certain Executive benefits will be substituted for other benefits. Work is scheduled daily from 9am to 6pm. During this time, all efforts will be made to keep disruption to a minimum. Please email the hotel at [email protected] for additional information.
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Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [Master Thread]

Old Apr 6, 2006, 10:53 pm
  #1  
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Arrow Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia [Master Thread]

I have not seen many posts on this hotel so I thought I would share my recent experience. I stayed at this hotel for 5 nights during the last week of March. I am Starwood Gold and upon check I was upgraded to a full ocean view room with a nice fruit plate. The Hotel itself is brand new and has an impressive entry. The rooms are a good size and include nice extras such as toothbrushes, mouthwash, LCD televisons, separate shower and tubs, DVD Players, etc. This has the potential to be a top notch hotel, but comes accoss as only a nice hotel. The hallways have a musty odor from not running the a/c. In addition the concierge is not well informed on tours in the area. We asked several question and recieved many incorrect answere. We asked about things like if lockers would be available for taking a camera on a snorkel tour. We were told no, but upon arrival we saw 3 different places with lockers. I thought the service was very good natured, just inefficient. This hotel had one of the highest butt-kissing factors of any hotel I have ever stayed. You could not walk into the hotel without being greeted at least 3 times with an accomanying bow. We ate at the hotel restaurant several times. I would highly reccomend, however they have a montly buffet theme in the hotel that remains the same each night. It would be nice to get a little more variety. The lounge has 3 chinese girls singing American standards in the evenings. They are pleasnt enough to listen to. However, they have a limited repertoire and if you are there more than hour or two, you might start hearing them repeat themselves. I am not down on this hotel, I am more frustrated by its inability to achieve its full potential as one of the nicest hotels in Malaysia. For the money...$
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Old Apr 11, 2006, 11:40 am
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The LeMeridien Kota Kinabalu is a business hotel and not a resort like most other upscale properties in the city. And for a business hotel in Malaysia outside of Kuala Lumpur, its a very nice property.

Location : Very well located for a tourist, being in the city and across the street from the Filipino Market. Next to the market is a more upscale waterfront strip comprising of seafood restaurant,bistro, pub and souvenir shop etc and resembles similar strips in Australia. A couple of blocks behind the hotel is a major shopping mall Centrepoint. Though very centrally located, this is not quite Rodeo Drive ; its very crowded (in the third world sort of way) and there is a significant presence of "immigrants" in the vicinity.

Suite : Very spacious executive suite with a living room comprising of sitting area with couch and plasma tv/dvd player, a square dining table that seats 4, a writing desk and a guest toilet. Bedroom is equally spacious with king bed, easy chair, plasma tv/dvd player, dressing area and a spacious marble bathroom with seperate shower. Unlike the seafacing Deluxe rooms the seafacing Suites do not have a full width window due to the curved walls on the building facade; the windows are large enough for daylight but the view is not as good compared with the full width windows in Deluxe rooms. Overall a very nice suite, well furnished and comfortable.

Le Royal Club Lounge : Platinums are given access and check-in was done in the lounge. The seaview from the lounge is spectacular. The dark leather chairs gives the lounge a slight European feel, and there are 2 computer terminals for internet access. Evening cocktails is however disappointing with no hot food and poor choices of drinks. Breakfast is a continental spread but you can order hot food on request. Overall a very nice and quiet lounge with friendly attendants.

Housekeeping : Each time they service the room (including turndown service), all amenities are replenished. And a new plate of fruits everyday. Very impressive.

Platinum treatment : Generally OK though a slight reminder of the benefits is required. Lounge access, club level room, late checkout, platinum amenity (needs reminder) are offered.

Conclusion : A good business hotel which exceeded my expectations. Friendly staff and very obliging though some may need retraining. If they are able to maintain the current high standards, the LeMeridien will certainly be my hotel of choice when I return to Kota Kinabalu.
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Old Apr 11, 2006, 8:28 pm
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Looks like I must try to find some excuse to make a business trip to KK. Incidently, when I was trying to book a room, there were several rate schemes which i don't understand : what's in a LM business rate ? passport rate ? can't find much differences in the terms & conditions.
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Old Apr 13, 2006, 9:45 am
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Originally Posted by meremale
Looks like I must try to find some excuse to make a business trip to KK. Incidently, when I was trying to book a room, there were several rate schemes which i don't understand : what's in a LM business rate ? passport rate ? can't find much differences in the terms & conditions.

When I stayed they had something called a Celebration rate that included Breakfast and Dinner. I beleive the Passport rate also includes breakfast.
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Old Jul 26, 2006, 10:31 am
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Update- Executive Lounge

There has been some significant improvements on the food offerings in the lounge. Several hot dishes are now available for breakfast, and there are also 2 hot food items during the evening cocktails. Only negative aspect of the lounge is that its open only till 9pm.

This is definitely my favourite SPG hotel for now .......
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Old Jul 26, 2006, 12:00 pm
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Thanks for the update, I am staying here next week and its nice to hear they are improving. Mario33, any update on the tour info/booking desk at the hotel?
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Old Jul 26, 2006, 7:49 pm
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Originally Posted by olimaspecto
any update on the tour info/booking desk at the hotel?
Tours are very expensive in KK, whether you book through the hotel concierge or with a travel agent. Very often you can do it on your own.

If you intend to go to the islands, you can take a taxi to the main jetty (port) in town or to the marina at Sutera Harbour (which I normally use). There are several ferry operators there, and as a rough guide return boat fare is MYR35 for 1 island and MYR50 for 2 islands. National park entrance fee is MYR10 for foreigners.

Kinabalu National Park can be reached by public bus which departs very early in the morning (never tried). If there are 2 or more of you, it may be a good idea to rent a car which gives you more flexibility.
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Old Jul 29, 2006, 2:32 am
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Originally Posted by mario33
There has been some significant improvements on the food offerings in the lounge. Several hot dishes are now available for breakfast, and there are also 2 hot food items during the evening cocktails. Only negative aspect of the lounge is that its open only till 9pm.

This is definitely my favourite SPG hotel for now .......
This is good news indeed...

We will be staying there in a couple of weeks.

What kind of an upgrade should one expect as a lowly Gold, or is it worth splurging an additional 100RM for a Royal club room ?

Thanks,
Yann
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Old Jul 29, 2006, 3:53 am
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Originally Posted by yann
What kind of an upgrade should one expect as a lowly Gold, or is it worth splurging an additional 100RM for a Royal club room ?
It is very rare for a Gold to be upgraded to Executive floor in Asia Pacific. Usually its a room on a higher floor or a better view, at best.

If you intend to make use of the club floor facilities, yes MYR100 is worth it especially if there are 2 of you in the room.

I dont know how much they charge for breakfast at the LM, but most upscale city hotels in Malaysia charges MYR40-50 per person for breakfast. The breakfast spread in the lounge is now almost as good as in the main restaurant, and infact I prefer having breakfast in the lounge which is more comfortable, quieter and has a better view.

Other privileges of the Royal Club floor includes evening cocktails which is now quite decent , all day coffee/tea with cookies, 2 hrs of internet use per day, 2 pieces of garment pressing per guest per stay etc And not to mention a more personalised service and a room on a higher floor.
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Old Jan 30, 2008, 2:48 am
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Bump! How far is the hotel from the beach? Walkable? or better stop a taxi and go? I'm probably going for about 6 days and was considering splitting my stay between Le Meridien for some points and the shangri-la, which is considerably more expensive but of course more luxurious. Thanks
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Old Jan 30, 2008, 3:48 am
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Originally Posted by MACH81
Bump! How far is the hotel from the beach? Walkable? or better stop a taxi and go? I'm probably going for about 6 days and was considering splitting my stay between Le Meridien for some points and the shangri-la, which is considerably more expensive but of course more luxurious. Thanks
It's close to the Waterfront but that area does not have a beach. There is a quite recently (last few years) developed area with bars and restaurants across from the Hotel and also the market near the fishing boats.

The closest main public beach is probably at Tanjung Aru, where one of the two Shangri La's is located. This ias about 10 minutes in a taxi from the LM. The Shangri La has it's own beach front area and there is a public beach at Tanjung Aru that runs from the SL up towards the airport. There is also the Sutera Resort which is closer to LM than the SL but not sure what the beach is like there.

I am also doing the same as you in splitting stays between the LM and SL. Note that are two Shangri La's in KK, one near the City (Tanjung Aru) and one about 30-45 minutes out called the Rasa Ria.
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Old Jan 30, 2008, 3:54 am
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Originally Posted by MAN Flyer
It's close to the Waterfront but that area does not have a beach. There is a quite recently (last few years) developed area with bars and restaurants across from the Hotel and also the market near the fishing boats.

The closest main public beach is probably at Tanjung Aru, where one of the two Shangri La's is located. This as about 10 minutes in a taxi from the LM. The Shangri La has it's own beach front are and there is a public beach at Tanjung Aru that runs from the SL up towards the airport. There is also the Sutera Resort which is closer to LM than the SL but not sure what the beach is like there.

I am also doing the same as you in splitting stays between the LM and SL. Note that are two Shangri La's in KK, one near the City (Tanjung Aru) and one about 30-45 minutes out called the Rasa Ria.
Thanks! I was referrring to the Tanjung Aru, which is a bit more expensive than the Rasa Sia, but I might go to the RS if it offers a more private experience. Via Asiarooms you can get better slightly better rates than directly on the SL website (with bkf at the TA, w/o bkf at the RS), but not much better. Do you know how the weather is in August? thanks again
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Old Nov 7, 2008, 10:07 am
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Question airport transportation

How far is the airport from the hotel? We will arrive after 10PM, so is taxi reliable? Approximate cost?

Just don't want to get ripped off on our first trip there :-)

Thanks.
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Old Nov 8, 2008, 12:11 am
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Originally Posted by jyu174
How far is the airport from the hotel? We will arrive after 10PM, so is taxi reliable? Approximate cost?

Just don't want to get ripped off on our first trip there :-)

Thanks.
The good news is that all of the taxis in KK have meters; the bad news is that virtually none of them will use them. That being said, most of the taxis charge a standard non-negotiable rate for the 15 minute trip downtown. If I recall correctly, the rate was in the vicinity of RM 20 when I was there last January. Other than the standard airport fare, arranging for taxis for local transport during your stay will typically require a fair amount of negotiation and vigilance.

And to keep this reply on topic, the Le Meridien KK is one of my favorite SPG properties, with a great lounge and very friendly staff.
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Old Nov 8, 2008, 4:06 am
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I'm a gold (1 night paid and 1 night on c+p) and I was upgraded to a suite.
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