If I were to describe my stay at the 4-star St. Giles Boulevard Hotel in Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur the first phrase that would come to mind would be: “worth it”. Since this isn’t a luxury hotel, its amenities are understandably not anything to write home about. With that said, it still has a lot going for it. From its service, room quality, and location, this hotel has plenty to offer that I think the budget conscious crowd will appreciate.
St. Giles Boulevard Hotel Mid Valley KL: A 4-Star Hotel That’s Really Worth It
In terms of accessibility, it’s relatively easy to get to St. Giles Boulevard Hotel as its part of the Mid Valley City development in Kuala Lumpur. This development is home to major commercial spaces such as The Gardens Mall and the Mid Valley Megamall. To get to the hotel, you’ll just need to get to the Mid Valley Megamall’s North Court entrance. You’ll then find the hotel’s side entrance just right next to a CU (Korean convenience store). Once you get inside, you can then check in at the reception area to your left. Conversely, you can have your cab go straight to the hotel’s main entrance. After entering from there, this should be the sight that greets you.
The hotel’s lobby was actually quite spacious. Here’s a picture of the lobby showing the side entrance and some of the sofas that can be found in the area. At the right most, you can also see some luggage as well as the edge of the reception table we saw earlier. What got my attention the most though was the large pot off to the right. I mean, would you look at that thing! It’s so large I think you could fit 2 to 3 people inside that.
To the left of the large pot is a section of the lobby with another set of chairs. This section also has a glazed wall which allows you to get a view of the street outside as well as the Northpoint Residences (a residential complex which also happens to be a part of the Mid Valley City development) opposite Mid Valley Megamall. The sofa as well as the high backed wing chairs here look rather comfortable though I didn’t end up trying them out myself.
If you’re feeling hungry then you can check out this lounge bar here in the lobby. Called Flutes Living Room, this is managed and staffed by the hotel that serves a wide variety of snacks, coffee, and even signature cocktails. In the background you can see the tables and chairs reserved for customers who order from here.
Much like other hotels of this size, St. Giles Boulevard Hotel also has larger rooms that can be used for conferences and seminars. When I was there, one of these rooms was reserved for an engagement session with the Bintulu Port Authority. Unfortunately, I have no idea what this session or seminar was all about.
Similar to how the JW Marriott Hotel is connected to the Starhill Gallery, St. Giles Boulevard Hotel is also connected to the Mid Valley Megamall. This is the hallway that connects the two establishments and you’ll find this to the left of the receptionist’s table in the lobby (if you’re facing it). If you’re at the hotel’s side entrance, just turn to your left after going inside and this should be one of the first things you’ll see (along with the bell carts and elevators).
After checking in, I was able to get access to my room relatively quickly. I then immediately checked the closets and was happy to find that almost all the essentials were here. The in-room safe was rather small but I think you won’t have an issue securing your jewelry and other small to medium sized valuables here. Other than this, the closet also had a clothes iron and an emergency torchlight.
Just beside the in-room safe was a cabinet that had this Panasonic hair dryer. You’d typically find this in the bathroom but for some reason the hotel chose to situate it here. Regardless of the reason though, you shouldn’t have any problems bringing this anywhere inside the room.
This is a close-up of the in-room safe. It’s apparently made by Assa Abloy which is a company that’s known for their security products. In terms of heft, the safe seems heavy relative to its size.
Here you’ll find the room’s complimentary slippers. These were comfortable to wear albeit very flimsy. Thankfully, I tend to bring my own slippers so the flimsiness wasn’t really an issue. That said, I still ended up using this especially when going to the toilet or after baths.
So this is a full-sized mirror just beside the closet that has the in-room safe. What’s cool about this is that it also functions as a closet. Anyway, you can see the room’s door that features a floor plan in the mirror’s reflection.
Opening up the closet, I then found the ironing board as well as the complimentary bath robes. The closet also has a hanging rack where you can typically place your coats, jackets, and dresses. This wasn’t as spacious compared to the other hotels that I’ve been in but I think it’s still good enough to fit 2 to 3 days worth of clothes for two people.
These are the complimentary bath robes that I was talking about earlier. You might think that the hangers here might not be enough for the clothes that you bought. Don’t worry though as you can always request for more from room service.
Above the hanging rack is a shelf containing an extra pillow. This was actually nice but I ended up not using it since the beds here already have two pillows. Still, some people might not be able to sleep with just two so this is a nice touch by the hotel.
Going inside the bathroom, the first things you’ll notice are the bathroom vanity and the toilet. Both are adjacent to each other which makes washing after using the toilet very convenient. The vanity has a raised sink and a reasonably large mirror that was quite clear and that I quite liked.
If you want to wash your hands then feel free to use this hand & body wash by Ink & Water. I would have also preferred if they included a bar of soap as part of the complimentary toiletries but this still works. Moreover, this actually had a nice smell to it that was soothing and not too overpowering.
To the right of the sink and faucet is where you’ll find the room’s complimentary toiletries. There’s a dental kit for two people to go along with a shower cap and cotton buds. I was rather disappointed with these but then I remembered that I actually wouldn’t have any use for them since I always bring my own when I travel.
To the right of the vanity is the shower. The shower fixtures here were pretty basic but fortunately, these still gave you access to both hot and cold water. Other than this, you also only get shampoo and body wash for toiletries. Again, this didn’t bother me as I always bring my own.
To the left of the toilet’s bidet is a sanitary disposal bag. As the name implies, you can use the bag to dispose of toiletries and hygiene products that you’ve already used. The hotel’s housekeeping typically collects these along with the trash.
For the complimentary towels, you can check on this towel rack situated above the toilet. Take note though that this is a little high up so if you’re of shorter stature then you might need to stand on top of the toilet seat. This towel rack placement really was a headscratcher especially because they could’ve just placed these towels in one of the closets.
Here’s a sign with instructions for filling the room’s water bottles. In most hotels that I’d been to, I was usually provided with full water bottles that I could then use for hot water. Apparently, this isn’t the practice at this hotel. If I wanted to have a cup of coffee then I had to get water from a dispenser in the corridor outside of the room.
As for the water bottles, you can see them in a recessed countertop just below the sign. Together with the bottles is a pair of cups and glasses along with a small box containing tea, instant coffee, and sweeteners. The countertop itself has the room’s electric kettle.
Here’s a closer look at the countertop. The provided coffee was from Nescafe while the tea was by BOH. These really weren’t anything to write home about though I still did end up drinking them (the coffee in particular).
Underneath the countertop was a cabinet that held the room’s mini bar refrigerator. This was relatively small and, similar to a lot of hotels, was also kept empty. If you want to stock this up, you can contact room service or head on over to the Mid Valley Megamall and save up a couple of bucks by buying there instead.
This is the room’s foldable luggage stand. I was impressed at how sturdy this was considering the size of the luggage that was placed on top of it. Other than for luggage, I did try using this as a seat (basically I was feeling lazy and it was the closest thing to a seat around) but as you can tell, it’s really not that comfortable.
When I took this picture I decided to set the luggage stand against the bathroom door. It was here that I noticed how odd it was that this door had a chain lock. Now that I think about it, you definitely do not want to have a prankster as a roommate with a chain lock like that.
I really liked how the desk was set up here. The design is minimalist and it’s actually integrated to the wall as well as serving as the attachment point for the television set’s VESA mount. As for the TV set, it was actually quite bright and vibrant as well as having okay viewing angles.
The beds were quite comfortable to sleep in. I initially thought it would be too stiff or firm but the foam was soft enough that there was one day when I woke up late due to how comfy it was. Moreover, there were plenty of pillows here that I didn’t have to make use of the extra pillow that we saw in the cabinet earlier.
This is what was being shown on the television set when I got inside. It’s basically an image of the hotel and the parts of the Mid Valley City development along with a welcome message for guests. Now, the hotel isn’t perfect but as a guest, I do appreciate gestures like this.
If you’re wondering, this is an Urban Twin room hence the presence of the two beds. Now, there’s also a Premier Twin room that’s quite similar with the notable difference being that its bathroom includes a bathtub. Price-wise, the rates aren’t far off with the difference between the two rooms usually ranging from 30MYR to 40MYR.
Another thing I liked about the room was this very comfy arm chair and round side table. I ended up spending a lot of time here relaxing with a drink and just enjoying the view (more on this later) from this floor. The chair was a little firm but I don’t think I had any issues sitting on it for a long time.
This is the bedside table that’s right next to the windows. On top of it was the remote control for the TV and a box of wipes. Just above it on the wall are some of the room’s outlets. If you want to plug in your phone or any electrical equipment then you might want to make sure that they’re compatible with the outlet’s 3-pin socket.
Opposite the arm chair and bedside table is the desk I was talking about earlier. The office chair here was much more comfortable with its height being adjustable as well. If you want to bring your work with you then this is probably the best desk to be in. It’s so spacious that you shouldn’t have problems setting the length of it with your gadgets and work equipment.
On the desk, you’ll find the menu for room service and the room’s telephone. There’s also a frame here with a QR code displayed. Scanning this QR with your phone allows you to chat with the hotel staff as well as order a meal/drinks without the need to use the telephone.
Understandably, some people might still want to order their food the old way. In that case, they can just check out the menu first and then use the telephone to dial room service and place their order. You should remember though that the prices here are generally considered to be a little on the steep side (especially for the beverages).
Here’s a glimpse of the view that I was talking about earlier. Now admittedly, it’s not much. I’ve definitely seen better views in my travels. That said, I still found it calming which was why I spent quite some time resting in the chair here (or even just standing and looking out the window).
At first I wasn’t quite sure what this building was other than it was still part of Mid Valley City. Upon further research, I found out that this is the Centrepoint North Tower. Initially I thought this was a residential building but turns out, it’s a commercial building that has serviced offices. Additionally, it has a luxury penthouse business center which seems like an awesome place to be in.
Adjacent Mid Valley Megamall is The Gardens Mall. It’s still part of the Mid Valley City development and it also has a hotel (middle building) called The Gardens Hotel and Residences. Moreover, the hotel is actually part of the St. Giles Group and has a higher, 5-star rating.
Also included in the view here is another hotel under the St. Giles Group called Cititel Mid Valley. Much like St. Giles Boulevard, it’s part of Mid Valley Megamall. It’s a 3-star hotel so expect its rates to be much cheaper. Take note though that cheaper doesn’t necessarily equate to better. In the future I might check it out to see if it’s worth it but now, I really have no first-hand information about the quality of its service and amenities.
St. Giles Boulevard Hotel is okay. It’s not going to be winning awards for the best hotel in KL but it does have a lot of things going for it. Foremost among these is the hotel’s location. It has direct access to major highways (by virtue of being a part of the Mid Valley City development) and it’s relatively close to a KTM Komuter Station. In addition, the service (like the breakfast buffet) and amenities (like the gym and swimming pool) were okay for the most part considering 4-star hotel standards. There were issues but these were minor and I think still worth it for the price.
What about you? Do you think there are better 4-star hotels in Kuala Lumpur other than St. Giles Boulevard? If yes then share what these are with other travelers in the comments section!
