We were planning a short trip to Kuala Lumpur to enjoy the weekend and were considering which hotel to stay in. We previously stayed in W Melbourne and were completely blown away by its top-notch service, magnificent suite, and the quality of its food. We were ready to stay in our second W property and booked a night’s stay at W Kuala Lumpur.
We booked our stay via HoteLux, which came with some additional benefits. These included complimentary breakfast, early check-in and late check-out if available, a welcome amenity, and a welcome note from the General Manager.
TL:DR
Great views of Petronas Twin Towers
Great breakfast
Patchy service when overwhelmed
Large and spacious suite with great views of the city
Service:
Service was generally good, but the staff members sometimes seemed neglectful.
Speaking on the positive side first, they were always friendly, while the servers at Woobar appeared to be genuinely excited to serve guests. At Woobar, they made their rounds frequently to make sure we had everything we needed and were quick to take away the empty dishes once we had finished eating. At the same time, they never intruded and never showed their presence, as if to show we had overstayed our welcome. We thought that our evening spent at Woobar was relaxing and enjoyable. We genuinely appreciated and enjoyed the great service.
On the other hand, we did encounter a few unfortunate negative aspects. When we first arrived at the hotel, the check-in process was relatively fuss-free. However, as we reached too early, the room was not ready. The staff said she would call us once the suite was ready. This worked fine as we wanted to grab lunch at Suria KLCC. As hours passed, we did not receive any call from W Kuala Lumpur. I figured they probably forgot about it, so we returned to the hotel after a lengthy lunch and having finished a tour atop the Petronas Twin Towers. When we arrived back at the hotel, our guess was correct. The suite was already ready, but no one had contacted us.
When we finally reached our suite, we noticed no welcome amenities or welcome notes from the hotel. While this is for sure a small issue (or even a non-issue), it does show that the hotel misses out on the small things. This is the difference between a top five-star hotel and the rest of its competition.
Later that evening, we headed to WET Deck, the pool bar beside the swimming pool, for dinner. We were informed of an entry charge for entering the premises upon arrival. We then asked if it could be waived if we were having dinner. We also highlighted that a table near the swimming pool would be great. We were then informed that the tables nearer the swimming pool would also require a minimum spending. Shortly after, another staff member asked if we were hotel guests. After answering her positively, she apologised and said the charges did not apply to hotel guests. Thankfully, we were then able to enter the premises without paying anything. However, we were led away from the swimming pool and brought to an indoor area within the sheltered pool bar. We understood that W Kuala Lumpur and Wet Deck have a business to run and hence did not ask whether we could have a table near the swimming pool. Imagine our surprise afterwards when we saw a solitary guest having his dinner at a table right beside the swimming pool! Of course, he could have met the minimum spend by purchasing expensive alcoholic beverages.
Breakfast the next morning was a chaotic situation. The number of guests having breakfast at Flock, the hotel’s main restaurant, was huge. Many guests were moving about in the restaurant, which was crowded. As a result, the excess guests were brought to Woobar, the indoor bar beside Flock. We were one of those who were led to a table at Woobar. While it was not the ideal breakfast table, we were grateful that the staff members did some quick thinking and opened the area for guests to enjoy their breakfast. However, after we managed to grab some food and went to our table, we found other guests already enjoying their breakfast there.
We then tried to explain our situation to a staff member and to get a new table. He quickly saw an empty table and guided us to a nearby table. However, we saw a water bottle on the table and wondered if some guests were already using it and if they were using it to reserve the table. We were right again as a group soon came over with their food. It appeared as though the staff members were not prepared for this situation, and there was no one overseeing the table situation. The staff member then just brought us to another empty table. Thankfully, the table was truly available this time.
Besides the standard breakfast buffet at Flock, guests at W Kuala Lumpur can also look forward to a free-flow ala carte menu made to order for guests upon ordering. Among these is the local favourite, Roti Bakar with Soft Boiled Egg. It is essentially a local breakfast favoured by many. When we first got our table, the staff member brought us the menu and asked what we would like. The Roti Bakar stood out, and we ordered it right away. Unfortunately, the food never came. Towards the end of our breakfast, we asked a staff member to order it again. Thankfully, it came shortly after. Just moments later, we saw a staff member bring over a dish to a table near ours (not the Roti Bakar), and they responded by saying they had not ordered that dish. Frankly, it was chaotic and we were thankful we were seated at Woobar. We could see the crowd and sense the tense atmosphere each time we entered Flock to get more food.
Having said the above, we definitely appreciate the staff members during breakfast. Everyone tried their best to serve guests and did everything quickly. It is only natural that mistakes were made amidst the confusion. This seemed like a process issue where staff members did not have the necessary guidance and oversight to manage the situation. In addition, we encountered other service lapses, and it appears this is an ongoing situation at W Kuala Lumpur. This is a pity as we appreciated the service by staff members, who were mostly friendly and keen to assist guests. We hope there will be changes so guests can enjoy the W experience.
Hotel Facilities:
The star of W Kuala Lumpur must be the rooftop swimming pool facing the Petronas Twin Towers. A family-friendly swimming pool by day and a part of a trendy pool bar by night, this is the place to be on weekend nights.
The swimming pool, also known as WET, is beside the pool bar, known as WET Deck. Available for guests to swim between 7 am and 7 pm daily, it closes come dusk as the hotel prepares for a night of partying. Plenty of seating is available, so guests can choose from various sheltered cabanas and semi-indoor seating at WET Deck. When we were there for a stroll in the morning after breakfast, we were reminded that we were near the equator, with the sunshine blazing down on us. This is the place for those who enjoy a good suntanning session. The pool itself does appear to be quite small and seems to be good for relaxing and soaking rather than having a proper workout. While there, we saw families soaking in the pool and generally playing around. Floats were in the pool, and the children were having lots of fun. Come evening time, the swimming pool becomes out of bounds while WET Deck prepares for another night of fun.
The hotel's gym, known as FIT, is near the swimming pool on the same floor. Similarly, facing the Petronas Twin Towers, it has many gym equipment and should satisfy most hotel guests looking for a good workout. There are treadmills, functional trainers, and free weights. Gym users can also use the complimentary towels and water in the gym after a good workout session.
W Kuala Lumpur has an AWAY spa, which we unfortunately did not get to try. Our schedule was too tight and we had to head to the airport soon after checkout. As always with most hotels, reserve a slot first thing after check-in if you want to enjoy a relaxing massage!
Breakfast:
Breakfast at W Kuala Lumpur is a sumptuous affair. Situated at Flock, the buffet consists of quite a large variety of food options that we did not manage to try all of them. Granted, we arrived quite late to the breakfast buffet.
You can rest assured that standard offerings such as cold cuts, cheeses, smoked salmon, beef bacon, sausages, baked beans, and pastries are all available for international travellers. I enjoy these foods and they are usually the first thing I look for in every hotel buffet breakfast. It was no different at W Kuala Lumpur, and I enjoyed some of those selections. Besides these options, Flock also offers other types of food like curries, deep-fried food, yoghurts, and fruits.
Of course, being in Malaysia, W Kuala Lumpur has to showcase local food. It does not disappoint in this regard. It offers a delicious-looking self-service porridge with a slew of condiments. Simple but tasty condiments such as fried shallots, fried peanuts, fried anchovies, sliced ginger, spring onion, and pickled lettuce are available. It is a bowl of home comfort for many Asians. Local favourite Nasi Lemak is also provided. A picture with a summary is shown to explain what the dish is and it also offers practical help when hotel guests try their best to create their version of Nasi Lemak at the self-service counter. For those who prefer, you can take unlimited portions of hard-boiled eggs and sambal chilli with your Nasi Lemak.
There is a noodle station where a staff member will serve a tasty bowl of goodness after selecting the sides you want with your noodles. During our stay, you could choose from three types of soups. You could go for the chicken soup, prawn soup, or the spicy curry laksa. Of course, we would have gone for the curry laksa noodles.
Besides these main dishes, we love that W Kuala Lumpur served some local sweet treats. Malaysian local cakes, also known as ‘kueh’, are offered. We love these kuehs and we usually enjoy those in Singapore as well. It is uncommon to see these served in a hotel restaurant, and we love that W Kuala Kumpur showcased these local treats. The hotel also has a counter that serves up some tasty drinks. Teh Tarik, a drink commonly found in Malaysia and Singapore, is a hot milk tea that gets its name from the method of serving. Literally meaning pulled tea, the teh tarik is a favourite among locals. If you happen to be at W Kuala Lumpur enjoying breakfast at Flock, be sure to have a cup of teh tarik!
Being a W hotel, W Kuala Lumpur has to stand out. This is where Flock shines. Besides the numerous food options and many local food offerings, it has a breakfast table menu where guests can select unlimited ala carte dishes. Made-to-order, the menu comprises 5 different egg dishes that are bound to impress guests. We went for the Roti Bakar with soft-boiled eggs, a staple dish for many Malaysians and Singaporeans. We often ate this dish back home, and it was nice to have some homely food abroad. We loved the filling, which is a mixture of butter and kaya, a coconut jam. Dip the bread in the soft-boiled eggs, slurp it up, and bite into the bread. This is how we eat it. Sedap!
Even though it was not advertised, we saw some tables that served fresh coconuts and quickly requested one. This was a wise choice as shortly after we got our coconut, our neighbouring table requested one and they were informed that the restaurant was out of coconuts. At a buffet table, it pays to order quickly!
Overall, we loved the food at Flock. As described earlier in the article, it was a chaotic affair during breakfast service that saw us lose our table before being guided to an already occupied one. Our ordered food never arrived, and we had to order one more set. A neighbouring table then saw themselves served food they had never ordered. If the hotel can resolve this issue at breakfast, we are sure breakfast service will be an extremely pleasant affair for guests. The fact that the restaurant serves superb food means W Kuala Lumpur is already halfway there.
Food:
WIP Access
As hotel guests staying in the Marvelous Suite, we were informed during check-in that this entitled us to WIP Access. Situated at Woobar, we were asked to head down to Woobar between 6 pm and 7.30 pm for complimentary drinks. We were quite excited because we did not know of this perk.
Right on the dot at 6 pm, we headed down to Woobar to find out what WIP Access entailed. We discovered that WIP Access entitled guests to a round of light bites and 2 complimentary drinks per person. Upon arriving at Woobar, we were brought to a table and shown a drinks menu that ranged from house wines, beers, spirits, cocktails, mocktails, and juices.
After choosing our mocktails, we relaxed in the outdoor area that came with a relaxing breeze. A giant fan spinning above us greatly lowered the infamous tropical temperature. Soon, our light bites and drinks arrived. Admittedly, we cannot remember what the light bites consisted of. However, we definitely remember that every bite tasted great and we were left wanting more.
The staff was also very proactive in subtly monitoring if we had finished our food and the first round of drinks. The staff would quickly check in on us whenever we finished something. When they noticed we had finished our first round of drinks, they were quick to check if we were ready for the second drink. After enjoying the mocktails, we ordered the same drinks again. This way, both of us can fully enjoy both mocktails. We had the Jack & Rose, which consisted of pineapple, cinnamon, and hibiscus rose, and the Fashion & Passion, which consisted of passionfruit, bitter cordial, citrus, and sparkling water. We liked that both drinks did not taste too sweet but went well with the snacks. We would consider drinking these drinks if we happened to be at Woobar for a relaxing night out.
WET Deck
After spending some time at Woobar and relaxing, the night began to settle in. It was time to have a proper dinner. We proceeded to the elevators and headed straight to the WET Deck. By then, the DJ was already working hard to get the party started. Many visitors were already on the floor enjoying their drinks and chatting with friends.
Even though the area was by then drowned in party music, kudos to the team at WET Deck as they came over to our table quickly to take our dinner order. As it was a fun night out and we were in a party zone, we thought we should have some finger food that would also be filling. We first decided to go for the Angus sliders, packed with a huge beef patty, caramelised onions, tomatoes, pickles, and Gruyere cheese. It came in a set of 3, which is what you expect when you order sliders. However, the beef sliders were slightly larger than we expected. Nevertheless, they were delicious. We loved the beef patty; the ingredients worked so well together, especially when you could taste the lovely cheese between the caramelised onions and tomatoes and cheese. We finished all three sliders in no time.
Next, we ordered the seafood spaghetti, which was made with various quality ingredients. Besides red snapper, there were also tiger prawns, green mussels, calamari, and scallops. It was then expertly cooked in shallots, chilli, garlic, wild rocket, and extra virgin olive oil. We loved that it was not too oily and we could taste each ingredient. We could also taste the freshness of each ingredient, which made us love the dish even more. This was a quality dish that we would order any time.
Knowing that we would be full by night, no thanks in part to the warm welcome provided by the WIP Access, we ordered a dessert as the final dish of the day. We wanted to try something unique and were recommended the Ice Cream Pops. It differed from the usual desserts; we thought trying it was a good idea. Thankfully, we took the staff’s recommendation. Served in an ice bowl with four ice cream bars, each ice cream has a different flavour. Chocolate hazelnut rocher, pineapple coconut, wild blueberry, and lime calamasi were the unique flavours of the ice cream.
We really loved that even though it is basically ice cream, the team came up with unique flavours and served to customers in such a unique presentation. This concept would not work well if ice cream were served in a bowl. By following the Magnum-style ice cream, we thought that the team at W Kuala Lumpur elevated the simple dessert to another level. We also liked the contrasting flavours that the different ice creams offered. There were different sweet flavours between the chocolate and blueberry ice cream, while the pineapple coconut and lime calamasi offered yet another sweet and sour treat. We loved the entire concept of this dish.
At the end of the day, we were completely full after enjoying all three dishes. We loved all three dishes and would definitely come back another day to enjoy more. Perhaps we might come in the day instead to have a more relaxing meal while enjoying the Petronas Twin Towers view!
