Kuala Lumpur Highlights - View from The Garden Residence

Part of our stay at Kuala Lumpur is at the Garden Hotel Residences. The Garden Hotel is made up of two towers, one of the hotel itself, the second an apartment tower. The reviews of the hotel and residence are very good.

The 5-star Gardens Hotel Residences is advertised as the pinnacle of luxurious living, centrally located in the precinct of The Gardens, Mid Valley City which comprises of The Gardens Mall; an upmarket shopping haven featuring key tenants, like the Robinsons, Isetan, Premier Golden Screen Cineplex plus over 200 premium branded boutiques which debut on September 26, 2007 and premium offices of The Gardens North and South Towers.

It is strategically located in between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, well connected to light commuter rails and with convenient access to the major expressways.

The outdoor swimming pool is located on the third or fourth floor between the two Garden Towers. It got a good view of the expressway towards Petaling Jaya. In fact, the most prominent building of the city skyline from the pool, is the Telekom Malaysia building.

It seems few of the guests do venture out to the pool. It is never crowded, at least for those times I was there, making some attempts in the morning to do a few laps of the pool to shed off some pounds or at least some ounces (or should it be kilos and some grams), before breakfast. It was either the pool or the fitness centre, located on the same floor as the swimming pool.

One of the perks of being a guest of the residence, is access to the hotel VIP Lounge.

This is a place to be during happy hours; free access to soft drinks, wines and a shortlist of spirits along with a simple fare of hot and cold food. These are a welcome sight after too much of the rich hawker and restaurant food we had over the days. Even so, there is still the nasi lemak, mee goreng and fried rice. There is also a chef to attend to you should you require added attention. Of course the range of food is not as diverse at the restaurant, where breakfast is served.

Oh! did I say that breakfast comes with the stay at the Garden Residence.

There are also a number of computer teminals to access the internet and emails. Comes in handy if you want to email home or to check out details of places to go, around Kuala Lumpur.

The lounge is also a quite place to read, to relax or to catch-up with friends and family members if you just want to talk, over a cup of coffee or tea with some cookies, looking out of the windows towards the city skyline.

Views of the city skyline from the VIP Loudge.

Where the Garden Residence is, there are two shopping malls within easy reach from the apartment. There is really no real need to leave Mid Valley to do any shopping else where, after all every shopping mall is the same, isn't it?

Oh! I can almost hear the women crying out that this (statement) is not true.

Where the Gardens is, there is the The Gardens Mall, with the following facilites I got from the Garden Hotel list of things you can do:

• over 200 fashion and specialty shops inclusive of two upmarket lifestyle stores namely the Robinsons and Isetan.
• Cocoon - a retreat dedicated to total well-being
• Wide selection of dining outlets, appealing to broad and discerning tastes, inclusive of the Penang’s famed Gurney Drive serving an assortment of zesty fares.
• GSC Signature - its first platinum screen boutique cinema offering Gold Premier class
• The Gardens Ballroom- 20,000 square feet of event space with 360-degree concept, top notch amenities, state-of-the art
• Sound and light, transforming from banquet hall to theatre to high fashion catwalk with ease.
• Two landmark office towers - The Gardens North & South Towers; a prestigious address for multi-national companies

From The Gardens Mall, it is just a short stroll across the road (that separate the two malls, at ground level) or via an escalator down to the basement level to cross over to the Mid-Valley Megamall which offers:

• over 430 retail, dining and entertainment conveniences
• 3 lifestyle stores; Carrefour, Metrojaya and Jusco
• 38-lane bowling alley and IT World
• Variety of themed restaurants, bistros, bars and food courts
• Fitness Centre (Gymnasium, fitness facilities, swimming pool)
• 18 screen Cineplex
• Children’s Entertainment Centre with complete range of fun and educational facilities
• Selection of aromatherapy spas
• Landscaped boulevard with lush greenery and street-side cafes

Now do you think that there is still a need to go anywhere else outside Mid-Valley, to do any kind of shopping? It would take weeks, to just window shop every outlets in these two mall.