A staycation at the 'Best Address', with its 24-hour butler service, is guaranteed to impress, writes Zalina Mohd Som
THE door to the grand deluxe room number 1916 opens to a pleasing and welcoming sight of plush baby blue carpet that has scatterings of white and gold floral motifs.
Its floor-to-ceiling glass walls have sheer curtains blocking the view of the southwestern side of Kuala Lumpur that has been drenched with heavy rain for over two hours now.
Looking down at the iconic Muzium Negara being sandwiched by crawling traffic, I am glad that my friend and I are dry and cosy in our room in St. Regis Kuala Lumpur.
Going on the same colour schemes, the walls around the 63sq m room take on classic grey but with an added golden touch from the gold-coloured night curtains.
The warm lighting enhances the elegant mood.
Everything in the room is in a soft blue-grey colour scheme. The only pops of colours that are out of the room's colour scheme are laid on the round coffee table that is placed in between the plush three-seater sofa and the huge flat screen TV.
There are colourful mini macarons in a cute glass dome cake stand, two Japanese-style soup bowls each containing two pieces of chocolate chip cookies and two tall glasses of thick blood red-coloured drinks. Of all these colourful offerings, the drinks intrigue me the most.
Hanging across the mouth on each of the glasses, which have been covered with rose-coloured tiny crystals, is a skewer of a stalk of fresh celery, a red chilli and a calamansi.
I must say the red chillies attract me the most as they make me wonder what kind of a drink that has unsweetened items as its garnishes.
As I move closer to the table, I can see a piece of art paper that has an illustration of a similar-looking drink with "Asam Boi Mary" written across it as the title.
Just as I am about to reach that piece of paper to read the fine text, our doorbell rings.
ADAM AND MARY
"Hello, I am Adam. I am your butler," greets a well-dressed gentleman in an all-black suit.
I take a step back and pull the door open, gesturing to him to come into the room.
He gingerly steps in, and closes the door behind him. With his right hand firmly placed on his left chest, he says, "Please allow me to run through the room's amenities and our services with you."
The 20-something lad immediately gets into his element. He starts off by briefing on the closest escape exits before moving to the amenities in the bathroom and dressing room.
As he steps into the sitting area of the room, I quickly stop him: "
Okay, before you continue, can you please tell me more about these drinks?"
"Oh, this is Asam Boi Mary, our signature welcome drink. Every St. Regis has its own concoction that uses ingredients that represent the locality," says Adam.
Asam Boi Mary, he says, is a mixture of tomato and vegetable juices that's brought to another level by a mix of local ingredients: calamansi juice, asam boi or dried sour plum, cili padi, a sprinkle of Sarawak pepper, and paprika.
"And those crystals around the glasses' mouths are crushed asam boi in salt," Adam points out.
He says the dried sour plum and calamansi juice are chosen because together they make air asam boi, a refreshing sweet and sour drink with a salty tinge that is typically sold at hawker stalls and loved by Malaysians.
Adam's cheerful and upbeat explanation makes the drink even more interesting and intriguing as it has the ingredients I like on their own.
I like tomato juice with a dash of salt and pepper and air asam boi too, and if I could have my way, I would want to have chilli in all my savoury dishes. But to have all these together in a glass is another level of adventure for me.
But Mary has to wait, as Adam needs to finish his tour.
Then when it finally comes to its end, Adam concludes with a brief summary of the 24-hour signature St. Regis Butler Service, which includes complimentary garment pressing, unpacking and packing and all-day in-room coffee and tea service.
And mind you, that is not the last we see of Adam. In two hours, just before we leave the room for our three-course dinner at The Brasserie, Adam comes back to the room thrice: first with two cups of hot chocolate and a yoga mat, then with two extra bowls of chocolate chip cookies and finally, with our pressed garments.
Well, he did say: "Just call me anytime!"
EXQUISITE FARE
My staycation at probably the most high-profile hotel in the city is a combination of two 2D1N packages — Exquisite Stay for Two and Exquisite Afternoon Tea Staycation. Each includes a one-night stay with breakfast for two, 24-hour St. Regis Signature Butler Service and complimentary WiFi access.
The only difference between them is the former comes with a three-course dinner for two at The Brasserie while the other has Classic Afternoon Tea for two at The Drawing Room.
Since we have two nights of dinner, we choose to have the three-course dinner on the first night and go a la carte on the second night.
The staff who waits at our table at The Brasserie is very sharp and helpful. Seeing that we're struggling to make up our mind on what to order, the staff suggests that we order one for each item.
"Since there are two sets, you can taste all the items in the menu and we'll serve them as sharing meals," he says.
We have our Afternoon Tea on the second day of our stay. In the bright and intimate setting of The Drawing Room, the dainty-looking items in the multitiered afternoon tea tower look even prettier. And the multicoloured tea sets complete the look.
Since we're still full from the afternoon tea, we tell ourselves to go easy on dinner. With the help of the waiting staff, we go for two appetisers — salad and calamari rings and one main — Lobster Tagliatelle which comes highly recommended as it has been said to be a crowd favourite.
Still not over the Asam Boi Mary, we choose to have the Mary for dessert.
"Then we can make use of the chilli and have it in our main!" I suggest. And that is how we conclude the last night of our stay at the "Best Address".
FAST FACTS
The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur
6, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2 Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur
WEBSITE www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/kulxr-the-st-regis-kuala-lumpur/
STAY There are 208 well-appointed and elegantly furnished rooms, which are claimed to be the largest guest rooms in the city. Each room comes with a large dedicated seating area, a walk-in wardrobe with abundant closet and luggage space.
EAT There are six F&B outlets. The Japanese Restaurant features Sushi Taka, as well as Ushi Restaurant, the first and only restaurant that serves Ozaki beef in Malaysia. Down at the second floor, The Brasserie offers a modern European cafe experience during the day, and transforms to French contemporary dining in the evenings. Wine aficionados will be at home at The Astor Bar and Decanter as there are more than 650 labels from multiple regions and producers, while those looking for a place to unwind, the dual-level rooftop bar and lounge Crystal, is the place. There's a place for tea lovers too. The Drawing Room, dominated by Botero's horse sculpture, is a choice setting for that signature St. Regis Afternoon Tea ritual.
DO While it has the usual offerings any five-star hotel would have, like a swimming pool, a fitness centre and a spa, the hotel has something that others don't — an impressive collection of artworks, most of which are specially commissioned. The first artworks that will greet guests as they walk into the lobby are two huge leather-etched murals of polo players engaging in a match. Beside Mark Evans' leather murals, the curated private art collection also has a monumental horse sculpture by Fernando Botero and a three-dimensional Birds and ButterfliesartpiecebyBarnabyHosking that is inspired by the neighbouring Kuala Lumpur's Perdana Botanical Garden. And oh! There's a four-piece collection of Andy Warhol's paintings too! Go on to the second floor of its event wings and you'll find around 80 pieces of black-and-white photographs of the New York Stock Exchange.
GO Well the hotel doesn't call itself the Best Address for no reason. The St. Regis college majestically sits on one of the city's main thoroughfares, having the iconic Muzium Negara on one side and the busy KL Sentral on the other. This puts the five-star hotel within walking distance of the city's largest park —Perdana Botanical Garden, which is home to KL Bird Park, KL Butterfly Park and Tugu Negara. While it only takes less than 10 minutes to reach the park, walking to Little India or Brickfields via the 240m covered walkway to KL Sentral and Nu Sentral takes a little over 15 minutes.
HIGHS Of course, the celebrated St. Regis brand and what comes with it. But what impresses me the most is the staff. Even on our first day, they treat us like we're their long-staying guests. They are friendly, helpful and well-informed of their brand andproducts.
LOWS The huge Mini Bar Trunk, a St. Regis Kuala Lumpur signature. The sight of its wide opened door that looks like someone has purposely left the refrigerator's door open bugs the obsessive-compulsive disorder in me.
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