Hotel Review: Sheraton Imperial, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Occasion

We stayed for two nights at the Sheraton Imperial during our Round-The-World trip in March 2017. I booked our room using SPG “points + cash” for 2,000 pts + $35 per night (an incredible 4 cent/pt redemption). I requested, and received, a room upgrade to a Deluxe.

Location

The Sheraton Imperial is located on the busy Jalan Sultan Ismail Street in Kuala Lumpur, directly across the street from the Quill City Mall.

We took an Uber from the airport to the hotel, which is a strikingly far distance. With traffic, it took us 1hr 10min to reach the hotel and cost MYR 79.90 (~$18.6).

Arrival & Check-in

Check-in was a breeze. The counters are located directly to the left upon entrance. There, we handed over our documents, had our bags taken to the room, and were on our way up the elevators just a short time later.

The lobby area has a very nice wood decor in an Islamic style, which was tastefully done and contrasted the marble nicely.

Room

The Deluxe room is nicely sized, spacious, and tastefully decorated. It had a large bathroom with tub, a nice walk-in closet, a decent entertainment system. It was perfectly adequate but nothing extraordinary.

Dining

The hotel contains three restaurants, a lounge, and a cafe. Since we were just there for a short time we only tried Essence, an “international buffet” where we had breakfast one morning. I didn’t get any photos, but the variety and quality was very high. I suspect the other options are equally as good, albeit a bit more expensive than the local fare per usual.

Lounge

This is hands-down the best Sheraton Club Lounge I have visited. Similar to others in Asia that we have visited, the lounge runs like a restaurant where a hosts greet you, show you to a seat, and get your drinks. It’s great!

In addition to serving a full breakfast, they also have an “afternoon cocktail hour” which lasts for 3 hours and includes slews of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages as well as a small buffet. The buffet had several chicken, salad, and vegetable dishes which was more than enough for a full meal.

They also had computers with printers for use.

If you were there between breakfast and cocktail hour, they have a refrigerator stocked with drinks and sandwiches that you can take at any time. Also, fruit, peanuts, and gummy bears–my weak point.

I really can’t say enough good things about the lounge here. Very impressive!

Pool, Spa, & Gym

Unfortunately with such a tight schedule, we didn’t get a chance to check out the pool and spa, although they do exist. With another day or two, I can guarantee we would have been doing some laps and getting massaged. Alas, there was too much of the city to see and never enough time. Looking at the pictures from their website, however, it looks pretty great:

I did get in a workout at their gym, which was decent, and you can read my review here.

Value

This is far and away the best value hotel I have ever stayed in. The fact that this is a Category 2 property within SPG blows me away as it really is an exquisite property. My 4c/pt redemption using points was one of the best I’ve ever made, although the cash rates were reasonable as well (~$100) and I would have happily paid.

Summary

I can’t say enough good things about this property. The lounge, gym, location, and service was top-notch. I wish we had more time here to explore the other hotel’s amenities, of which we barely scratched the surface. I could easily spend a week here (and would love to!) without running out of things to do just at the hotel. Most of the places I’ve visited don’t warrant a return visit, but this one definitely does.