Sunday, December 10, 2017

Aloft KL Sentral

During my last business trip to KL, I decided to find check in a hotel which is in close proximity to KL Sentral as I had an early morning flight to catch on my last day of the trip. My friend recommended me to try Aloft KL Sentral, which is part of the Starwood brand. The hotel is situated across the street from KLIA Express departure entrance, which is super convenient for early morning travellers.

I was looking forward to try out SPG Keyless feature which is available at Aloft KL Sentral. Instead of access card, guests can use their smartphone to unlock their door.

Checking in took some time due to long queue of people checking in / checking out. I noted that the reception desk's circular layout was not very systematic and something the hotel management could look into.

There were some hiccups at the reception counter i.e. registering my mobile device as the access card which took some time for the staff to do so. Similarly, when I decided to settle my bill the night before I checked out so that I could leave early in the morning, I found myself locked out of my room and had to approach the counter again to get my keys re-activated. Hope the hotel management could look into smoothing the entire customer experience during my next visit.

Going back to the access card, as soon as I reached my room, I wasted no time to test the apps to unlock my room. Perhaps I was not familiar with it, or genuinely due to technical inefficiency, the system could not recognize my iPhone and I had to unlock using the access card given to me. However when I tried it several hours later, I was able to unlock my door using my phone only to find that it didn't work the next time I tried. So it was a hit-and-miss experience for me.

I was assigned a 355-square feet Loft Twin Room, which featured urban and casual contemporary design. Sassy Lat-inspired art depicting Malaysian character adorned the wall, while natural lighting is a-plenty in the room thanks to an extra-large window on one side of the room. I spent some time gazing down at the wide road below my room, at the bustling traffic and hurried people going about their lives not knowing a stranger watching them from their room.

To summarize, these are the plus points of the hotel from my own experience:

1. The location - very close to KL Sentral, save the hassle of waking up too early unnecessarily to catch the first ERL train to KLIA.

2. Non-smoking room policy - since the hotel is family-friendly, all the rooms are smoking-free.

3. Breakfast - They have menu to cater to even the fussiest little eater. I was sorry my kids were not travelling with me to enjoy their buffet spread.

4. Kids' amenities - They do provide things like baby bathtub, Camp Aloft (Ikea tent) and other things to cater to the young guests.

5. Wifi - Internet connection is excellent.

The not-so-good experiences which I felt that the hotel management could easily resolve through proper training / developing standard operating procedures:

1. Housekeeping - Shampoo / shower gel does not come in those tiny bottles, but in those wall-mounted container. However, body shampoo was not re-stocked after the last guest left so I was forced to use shampoo instead :(

2. Reception - could be faster.

3. Laundry services - they returned my laundry quite late that I had to call to check the status.

As for the rest, you could refer to the captions beneath the photos that I took of the hotel room that I stayed in:

The room can accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids but it would be a bit cramp at full capacity.

The room decor is ultra-urban, with only practical fittings furnished. 

Guests can stock up on their snacks of choice from re:fuel station at ground floor (no, it's not free).

Don't fret if you forgot to bring your phone / power bank charger. You can borrow from the hotel, but a deposit is required which will be returned to you upon checking out.

Thankfully, we are not required to go downstairs to get a cup of coffee / tea

The spacious bathroom with separate shower / toilet on one side, and the cloth cabinet on the other side

Guests are encouraged to sing in the shower (love the purple tiles on the wall)

The cabinet's mirror sliding door hides amenities such as a mini-safe, hairdryer and towels

Standard toiletries are provided in the room

The sink has plenty of space to put your own toiletries / makeup kits

Rating: 7/10