Kuala Lumpur is becoming more and more popular as an interesting alternative to nearby Singapore. Recently we wrote about Kuala Lumpur as a Luxury Destination. Now where to sleep in KL in comfort.

Mandarin Oriental
Adjacent to the Petronas Twin Towers and overlooking the 50-acre KLCC Park. This hotel gets rave reviews for its service, its location, its views and for the enormous breakfast buffet. Get a room high on the Petronas side for one of the most spectacular hotel views anywhere.

This is a large hotel, at over 600 rooms, but they seem to have got the service just right. Of course all the normal amenities are available in your room including a twice a day service, fresh fruit and ice daily, luxurious bathroom amenities and a separate bathtub. If you can’t choose between the 6 on-site restaurants (plus many more in the area), use the 24 hour room service. If you think you can’t afford 5-star luxury check out on line deals: you could get a room here for less that $200, that’s for a hotel which is compared to the Ritz, Paris! Read more about Mandarin Oriental.

Hotel Imperial, Kuala Lumpur
Is another beautiful 5 star property in the heart of KL’s downtown commercial, shopping and business district. Smaller than Oriental with just over 300 room this 38-story hotel can still offer view of Petronas, about 2 miles away, and is adjacent to the upmarket shops, restaurants and night life of Bintang Walk and Asian Heritage Row. Or dine in house at the Botanic Brasserie (international buffet), Celestial Court (Chinese) or Villa Danieli (upmarket Italian cuisine).

Many taxi drivers in KL still refer to Imperial Hotel Kuala Lumpur as the “Sheraton”. There are a few other less than 5-star hotels in KL by the name of “Imperial/Imperia” and you may end up in one of these random 2-3 star hotels! Make sure you are clear on the address: written down if necessary. Read more about the Hotel Imperial

The Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Is also in the heart of the city. A modern property with the normal five-star amenities: flat-screen televisions and dramatic views. Again customers rave about the service from staff. For the best views and the maximum luxury experience head to the Horizon Club rooms on the top five floors of the hotel which include late check-out, personal concierge and wireless Internet. Read more about the Shangri-La Hotel

Carcosa Seri Negara
We’ve looked at three of the best modern hotels in KL. Here is something totally different. Carcosa (Italian: ‘dear place’) Seri Negara (Malaysia: ‘King’s house’) was built in 1896 for the first resident-general of colonial Malaya. Until World War 2 Carcosa was the the official residence of the highest British representatives to the Malay States. Today, it is one of the leading hotels in Kuala Lumpur with its manicured lawns and luxurious setting, this is a special hotel.

This hotel is a beautifully restored building sitting in manicured gardens, its also intimate with only 13 suites: all different. All suites have a separate sitting area on the verandas and many have separate living areas as well. Carcosa has two on-site restaurants and is about a 15-minute drive from downtown KL.

Carcosa boasts two excellent restaurants, one French the other Malaysian. You wouldn’t be getting into the spirit of the long-gone British though if you didn’t take afternoon tea in the drawing room before a pre-dinner G&T at the bar. Read more about the Carcosa Seri Negara

If you are staying for just an overnight or heading out to the airport consider the conveniently located.

Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel

KL’s airport is over 70km from the city centre so staying somewhere close to the airport makes sense especially if you have an early departure or just an over-night stop-over.

Overlooking the Lake Gardens and located in KL Sentral, the transport hub of the city, Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel is 28 minutes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport via the airport express train and 10 minutes from KLCC.

The 400 foot long pool is a good place to start to relax but don’t forget to check out the spa treatments in-house either. There are number of restaurants on site ranging from Australian to exotic. The huge suites include separate bedrooms, rain showers, and flat-screen TV’s in the bathroom. Sounds better than hanging out at the airport! Read more about the Hilton KL

Kuala Lumpur, or KL as everyone including the locals call it, has often been seen as just a stopover or plane change on the way to the real beach action of Langkawi or Penang or over to Borneo to check out the Orangutans, primitive tribes and scuba diving. Think again, KL is a vibrant and modern city: well worth a stop for a day or two and with some great luxury hotels to lay your head at. Consider Kuala Lumpur for your next luxury destination

Maybe its because Malaysia is Islamic that tourists skip Malaysia in favour of Thailand. Certainly Malaysia has always been more expensive and less welcoming of the backpacker crowd. “Drug smugglers will be killed” is not exactly the normal, welcome to my country sign, but at least its direct and to the point! Malaysia is not the Middle East by any stretch of the imagination: you will never find it hard to find an excellent cold cheap beer in KL or maybe a Lychee Rose Martini at the Skybar of the Shangri-La overlooking the spectacular Petronas Twin Towers. Thanks to the British colonial rule, KL has sizable populations of Indian and Chinese extraction which makes the visit to any market a mouth-watering experience. Downtown Jalan Alor (Alor Street) showcases al fresco dining including Indian, Chinese and Malay cuisine.

Warm and humid year around KL comes alive after dark. Check out the families hanging out at Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) under the glow of thousands of fairy lights sturng up around the square and over KL’s ornate Moorish administrative complex, the Sultan Abdul Samad building.

Unless you come via the train from Bangkok or Singapore you will probably arrive in KL at the ultra-modern KLIA, the International Airport. The airport is huge, and empty and clean, and well, Jetson-like in it modernity. It is also over 70km from downtown KL but there is a high speed train connection from within the complex which will get you there faster than a taxi.

Malaysia’s current tourist campaign slogan is “truly Asia” and KL is probably the best example of this. Full of spectacular modern towers and shopping centres: oh and did we mention the shopping? From the traditional street markets where you haggle and hang out to the ultra-modern and huge malls you really can buy anything here. KL City Centre (KLCC) is probably the largest shopping precint don’t let the unimaginative name put you off. Take the monorail over and plan to spend a day, several if you are serious about your shopping, or check out a concert or take a stroll in the park.

Prepare for unique twists on the familar: you like tea: try “pulled tea” which is the local tea’s answer to capucciino where the froth is added by pouring the tea from the pot to the cup and back again - you may not normally take sweetened condensed milk in your tea but try it at least once.

Think you are an experienced spa-goer? Try the Kenko Fish Spa in the Paviliion shopping centre. You feed the fish: with your feet. The carnivorous fish are housed in a long tank sunk into the spa’s floor purpose built for dangling legs - much more interesting than any old pumice stone!

Looking to stay somewhere special: well check out our guide to KL’s top 5-star hotels coming soon!