Hilton at Petaling Jaya

I know it looks as if I have changed loyalty but the Hilton's Gold Membership Promotion for the first quarter (click here to read) was too attractive to pass up. And hence, we have been trying to clock the 4 stays before 31 May 2012 so as to qualify for the 40,000 HHonors Points.

Now, as we all know, hotel rates in Singapore are the most expensive in South East Asia. So, paying over SGD 200 to stay in an ordinary room in Hilton Orchard isn't the most ideal way of racking up the stays. KL on the other hand, offers more attractive options for Hilton hotels and the cheapest would be Hilton at Petaling Jaya. And it was cheap (I'm talking about SGD120+ per night inclusive of 2 breakfasts and an upgrade to a room with executive lounge access) with good reason. Getting there by public transport (without a car) was a hassle. To get to Hilton PJ from the airport by train, one has to take the shuttle bus (RM9) from KLIA/LCCT to KL Sentral. There, one has to buy a ticket/token for the Kelana Jaya Line and take the train service all the way up to either the Taman Jaya Station or Asia Jaya Station. I prefer to get off the Taman Jaya Station Line BUT it is a lonely road leading to the back of the hotel and we all know that KL isn't the safest place in the world. Getting to Asia Jaya Station though is more of a hassle because it involves trying to cross more main roads and there aren't well, properly defined crossings but loads of broken pavement. Still, at least it is on the main road so one is that much safer.

Anyway, the hotel was under renovation. And all the executive rooms and the lounge were being ungraded. However, we were given 1 of the newly renovated rooms on the second floor facing the pool. So per the picture below, the furnishings and furniture and all were spanking new.

However, as with Double Trees Hilton, there was no bathtub in the room. The toiletries in the hotel were extremely well-packaged (see the pic below) but I assure you that once one removes the boxes, the contents are most ordinary. Disappointingly ordinary in fact.

Well as I mentioned, the executive lounge was under renovation so we were given access to another lounge. Needless to say, it was a far cry from the one at Double Tree. The selection of drinks and food was really limited and ordinary and although there was internet access, everything in the place was run-down, old and shabby.

The hotel provides a shuttle bus at 12noon to 1Utama but without the return service. Hence, we decided to go to 1Utama on our own for dinner. We walked the broken pavements to Asia Jaya Station and paid RM1.30 each to get to the end of the line - Kelana Jaya station. I had read that 1Utama provides free shuttle buses to the mall so we asked around and were told to cross a overhead bridge and wait at the bus stop in front of a row of shophouses (see pic of station and the overhead bridge we crossed).

After waiting about 20 mins, there was no sign of the bus so we took a cab instead. It cost RM8 one way. 1Utama was huge and had many shops including Coach. We thought of taking the complimentary shuttle back to the train station in the evening but found out that the shuttle service was only for 1Utama Card Members. The cost of being a member would be RM10 each. And even though we offered to pay a nominal fee to the bus driver to take us to the station, he refused unless we became 1 Utama Card members. So much for "complimentary" bus svc!

The Slog Reviews: 7/10. This hotel is really cheap by KL stations and for the Hilton brand but it is with good reason. I would suggest waiting till the renovation is complete before booking a stay there. And it would be advisable to rent a car or drive up from SG because this Hilton hotel is the most inaccessible of the lot.