DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur
DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur has been our ‘go to’ hotel in Kuala Lumpur over the past ten years during which we have clocked up countless nights. It kind of feels like home and always offers great value for money whether paying cash or redeeming Hilton Honors points. Located just 5 minutes walk from the Ampang Park LRT Station and 10 minutes walk from the iconic Petronas Twin Towers and KLCC for all of the shopping and dining options you could ever need. It boasts a 24 hour gym, an outdoor pool, 5 restaurants, over 500 rooms and is also part of a complex called The InterMark which houses a number of bars, shops and restaurants including a great supermarket called Jaya Grocer which has an amazing selection of food & drink including plenty of vegan options. We enjoy the modern design of the hotel including the public areas, guest rooms and the lounge and upon arrival we always feel at home, from reception we were taken straight to the Executive Lounge on the 26th floor, with impressive views of the city and an outside terrace. The staff in the lounge understand what it means to be a vegan, and have always made sure that we never missed out. Our HHonors Diamond status has secured us lots of nice upgrades, including an Executive Suite which had a separate lounge, a practical office area and a rain shower.
The Vegan Food
In the Executive Lounge during afternoon tea they made us our own sandwiches, and every night they prepared something vegan especially for us, as we couldn’t eat the food that was provided for the other guests. We didn’t get the range of choice that non vegans got but most evenings we were offered a full size dinner plus with the few other snacks that were accidentally vegan (like the delicious fresh guacamole & salsa) we were very well catered for. They had Tiger & Asahi beers which are both vegan according to Barnivore so we drank a few each evening for research purposes only. Breakfast was just as good as our treatment in the Executive Lounge, we chose to eat in the Makan Kitchen each morning because there is usually more choice. At the noodle station, the chef arranged for my noodles to be cooked separately from where he was cooking meat and fish dishes (very conscientious) and each day there was a good selection of vegan food from around the world including a whole Chinese room, an Indian section, a Malaysian section and a good old European section meaning a vegan fry-up could be eaten if desired. You can read about how we enjoyed delicious vegan meals in both the Makan Kitchen and Tosca during our stay, which included this sublime vegan chocolate cake.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur offers a great location in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and is good value when using HHonors points or paying cash. The staff in the Executive Lounge deserve a special mention as they have always made our stays extremely vegan friendly, proving that a big corporate hotel chain can meet the individual needs of an independent vegan traveller well. However, one thing we always miss out on was a vegan version of the DoubleTree Cookie, how about it Doubletree, that’s a challenge from your vegan guests?
#VeganDoubleTreeCookie
DoubleTree Kuala Lumpur
Jalan Tun Razak 348
The Intermark
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Telephone: +60 3-2172 7272
Cost From: £100 / $150 per night (May 2015)