In time for your next weekend escape, a duo of innovative new hotels – The Chow Kit and MoMo’s KL – have descended on the Malaysian capital.
Located in the heart of old Kuala Lumpur, The Chow Kit – an Ormond Hotel is the Malaysian capital’s newest luxury hotel.
Boasting 113 rooms and suites in the eponymous Chow Kit neighbourhood, known for its bustling market and local businesses, the new hotel has been positioned as the city’s first design-led, experience-driven hotel inspired by an area of the city that is famously rich in character and history.
The Chow Kit pays homage to its neighbourhood, offering savvy travellers a magnetic and alluring hub that reflects its location by marrying tradition with modernity.
Both the architecture and interiors of The Chow Kit have been developed by Brooklyn-based design practice Studio Tack, which was inspired by the late-night revelry that lurked in the shadows of Chow Kit’s alleys and bars in the 1970s and 1980s.
While delivering the modern amenities any 21st-century lad expects when on the road, the building honours and reinterprets the past, with local materials showcased throughout. This is also apparent through the hotel’s Art Programme, with pieces individually selected from private collections and commissioned from local artists.
All this means you can expect a fusion of local Malaysian culture and modern design that doesn’t compromise on service, amenities or location. Guest rooms offer a reflection of the layered history and culture of Kuala Lumpur, with each room exuding mystery and elegance and boasting plush beds, an open wardrobe and desk space, a smart TV, bespoke toiletries and a self-pickup room service concept (sorry, no post-hanky panky champagne deliveries).
You’ll naturally gravitate towards the hotel’s lobby, with its deep, tufted banquets, lounge chairs and layered rugs, and the rooftop yoga pavilion for a sunrise stretch session. Then it’s on to The Chow Kit Kitchen, the heart and soul of the hotel, which takes its inspiration from the local Malaysian kopitiams cafés, where the likes of tomato laksa soup, rendang beef burgers and The Chow Kit Fish & Chips, made with tandoori marinated fish, are complemented by signature cocktails.
The ground floor is also home to The Library, a beautifully wallpapered space designed for complete privacy that’s perfect for private dining parties, of up to ten people, or small meetings. It features furniture that is as beautiful as it is functional, with a large wood and marble table adding character and warmth.
The opening of The Chow Kit comes in tandem with the opening of the neighbouring MoMo’s, also by the Ormond Group, which has been created for a more value-conscious, lifestyle traveller (you know who you are).
Home to 99 guest rooms, MoMo’s KL is a newly renovated hangout that celebrates creative collaboration whilst offering a design-led lifestyle hotel at a value-for-money price point. The hotel’s rooms – dubbed ‘micro rooms’ (which, let’s be honest, isn’t encouraging) – feature bespoke amenities, plush beds, smart TVs, the same self-pickup style room service facility as The Chow Kit, and a simple, honest decor in raw concrete, laminated timber and combed plaster by Sydney based interiors and architecture studio Akin Atelier.
Look out for MoMosita’s, a new casual concept from leading Malaysian F&B operators Christian Bauer and Eddie Chew of Troika Sky Dining. This self-serve take on a dive bar dishes up an array of Mexican dishes and snacks, alongside draft beer and bottled cocktails – think cauliflower and lentil tostada’s, tacos with chicken, beef, lamb barbacoa or fish, and both savoury and sweet Churros. Open in the evenings throughout the week, with late-night music programming on Fridays and Saturdays, MoMosita’s is the ultimate low-key hangout for guests and locals to let loose and mingle.
MoMo’s KL encourages guests to live, play and stay; the traditional lobby has been replaced by The Playground, a social space that acts as the central hub of activity, and which will host a series of weekly events from performance art, workshops and exhibitions to DJ sets and live gigs.
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