Istana Hotel

The Istana is a reasonably priced first class hotel in a city where hotels of this quality level are more expensive. The rooms are very nice, with good beds, large bathroom, and internet access. They have an international clientele, so they have an incredibly lavish and varied breakfast buffet, bringing together foods from India, Japan, Thailand, England and America. I gorged myself on smoked salmon every morning. The hotel is across the street from a monorail station. Maybe the best things about the Istana is its location, which is very near Bukit Binatang Street -- known as the street that never sleeps. There you'll find fantastic street vendor food at any hour and you can't throw a rock in any direction without hitting a giant shopping mall. They say that street is the happening place to be in KL. Anyway, we liked the Istana a lot and stayed there three times when we went in and out of KL on our travels through Southeast Asia. We paid about $82-86 U.S., and booked through asiarooms.com

I stayed at the Istana at the end of August with my husband and kids (4 years and 18 monhs old). We picked the Istana because of it's location and based on reviews we'd read. The location is great...central to so much, across the road from monorail. The room we had was a fantastic size...we had an executive suite...it was basically interconnecting rooms with bed and bathroom on one side and lounge and toliet (where kids bed and cot were put) on the other side. It was perfect in respect of size. We were on the 11th floor but unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the hotel to have views of Petronis Towers (had a view of a building being constructed next door instead - not much to look at). I'm not usually one to complain, however: * the room was very tired...bathroom tiles were grotty and so were some of the walls (the couch and chairs etc were nice though and have obviously been replaced in the last 12 months). It was crying out for a paint job. * the service was slow - I managed to lock the kids in their room (!!!) whist my hubby was out and I called reception for assistance, then they never showed! Luckily he came home and broke in! * our son's bed wasn't there when we arrived and we had to make several calls to get that sorted out (with them telling us it would cost extra although we'd booked for all 4 of us to stay there) * the safe didn't work, so they replaced it, and the new one didn't work * we only had 3 towels, so I called for 2 extras, and each day after they cleaned we again had 3 and I again had to call for more... * I couldn't get the fridge to run and called for assistance...and they never showed * we had excess rubbish one night and called to find out what to do with it...we were told to leave it outside the door and it was still there the next day * there was no directory of services, so we had to try and locate facilities as best we could It wasn't a major thing wrong with the hotel but rather lot's of little things, which added up to unhappy customers! I've never had to call housekeeping/reception to get things sorted out so many times at any hotel ever! Not even close! I would only stay there again if it was cheaper than anything else. The location was great. The breakfasts were good and the pool area and foyer were lovely.

I stayed there for 4 days. Very impressed with the location with the accesibilty to the malls but really dissapointed with the service and food. Expected a lot more. Even on the day I had placed a wake up call and i did not receive it. Imagine I could have missed my flight if i did have my alarm. Good hotel but needs a lot of polishing and it has the potential as the staffs need to be trained. Anjali Balachandran.

Very nice, large hotel, walking distace form tje Petronas Towers. You can reach the hotel from the airport by train and monorail or by cab (70 MR), aboou one hour driving. Nice room, large bathroom with bad and shower. Very clean. Breakfast was good, also for Western tourists with bread, cheese, jam and fruits, cornflakes and juices. Free mineral water in youroom. There are a lot of restaurants near the hotel, also a supermarket, Free broadband internet access in the room.

We stayed at the Istana for three nights during our F1 trip. The location is fantastic - in the bustling Bukit Bintang area, walking distance to malls and food outlets and even to the Petronas. The lobby is impressive, check in was smooth, and the room was very clean and had enough storage space. However, since we were on a lower floor, we had almost no view. I'm a freak when it comes to clean bathrooms. The tub was luxurious, the water pressure in the shower good enough to wash away your tiredness. Thankfully, the bath seemed spotless - until nightfall. There were roaches crawling all over my toiletries. I called the reception but they didn't seem to care. When I asked to speak to the Manager, I was told that she's out for dinner and that I should call maybe after 1.5 hours. After three phone calls and many threats later, they finally sent someone with a "Hit" spray, which worked only temporaily. The roaches were back the next night. But since that was our last night there, I let it go. Food at the hotel was lovely, especially breakfast. However, the service leaves a lot to be desired. At our first meal (we were a group of six), the staff forgot to serve drinks for two people, and messed up two orders. By the time the last person's food was on the table, the others had already finished their meal. Later, when we asked for the coffee menu, they kept us waiting till we reminded them thrice. But to be fair to the hotel, the coffee, when it was finally served, was wonderful. The hotel has a nice bar which has pool tables. Service here, for a change, was pretty decent. I may stay at Istana again but will remember to carry my own roach repellent!

We recently spent a couple of nights KL on a stopover to Europe and my husband has always wanted to stay at the Istana as he was involved in the advertising campaign when it opened. There have been lots of bad reviews on this site and others but we booked two nights in a room on the Club Floor and could not have been happier. The room was very cheap (via wotif.com) and was large clean and very well furnished. We had privelege check in at the Club reception and breakfast and cocktails in the Club lounge were included tho on the second morning we opted for breakfast in the main restaurant which I have to say was excellent - a huge choice of dishes. The pool area is really quite nice (tho there is a building site across the road but that is normal for KL!) and the service was good. My only criticism was a not too brilliant shower .... The location of the hotel is excellent so close to the shopping area of Bukit Bintang and close to the overhead train line. All in all I think the hotel is under rated and offers the best value for money in KL.

I think the hotel can be improved a lot more with proper staff training and how to handle guest queries and needs. I asked for a queen/king bed because i was alone and being used to sleeping on a queen/king sized bed, i asked but wasn't impressed with the way the staff replied. Simply condescending and lots of attitude. I gave up trying after a while and didn't bother to pursue it. The hotel should also do something about cab drivers who over-price without using the meter. This makes the hotel look bad with dishonest cab drivers taking the opportunity to make a few more dollars. It's not about the money. Just disgusted that the hotel doesn't do anything about this.

We stayed 2 nights at the Istana. Quite a grand hotel but it has seen better days. Had my doubts after reading some of the Trip Advisor reviews. First Superior room reeked of urine so asked for a change; upgraded to a Deluxe room with a view of KLCC. Room was a good size and the bathroom was excellent with separate WC, bath and shower areas, 2 sinks, phone etc. Superior rooms have exactly the same amenities and are the same size (but no footstool for the armchair in the room); think twice before paying more for Deluxe. Had a look at the Club Lounge which serves Club Floor guests; not bad but the one at the Ritz-Carlton is more posh. Buffet breakfast was excellent - huge choice. Delicious roti prata made on the spot. Very pleasant to sit on the patio outside surrounded by pool and greenery. Urban Bistro with Aussie chef also worth a try. Spacious gym but only one treadmill. Sauna and steam from 5pm daily. Better to use the California Fitness gym across the road. Hotel has a great location, right next to Raja Chulan monorail station, and an easy 10 minute walk to KLCC and 5 minutes to Bintang Walk. Overall cleanliness - average Reception and cashier - average Concierge - average Restaurant captain/wait staff - good Summary - not bad for the price, certainly better than Corus and Westin (!!) but Ritz-Carlton is worth the extra.

Just returned from my stay in Malaysia. Stayed at this hotel. I would say that the location of this hotel is great. As for the staff, really nothing to shout about. Firstly, their reception is very disorganised. It took me a good 45 minutes to check in, too long for a 5 star hotel. Then there was the room service staff, communicating with them was a nightmare. They do not seem to have people who can speak decent english. I began to wonder if this was a 5 star hotel as they claimed.I base this on the fact that I have stayed in other hotels in Kuala Lumpur before. The restaurant was good but they have a limited buffet line, not what I was expecting (comparing to for example The Mandarin Oriental, bare in mind that both are 5 star hotels). The lounge was beautiful but the service was horrible. It took me 10 minutes to get someone to take my order then when I called for the bill it took them another 10 minuted just to print the bill. The pool was great but the sournding area was poorly maintained in the sence of cleanliness. Sorry but I am hygine freak. The business centre is a poor state. Can you imagine a tiny room (about 10' X 10' with 2 computers) is called a business centre. And worst thing is that there is no clear signage of the business centre. The worst thing is that I understand a little bit of their language and I actually heard the staff complaining about the guests that were checking in. In short Hotel Istana is a poor excuse for a 5 star hotel. Would I recomend it to anyone. NEVER. To those of you intending to stay there, I would advise you guys to look around more for better hotels.

My family and I just came back from Kuala Lumpur where we stayed 7 nights at the Istana. My thanks to the staff for being so efficient and friendly. I will certainly go back and also recommend it to friends and colleagues.