Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Sleeping
KLites' love of brands is reflected in the city's many international hotel chains.
You can often grab great online deals for top-end accommodation, which com-
pensates for a dearth of characterful midrange options. Budget sleeps are plenti-
ful, too, but the best places fill up quickly, so book ahead - especially over public
holidays.
Hostels & Guesthouses
Kuala Lumpur has plenty of inexpensive hostels and guesthouses. Most offer dorm beds
(from as little as RM10) as well as basic rooms with shared or private bathrooms and a
choice of fan or air-con.
If your budget is tight, there are grubby fleapits offering windowless boxy rooms, ap-
pealing only for their rock-bottom rates. For those who are more flush, however, there are
also some very appealing 'flashpacker' hostels and guesthouses offering spacious, comfy
dorms and private rooms with bells and whistles that are several steps up in quality than the
norm as well as a preferable option to zero-personality budget business hotels.
Hotels
As a rule, the cheapest budget hotels offer poky box rooms, often with thin plywood parti-
tion walls and no windows; there may be a choice of private or shared bathrooms and fan
or air-conditioning. In cheaper hotels, 'single' normally means one double bed, and
'double' means two double beds. To aid ventilation, the walls of cheaper rooms may not
meet the ceiling, which is terrible for acoustics and privacy - bring earplugs.
At midrange hotels air-con is standard, and rooms typically come with TVs, phones,
proper wardrobes and private bathrooms. Some midrange hotels also have restaurants,
business centres and swimming pools.
With stiff competition at the top end of the market, KL's best hotels pull out all the stops.
Rooms have every conceivable amenity, from in-room internet access (typically wi-fi), to
safes, minibars, slippers and robes, and even prayer mats for Muslim guests. Look online
for discount rates and also for news about several pending international openings including
Four Seasons, Regent, Banyan Tree and the world's first Harrods Hotel, rising up next to
the Pavilion KL mall.
Homestays
