Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur

Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur occupies the upper floors of a tower in the Golden Triangle, at 2 Jalan Conlay, and holds just 55 rooms and suites. The scale is deliberately small, and almost everything you use sits high above street level, from the spa on Level 53 to the bars on Levels 59 and 60. Check in from 3pm and check out by noon. Complimentary Wi-Fi runs throughout, an airport shuttle can be arranged, and a prayer room is available.

All 55 rooms and suites range from 51 to 313 square metres, and most centre on an oval soaking tub set by the window wall, so you bathe with the city in front of you. Banyan Retreat and Signature Banyan Retreat look across the city skyline, Signature Sky Retreat faces the Kuala Lumpur Tower, and Signature Wellbeing Retreat overlooks the golf course. Suites step up from there. Sky Suite and Sanctuary Suite frame the Petronas Twin Towers, the latter with a private relaxation pool, while Sky Sanctuary Suite adds a sauna and jet pool.

Evenings tend towards the roof, where Vertigo runs a resident DJ and Vertigo TOO opens the 60th floor for larger occasions, both of them adults only. Daytime is quieter: laps in the Open Air Pool, a 24 hour gym, and complimentary wellbeing activities including Spinal Stretch and Core Pilates. You can also book Destination Dining, a private table set under the skyline with a personal chef, along with shopping trips and routes through the city's attractions.

The Open Air Pool is covered and long enough for laps, open daily from 7am to 10pm, and the gym runs 24 hours with current fitness equipment. Banyan Tree Spa Kuala Lumpur sits on Level 53 and opens from 10am to 10pm, with three signature massages: Royal Banyan, which uses warm herbal pouches and sesame oil, Balinese and Thai Classic. You can book 60 or 90 minute treatments for two, and Spinal Stretch and Core Pilates sessions run alongside.

Six dining options run the height of the building. Horizon Grill, on Level 58, serves premium cuts and seafood with a Gatsby inspired character. Torito, on Level 53, pairs Peruvian brightness with Japanese precision under Chef Sergio Porras, with Pisco Sours and a Saturday brunch. Vertigo, a floor above, is the highest rooftop bar in the city, where you drink cocktails with South East Asian tapas to a resident DJ. Bake by Banyan Tree handles pastries and pralines on Level 1.

A lift connects the building directly to Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, so you reach the shops without a taxi. The Petronas Twin Towers and KLCC are 2.6 kilometres away, a twenty minute walk across the pedestrian bridge or ten minutes by car, and the street food stalls of Jalan Alor are close by. Further out sit Dataran Merdeka, Batu Caves, Thean Hou Temple and the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre. Kuala Lumpur International Airport is around 60 kilometres, roughly an hour by road.