We landed at KLIA at around 7.30 a.m. Malaysian time, 21st December, 2012, and I did not want to book the 8 something connecting flight back to Sibu in case there was a delay and we would not be able to catch it. I remember the last time we went to Auckland in 2005, all the flights were terribly delayed owing to thick fog in the vicinity and we did not get to KL till at least 6 to 8 hours later. This time around, we were lucky and the only delay we experienced was only for about 45 minutes on our KLIA-Auckland flight…and again, it was because of the thick fog there. Besides, we were in no hurry to get back so I thought it would be good to stop in transit and get some rest to rejuvenate before we headed on home.
So there we were once again at this very much-favoured hotel of mine but this time around, they could not put us in Terminal 7, my favourite due to its close proximity to the lobby as they had full occupancy the night before and the guests in those rooms had not checked out yet or the housekeeping people had not had time to get them done. They were only able to give me one in Terminal 9 but it had two twin beds instead of a king but it did not matter and they had a very nice and comfortable couch in the room…
…instead of just a chair like what they had in the Terminal 7 rooms where I stayed in before – we would be there for just one night only, anyway.
Of course, this one was further away from the main building…
…but it was closer to the main car park…
…and just a stone’s throw away from the security guard’s booth…
…and there was another car park to the right as well so one could park there and just jump out of the vehicle and walk two steps to get to the room.
It being an airport hotel, once in a while, you may be able to catch a glimpse at an aircraft taking off…
Check-in time should be at 2.00 p.m. daily but we were early that morning so we would have to pay an extra RM60.00 for the early check-in…and the receptionist told me that once I had checked in, I would not be allowed to change rooms later so I would have to stay put in the one with the twin beds. Well, as I have mentioned earlier, it was not a problem at all…and all we wanted would be a comfortable place to rest instead of having to hang around the lobby till 2.
They have free wifi now…
…and they would give you the password and everything upon check-in. I would say that the connection was excellent – no problem at all…and I did not see any need whatsoever to use my own wireless Broadband modem unlike at other hotels in KL where the connection would suck big time and most of them would insist that you pay an exorbitant amount per hour to get connected. Tsk! Tsk!
Another difference that I noticed was that the hair dryer was in the bathroom…
…and not beside the dressing table mirror like in the Terminal 7 rooms.
They have lighted-up signs now…
…beside the old ones, not that they were really necessary as the corridors were always bright and reading those signs had never been a problem…and talking about the corridors, obviously, the tiles had seen better days but I would think it would be nice if they had just taken the trouble to just mop and clean them regularly…
– that would suffice, I am sure.
This was nice…
– they’ve taken the trouble to put chairs around like this for people who would like to come out of their room for a whiff of fresh air….and I absolutely loved that antique-looking clock they had on the wall in the room…
I had a little problem with the room rates when I stayed here on our way from Sibu to New Zealand. Despite having stayed here all the time using my government rate, I was told that effective January, 2012, pensioners would no longer be eligible for that even though when I last stayed there some time in August, I could still enjoy the privilege and had no problem whatsoever with that. Being very civil and polite, I did not make a scene and just checked in quietly. Thankfully, when I checked out, I discovered on my bill that they had decided to give it to me, after all…and this time around as well.
As a matter of fact, when I settled my bill the next morning, I found that they had waived the early check-in charge too! Isn’t that really so nice and sweet of them? We had their complimentary breakfast early the following morning and took their free shuttle to KLIA and hopped on our flight back home to Sibu.
With all these nice little gestures here and there, I certainly would be back, should and when the need arise, that’s for sure. Thank you so very much to the management and staff and a double thumbs-up to all of you! Cheers!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 