Hilton Kuala Lumpur review: Executive King Room

This post features my Hilton Kuala Lumpur review – Executive King room.

For my review on the Deluxe Plus room – which also features extensively the breakfast at Vasco’s – check out this other post instead.

Note: This is a waaaay overdue post as I spent my birthday here (and my birthday’s in March…)  before COVID-19 lockdowns kicked in and caused global travel restrictions. Ah well.

Arrival and Check in

From Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), we took the KLIA Express train to KL Sentral. KL Sentral is surrounded by a number of hotels – including St. Regis Kuala Lumpur and Aloft. Le Meridien and Hilton Kuala Lumpur are in fact located side-by-side; structurally, the two hotels even share the Gymnasium and swimming pool. 

Entrance to Le Meridien and/or Hilton Kuala Lumpur

As we arrived very late on a Friday evening/morning (about 1am), the check-in was literally empty when we arrived. 

Check in counter at Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Room Upgrade and Birthday Welcome

As a Hilton Honors Elite Gold member (more on this later), one of the perks is complimentary room upgrades subject to availablity. My original booking is actually for a King Deluxe Plus room, however the staff upgraded us to an Executive Room – and with that comes access to the Executive Lounge.

Despite it being past 1am (and we were dead tired after travelling with a cranky 3 year old child) – our spirits were immedialy lifted when we entered the room.

It also happened that this stay happened in my Birthday month.

Welcoming Birthday Decorations

The hotel staff had decorated the room with balloons for us. My initially cranky child had a 180 degree change in mood – she instantly squealed in delight and went straight for the balloons. We were really touched by this gesture – honestly the staff here did go above and beyond to make our stay memorable.

Tip: If you’re celebrating a special occassion – e.g. Birthday, Anniversary, Promotion, or something – do inform the hotel! The staff might just arrange something special 🙂

Sliding Doors easily separate or open the adjoining bathroom

Nevermind that it was so late – we dug into the complimentary nuts and chocolate right there and then.

Complimentary Nuts and Chocolate

All this was made even sweeter with the very, very, beautiful view of KL Sentral area at night.

Kuala Lumpur at Night

Executive Rooms or Suites at Hilton Kuala Lumpur do tend to be either located on higher floors or have better views. If you’re staying here and would love the extra Romance factor, it’s worth considering getting a higher-tiered room with an awesome vantage point.

That’s Aloft hotel, right across the street

Soon after, the tiredness took over and all three of us fell asleep quickly. Only after the next day could did we truly start to appreciate the room itself. 

Executive King room

In this Hilton Kuala Lumpur review – I must say the Executive King rooms are quite lovely. 

Hilton Serenity Bed with Feather Down Pillows

Typically measuring between 38 sq. m. / 409 sq. ft. and 44 sq. m. / 472 sq. ft., the room has loor-to-ceiling panoramic windows and an adjoining bathroom with a luxurious bathtub.

The bathroom comes with s separate bathtub and shower area. The layout was well thought-through and generally convenient – lots of drawers for storage, and a sliding mirrored door opens to a closet.

Executive King Bathroom

Bathtub, and Shower area and Sink in background

Closet with sliding door and bathrobe

At Hilton hotels in both Singapore and Malaysia, as usual, Crabtree and Evelyn amenities were provided for the stay.

Crabtree and Evelyn bath amenities

The room also comes with a workdesk and chair. Again, the space is cleverly designed to accomodate the various amenities:

Workdesk area. Notice the wall on the left side – see the opening?

Opens up to reveal an ironing board and luggage stand

Executive Lounge

Located on the Executive Floor – level 33 of Hilton Kuala Lumpur, the Executive Lounge is opened daily from 6am to 11pm.

 Specifically, meal times at the lounge are as follows:

• Breakfast: 6:00am to 10:00am (weekdays), and 6.30am to 11:00am (weekends)
• Afternoon Tea: Daily from 2.30pm to 4.30pm
• Evening Aperitifs: Daily from 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Additionally, meal times or not – guests are invited to all day refreshments. Translated: have as much coffee, tea, soft drinks, and other beverages as much as you like. My husband, who’s a coffee addict, would visit the Lounge for his cappucino fix countless times a day. Our child would sometimes accompany him for hot chocolate or steamed milk.

Yes, children are allowed in the lounge but they must be well behaving and be accompanied by parents at all times.

Note: In this Hilton Kuala Lumpur Review, I will be showcasing the mealtimes, including breakfast, at the Executive Lounge.

~ Breakfast at the Lounge

We had the choice of having either (i) the International Breakfast Buffet either at Vasco’s (level 1), or (ii) at the Lounge itself. Difference: the Executive lounge has lesser food choices but diners can enjoy more attentive service in a quiet and refined environment. Vasco’s can be crowded especially on weekends, but food-wise it does have an impressive and insane variety  – do check out my other blog post on the Deluxe Plus room that features how breakfast looks like at Vasco’s.

Good Morning from the Lounge

We decided to go for the Executive Lounge’s breakfast this time.

Cereals and Fruit

While the variety is not super extensive, whatever that’s served here was of a reasonably good presentation and quality.

Assortment of Pastries

What’s your choice of bread?

Cold Cuts, Fruit, Salad

Porridge station

The Lounge Breakfast menu also comes with a made-to-order Egg station. It doesn’t just come with the typical scrambled eggs or omelettes alone; there’s also fancier poached eggs – Eggs Benedict (with ham), Eggs Florentine (with spinach) or Eggs Royale (with smoked salmon).

Loved the Eggs Royale there (click to enlarge). Do also check out the gallery below if you’re keen on more breakfasty food pictures.

~ Afternoon Tea at the Lounge

Afternoon Tea at the Executive lounge consists mainly of finger food and small bites.

Assortment of mini sandwiches and pastries

The kind that go well with tea or coffee. Speaking of drinks – the lounge has a good variety of tea and coffee options, as well as hot chocolate, sparkling water, fruit juice and soft drinks.

Dessert servings – apple raspberry crumble, meringue, coconut mousse with pineapple salsa

While technically ‘tea time’ is more of a snack time and less of a full meal, it’s totally possible to get full on their multiple sandwiches, scones, and dessert. I loved the desserts, especially the coconut mousse with pineapple salsa It’s sort of like panna cotta but with a twist of tropical flavour. 

Left to Right: Dulce de Leche Tart, Avocao and Maple Glaze Tempeh Foccacia, Plain Scones, Raisin Scoes

Assortment of Fruits (top) and Soft Drinks (bottom)

~ Dinner at the Lounge

You know it’s dinner time at the lounge when the main table is stocked with wines, sparkling wines, and champagne. The drinks are popular – despite coming to the lounge early, at the very start for dinner, the crowd was already there and wine glasses were brought to many tables.

Food wise, there’s not much variety but the quality is decent. My favourite item is actually the garlic bread – lightly toasted french baguette dipped in garlic butter, this was most savory item of the night.

Salads, Garlic Bread, Bread Rolls

Cheese lovers would be happy – check out the cheese platter here.

Top: Vegetables for dipping, served with a chilli hummus sauce. Bottom: Cheese variety: Brie, Emmental, Gouda, Blue Cheese

There were a few hot dishes – some protein – it could be meat or fish dishes depending on the day, and a fried rice. While not spectacular, it was good enough to enjoy as a meal. 

Left to Right: Savory Profiterole filled with Smoked Mackeral Mousse, Salmon Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Jelouse, Hong Kong Style Fried Rice

There was also a good variety of desserts; the items tended to change throughout the evening. 

Chocolate Tart

Altogether, we had a few different kind of mini cakes, including carrot cake and a few local Malay kinds. The staff here replenished these quickly – looks like Executive Lounge guests tended to have a sweet tooth.

Lemon Delight Roll Cake

Malay Kuih – these were made with a strong coconut milk base

Swimming Pool

After all the pigging out in the Executive Lounge, what better way to burn some calories with a good swim in the pool?

Alternatively, one can just relax and lounge about by the pool instead…

The pool at Hilton Kuala Lumpur is jointly shared with Le Meridien. Combined, the entire swimming area is an awesome, family-friendly space. 

There is a waterfall! And a slide!

The slide was a hit among families with children – on weekends, it can get crowded with lots of kids running up and down for a turn at the slide. 

Our child loved the pool so much, it was hard to get her to leave. To convince her to end the swimming, we promised to return here again someday. Not that it’s difficult to keep our word on this one, lol. 

Overall Review

The stay at Hilton Kuala Lumpur was nothing short of lovely. The staff were friendly, the rooms clean and comfortable, and service was overall excellent. It wasn’t just because the staff remembered my birthday – everywhere in the hotel, the staff greeted us and made everyone feel so at home. At the Executive Lounge, one of the waitresses remembered my child’s favourite drink of hot chocolate and would offer her that drink whenever we popped by the lounge.

We even received a note from the cleaning staff at housekeeping. While I technically needed nothing more from housekeeping, it’s such a sweet gesture that they reach out to us. Truly, they communicated that the hotel is committed to providing the best service possible to their guests.

Overall, my Hilton Kuala Lumpur review is a positive one. I highly recommend it for both the experience and the awesome location at KL Sentral – makes it easy to make round trips to the airport and get around Kuala Lumpur.

Hilton Honors – Elite Gold Status: points earned

Hilton Kuala Lumpur Review: as a Hilton Honors Gold Member, I also earned the following points from this stay: 

– Base points: 3, 761

– 2020 Power up promotion: 3, 761

– Gold Elite 80% Bonus: 3, 009

Total Hilton Honors points: 10, 531

American Express Platinum Charge Card (Image source: American Express)

As a holder of the American Express Platinum Charge card, as part of the card’s benefits, I hold elite statuses in four major hotel chains, of which the Hilton Honors programme is my favourite. Elite members (Gold and Diamond) receive complimentary room upgrades (subject to availability), earn bonus points with stays, and get breakfast thrown in on top of that.

We have been to several Hilton properties in both Singapore and Malaysia, including at Hilton Singapore (Executive King) at Orchard Road, and the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru (Double Double Executive Room and One Bedroom Deluxe Suite). We have also done staycations at the slightly more upscale Conrad Centennial Singapore at Temasek Boulevard – including celebrating a wedding anniversary in the Premium Room and staying over Chinese New Year at the Centennial King Suite.

Usually, getting Elite gold status requires staying at qualifying properties for either 40 nights, 20 stays, or earning 75,000 Base Points. However, the American Express Platinum Charge card allows members to hold Elite gold status even without the minimum qualifying stays. 

Do I recommend getting the card? Hands down, YES.

Note: My Hilton Honors Gold status comes with ownership of the American Express Platinum Charge card. If you are Inspired by this post and want to apply for an American Express credit card, apply through one of my referral links to receive either bonus Membership Rewards points or Krisflyer miles:

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• American Express Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Credit Card: Use this referral link and receive up to 38, 000 Krisflyer miles and S$50 statement credits when you apply and minimum spend criteria is met. 

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed on this page are that of Happy High Life and may not necessarily reflect the position of American Express. Happy High Life is not responsible for any decisions made by readers. The terms and conditions for credit card applications may be subject to change by American Express. Readers are recommended to check with American Express or its partners; the list of all benefits of the Platinum Charge Card can be found here.

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