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1. HISTORY OF KUALA LUMPUR HOTELS
Despite our natural hospitality, the Malaysian hotel industry is relatively young
and only started emerging as a force to reckon with in the first half of 1970s
with the opening of Kuala Lumpur Hilton, Holiday Inn, Equatorial and Regent in
quick succession.
Kuala Lumpur’s hotels had its genesis in 1915 which is almost a century ago but
it was not a purpose built hotel. At that time, visitors simply stayed at inns or
with friends. Government officers could always count upon accommodation in
government quarters, guest houses, barracks or fellow Englishman’s house.
A sprawling house near the bank of Klang river used as a secondary home was
refurbished to create Kuala Lumpur’s first professional hotel. As it was located
in the exotic East, the English owner named it Eastern Hotel and it was located
at 26 JalanAmpang.
During the colonial era, the hotel industry was almost non-existent and
construction of small boarding houses catered entirely to British officers on
official visits from Penang, Singapore or Perak where tin mining was in full
progress.
Just as airlines opened up new destinations, trains did the same a century ago.
By 1890 the population of Kuala Lumpur had grown to around 20,000. This
swelling of population was mainly due to the opening of the new railway
linking Port Swettenham(now Port Klang) to Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur Railway Station was completed in 1910 and replaced a wooden
building while the administrative building across the road, built in similar style,
was finished in 1917.
The Railway Station and Malayan Railway Administrative Building with their
stunning architecture of dreamy domes, graceful arches and soaring minarets
became an instant landmark and remain so to this day as both are remarkably
well preserved, having escaped the bombing of World War 2! These visually
pleasing buildings were designed by A.B Hubback, a prolific British architect
acclaimed for his Mughal inspired masterpieces like Ipoh Railway Station, Royal
Gallery in Klang, MasjidJamekin Kuala Lumpur and Ubudiah Mosque in Kuala
Kangsar, Perak.

2. Until the 451.9 metrePetronas Twin Towers were completed in 1998, this old
KL Railway Station, KTM Building and nearby Sultan Abdul Samad Building were
the most photographed icons of Kuala Lumpur.
As common with railway stations everywhere, a hotel was part of the
structure. Simply called Station Hotel, it was hugely popular and was almost
fully booked as nothing was more welcoming than a comfortable room steps
from disembarking from a train after a long ride. It later became Heritage
Station hotel and the building was gazetted as heritage site in 1983. Heritage
Station hotel closed in 2010. The station served as the city’s main railway hub
until 2001 when the modern KL Sentral station took over.
Back then, planters, miners, towkehs and those who could afford a little luxury
checked into Station Hotel. Those who could afford a bigger luxury walked
across the road to Majestic hotel which opened in 1932.
Those on a budget made do with downtown motels across the river or small,
smart hotels like Coliseum and Rex. By 1935 the Station hotel and Majestic
hotel were the leading hotels of the day.
Majestic was the first modern hotel which met all notions and standards of a
luxury hotel. Even so it was not purpose built but converted from the German
Consulate into a magnificent hotel in 1932. The original intention was to turn
the building into apartments but the slump found fewbuyers so it became a
hotel boasting 51 spacious rooms. It was considered so grand and stately in the
style of an European mansion it truly lived up to its name Majestic.
Overnight it became the hub of social life and epicentre of posh dining, wining
and entertaining. Its excellent and convenient location practically opposite the
main Railway Station added to its allure as the most luxurious hotel in the
Malay peninsula. Majestic Hotel was the mainstay of Kuala Lumpur and
enjoyed an unrivalled reign among the colonial elite and local notables.
Artists, actors, writers, politicians and wealthy planters graced the public areas.
The elegant and exotic garden setting amid crimson dusks and swallow-filled
sky was the perfect movie setting for a pre-James Bond movie. Indeed there
were spies galore during World War 2 as they met informants at the bar!

3. During the Japanese Occupation from 1939 to 1945, Majestic Hotel was used
as transit camp by the Japanese. When news reached the Majestic in 1945 that
the Japanese had lost the war and had surrendered, a distraught Japanese
soldier committed suicide (hara-kiri) inside his room. It was said his ghost
haunted room number 48 until the hotel closed in 1984!
The founders and members of UMNO,DatoOnnJaafar and Tunku Abdul
Rahman who went on to become Malaysia’s first Prime Minister used to meet
at Majestic’s rooftop club to discuss independence from Great Britain.
After the British returned to Malaya in 1945, the Majestic resumed its status
as the pre-eminent hotel. Afternoon tea was the highlight of the day and
guests were pampered with delightful cakes and biscuits and Earl Grey tea was
immaculately served on beautiful porcelain and silverware with carefully
starched linen.
Many guests refused to leave!
Mrs Buxton, the secretary to High Commissioner Sir Gerald Templer, and
Donald Davis made Majestic hotel their home and continued to stay for
another 20 years till they passed away here. They and many thousands like
them could be considered the forerunners of Make Malaysia My Second Home
programme!
By the time the nation gained its independence in 1957, the glory days had
passed and Majestic began a slow decline. David Niven stayed here when he
starred in Paper Tiger in 1975, a movie set in Malaysia.
New and multi-storey hotels became the rage and by 1984 when the last tiffin
was served, Majestic was a shadow of its former self. It was turned into the
National Art Gallery till the new National Art Gallery on JalanTunRazak was
completed. There are plans to resurrect Majestic back to its halcyon days with
a modern hotel block as annexe, similar to Shanghai’s Waldorf-Astoria and
Hong Kong’s Peninsula.
An important stalwart is Federal hotel which was built in 1957 by Tan Sri Datuk
Low Yat expressly for dignitaries attending the Merdeka (Independence)
celebrations. Its revolving Bintang restaurant was the talk of town as it was the
first of its kind and caused a sensation. Today, the Federal Hotels International

4. group continues to operate Federal Hotel, Capitol Hotel and The Grace in
Sydney, Australia.
Another historic hotel that is still operational is Merlin now Concorde. It
opened in 1959 and for decades was among the most prestigious and
happening hotel. Its old Chinese restaurant with ornate dragon pillars and
extravagant Chinese embellishments has never been equalled.
In 1972, Kuala Lumpur Hilton opened and Malaysians had the first taste of a
renowned, 5-star international hotel. At 36 storeys, KL Hilton was not only the
tallest hotel in Malaysia but also the tallest building. Its Paddock Supper Club
and Lounge overlooking the then race course of Kuala Lumpur was the height
of class and prestige. Events and performances held there were considered the
most exclusive and suitably expensive. Today it is Crowne Plaza Mutiara as the
new Hilton Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya Hilton are located elsewhere.
The very next year in 1973 saw the opening of two major hotels, the Equatorial
and Holiday Inn. The former is a homegrown brand while Holiday Inn chain is
internationally known. The Equatorial is presently closed for an entire
makeover and rebuilding.
Holiday Inn became known as Holiday Inn on the Park as it faced the extensive
parkland of KLCC but it is now the Impiana KLCC Hotel & Spa. The current
Holiday Inn Kuala Lumpur is actually located in Glenmarie, Shah Alam. The new
Holiday Inn Express Bukit Bintang is expected to open in 2015.
Hot on the heels of Hilton, Equatorial and Holiday Inn was The Regent, a 5-star
hotel that once boasted of the most expensive Malay-styled restaurant in
Malaysia. Called Suasana, it was nicknamed Susah-nya (So Tough) due to its
exorbitant prices! Today it is Parkroyal hotel as the Regent was relocated to a
new nearby building. It is now called Grand Millennium and there is no Regent
anymore in Kuala Lumpur. However plans are afoot to reopen The Regent
Kuala Lumpur in 2015 in a gleaming tower facing Petronas Twin Towers.
Another historic hotel that commands the highest respect and prestige is
Carcosa Seri Negara, an ultra luxurious boutique hotel comprising 2 pre-
Independence mansions set on hills overlooking 16 hectares of verdant lawns,
flowering gardens and parkland.

5. The premier building,was called Carcosa by its first tenant the Resident-
General Sir Frank Swettenham who named it after the poetic dramatic novel
‘The King in Yellow’ from the paragraph “and beyond the towers of Carcosa
rose the moon”. This magnificent manor of 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms was
completed in 1896 for $ 25,000. It was given in perpetuity to the British
Government after Independence as home of the British High Commissioner. It
was returned to the Malaysian Government in 1987 and converted into a hotel
in 1989.
Seri Negara (Beautiful Country’) is a nearby stately mansion built in 1913 to
house the Governor of Singapore and important government guests. Formerly
called King’s House, Seri Negara also has 7 suites.
Carcosa Seri Negara’s first guest was none other than the former Queen of
Malaya, Queen Elizabeth II during her state visit for the 1989 Commonwealth
Games. The Grand Makmur Suite occupied by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince
Phillip continues to be available for booking.
The latest is Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur conveniently located
inbetweenPetronas Twin Towers, Suria KLCC Mall and KL Convention Centre.
Other superlative hotels offering blissful slumber are Shangri-La, Mandarin
Oriental, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Sheraton Imperial, Sunway Resort & Spa,
Corus, Westin, Golden Palm Tree Sea Villas, Royale Chulan, The Club Saujana
Resort, Le Meridien, G Towers, Traders, Istana, Berjaya Times Square,
Renaissance, New World, Maya, Cititel, Boulevard, Melia, Swiss Garden, One
World, Palace of Golden Horses, Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Putra.
THE END

6. In the 1970s, David Niven stayed there while making the film Paper Tiger.