To say that the Hilton Garden Inn KL wads a disappointment would be an understatement. It was though a surreal enough stay to warrant writing about.
Why did I end up here? Getting from China to Cambodia (where I live) warranted going through KL, so I surmised it was also a greta chance for some street food and football, the twin pillars of civilization.
Hotels in KL right now
While not great for the people of Malaysia the fact that their currency has dropped value so much is good for the consumer. This means that hotels, food and the like are cheap in Kuala Lumpur.
With regards to hotels though this creates a word situation where on the bottom end you can get an OK hotel in Chinatown for like $25. These though are a bit raw. I then say that the Garden Inn was just $40, so it seemed like a no brainer. I fact I was the no brainer.
To read bout Malaysia Day in Phnom Penh click here.
Where the Hilton Garden Inn KL?
OK, so we have to be honest and say that the Garden Inn is no Conrad, Hilton, or even Hampton, so expectations should be managed. In essence what you do here is pay for a name, or at least in my case also the points for staying.
Confusingly there are actually two Hilton Garden Inn KL, with them both separated by literally 3 small buildings. This is confusing and just weird overall.
Locations wise it is next to a well known second hand clothes market, some decent street food and is reachable to Chinatown KL in 15 minutes, or so with traffic. It is similarly close to the twin towers, which are great to visit at night.
Hilton Gadren Inn KL address;
Hilton Garden Inn Kuala Lumpur Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman South
Google Maps (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hilton+Garden+Inn+Kuala+Lumpur+Jalan+Tuanku+Abdul+Rahman+South/@3.1639277,101.6982917,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m9!3m8!1s0x31cc496a9de7df45:0x880b181259112ef6!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d3.1639277!4d101.6982917!16s%2Fg%2F11gh6bt77g?entry=ttu)
Hilton Garden Inn KL, the good, bad and ugly
I was going to section this, but instead I will got on a rant about this. I’ll get the good out of the way first! The location is ok and the staff are nice.
Now lets move on to the problems here! The rooms are bang on average and do not offer much in the way of a workspace. This is truly confounded by the fact that getting to your room is a mission. The lifts here are slow and shit.
Eating and drinking at Hilton Garden Inn KL
This was the part that I feel problem let me down the most. Theres a rooftop bar, restaurant and pool, BUT they all got issues. The pool inexcusably closes at the balmy time of 7pm, which makes it pretty much useless.
The bar/restaurant while offering great views is also not all that open closing at 10-11 and seemingly being a real waster opportunity. I tried to get a decent meal here, but after they tried to serve my appetizers after the main team I called shenanigans and left to find an even worse place to dine.
So, overall Hilton Garden Inn KL is best avoided, with staying at a cheap and cheerful in Chinatown being much more civilized.