The Malaysian capital is seeing competition in the luxury hotel segment rising with new openings: from properties in the Sentral transport hub of the city to the KLCC district near the Petronas Twin Towers.
The St Regis (below) opened in May 2016 with a seamless LED video-wall projection system that extends to three sides of the Grand Ballroom. The LED system is the first of its type for a hotel in the region and provides a “digital canvas” for corporate meetings with live-feed and multimedia capability. There is also a freight lift for vehicles to access the Grand Ballroom, while the driveway for the junior Astor Ballroom – located in a separate section of the hotel – can be cordoned off for privacy and security.
For post-conference and incentive events The St Regis also offers groups the Screening Room where events can be themed around movies such as The Great Gatsby. Styling and a photographer can also be arranged with a private dinner rounding off the evening.
In March 2016, the Ritz-Carlton unveiled the results of a full-scale refurbishment that began in January 2015, while the hotel operated throughout. Also included was the three-level conference space with 15 meeting rooms and banquet hall. The Intercontinental also underwent extensive upgrades with 132 premier and 130 deluxe rooms transformed.
The W Kuala Lumpur is scheduled to open in March 2018 with 150-guest rooms set within a 55-storey tower. The largest meeting area planned will be 800 sqm for a total of 1,465 sqm across seven meeting rooms spaces. Another new addition to the KLCC skyline will come in the form of a 209-guest room Four Seasons, with an opening planned for early 2018 in a 65-storey tower. Also set for early 2018 is Fairmont, with 750-guest rooms in a 62-storey tower connected to Suria shopping complex, near the convention centre.
The eco-themed Element brand (lift lobby below) is also being introduced to Southeast Asia at the highest level, and appropriately enough in the 275 metre Green Building Index-certified Ilham Tower designed by Foster+Partners with an exo-skeletal structure.
Meeting planners will be offered activities based around health and wellness, which include a bicycle borrowing service and an Element yoga and zumba teacher.
Putrajaya updates
Practically free of the traffic congestion seen at peak times in Kuala Lumpur, and nearer to the international airport, Putrajaya is attracting more corporate and academic meetings.
Le Méridien Putrajaya (below), which opened August 2016, is among the brands catering to planners who demand a more creative dimension to their meetings and events.
Le Méridien’s new meetings concept based around practical team engagement and creativity is currently being tested in Putrajaya and other locations before being rolled out this year.
Offsite facilities that Le Méridien can access include a golf course opposite the property, dragon boating on Putrajaya Lake and District 21, an adventure complex located in the largest shopping mall in Southern Klang Valley of Malaysia, which is next to the hotel. The facility has the country’s first indoor high-ropes course and roller-glider system among other adrenalin-inducing apparatus that can be adapted for teambuilding.
Main picture: The pool at the soon-to-open Four Seasons
