A grand Stay, at The Grand Hyatt KL

Just a stone’s throw from the shops of Suria KLCC, The Grand Hyatt KL has a lot going for it.. super-solicitous service, excellent in-house dining and entertainment, and the most luxurious spa, swimming pool and gymnasium, surrounded by loads of landscaped greenery, that you can imagine.

The 400 odd rooms and suites, are spacious and comfortable, with a modern feel of, glass and chrome, and cushy fabrics. Most have bathrooms with marble soaking tubs as well as walk-in showers. But one thing’s for sure though.. one should really go for a pre-breakfast stroll around nearby KLCC Park, where early morning walkers, joggers, and even tai chi practitioners, gather to start off the day right. And if you have a choice of room to make, pick the ones that face the Petronas twin towers.

I can’t decide what I like most about the hotel, but it is a toss-up between five-star luxury, good service, great F&B as well as a desirable location right in the city centre. For holiday goers, there’s tons to do at KLCC Suria, and for those on business, the adjacent Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre means you won’t have to break a sweat in traffic, getting to your meeting.

Just a quick 2 minute stroll and you are at the convention center. For the outdoorsy folks, who like to walk in the park, there is always the lush gardens of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Park. The hotel is also within walking distance of the Aquaria KLCC and KL Tower. The hotel is a 60 minute drive from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

Yup, there is something decidedly trendy and cool about hanging out at the Grand Hyatt KL. I mean, every floor has the magnificent view of the Petronas Twin Towers, and a 360 degree view of KL city center. There is hardly any spot you can sit in the restaurants, where you will not get this view. Check in itself is on the 39th floor (lobby) and the hotel has in total, 370 rooms and 42 suites.

our room on the 28th floor is located at a dizzying height, way above the city center, and you almost feel face to face with the Petronas Twin towers. If you look down, you can see the pool below as well as KL’s busy highways.

The room sizes are amongst the largest in the city, ranging from 47 square metres (505 square feet) to 340 square metres (3,659 square feet). All rooms have the benefit of floor-to-ceiling windows to best capture the magnificent panoramic views of Kuala Lumpur city and the Twin Towers.

It’s hard to get any work done with such a great view outside and the pool beckoning below..

even harder, when there is a drawn long bath waiting for you! 

And the best thing that goes with a great view, is great food! THIRTY8, the hotel’s signature restaurant, offers a selection of steaks, seafood, sushi and sashimi and is the perfect setting for meeting friends or entertaining for business. Read our past posts here and here, on their different promotions. This time we were here to try their ala carte menu for dinner.

dinner is a rather posh affair..

The massive Pinot Grigio Santa Margherita magnum 1.5L bottle.. it’s as delicious wine and value for money! 

amuse bouche of seafood bisque, served in a tiny cup, and a liver pate spread as opposed to butter. I loved this option eaten with the crispy naan bread. 100% addictive!

there’s nothing quite like your first glass of chilled white wine for the day… nothing.

crab croquette and scallops.. divine!

the crab croquette was bursting with chunks of succulent crab meat 

Bresola Frisse salad – meaty strips of smoky bresola, creamy black pepper cheese, candied walnuts, and finished off with a honeycomb dressing

700gm of Wagyu T-Bone .. insanely good.

perfect medium rare and served with Garlic Mash and Duck Fat Potato Fries. Good Lord.. my waist! 

After 20 minutes.. ll that’s left of the 700gm  steak… 

duck confit – crispy on the outside, fall off the bone tender on the inside with loads of moist succulent duck flavour. perfect.

Chicken Kiev.. reminded me of Uni days in the UK.. loads of Kiev for dinner. But this one tasted nothing like the instant TV dinners from Marks and Sparks. This was gooooood !

The girls having a chat with Ann, our lovely hostess with the mostess

Ah.. what is this smoky science project? 

It turned out to be our dessert of chocolate cake, served with a scoop of homemade banana ice cream, shrouded in smoke. Then a hot chocolate sauce is poured over the chocolate cake, because one layer of chocolate is never enough!

To cap off the decadence we also had scoops of Raspberry, Lychee-Lime, and Mango sorbet to end the night.

And for breakfast each morning , for just RM79++ per head, you get to eat from a massive spread of both Local as well as International selections, at Thirty8.

open concept kitchen at Thirty8

 awesome poached eggs

beef noodle soup

pancakes.. in 4 different flavors.. including pistachio and chocolate.. how sinfully good! 

add you toppings – as you can see, no holds barred!

my favourite was the greek counter – loads of fresh cous cous and hummus to choose from. Here you see my selection is a rather strange mixture of various counters!

 who can resist nasi lemak bungkus? 

chefs hard at work making breakfast a tasty affair 

And in the evenings, Thirty8 is also a great place to have pre-dinner drinks, at their bar. At night the lounge changes into a chill out area where guests can relax and enjoy the live band as well as quartet that takes over from 9pm onwards.

We recommend the Bellini and Cucumber Martini to start off the evening before moving on to dinner. The finish off the night by chilling out at the lounge and listening to some live music.

Live Entertaiment, with a great view, no less!

And for those who love Malaysian cuisine, there is JP teres, that showcases a combination of local favourites of the wok, satay grills and roti hotplate stations. Read our past post here.

Most evenings, the ramadan buffet is currently on at JP Teres

For lunch, my favourites are the Chicken Rice and the Hokkien Mee

Loved the roasted chicken… the Hokkien mee cannot beat street hokkien mee of course, but it was less oily, so that’s fine

just look at the glistening skin..

best way to eat chicken rice!

 Chef Satoru Takeuchi drops by to make sure we are well fed;)

Apart from JP Teres and Thirty8, if you love the spend the day by the pool and do nothing more than laze in the sun cabanas, the The Poolside is a great option for you.

The Poolside provides guests with an all-day alfresco dining option serving simple and healthy international and local favourites.

again, a lovely view of the Petronas Twin Towers from your deckchair

Burgers, salads and even Nasi Goreng are on the menu, at the Poolside. Great for the kids.

We also had a chance to check out the Essa Spa at Grand Hyatt KL. Both Cumi and I were given some terrific, first class treatment and a 1.5 hour spa.

The Spa, practices using ramuan, to attune your body’s energies back to nature.

Essa’s ramuan oils, tinctures and elixirs originate from the leaves, roots, stems, barks, flowers and fruits of the rainforests. Rebalancing and reconnecting to the Rainforest is the way to heal your body. 

reading all about the healing properties & herbs, found in our own backyard – the Malaysian RainForest

Apart from massage therapies, the spa provides guests with other pampering services such as facials, baths, manicures and pedicures

Choose between, Essential Calm de-stress –  Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Bergamot and Frangipani or,

Energetic Awakening – Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Kaffir Lime and Tongkat Ali or ,

Inner Radiance – Vetiver, Neroli, Ginger and Lemongrass

Their signature body treatments and traditional massages were actually pretty amazing. Cumi had a lady who was small in stature, but she really had good strength in her hands. She managed to knead all the aches out of his muscles. He says this is the best spa massage in KL , that he has experienced so far.

Non of the others were strong enough for him. For me though, what really made me smile was the 24-hour fitness centre, as well as the outdoor swimming pool, both adjacent to the spa. The fitness centre was massive, and well equipped with training equipment. Guests can even book personal training sessions with the fitness trainer if they want to. And, just so you don’t catch a chill but want to take a dip on the pool at night, the hotel’s outdoor swimming pool is kept at a temperate 28ºC for guests.

working out before breakfast, and after lunch.. never enough hours to work out in a day, if you ask me! 

airy, and well equipped. I like the spaciousness of the gym, where you can do yoga stretches and free weights with ease

After a good, long workout, a quick shower, jump into the Jacuzzi, then into the swimming pool! 

In the Evenings, a great place to check out is Grand Hyatt KL’s Grand Club Lounge, which is their high end, luxury club area.

This area requires exclusive access and we were lucky we got to experience the Grand Club lounge featuring complimentary continental breakfast and evening alcoholic beverages and hors d’oeuvres.

cold cuts  and fine wines and champagne were free flowing. 

As always, the view is breathtaking at the Grand Club Lounge.. fine a cosy corner and enjoy the sunset!

The Japanese section comes highly recommended – Unagi was on the menu this time.. simply delicious with a glass of premium wine

All in all, the weekend stay had been a memorable one. The food and company during this trip was incredible. The service and helpful staff were a plus too.

Before I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur I had no idea it was so huge, or that it could house so much greenery right in the city center. They landscaped their 3,300 square metres rather well if you ask me. Whether visiting Kuala Lumpur for business, leisure or a little of both, this hotel makes your stay a pleasant experience, and with such a great location, and reputation to its name, who can resist booking into the Grand Hyatt hotel?