The Alila’s 143 guest rooms are simple, spacious, and stylish, with lots of cotton and wood and not an iota of single-use plastic.
The 41st-floor lobby at Kuala Lumpur’s Alila Bangsar.
From an intimate tented camp in the green foothills of Bali to a converted 19th-century Jesuit retreat in Tamil Nadu, our editors and reviewers have roamed the Asia-Pacific region to bring together DestinAsian’s annual collection of the year’s top hotel openings. Read on to discover which new properties stood out from the rest in terms of service, setting, amenities, and a singular sense of style.
At a glance, the Alila’s location in suburban Bangsar may seem like a minus. But with direct access to a light-rail station, easy proximity to the nightlife of Jalan Telawi and former printing factory turned gourmet hub APW, and enough distance from the hubbub of downtown Kuala Lumpur to be considered a retreat, it is in fact the hotel’s gain.
Another plus is its clutch of excellent food and beverage outlets. At Pacific Standard, a vintage Hollywood–styled bar on the 41st floor, mix master Ruben Anandha will inquire after your mood before concocting a cocktail to match (if in doubt, his chocolate negronis will hit the spot). Next door at Entier, Fukuoka-born Masashi Horiuchi, a former sous chef at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in London, presents dishes that entwine French culinary techniques with a nose-to-tail philosophy: think rich oxtail consommé and chicken baked in a salt crust.
Occupying the top five floors of a 41-story apartment tower called The Establishment, the Alila’s 143 guest rooms are simple, spacious, and stylish, with lots of cotton and wood and not an iota of single-use plastic. Communal lounges with complimentary coffee and snacks on each floor complete the picture. It’s great value.
60-3/2268-3888; alilahotels.com; doubles from US$87.
This article originally appeared in the October/November 2018 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“The Luxe List 2018: Alila Bangsar”).
