The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Situated across the historic Kuala Lumpur Railway Station is this quaint but noble standing building, with colonial architecture that time travels you into the past, sits the Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur. This iconic hotel has a rich history in itself dating back to 1932 standing as the epitome of luxury during the colonial era of Malaya.

The Majestic Hotel was at its height of luxury, with the largest and grandest balls being held at its Rooftop Garden. The Majestic Hotel played host to performers from all over the globe, ranging from Hollywood to the Coliseum in London. It was the grandest hotel in Kuala Lumpur, and was favoured by the colonial elite and prominent guests for its extravagant parties and high tea. After being worn down by time, the prestigious building was declared a Heritage building under the Malaysian Antiquities Act, saving it from further decay. It was only after its short stint as the National Art Gallery that it was bought over by the YTL Group. It was then further refurbished and revived as one of the YTL Classic Hotels that we know today.

The Majestic Hotel is situated across the iconic Kuala Lumpur Railway Station and consists of two main buildings, the refurbished historical Majestic Wing, and the modernist Tower Wing. Much effort was put into the restoration to ensure that it preserved its original classic feel, but ensuring the comfort and luxury of the 21^st century. The classic building, know as the Majestic Wing, which caters with 3 types of suites, consisting of 18 Colonial Suites, 15 Governor Suites and 2 Majestic Suites. The entrance to the Majestic Wing opens up to its chauffeur service available to patrons who reserve their suites, and enters into the Majestic Wing lobby, a quaint little room with its ready and willing butlers waiting to serve you.

When asked about how long the Majestic Hotel’s infamous butler service has been running: –

“Since day one. Talking to our customers prior to the hotel opening, we found out that a lot of them were asking for a full butler service benefit hotel, hence, we decided to provide the service at the majestic wing. Your room price comes with exclusivity, privacy and recognition. Apart from the full butler service we also provide breakfast, classic happy hour, laundry, the mini bar is yours and also a pick up and drop off service in Kuala Lumpur.” – Jeff Mong, Head of Butler Service at Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

The High Tea

The Majestic Hotel has preserved many of the traditions from the old days, and nothing speaks of colonial Malaya more than the art of high tea. Transforming and preserving this English tradition, the Majestic Hotel is infamous for its various tea services, as well as its large selection of teas from around the world.

Tea Lounge

At the Tea Lounge at the Majestic Hotel, you will be able to experience a selection of teas at various tea rooms throughout the hotel. This spacious location gets completely booked up on weekends so its best to call ahead to make a booking before hand.

The Drawing Room

If you prefer to have a more intimate surrounding for a meeting, The Drawing Room offers a picturesque little space perfect for a small company private gathering. There are only a few private rooms like this for hire and an advanced booking would be suggested.

Orchid Conservatory

The Orchid Conservatory is another location fit for a nice casual meeting, and perfect for family time. Lined and decorated with an amazing array of different coloured orchids, the conservatory is a great place to hold meetings and functions.

The Dining

At the Majestic Hotel, you can choose to dine at 2 of their standout eateries, namely the Contango, a classy buffet, serving a wide variety of Asian and European fare, and the other, the Colonial Café. This is in addition to their decent room service menu.

The Contango

If you’re up for a classy buffet offering international fare at the Contango, offering wide variety of contemporary Italian, Chinese, Indian, Malay, Thai and Japanese varieties. The Contango has an open kitchen concept where you get to see how most of your food is cooked, and some even cooked to your personalised order fresh.

Colonial Café

The food served at the Colonial Café deserves commendation for serving uniquely Malaysian Colonial Cuisine, a type of cuisine developed during the colonial era, when the tin mining industry and many people immigrated from China. Many of the Hainanese women who ended up being caretakers for the British households quickly adopted spices that were common from the Malay, Chinese, Indian and British cultures, resulting in some of our favourite dishes we all know and love today such as the Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Wine And Drink

There are a few spots you can get a drink at the Majestic Hotel, and keeping it classy is obviously the choice. There is The Bar connected to the Colonial Café and the Tea Lounge; and The Smoke House. The master behind all the drinks at the Majestic Hotel is simply known as Johnny the Barman, who can be seen minding the bar at The Smoke House.

The Bar

For easy drinks, there is The Bar is a nice location to enjoy a cocktail while listening to live music. In the evenings, you will either be able to watch the live band play, and if not, you will still be able to enjoy the live piano sessions played throughout the day.

The Smoke House

The Smoke House is a bespoke bar serving classic cocktails and is reminiscent of the gentlemen’s club of the old days, complete with individual rooms for hosting events, private dining and even a card room. Equipped with a pool table, the classy environment ensures a nice place to entertain guests, as well as their infamous signature Code 55 and 2 Bulat. This nice little bar is truly reminiscent of the colonial days, from the outfits to the classic cocktails, including the Malaysian cocktail, the Jungle Bird.

The Pampering

The Majestic Hotel has also spared no expense to ensure that you are able to enjoy and relax while you stay, with most of the relaxing comforts within reach. This is where they have prepared themselves to cater for both the gentlemen and the ladies.

Truefitt and Hill

At the Majestic Hotel, there are offering a lifestyle of pampering and luxury, and nothing speaks more truly to this than their services. You can have a day at the salon with the gentlemen at Truefitt and Hill, where a close shave and a hot towel can refresh you before a business meeting or a shoulder massage after a long day.

The Majestic Spa

For the ladies, and for you more secure gentlemen out there, there is The Majestic Spa, offering up some of the most luxurious spa experiences such as the Malaya Golden Chersonese, the Queen Victoria’s Lavender and The English Afternoon Tea. Each treatment is carefully curated for specific purposes, as each therapist is carefully schooled in the different forms of massage therapy.

Review: The Governor Suite

The Governor Suite at the Majestic Hotel comes with its own living room, a bedroom with an en-suite toilet. The bedroom comes with a king sized master bed, and a spacious closet. The décor of the room is reminiscent of the 1920’s and 1970’s and keeps true to its colonial heritage. The living room is decorated with classic furniture offering all the comforts you would expect. The suites come with an amazingly intricate bathtub ornamented with silver paws for its rests. The great thing about the room is not just its intricate attention to detail, but also the comforts of home. You can get your laundry washed, shoes shined and suits ironed to prepare you for your day.

The Butler Service

If you reserve a room at the Majestic Hotel, you will have the privilege to use their personalised butler, as well as their chauffeur services. The moment you walk in, they address you by your name, giving you that value added service that you would expect of a 5 star hotel. When asked about the size of the butler service, Mong quipped: –

“We have 8 persons in our team so theoretically should we run at 100% occupancy it still means one butler is looking after no more than 6 suites or 12 persons.”

The butler service is available at your every whim, from making sure you are able to meet your appointments in time, to booking a spa treatment, to ensuring you have your restaurant bookings confirmed. The butler service is to essentially ensure that you have the best stay you can imagine.

The Chauffeur Service

The chauffeur service runs for 25 kilometres from the hotel, and essentially takes you everywhere you need to be, from KLCC at the heart of town, to KL Sentral to catch the KLIA Express to the airport. This is great for business travellers who want a classy stay and need to move around for business meetings within the city centre.

When asked why the YTL Group has chosen to preserve the Majestic Hotel, Mong stated: –

“We believe every emerging city needs to have it’s own iconic hotel…. And sometimes the resurrection of a hotel can herald a second renaissance. We believe the time is right now and the majestic hotel kl ’s second renaissance will, we hope, help to reaffirm kuala lumpur’s status as a truly great international city. We aspire to be compare to the other great landmark hotels around the world like London’s Dorchester, Hong Kong’s Peninsular, Singapore’ s Raffles, New York’s Waldorf Astoria and George V in Paris.”

The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur Experience

One of the great things about the experience at the Majestic Hotel is the 24 hour check in / check out service, meaning that the moment you check in, you get a whole 24 hour’s worth of stay before you need to depart. If is of no wonder that The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur has been repeatedly suggested as one of the best hotels in Malaysia, from its attention to detail, to its attention to experience. A classic hotel that we hope will weather another hundred years.

_{| PHOTOGRAPHY BY: LILA BAKAR & MAJESTIC HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR | WEBSITE: MAJESTIC HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR |}