Where to Stay in KL? Check Out the Chic and Stylish Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur

Over the long Raya holiday weekend, Big Teddy and I checked ourselves into the 4-months new hotel, Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur for a staycation and a day of relaxation. Located at Jalan Kamunting, this hip hotel is built among some of KL’s 1940s heritage shophouses turned hip galleries and cafes, as well as a handful of traditional businesses that locals until today still adore (my favourite and weekly breakfast joint, Yut Kee Restaurant which has been around since 1928 is just next door).

This luxury boutique hotel is one of the only 2 Marriott’s Autograph Collection Hotels in Kuala Lumpur, the other being its sister hotel, The Majestic Kuala Lumpur, also owned by YTL Hotels. Recently opened in February 2017, Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur features 184 guestrooms, a French-style restaurant, Brasserie 25, as well as a rooftop bar, Man Tao Bar and rooftop pool facing the beautiful KL Tower.

We arrived just after 2pm and thought that most KL folks would have gone out of town due to the long holiday, boy we were so wrong. The valet parking (the only parking option for this hotel) took a while to organize all cars parked in front of the hotel entrance waiting for their turns to be served, and by the time we got to the front desk, the hotel was so busy and we could see the crowd building in the lobby. However, we got lucky with an empty slot at the check-in counter right away, and got our keys to the room in less than 10 minutes thanks to the efficient front desk manager.

The Room

Our room was the Executive Studio Room, the largest room size (45 sqm/484 sq ft) available in Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur. It has a cosy king size bed, a sofa bed, a work desk, a huge bathroom complete with rain shower and bathtub, a comfortable living/sitting area, and large ceiling to floor windows on the entire side of the room which I loved because I enjoy natural lights.

Room amenities include safe deposit box (big enough for my iPad and laptop), minibar, capsule coffee machine, iron and ironing board, alarm clock, 50” LCD TV, 24 hours room service and WIFI.

Their bed is so comfortable, to the extent that we had trouble getting up early in the next day. I also made good use of the big bathtub and drew myself a warm bubble bath. Bath salt was provided, but I had to use my hand to scoop enough shower gel from the wall mounted dispenser from the shower cubicle in order to make my bubble bath. I wished there was an easier way to do it though but bubble bath is just my personal preference.

The Gym & The Rooftop Swimming Pool

Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur has a fully functional gym available 24/7 (just use your room key to access the gym at rooftop floor). I thought I could use the gym in the morning, but it was proved to be overly ambitious as we decided to sleep in instead. Blame the hotel’s super comfy bed…..

The rooftop swimming pool here is the main draw for this hotel. It is a long enough lap pool facing the iconic KL Tower and the KL Forest Eco-Park (or previously known as Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve). This KL City skyline with lush green in the middle is quite unique, very much different from the usual KLCC Petronas Twin Towers’ view, but I love this view very much too. The swimming pool opens daily from 7am to 7pm, and with the limited pool lounge chairs, this spot got really crowded in the morning before we checked out.

The Restaurants and Bar

Man Tao Bar is right next to rooftop swimming pool and we had 2 drinks there the first night we were here. Soon after the heavy rain started pouring for hours and they had to shut early. We will have to come back again on a better weather night in order to fully enjoy the view from the bar. Check out my post on Man Tao Bar here.

Brasserie 25 is the signature French restaurant at the ground floor serving lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. We tried both the afternoon tea and dinner and I must say I was thoroughly impressed, especially the dinner menu. I think I’d just found my new favourite restaurant in town at Brasserie 25! Check out my post on Brasserie 25 here, and you should really check out this restaurant as I had my best dinner here in a long long while.

Snug at Level 2 is the casual dining spaces mainly used for breakfast. The breakfast selection was smaller than the usual hotel breakfast given this is a boutique hotel, but the ingredients used were fresh and better quality than average hotel breakfasts that I’d been to. I particularly loved their cold selection where they stored all the cold food and beverages nicely in the large fridge on display. Breakfast is served from 6.30am – 10.30am.

Getting Here and Getting Around

Driving to this hotel was easy using Waze or Google Map. However, do note that only valet parking is available for hotel guests for RM10 per day flat. As for dining guests, valet parking is RM20 for first 3 hours, RM5 for the subsequent hour, so car pooling or Uber/Grab might be a better choice if you just want to come here for the restaurant. Dang Wangi LRT station and Medan Tuanku Monorail station are just around the corner too for those who want to opt for public transports instead.

Meanwhile, free shuttle bus is provided for hotel guests every hour from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm to YTL affiliated luxury shopping mall in Bukit Bintang Shopping District in the heart of KL, Starhill Gallery.

Final Thoughts – A Wonderful Staycation

We had a lovely staycation at this trendy new hotel. Their services from the front desk to housekeeping (the safe deposit box was malfunctioned and they fixed it quickly) to the restaurants were prompt and attentive. I loved the quality finishing and modern furnishing of the room. Moreover, dinner at Brasserie 25 was the highlight of our stay, and I’m already planning to return soon to try the other dishes on the menu. I’d highly recommend Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur for a stay in Kuala Lumpur, away from the usual KLCC or Bukit Bintang enclave, and explore this part of the city instead, which offers a more authentic experience to the local neighbourhood.

Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur Official Website: http://www.stripeskl.com/index.html
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/hotelstripeskl/
Address: 25 Jalan Kamunting, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: +603 2038 0000

TripAdvisor reviews please click here.

Check out my other posts on Kuala Lumpur here.

Do follow my adventures on Facebook here and Instagram here.

A big thank you to Hotel Stripes Kuala Lumpur for hosting this staycation. As always, all opinions are my own and I only recommend services that I’d personally use.