Location

Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur in the middle of the Bukit Bintang shopping strip. The hotel’s convenient location gives its guests tons of shopping and entertainment options. We can go shopping right at the hotel’s doorstep and return to drop off our stuff and continue shopping. Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur sits on top of the Pavilion Mega shopping mall, which offers shops from luxury boutiques to budget-friendly stores. There is a wide variety of eateries within the shopping mall, ranging from local to international cuisines. In addition, the famed Jalan Alor night street market, which offers plentiful street dining options, located about 10mins walk from the hotel, offers guests of Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur additional dining choices. The hotel is also located within 15 mins walk from the Petronas Twin Tower and KLCC shopping mall. The nearby monorail station is about 5 mins walk from the hotel, which takes us to the shopping malls slightly further from the hotel.

The Suite

We checked into the Urban Suite at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The 76m² suite we were assigned has a great view of the city through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The contemporary design of the Urban Suite offers comfort for its guests, and the clever use of the space in the Suite makes the Suite feel spacious. I also like the subtle segregation of the areas in the Suite by the flooring materials used.

Entryway

The marble-laden entryway welcomed us upon entry into the Urban Suite. The use of marble and a simple painting brought a luxurious vibe to the Suite, sending guests a spacious feel. This area is sparsely furnished with a ledge wedged onto the wall, which I find useful for placing small items like the keycard. A powder room is co-located at the entryway, which is convenient for guests to do some last-minute business before heading out. The spacious powder room fitted with light-coloured tiles on the walls contrasting with the dark-coloured marble floors emits a luxurious feel constant with the theme in the entryway and is furnished with a toilet and a sink. The ample lighting in the powder room took away the claustrophobic feel for its users. Adding a powder room in the same space as the living room also meant guests of the occupants do not have to bash into the Bedroom to use the toilet, ensuring privacy for the occupants of the Urban Suite.

Dining Area

The dining area is marked with the use of dark wooden flooring. Here is where a large-sized round dining table with four leather chairs dominated this area. A simple paper chandelier hanging from the ceiling above the table provides additional illumination and gives this area a luxurious vibe. The table is large enough for four to dine comfortably without engaging in an elbow war. It seems that this dining table also doubles up as a work desk. I found a round marble piece in the centre of the dining table, hiding a power socket underneath, providing power for guests to charge their laptops. A chest of drawers sits by the wall opposite the dining table, housing the minibar. The minibar is well stocked with the usual coffee capsules and tea bags, along with a generous supply of bottled water to keep us hydrated in the humid climate of Kuala Lumpur. The fridge, well hidden in the chest of drawers that would otherwise be stocked with overpriced beverages, is kept empty due to the pandemic. I like the clean look of the minibar that elevated the elegance of the Urban Suite.

Living Room

Further into the Suite from the entryway, past the dining area, a large floral patterned carpet demarcates the living room to the Urban Suite. Furnished with a beige coloured coach that can provide comfortable sitting for three adults with two complimentary wooden framed armchairs. I liked how the furniture complements each other comfortably to the eye at one glance. The large wooden coffee table and two side tables next to the coach gave us more space to place our snacks while entertaining ourselves with the TV’s local and international channels. The TV, however, seems a tad too small for the size of the living room. The living room gives a relaxing and cosy vibe, thanks to the choice of furniture and the two table lamps, as well as the absence of unnecessary furniture that would otherwise clutter up the living room. I also came to appreciate the living room, which offered me the space to pack my luggage with its clean design.

Bedroom

The Bedroom in the Urban Suite at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur is separated from the living room with a wooden door. Again the flooring in the Bedroom is different from that in the living room. The beige carpet marks the sleeping area from the lounging area in the Urban Suite. Similar to the design language of the living room, the Bedroom feels uncluttered, and the space, together with the colour theme, gave it a very cosy feel. The cosiness is further enhanced with the warm lighting from the ceiling and the bedside lamps. A large painting of leaf prints hanging on the wall on top of the headboard of the king bed brings some life to the Bedroom. A large King bed which provided me with excellent sleep quality and a soft headboard with built-in reading lights, occupies the bulk of the Bedroom in the Urban Suite. I like the bedside table size, which gives us plentiful space to place our lifestyle devices for charging. A bright red settee in front of the king bed provided additional space to place our stuff on top of, providing us with a place to lounge while watching on the second TV in the Urban Suite mounted to the bedroom wall. A lone armchair with an ottoman placed by the floor-to-ceiling window in the Bedroom is a great place to read a book or relax with a warm cup of tea while watching life go by in the bustling city below.

A long corridor floored with yellow marble tiles marks the wardrobe area. The wardrobe space is very generous in the Urban Suite at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The two two-panelled wardrobes provided us ample space to hang our clothing for the short two-night stay at the hotel. Three-tiered drawers are built into one of the wardrobes in the Suite. I like how the hotel is generous in providing ample hangers for its guests to hang away their clothing. There is another single-panelled wardrobe where another three-tiered drawer is built, where the in-room safe is found.

Bathroom

The Bathroom is found at the end of the wardrobe area. I find the design of the Bathroom a tad weird. Instead of building the toilet into the Bathroom, the bath area and the toilet area are separately located. At the end of the wardrobe area, a small room houses the toilet with no sink inside. This design inevitably inconveniences the Urban Suite guests, who have to head into the Bathroom to wash their hands after doing their business.

The main Bathroom, which houses the wet area predominantly, feels a tad small. The use of light marble tides, contrasting the black marble sink countertop, exudes a sense of luxury in the Bathroom. The black single-sink countertop is the first thing that caught my attention. Despite providing only one sink, I thought this decision by the hotel was excellent, as having two sinks would cramp up the countertop space. With one sink, there is a lot of space on the countertop to put our toiletries. The hotel equipped the Bathroom in their Urban Suite with a large deep-seated bathtub. On the other side of the sink is the walk-in shower with a rain shower and a regular shower head. There is ample space in the walk-in shower to place facial washes and toothbrushes.

Service

Service at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur was mediocre at best. While some of the staff strived their best to provide five-star service, this group of diligent staff were few. The mediocre service we experienced first began during check-in. The check-in experience at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur feels more like a lottery system where half the time, we were guessing which queue would shorten our waiting time. There are essentially three queues at the check-in counter. We waited for around 25 mins before being served for check-in. Upon our turn, we were told that our check-in would be processed at the Club Lounge. If only staff were around to filter the check-in queue, we would not have to wait in line. During our check-in at the Club Lounge, the two staff processing our check-in proved to be ill-informed about the Accor Diamond Status membership privileges. They also appeared not keen on listening to our views and our previous email exchanges with the hotel’s Assistant Reservation Manager on our upgrade eligibility. The hotel did not seem bothered to adhere to the benefits of the Accor programme, despite getting the Duty Manager, we were not accorded the upgrade that was mentioned to us by the Assistant Reservation Manager. Our whole check-in progress took almost 1 hour!

The only people who provided any service were some of the staff (and not all!!) at the Club Lounge. Most of the time, while we were at the lounge, no staff were seen welcoming guests into the lounge, and the empty plates on the table were not being cleared to the point that we wanted to place the plates on the floor. The only time we saw a staff during evening cocktail service chose to ignore the plates on our table until we had to prompt her to assist us with the plate situation. The female Chinese staff at the Club Lounge, whom we met on the second day of our stay, was the only one diligently doing her job. She came across as warm and sincere and was prompt in helping us clear the plates. She even went to the extent of introducing the dishes available during the evening cocktail.

The staff at The Courtyard seem to be the other group bothered about service. They were observant and accommodating despite the high volume of guests appearing for breakfast simultaneously. Despite the hecticness, these staff at The Courtyard were seen diligently clearing the empty plates and turning around tables so the next set of guests could quickly be seated.

Hotel Facilities

Swimming Pool

The swimming pool in Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur is located on the 18th floor of the hotel. The rooftop infinity pool offered a great view of Kuala Lumpur, where guests can do some decent laps while vacationing in the city. However, I find the pool a tad small, and the limited sundeck chairs can hardly cater to all the guests staying at the hotel.

Gym

The Sky Gym at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur is located on the top of the hotel on the 18th floor, next to the swimming pool. The gym is fairly small and is mainly equipped with cardio workout machines like the elliptical, stationary bikes and treadmills. Guests opting for strength training can only do their workouts on the small three-in-one machine and the free weights. Despite the small set-up, the gym allows guests to do some decent workouts to burn off the calories from feasting on the food in Kuala Lumpur. Another plus point of the gym is its unparalleled views. Guests are treated to a great view of the city, which makes working out more enjoyable.

Club Lounge

The Urban Suite comes with Club Lounge access, located on the 14th floor of the hotel. As we booked the suite room, our check-in was also done at the Club Lounge. The Club Lounge is a great place to relax for a beverage outside the evening cocktail hours. The use of earthy tones and the abundance of sofa seats make our time at the lounge relaxing. However, we mainly visited the lounge during evening cocktail hours (5 pm to 7 pm) for their canapé. On non-pandemic days, the Club Lounge would be an alternate location for breakfast. Despite the relaxing ambience, I find the noise level in the lounge to be a tad high. It just takes one table of guests to speak loudly, and their conversation will reverberate throughout the lounge.

Breakfast @ The Courtyard

Breakfast was great in the Courtyard. There are a wide variety of choices for us to choose from every morning during our stay at Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The breakfast consists of local and western options and an egg station outside the restaurant. The local options during breakfast consist of cuisines from the three main cultures of Malaysia. There is even a station where freshly squeezed fruit juices are offered. Food is constantly topped up by the diligent staff, who also quickly cleared the empty plates on our table. We found minor changes to the menu on the two days of our stay. The queue for breakfast can be a tad long; we had to wait for 15 to 20 mins each morning during the breakfast run.

Overall

The Urban Suite is comfortable and cosy. By not cluttering the Suite with unnecessary furniture, Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur provided guests with a spacious suite that looks clean. The dining table in the Suite allowed us to consume our takeaways in the comfort of our Suite. The sleep quality on the King bed is great in removing all the tiredness we experienced. Unfortunately, the service at the hotel was not befitting of a five-star rating. There are too few staff who tried to make things right, overshadowed by most of the staff who came across as cold and unapproachable. Despite the convenience of the location and the well-appointed, comfortable and cosy Urban Suite, I will not return to this hotel where the service has left to be much desired, and the association with the Accor programme is by name only. There are better options within a stone’s throw away from the hotel.