Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Hilton Kuala Lumpur stands next to the KL Sentral transport hub, which puts the whole city within easy reach and Kuala Lumpur International Airport twenty eight minutes away by high speed train. It suits business and leisure alike, with rooms and suites that look out over the Lake Gardens or the city skyline, and a calm, contemporary tone running through the public rooms. Check in is from 15:00 and check out at 12:00. Rooms are booked without meals, and the breakfast buffet is available for a fee.

Rooms begin at 38 square metres and run to a 130 square metre Lifestyle Suite, so even the entry categories feel generous by city standards. Each holds a Hilton Serenity Bed with high thread count linen, a 50-inch flat screen television, a separate shower and bathtub behind a marble finish, a work desk and a minibar. Plus categories add floor-to-ceiling windows, and Executive rooms and suites bring access to the Executive Lounge. Connecting rooms can be confirmed at the time of booking.

Days here tend to organise themselves around the pool, where the waterslide keeps children busy and the Boardwalk handles lunch without anyone having to change. The Lounge lays on afternoon high tea over the Lake Gardens, with a piano or a three piece jazz band, and Aviary Bar, home to the Jungle Bird, mixes cocktails from five in the afternoon until midnight. Cots and a kids menu are available on request, and children under eighteen stay free using existing bedding.

The outdoor pool is built around a waterslide, with a poolside bar and towels provided, and the Boardwalk Poolside Restaurant sits alongside it under palm trees with the Lake Gardens and the skyline behind. The Spa opens daily from 11:00 to 22:00 for massages, facials and body scrubs, and keeps a booking line of its own. The fitness centre is open to anyone staying, and changing rooms serve both it and the spa.

Nine venues cover a lot of ground. Vasco's runs all day with live kitchens turning out Malay, Chinese and Indian dishes alongside continental options. Chynna serves modern Cantonese and Shanghainese under Chef Lam Hock Hin, with an open dim sum kitchen and a tea master on hand. Iketeru handles Japanese under Chef Tokuhisa Naotaka, Graze takes on Italian and Chambers Grill works imported cuts over lava stone. Aviary Bar, The Lounge, Oro Cafe and the Boardwalk fill the gaps, and room service runs alongside them.

KL Sentral is next door, which makes the rest of the city straightforward on foot or by rail. Chinatown is 2.7 kilometres away, the city centre and LaLaport 3.9, KL Tower 4.7, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur 5.5 and The Exchange TRX 6.1. Mid Valley Megamall, Central Market, the Petronas Twin Towers and KL Bird Park are all roughly ten minutes by car, and the airport rail link runs from the station beside the hotel.