Nook & Mai Bar @ Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral

CCFoodTravel check out Aloft, the latest hotel under the Starwood group…

Honestly, there is no stopping the Starwood group. They have nine hotel brands globally, and in Malaysia they have at present five hotel brands, the Le Meridien, The Luxury Collection, Westin, Four Points, and Sheraton. Apparently the other two Starwood brands, the St Regis and W Hotels, will start operations in Malaysia in 2014 and 2016, respectively. No matter, to fill the gap there is now Aloft – the latest hotel that was recently launched by the group.

The Aloft Kuala Lumpur, said the 482-room hotel and is the first Aloft hotel in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Currently it is also be the largest Aloft hotel in the world.

The main restaurant in the hotel is called Nook – modern and minimalistic.. even the buffet spread is smaller than at most hotels in the area. The interior was created for the hotel by Poole Associates, the same designer for 7atenine, WiP, EEST & QBA.

At the Aloft, the staff don’t wear ties, they don’t have name tags, and they don’t have uniforms. They also get to wear jeans, which is really cool. And Aloft’s casual theme can be experienced at Nook cafe, where the waiters are all casually dressed, in a green shirts and white trousers, and at the buffet table, guests are encouraged to say, what their preference in food is, or if they have any particular diet they require.

the special house burger

This hotel cost RM300 million to build, and plus factor for the hotel will be the Nu Sentral Shopping Complex, which should be completed by year-end. So Aloft will be a great and strategic location to choose, especially for shoppers.

nasi lemak

sarawak laksa

On the 14th floor, there is a Polynesian-inspired rooftop bar called Mai Bar (after the drink Mai Tai we suppose). I really liked the club area, which houses the latest rooftop bar in KL, with a super chill poolside. The pool area is nice and non-smoky, and usually has a nice breeze. There is a nice view of KL’s skyline when you hangout at the alfresco lounge. I didn’t like the drinks as much though, and found the Mai Tai way too sweet and with hardly any alcohol in it. The deco of the place made up for the drinks – it’s pretty amusing to see the Tiki totems statues all over the place – even the drinks are served in totem mugs. The bar is designed by Australian artist Tony Twigg who in my opinion did a rather nice job of the place.

For travellers to Kuala Lumpur, who are seeking to stay in the Sentral KL area, there is now another great choice – Aloft KL Sentral !