KL: The Majestic Hotel

With a history that stretches back to the 1930s, the Hotel Majestic has been one of the iconic landmarks in Kuala Lumpur, located directly across from the historic railway station and down the street from the National Mosque. Ranked as one of South-East Asia’s grandest hotels – having hosted international celebrities, government receptions and the city’s most glamorous social events in its heyday – the original hotel closed in 1984, later preserved as a national heritage site and then chosen to house the National Art Gallery of Malaysia. It has now been renovated under the management of YTL Hotels and reopened as a luxury hotel – and has the distinction of being the only hotel in KL to be part of The Leading Hotels of the World collection.

The hotel’s original five-storey Majestic Wing has been fully restored, offering exclusive top-class suites and butler service, as well as the Colonial Café and The Bar – a throwback to the hotel’s glory days, with nightly live performances (Freddy Cole, brother of jazz legend Nat King Cole, performed at the hotel’s opening in December). A brand new 15-storey tower wing has been built, expanding the hotel’s capacity to 300 rooms, with a massive art deco ballroom and the Contango Restaurant, open for buffet dining throughout the day. In another nod to its colonial heritage, the hotel features The Majestic Spa, housed in its own building and done up in the style of a Scottish tearoom, offering treatments like the Malaya Golden Chersonese (MYR750, includes hair masque, body scrub and massage utilising local herbs and fruits), named after the writings of female British explorer Isabella Lucy Bird. Also attached to the hotel is The Smoke House, which offers a cigar and card room, as well as movie screenings – plus a branch of the world’s oldest barbershop, Truefitt & Hill from London, which gives traditional hot towel wet shaves.

Special opening room rate is MYR650 ($260) per night, which includes breakfast and a 45 min spa treatment per person per stay. See www.majestickl.com for details.