After an excellent night at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, I finished off my visit to Malaysia with a two-night stay at the Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur. This wasn’t my first time at the hotel but my last stay was in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. I was interested to see how things had changed since then and return to the hotel.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Hotel Basics

Alila has an interesting position in Hyatt’s brand portfolio. It became part of Hyatt when Hyatt acquired Two Roads Hospitality in 2018. Hyatt describes the brand as offering “complete immersion” in destinations to create “authentic connections” with a focus on sustainability.

Most Alila properties are natural resorts like Alila Ubud (one of its original properties) but there are a couple of city hotels in the portfolio including the Alila Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur, the other being in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Alila Bangsar is located on the top floors of a high-rise in Kuala Lumpur’s Brickfield neighborhood. The neighborhood is home to KL Sentral station, Kuala Lumpur’s biggest transformation hub, and is considered an up-and-coming neighborhood in the city that is rapidly experiencing urban renewal. It’s a good base to explore Kuala Lumpur.

The hotel describes itself as a modern urban retreat. The standout feature is the pool surrounded with greenery located on the 40th floor of the building overlooking Kuala Lumpur with views of Merdeka 118 and Kuala Lumpur Tower. The hotel has 144 keys split between 113 studios, 13 deluxe balcony rooms, 6 premier rooms, 5 junior suites, 5 Bangsar suites, and an Alila Suite with a whopping 2700 sq. ft. of space.

Booking Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur

The Alila Bangsar is a category 1 property in World of Hyatt. That means that redeeming points can be as low as 3,500 points on off-peak dates, 5,000 points on standard dates, and rise to 6,500 points on peak dates. The hotel consistently has rates under $100 USD making it making it an excellent value-priced option for visiting Kuala Lumpur.

For my two-night stay the cash rate was MR320.00, about $73 USD. Not bad at all for a stay at a five-star hotel! Redeeming points at the property would have cost me 5,000 points per night. Hyatt points are particularly valuable so I spent cash to book this stay.

Getting to Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur

Conveniently, Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur is directly connected to the Bank Rakyat Bangsar LRT Station which is one stop from KL Sentral — Kuala Lumpur’s transportation hub. However, since I was heading to the hotel from the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, I called a Grab and settled in for the trip which took about 30 minutes with Kuala Lumpur traffic.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Check-in Experience

I was dropped off at the entrance of the hotel where there’s a foyer downstairs with elevators leading up to the lobby.

The Botanica + Co casual dining restaurant is located here.

The hotel occupies the 35th to 41st floors of the building so upon arrival, you’ll need to take an elevator up to the 41st floor to the hotel’s main lobby to check in.

On the 41st floor, I was efficiently checked in and informed that I received a “best available room” upgrade as a Globalist to a Deluxe Balcony Room. For my previous stay at the Alila Bangsar, I was upgraded to a Bangsar suite. This time I was traveling alone and only staying a couple of nights so I didn’t check availability ahead of checking in so I am not sure if this was the best upgrade possible.

I was provided with a sheet explaining some of the hotel’s features some of which will be covered later in this post.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Deluxe Balcony Room

Deluxe Balcony Rooms at the Alila Bangsar are all located on the hotel’s bottom floor, the 35th floor, and have 495 sq. ft. of living space and an 86 sq. ft. balcony on top of that. It’s laid out in a quite familiar yet comfortable layout for a hotel room with divisions between the bathroom, bedroom, couch/desk area, and a balcony.

I was assigned room 3503. Stepping into the room, you’ll first step into an entryway with a door to the bathroom to the left and the bedroom ahead. There’s a TV on the wall facing the bed with a bench.

One either side of the bed is a reading lamp and controls for the room, including an “intimate” mode”. On the left side, there was a British-style outlet (not universal), while the right had USB-A outlets.

There is an unstocked minibar in the bedroom area and a kettle for tea and instant coffee. There were also a couple bottles of complimentary water.

Beyond the bedroom area is a sitting area and desk divided from the bedroom with a partial glass wall.

Beyond the sitting area, there’s a balcony looking out over the city.

The balcony view was particularly striking at night.

There’s ample closet space if you’re traveling alone.

You can enter through the entryway or through the bathroom (both doors can be closed).

The bathroom has a single vanity, makeup desk, and waterfall shower.

There is a waterfall shower. Toiletries are in bulk containers from Alila’s in-house Alila Living collection which is an exclusive “signature feature” at its hotels and resorts. There’s not a ton online about the brand but several social posts (from 2016) and a webpage from 2021 notes that the products are made in Bali from organic ingredients and used across the brand’s portfolio.

An additional bottle of water was on the bathroom counter along with some bath amenities. Amenities included a shaving kit, comb, cotton buds, cotton pads, shower cap, and two dental kits.

You can close the door between the bathroom and the bedroom revealing a floor to ceiling mirror behind the door.

In a cute concept, there’s a bag in the room where lightly used items can be left to be donated to charities as part of Alila’s partnership with the Giving Bag organization.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Welcome Amenity

A welcome amenity and a handwritten note from the general manager welcoming me back to the Alila Bangsar was waiting in the room providing a nice personal touch. The welcome amenity was a bottle of refreshing face mist spray from the house brand, Alila Living.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Self-Service Coffee

While there’s no coffee machine in the rooms, there are self-service coffee stations along with drinking water and snacks on each floor of the hotel along with a mini communallounge area.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Dining

Alila Bangsar has two dining outlets. Botanica + Co on the ground floor is an all-day dining restaurant serving Asian and international dishes in a casual “garden-like” atmosphere. Entier, on the 41st floor, is a French restaurant with a “communal dining” concept open for lunch and dinner. There’s also a Pool Bar at the pool which I will cover below when discussing the pool.

Alila Bangsar Breakfast at Botanica + Co

World of Hyatt’s Globalist breakfast benefit is, by far, the best elite breakfast benefit of any major hotel loyalty program and includes breakfast in virtually every stay. At Alila Bangsar, the breakfast is offered from 7:00 to 1:30 am in the ground-floor level Botanica + Co.

True to form, I had a bowl of Tom Yum soup with tofu, scrambled egg whites, a sampling of some of the Asian options, and some fruit.

I tried both the fresh watermelon juice and orange juice.

While there is a coffee machine, you are also able to order a barista coffee which will taste much better. I ordered an oat milk cappuccino.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Fitness Center

There’s a small fitness room with a couple weight training machines, cardio equipment including three treadmills and a rower, three benches, and free weights going up to 25 kgs (approximately 55 lbs).

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Pool

As mentioned above, probably the most recognizable feature of the Alila Bangsar is its pool on the 40th floor within a three-story atrium with plenty of natural light and surrounded by greenery.

To be completely frank, I love this pool and it wouldn’t be out of place in a much more expensive property. it boasts an excellent vantage point over downtown Kuala Lumpur with views of Merdeka 118 and Kuala Lumpur Tower. There are loungers along the side and a pool bar at the end. On the opposite end, there’s a terraced green staircase leading down from the lobby on the 41st floor to the pool.

Alila Bangsar The Pool Bar

There’s a pool bar with a self-ordering station next to the pool. There’s a menu consisting of various drinks and casual food choices and a telephone to place an order. It’s an interesting concept but I didn’t see anyone utilizing this feature.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Chauffeur Service

Another addition since the last time I stayed at the Alila Bangsar is a complimentary chauffeur service from 8 am to 6 pm. The chauffeur service functions to KL Sentral/Nu Sentral Mall, Bangsar Village Shopping Center, and Mid Valley Megamall. Bookings are necessary at least an hour in advance and are on a first-come, first-served basis.

I went ahead and booked a ride to KL Sentral for my departure.

While I’ve been to Kuala Lumpur a few times before, I had never tried the KLIA Ekspres train service between the airport and KL Sentral. It never made sense to take a train and a car instead of booking a car directly. However, when departing Kuala Lumpur, you’re able to check-in and leave checked luggage directly at KL Sentral when using the KLIA Ekspres train — this definitely can make this a more convenient option with a more predictable travel time to the airport.

Not much to report here except the car was a Toyota van and was waiting downstairs when I checked out. The ride to KL Sentral was uneventful and I was able to efficiently purchase a ticket, check-in my bag, and be on my way to the airport. This will definitely be my preferred way of departing from Kuala Lumpur going forward.

Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Bottom Line

The Alila Bangsar Kuala Lumpur offers an urban resort experience in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s up-and-coming Brickfield neighborhood. Nestled on the top floors of a high-rise, the hotel has 144 rooms with the standout amenities of a rooftop pool along with other amenities including dining options, gym, and great city views. It’s directly connected to the Bank Rakyat Bangsar LRT Station, allowing easy access to KL Sentral, the city’s major transportation hub and offers a complimentary chauffeur service. The hotel is priced very competitively making it a value option for World of Hyatt Globalists and other loyalists looking for a convenient upscale hotel in Kuala Lumpur.