Istana or Sheraton Imperial or Impiana?

I will be in KL during the F1 weekend (3rd April to 6th April). Need a few suggestions for my stay -

a) I already booked myself at Novotel for 1st-3rd April. Got an Executive room at RM 150/night in their ';1 million room sale';. What are ';must do';-s around the hotel?

b) I am now looking for hotel for 3 nights from 3rd to 6th April. I found a deal at Istana hotel at RM 330/night. How is the hotel - location and comfort wise? Also there is a deal at Sheraton Imperial which is arouns RM 430/night. Though its expensive, I heard its one of the nicest hotel? There is also a similar offer at Impiana at RM 350/night? Which one should I go for in terms of location, service, comfort, access to public transportation etc?

c) Any other suggestion for a good hotel at a decent price if I want to be around the nightlife at KLCC? Feel free to share your views.

Cheers

Istana or Sheraton Imperial or Impiana?

HI

Novotel is 200-300m from the Istana, and 100m from the Impiana, all are central hotels. So all well connected for sight seeing and transportation. Sheraton Imperial is the better of the 4 hotels, its only down side is that it is a little further out (ie a 10min walk from the other 3 would be a 20-30mins walk from SI), but is well connected via the monorail and is right beside a monorail station. The SI does have Heritage Row right beside it. Personallay I would happily stay at the SI, as IMO it is the better hotel and a 5* rather than a 4/5*, but at 100myr more than the others, it will require you to travel to see the sights. Why not go for the Istana, and use the money saved for shopping.

Not so sure about the nightlife aound KLCC, as this is generally not where the nightlife is, more in Jalan Ampang, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan P Ramlee, which are a short walk away from KLCC. As well as Heritage Row which is right beside the Sheraton Imperial.

The must do%26#39;es around the Novotel apply to all the hotels in KL, as KL is a very compact city.

Petronas Towers/ Suria KLCC mall / Petrosains Discovery Centre / Kuala Lumpur City Centre park / Petronas Philharmonic Hall / KL Exhibition and Conference Centre - you can only get up to the sky bridge on the 41st/42nd floor, but need to get there early (0800) and its closed on Monday, but the view are not the brill%26#39;, KL Menara has the best views as you are at 94m. 5 mins walk from Traders hotel or from Bukit Nanas monorail station.

KL Menara, it is only a few metres shorter than the Petronas as it is built on a hill [Bukit Nanas aka Pineapple Hill] it give fabulous view of KL and the towers day and night. You can also walk around the forest reserve at the base of the tower. You can go when you want and stay as long as you like on the observation deck. There is a revolving restaurant but good is only very average compared to the views. Snack bar at the base of the tower. Added to this is access to some of KL鈥檚 original rainforest, an has been left in-situ whilst KL grew up around it. Surrounding the tower is Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve and it is claimed it is undisturbed rainforest. 15min Walk from KLCC area or get on the monorail to Bukit Nanas, or get a taxi.

Bukit Bintang 鈥?A great place for shopping and eating. Sungai Wang/BB Plaza [500 shops and a real Malaysian treat of all sorts of bargains hidden away], KL Plaza, Times Square [which also has a theme park], Pavillion [Mid to top end shops and also the best food court which is reasonably priced, very good mix of restaurants plus a supermarket], Lot 10 [also has a supermarket], Starhill Gallery [very top end but some very nice reasonably priced restaurants], Plaza Low Yat [IT mall], YTL Plaza, BB Park, Imbi Plaza for shopping, plus there are many open fronted shops which offer some great bargains and are identical to those in Chinatown and then there is Jalan Alor is a great place for street food and many restaurants along Bukit Bintang. Ain Arabia or Arab Street is just around the corner in Jalan Berangan, the shopping haven and food and culture of the Arabs in Malaysia. 10min walk from KLCC area, or get on the monorail to Bukit Bintang or Imbi.

Little India - Masjid Jamek Bandaraya / hawkers / fabulous Silk and fabric stores / jewellery / India Street (Jalan Masjid Jamek), oldest parts of the city, Jalan Masjid India is the original shopping haven that has dated back over a century ago. 15min walk from KLCC area.

Central Market / Independence or Merdeka Square / Sultan Abdul building / Royal Selangor Club / St. Mary%26#39;s Cathedral / Kuala Lumpur Railway Station - Colonial heritage (walking distance to Chinatown) 20min walk from KLCC area.

Petaling Street Market is in Chinatown. You can walk to Chinatown/Petaling Street from Merdeka station. Chinatown is a great place for the markets and food. It does get VERY crowded at night so you could try to visit in the afternoon, and take in Sri Mahamariamman Temple plus other temples / UDA Ocean traditional Chinese shopping mall junction between Jalan Sultan and Jalan Dato H S Lee. Plenty of nice food. [station Pasa Ser on the LRT line or Merkeda / Maharajalela on the Monorail, plus 5 mins walk from both], or 15min walk from KLCC area. You will need to bargain hard and the bargains are not what they were.

Lake Gardens / Orchid %26amp; Hibiscus Gardens / Bird-Butterfly / Deer parks / Carcosa Seri Negara 鈥?colonial hotel 鈥?high tea / Museum of Islamic Arts / National Museum / Masjid Negara [National Mosque] by taxi from KL Sentral or hop-on bus.

LaZat cookery course is a great 戮 day out. They will pick you up and bring you back at the end of a fabulous experience.

Enjoy

Istana or Sheraton Imperial or Impiana?

I would choose the Istana for its location; if you are going to spend a lot of time in your hotel room the Sheraton Imperial is a good choice, its one of the better ';standard'; Sheratons around. Impiana is a notch or two below these two, and there is an office block under construction directly behind the hotel.

Just spent 6 nights (home last night) at Impiana and was very pleased with all aspects.

Excellent breakfast choices but not kept very hot after 8.30am. Quick room service. Room was spacious, plenty storage space, king size bed available.

Perfect position to BB, the Towers and the Pavillion.

Infinity pool, gym, shower facilities are terrific.

We ate a lot of evening meals in Food Court of the pavillion shopping Centre.

We will def use again. Hope this helps.

Istana definitely because of the location. Right across the road from the Pavilion, 10mins to the twin towers, right in front of Raja Chulan monorail, top floors has got good views of the twin towers. The Istana is not far from the Novotel (maybe 100m). You will find the nightlife along the Asian Heritage Row or just head to Zouk, which is the most happening place in KL at the moment.

Thanks for the feedback. I will most likely go for Istana.

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