Travel to Malaysia - Seeing Malaysia in Style

Luxury hotels for the discerning traveler

For the discerning traveler looking for something more than just a place to sleep and shower, a profusion of luxury hotels have recently sprung up across the Malaysian Peninsula. From a purely personal viewpoint, the best of the best are as follows:

In Kuala Lumpur:

The Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala
LumpurPh: (603) 380-8888
Fax: (603) 380-8833
Website: www.mandarinoriental.com

The Mandarin Oriental is the ultimate in luxury. Guests who are members of the Mandarin Oriental Club are welcomed by a Club host, treated to a sumptuous complimentary buffet breakfast and are free to enjoy the softly lit ambience of the exclusive lounge where hors d’oeuvres and cocktails are served each evening.

The facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, sauna, whirlpool, tennis and squash courts, and a fully equipped gymnasium. Business travelers have the added convenience of a modern, well-equipped business center with a full range of secretarial services.

The Mandarin also boasts a conference center (equipped with state of the art projection/sound systems), a banquet hall and two ballrooms, the larger of which can accommodate 2400 people. As part of their commitment to excellence, a gourmet meal at the Pacifica Grill and Bar as concocted by Chef Adam, winner of the Five Star Dining Award.

Above all else, the Mandarin prides itself on treating their guests like royalty. Their personal attention to each visitor’s needs earns them a glittering five star rating in the constellation of excellence.

The Legend Putra Place,100 Jalan Putra,50350 Kuala
LumpurPh: (603) 442-9888 or 1-800-88-3390
Fax: (603) 443-0700
Website: www.asiatravel.com/malaysia/legend/ e-mail: tlegend@po.jaring.my

Truly legendary in terms of hospitality, style and comfort, The Legend is on par with any international 5-star hotel as far as guest amenities go (spa, swimming pool, gym, business office facilities etc.)

The Legend has some unique features. Their “Lady Legend” program caters specifically to women, with rooms containing magnified make-up mirror, feminine toilet accessories, women’s magazines, and a hotline phone number for emergency assistance. Five restaurants pamper to the most fastidious of taste-buds, offering customers a variety of healthy dishes, sushi, satay, sea-food, crepes, and decadent deserts.

The Legend’s Monkey Bar has great late-night entertainment, including a karaoke den.

And for that once-upon-a-lifetime-never-to-be-forgotten experience, there is nothing to compare with The Legend’s exotic 5000 square foot Topkapi Suite. Custom-designed with materials from Spain, Morocco, Egypt and Iraq, it has accommodated the likes of visiting royalty and trendy rich-n-famous personalities such as Joan Collins. Or, if you are a Marilyn Monroe fan, wallow in memorabilia in the two-bedroom suite named after the movie star.

The Ritz Carleton
168 Jalan Imbi55100 Kuala
LumpurPh: (603) 242-8000
Fax: (603) 243-8080
Website: www.ritzcarlton.com
e-mail: rajazami@ritzkl.po.my

Although The Ritz has all the usual five-star facilities—efficient service, spacious rooms, business office facilities and four restaurants—it lacks pizzazz.

Its sole claim to distinction is a range of butler-drawn baths: rose petals for honeymooners and Dead Sea salt minerals with peppermint and chamomile for the weary.

Should you wish to be Queen of the Nile in your bathtub, Cleopatra’s elixir consists of milk mixed with lavender oil and cucumber slices for tired eyes. Guys can sip cognac and inhale a Rey Del Mundo cigar while reveling in bath water spiced with ylang-ylang and sandalwood. Lovers may share their tub by candlelight, soaking in a mix of ylang-ylang, patchouli, sage and flower petals, while hoisting a glass each of Moet & Chandon champagne. Which, according to the publicity blurb have “just the right ingredients to start the fire burning.”

Kota Bharu

The Diamond PuteriJalan Tenku Petra Semerak15000 Kota BharuKelantanPh: (609) 743-9988 or (603)-413-0448Fax: (609) 743-8388 or (603) 413-7284Website: www.diamond-puteri.com

e-mail: dp@adorna.po.my

Among the best hotels in Kota Bharu, the staff of the Diamond Puteri is courteous and eager to please. The entrance foyer has a magnificent curving staircase and diorama of a tribal village scene. A curious little item included in their hotel information package is a price-list for those wishing to take home a “souvenir” of room accessories - including the linen and china. The TV too is available for 1,500 Malaysian Ringets (Can$600) added to the hotel bill.

Terengganu

Gem Beach Resort and Gem Island Resort
Gem Resort Reservation Centre,Lot 2135, Mukim Batu Rakit, Mengapang Lekar21020 Kuala Terengganu
Ph: 609-669-5920Fax: 609-669-5910
Website: www.gemresorts.com
e-mail: enquiry@gemresorts.com

Situated on a sandy, palm-fringed stretch of waterfront on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, Gem Beach Resort is set in a landscaped garden surrounding a swimming pool. All their rooms have balconies with sea views.

Gem Island Resort, which is under the same management as Gem Beach Resort, is a rustic hideaway, accessible only by a thirty-minute boat ride across the China Sea. Gem Island is tiny, and not even shown on most maps. The island is ideal for snorkeling and kayaking and you can even frolic nose to nose with a shark. (Apparently, these ones don’t dine on humans.) Or visit the turtle hatchery which, during May and June, has tiny baby turtles by the hundreds. Gem Resorts offer very attractively priced two-day packages. Visit their website for up-to-date information.

The Aryani Resort
Jalan Rhu Tapai-Merang,21010 Setieu,Terengganu
Tel: (609) 653-2111
Fax: (609) 653-1007
e-mail: norilah@pd.jaring.my

The Aryani Resort is a miniature jewel. Set in a tranquil garden filled with flowering shrubs and shady trees, the resort’s twenty self-contained villas range from elegant art decor modernity to the ambience of a lovely old heritage suite. Soak in the heritage spa with its herbal aromatic baths or merely laze in the sun on the deck of their Pilau Beach Club overlooking the ocean.

Then, in the gentle tropical twilight, listen to the mellow sounds of a Gamelon concert wafting across the lawn while dining on specialties of east coast cuisine prepared from recipes which were once exclusive to royalty. The Aryani, steeped in cultural traditions and charming old-world Terengganu hospitality, is truly idyllic.

Getting There:

Malaysian Airlines, which operates between Los Angeles and Kuala Lumpur, deserves its reputation as one of the world’s finest airlines in terms of service and comfort. By way of entertainment, individually operated computer monitors deliver a wide selection of movies and documentary features, access to news channels, and a variety of interactive games. Elegant menu cards allow for a choice of entrees and the meals themselves are imaginatively prepared.

Author: Margaret Deefholts