Kuala Lumpur: Sheraton Imperial Hotel

I was here on business travel attending a conference at the hotel - so I got the room at a corporate rate. I stayed on the Starwood Preferred Guest Floor in the Deluxe Twin Room on the 29th floor.

About the Room - The room was very luxurious with a very good view of the city, plush beds and carpeting and nice gold trimmings on the bath tubs. The tub actually had the shower handle on the ledge of the tub, so you can hold it instead of way on top as per usual. I thought that was pretty cool! They provided shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, body gel and also, get this, mouthwash! Although I have to warn that the shampoo is quite drying and left my hair very dry the following day.

The room also had a walk-in closet, a large safe (big enough for my laptop), complete with an ironing board and iron. It saves you the trouble of getting your laundry done or calling for an iron. The selection of tea and coffees was also good - Nescafe, Nescafe Decaf, White Coffee Twinnings brand Chamomile, English Breakfast and Green Tea anyone? The TV had satelite channels as well such as Star World, Star Movies, National Geographic, MTV, and some news channels (BBC/CNN, I think).

I also really liked the gym - it was very high end with individual TVs and sounds for EACH equipment. They also had a machine Ive never seen before - something like a mix between a cross trainer and a skiing machine. They provide towels, drinking water and had large gym balls, free weights and weight machines. It is open 24/7, and you need to use your hotel card to access it. From 10pm to 6am, you need to register at the counter to access the gym. They also provide headphones to plug into each machine if you did not have one at hand.

Food - I will comment on the Essence buffet first - I would say that the selection and food here is better than most hotels in KL. Their satay is always a hit with me and their ice creams and fruit sherberts are also good. I was not a fan of their Chinese restaurant though - Celestial Court. I am most definitely not a foodie, hence you don't see many food reviews here, but the food at Celestial Court fell short of my expectations. Their roast duck was not crispy and tasted the same as any other restaurant out of KL. Breakfast was OK - with the usual selection of asian and western breakfasts. I tried the congee (rice porridge) and muesli and it was ok.

I did not try their pool but their staff has been quite nice, polite and friendly throughout. Im a KL-ite but I appreciate the location of the hotel right next to the LRT and Monorail lines. Overall Im happy with the hotel as the company paid for it but as a traveler myself Im not really into luxury hotels. If you have the money and prefer luxury hotels, this is a great place.