Hotels & Resorts
citizenM Kuala Lumpur Bukit Bintang:
Affordable Luxury like You have Never Seen Te x t b y J U H A N B I N K A M A R U D D I N I m a g e s b y C I T I Z E N M K U A L A L U M P U R B U K I T B I N TA N G
Ever since the first award-winning hotel brand citizenM opened in 2008 at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the brand has been the choice among mobile citizens, whom the brand refers to as urbane, tech-savvy, open-minded, frequent travellers constantly seeking smart luxuries to enrich their lives such as personalisation in their accommodation and authentic cultural immersion.
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The recent opening of a citizenM hotel in Kuala Lumpur (KL) is a breath of fresh air to a row of non-descript buildings flanking Jalan Pudu leading towards Bukit Bintang, one of Kuala Lumpur’s major arteries. Since citizenM’s policy is to celebrate local community, the brand conscientiously captures the identity of the neighbourhood by sporting a colourful hard-to-miss facade showcasing the faces of selected Malaysians with creative fashionable twist, attesting to the hotel’s desire to assimilate with the host community while maintaining its international outlook. It is also just 100 metres from the bustling Jalan Alor, popular for street food, openair restaurants and terraces. Those who stay at the hotel are recommended to utilise e-hailing service or public transport to get around, so that they can immediately engage with their surroundings on a more personal level.
Group, a Malaysia-based integrated hospitality asset owner and developer.
Designed by architecture firm Concrete, with interiors assiduously touched by Bricks Studio, both based in Amsterdam, citizenM Kuala Lumpur Bukit Bintang is the first citizenM property to open in South East Asia and the third in Asia. Following the hotel brand’s Dutch DNA, guests will find the property artistically designed, inspirational, and hip yet functional and pragmatic. Interestingly, despite the property being designed by Dutch companies, citizenM Kuala Lumpur Bukit Bintang is actually owned by Cornerstone Partners
citizenM Kuala Lumpur Bukit Bintang promotes coworking and co-living, ditching the typical conventional hotel layout, similar to working in a welcoming and stylish living room. The hotel lobby sports an open plan that ingeniously integrates the zones for self check-in / check-out, dining (served by an outlet aptly named canteenM) and Vitra-furnished Living Room. Such layout is an extension of the hotel brand’s zesty personality to get the most out of life by blurring the line between business and pleasure.
Unconventional layout and staff Though the hotel is located along Jalan Pudu’s main drag, its inside is remarkably soundproofed and shielded from external noise. Similar to stepping into a well-conceived and homely art space, guests would be able to spot the staircase area where a mini gallery showcasing art pieces from emerging Malaysian artists such as Azizi Latiff and Afiq Faris is located alongside iconic pieces collected from around the world. The hotel’s ultra-modern interior is tastefully curated, treated with splash of colours and receive generous amounts of daylight. The carpeting leading to the guestrooms features a stylised map of KL to give it a sense of place.
