YY38 Hotel - Accommodations in KL

Another new hotel that I checked out and tried during my March-April 2012 travels was YY38 Hotel that I booked after having journeyed through central Vietnam and en route to Surabaya (Indonesia). The hotel itself is a no-frills hotel that sells its vibrant colors to its guests, as well as its prime location. It's just a block away from the popular hawker's street of Jalan Alor in the heart of Bukit Bintang. Though it succeeds being colorful and "contemporary" (it's also relatively new), it fails a wee bit in being trendy and hip. This is one of those times when they look a lot better in photos than when you're actually there. But I guess I shouldn't complain. After all, it's also one of the most affordable.

Check out their ultra colorful website - http://www.yy38hotel.com.my/

Their use of hues is so delectable, the color scheme is nothing less than hip and contemporary. The lobby is as colorful, though pared down by simplicity. The entrance is situated beside a 24-hour convenience store called KK. They're also one of the very few hotels that requires a 50 ringgit deposit upon check-in (which they'll reimburse upon check-out). I have never been in another hotel via Agoda that collects 50 ringgit deposit.

I walked from Bukit Bintang station to get to Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin, just a block away from Jalan Alor. Check-in was fast after "paying" my 50 ringgit deposit. You have to swipe your card key before pressing your floor number at the elevator. My room was at 314 which had a good view of the area. Though I understand the minimalist interiors, the room itself felt too bare. I was actually disappointed because I expected a little more vibrancy from the photos I saw in the internet. But it was alright. I didn't plan on staying in my room most of the time. Another disadvantage is that they don't have a restaurant nor room service, but then Jalan Alor is at the corner, and there are literally hundreds of eateries in the area. If you need a fast sugar requirement or something to quench your thirst with, KK store is beside the hotel .

Tengkat Tong Shin is littered with massage parlors and restaurants. There's also an internet cafe just across the street that's open all day. The doorman would gladly call you a taxi when you require one. However, I would suggest you walk a little further away from the hotel and hail a cab yourself. My experience had me paying 20 ringgit for a ride that should only take 10 to 15 ringgit to KL Sentral. the driver's reason - "It's a hotel taxi!" The hotel doorman called it after all. Quite the ruse, if you ask me.

The hotel is clean, new, with not a lot of supplementary amenity to speak of, but it is affordable and the basic requirements are met. My favorite thing here is the very clean bathroom. It's well maintained and you don't see molds (it's new after all). Mostly, the location is excellent. Forget the "hip" colorful theme altogether. It isn't much once you're inside your room, but it will more than suffice if budget is tight. The front desk personnel are also exceedingly hospitable. You can ask them anything and they will gladly offer their 2 cents worth. The management sure knows how to pick their people.

YY38 Hotel is located at 38 Tengkat Tong Shin Street, off Bukit Bintang. Call them at 603-2148-8838. Email them at enquiries@yy38hotel.com.my. their website - http://www.yy38hotel.com.my/

This is the Eye in the Sky!

My room 314

My favorite part of the hotel. I feel comfortable when the bathroom is very clean.

Room with a view

Swipe your card then your floor number to get the elevator to work.

Friendly reception clerk in a no-frills minimalist lobby.

The entrance to the hotel is just beside the KK Convenience Store.

Hotel is located at the corner of Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin angdJalan Sahabat.

Radius International Hotel

From Tengkat Tong Shin Street, make a right to this street, the next corner is already Jalan Alor, KL's famous hawker's street.

Loong Kee, a Chinese restaurant along Jalan Alor.

The Chinese restaurant along Jalan Alor comes alive with colorful lanterns at night.

Other options, if budget is tight:

- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/03/accommodations-in-kuala-lumpur-part-1.html
- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/03/accommodations-in-kuala-lumpur-part-2.html
- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/04/backpack-accommodation-in-kl-part-3.html

Beltif Hotel - Accommodations in KL

As we've written in our previous post, this is part of a series that features some of the hotels we've been in during my March-April 2012 trip. We've ventured on discovering better hotels and guesthouses in KL by raising the accommodations budget a notch higher than customary since KL isn't exactly a city of "inexpensive, but nice hotels" unlike its neighboring countries like Thailand, Laos or Indonesia.

Beltif Hotel fits our requirement, i.e. Bukit Bintang area, preferably near a train station. Beltif is very near my favorite mall (one of the world's biggest too) - Berjaya Times Square, and the Imbi monorail station is beside Berjaya. Beltif is located along Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, an unusual street name if you ask me. The area itself is dotted with Chinese Restaurants, many of which provide inexpensive food. The Taragon and the Furama Hotels are just across the road, and karaoke bars abound the area. Since it's close to Jalan Pudu, taxis abound even in the wee hours. And it is possible to walk to the Bukit Bintang area.

Beltif Hotel is actually a boutique hotel, but it's also one of the least expensive we've found in KL. Bookings with Agoda includes breakfast, usually as served buffet from 7 to 10 AM (though options are rather limited to rice, baked beans, egg, sausage, and noodle). The people manning the front desk are friendly although they are less helpful when you ask them to call you a taxi. You don't need to. As mentioned earlier, there's plenty of taxis plying Chankat Thambi Dollah.

If you don't have a laptop and require an internet cafe, you have to walk all the way to Bukit Bintang. There's none in the area.

My room - 105 - was spacious, almost twice the size of my room in Le Apple Boutique Hotel. It's equipped with a 32-inch LCD Panasonic cable TV, a desk, a comfortable bed that takes the shape of your back, wifi in every room, 24-hour room service and a very clean bathroom (with cold and hot water running adequately at all times). At night, the glass door of the floor is locked in, but with your card key, you could open it on your own. This is great for the security of the hotel's guest.

One annoyance: the room had the stench of cigar that gradually dissipates when AC is turned on. This smell greets you every time you get inside - or when AC is turned off. It is best to request for a non-smoking room although I think I requested that upon booking. The walls of the room looked sturdy as well, but I could hear the clearing of throat and the snoring of an old guy next door. Other than that, most of my stay was quiet.

Outside breakfast, I could choose from the street's several restaurants: Chinese, Malay, halal or otherwise. An advantage of the place: its proximity to Berjaya Times Square and clearly, it's one of the most affordable - with better than average facilities.

Their website -  http://www.beltifhotel.com/ The hotel is located at 77 Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, off Jalan Pudu. It's easily reached from the Imbi monorail station via a 10-15 minute walk. Contact them at 603- 2148 9191 or email them at info@beltifhotel.com

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Front desk: friendly but it is beyond them to call you a taxi.

Comfortable hotel lobby

Restaurant just at the back of the hotel lobby. Breakfast buffet is served here.

From the elevator, this glass door entrance leads to your hallway.

My room at 105.

Comfortable twin beds.

Breakfast buffet (above and below)

Hotel entrance

Other options, if budget is tight:

- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/03/accommodations-in-kuala-lumpur-part-1.html
- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/03/accommodations-in-kuala-lumpur-part-2.html
- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/04/backpack-accommodation-in-kl-part-3.html

Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah's row of restaurants, karaoke bars, etc.

Taragon and Furama Hotels at the corner of Jalan Pudu and Changkat Thambi Dollah.

Le Apple Boutique Hotel - Accommodations in KL

Among the cities in Southeast Asia, KL has among the most expensive guesthouses and hotels for those on a budget. Most times, a backpacker finds himself in dingy, bug-infested joint, many of which are found along Jalan Pudu. Last March and April, I ventured to change this perception by raising the budget a notch higher that customary. So during my several KL transits (which also took me to Vietnam and Indonesia), I hopped through a variety of KL hotels and rediscovered accommodations in this Malaysian capital.

In this series of posts, I will share my discoveries.

ZEN HOTEL

Among the pleasant surprises was Le Apple Boutique Hotel. This hotel is tucked in a side street along Jalan Sultan Ismail, right in the heart of Bukit Bintang, the epicenter of the backpacking crowd. Having said that, it is just a crossing away from the Bukit Bintang monorail station. This purplish hotel is thematically zen-designed, thus the interiors are beautifully minimalist - from the calla lily drawings on the wall, the black (yes, black!) walls at the fifth floor hallways, the glazed glass walls of the shower rooms, to the magnificently designed lobby of the hotel.

The hotel has 52 non-smoking rooms, each with safe, a 32-inch LCD Panasonic television, hair dryer, coffee/tea maker, a desk, wifi access, and very clean bathrooms with classy shower fixtures. The room has a coterie of lights. You can go extremely bright when you want to, or you can get dim and comfy as you wish. Each room is also provided with ceiling qiblats (direction of Mecca for their Muslim guests). Checking in is no frills, it didn't take me 10 minutes. Since the hotel is relatively new, everything else is new - including their elevator.

There's a drawback: the rooms are quite wanting of space. In fact, my baggage just barely had enough room for itself - and I don't carry much. If you're claustrophobic, Le Boutique's rooms wouldn't please you. They also don't have a restaurant, but when you're in the heart of Bukit Bintang, there's plenty of choices in the area, even in the wee hours. In fact, in Le Boutique, I've never felt so "central".

TRANSIT

I came from the airport and reached the hotel at around 2 PM. Room 502 was perfect. It had a view facing Bintang Walk. When I got inside my room, a couple of guys knocked on my door, saying they were going to paste the qiblat arrow on my ceiling - and would I like to go out first? No, I didn't feel like going out just yet! I just friggin' arrived from Surabaya, Indonessia, darn it! They had all morning to fix that stuff, and they could do that too when I'm away, thank you very much. Despite that annoyance, I was pleased with my room and the hotel's location.

UPDATE: Upon my second visit just recently, the hotel now asks for a 50 ringgit key deposit, which I think is too steep for a deposit. If you're on a budget, you'd appreciate every available money that you have, and though they would reimburse it upon check out, you're left with money that you can not use anymore. I booked for two rooms during my last stay so you can imagine how frustrating it was to have to hand them 100 ringgit which is a third of the $100. They've added a small sofa to the lobby unlike before where there's limited chairs to sit.

Le Apple Boutique Hotel is located at 42-3 Jalan Sultan Ismail, in Bukit Bintang, KL. Call them at  +603-2145 8828 or email them at contact.us@leapplehotel.com.my. Their website - http://leappleboutiquehotel.com/

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Hotel front desk

Lobby

Elevators

Black walled hallways at the 5th floor.

My room at 502.

A white calla lily looms over my bed - comfortable, nice smelling sheets. A safe beside me.

LCD TV, mirror, desk.

Glazed glass wall separates my bed from the bathroom.

Split type AC encased by wooden shutter.

View from my window. Down below is the front of the hotel.

For cheaper options (if budget's tight and you don't mind roughing it up):

- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/03/accommodations-in-kuala-lumpur-part-1.html

- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/03/accommodations-in-kuala-lumpur-part-2.html
- http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/04/backpack-accommodation-in-kl-part-3.html