The Gardens Hotel & Residences

There’s a busy feel to the
hotel that matches its prime Mid Valley location, with hotel guests and mall shoppers arriving and departing constantly. The hotel has the look and feel of a business hotel -- interiors are attractive, but largely sterile -- and, indeed, the vast majority of guests staying here are in town for work. The hotel is connected to the Gardens Mall, an upscale shopping center, and
next to the Mid Valley Mega-mall, with a variety of restaurants, shops, and a movie
theater. The hotel's lobby has tall ceilings and a big vertical living wall with leafy
plants growing out of orange triangles. Dining areas are modern, including The Spread
restaurant, where a curved glass wall reveals the kitchen, and Ri-Yakitori, a Japanese venue with a slightly more casual vibe created by wooden floors and tables as well as a billiards table. While this property definitely embraces business travelers, there are some leisure options as well, including the outdoor infinity pool and children's pool with city views (though a long-term construction project currently takes up a good portion of the view). 

While the hotel isn't right in what many people consider the center of Kuala Lumpur, the Mid Valley development is a coveted, prime location in its own right. The immediate area is busy and prone to heavy traffic, and there is constant construction and development (welcome to booming Southeast Asia!). The hotel is directly attached to two malls: The Gardens and Mid Valley Mega-mall -- both offer plenty of opportunities for shopping, dining, and people watching. The complex is connected to the KTM commuter rail -- the stop is MidValley -- and trips to the vibrant Bukit Bintang area by rail and monorail will take about 50 minutes. Alternatively a taxi can make the journey in 15 minutes, though this depends on traffic. It’s around a 15-minute drive to KLCC, the district that's home to the Petronas Towers, and around an hour to the airport. 

With its droves of corporate travel guests in mind, rooms at the hotel are
modern and simple, without any unnecessary design frills. They are attractive, though, with an abundance of white oak throughout, from paneled walls to floors, desks, and end tables. Some rooms have sections with tan carpeting and leather padded headboards add a plush dynamic to the rooms. Framed flower prints hanging over the beds, softening the straightforward ambience. All rooms have flat-screen TVs with satellite channels, free
Wi-Fi for up to two devices, free coffee and coffeemakers, safes, air-conditioning, and mini-fridges. Desks have ergonomic office chairs. While lower category rooms can be compact, Executive Premier Rooms have a good amount of extra space, and include a small seating area next to a wall of windows. Polished tan marble bathrooms have walk-in showers and separate bathtubs, plus toiletries, makeup mirrors, bathrobes, and slippers.
Longer stay residences -- essentially apartments with full kitchens -- are also available. They are housed in a separate building.

There are enough opportunities to relax here after long days working or hot days touring Kuala Lumpur. The hotel has an outdoor infinity pool
that looks out across the ever-changing KL skyline (yes, you will see construction). There's also a children’s pool, lounge chairs, and a bar. The hotel's breakfast buffet is not included with room rates, and offerings are average for a hotel of this size and caliber. The lunch buffet offers an impressive selection of food including sashimi, sushi, and
oysters. There’s also an upscale restaurant serving French and Japanese cuisine
and a yakitori restaurant. A spacious fitness center has modern equipment -- including treadmills and stair stepping machines -- in a bright, modern space. There is an
internet corner and conference spaces are available for private events. Wi-Fi is available for free throughout. On-site parking is available, but part of the mall's parking, and is subject to an in-and-out fee.