You’ve decided to go to Malaysia, a country that offers far more than you’d expect. Can’t decide where to stay? Add these unique hotels to your list of possibilities.
The Westin Kuala Lumpur
Announced as Malaysia’s Leading Business Hotel for the 2014 World Travel Awards, the Westin is most certainly the place where you want to stay in KL.
“Winning this prestigious award for the second year running is a reflection of our dedicated and passionate team who go above and beyond to deliver memorable experiences for our guests.”
Rachael Harman, Hotel Manager
Offering three different types of suites, the Westin KL is proud to have welcomed celebrities like Lewis Hamilton or Manuel Valls, the French prime minister in their chairman suite. In the five restaurants guests are truly to experience the best of various countries’ cuisines. Whether you dine in the Chinese restaurant like we did or have a drink at the Mexican flavoured establishment downstairs, there is always the chance to look behind the scenes and watch the famous chefs preparing your dishes right in front of you.
Besides the pool, the spa area and the gym, which all come with several special offers, don’t miss out on the stunning view all over this great city. Not a problem for me as my room was located in the 34th floor.
Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa, Kota Kinabalu
This resort is titled as the ‘Gateway to Borneo’s paradise’ and that’s exactly what it feels like staying here. Perfectly located, you can reach 4 tropical islands within 10 minutes by a speedboat as well as the highest mountain in South East Asia, Mount Kinabalu. It’s just a 10 minute drive to the Kota Kinabalu airport, which makes Shangri La group’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa the perfect spot on the world’s third largest island.
The variety of activities offered by Tanjung Aru makes it almost unnecessary to leave it at all. Highlights are definitively the sunset bar and the sunset boat-cruise. At 6pm we were standing at the bar looking at a scenery that every travel brochure would feature as the place to be.
Gayana Eco Resort
This resort is one of the rarest of its kind, that’s for sure. Completely built on planks, Gayana Eco Resort is located on the coast of Gaya Island and it’s probably what you’d call paradise.
We were welcomed by another amazing meal in their Alu Alu Seafood Cantonese restaurant. The great 360 degrees view plus seadfood tofu and honey-sesame chicken made it even harder to get up again and talk a walk through the resort. The resort’s heart is the Maritime Ecology Research Centre, which is the first one in Malaysia to successfully reproduce all seven kinds of giant clams found in the South Chinese sea. Aiming to restore the natural coral reef, Gayana Eco Resort has done some great work so far – which we were able to testify.
After a spa treatment we are heading back to Kota Kinabalu knowing that we had discovered Malaysia in all its natural beauty.