The Chow Kit – An Ormond Hotel — Hotel in Kuala Lumpur

I read all the nice reviews about this hotel (The Chow Kit Ormond) and decided to give it a try. In summary, I was not impressed at all. There are many out there (same rates) that can put this hotel to shame.

1. Overrated for its look - the hotel's hardware (exterior & interior) looks hip and cool but the software (how the hotel is run and the people running it) is bad and comparable to a $30/night inn in town.

2. When i checked in, i was told by the receptionist that if i need hygiene amenities i can call to have them delivered to the room. When i got into the room, no toothbrush, no comb, no shavers, no nothing (except for 2 bottles of shampoo and shower gel) So i called and the same receptionist answered the call - so ii told her i need a set of hygiene amenities - she asked me how many pax (i spoke to her like 5 mins ago and she knew i was traveling alone) - then about 10 mins later the kit was delivered to the room. I feel its like pulling down your pants to fart - you request when you need, when they could ask at reception if you need an pass you there - saving the calls and 1 additonal person to bring it up - and i felt like i was begging for a set.

3. Room Service - i read during booking that they have what you call the "Stay & Dine" eat in the comfort of your bed - but when i tried to order, there was no menu in the room for room service - the QR code sends me to a page with 1 page of seasonal menu (xmas) - no dining menu what-so-ever or a proper list of food menu. So I call up the food & drinks line, the same receptionist took the call and she was struggling to find the menu for me. At the end, i had to go down to eat my meal instead. (Btw, i was not offered any 150 ringgit vouchers for F&B as they mentioned in their ads for every night of booking)

4. The entire hotel sound proof was BAD .. i woke up at least 5 times in the night. 3 times i thought someone open my door and entered (but it was actually the next room opening the door) so you can imagine the sound proofing - another 2 times i woke up thinking i was staying in a haunted room with so many voices talking in the room (but it was actually the next door people talking) - least to say, i didnt get a good sleep

5. Despite the reception located so near the entrance, i was never greeted once (not that i was expecting) because they will pretend to be looking at their computers the moment someone opens the door to enter. Its like after u r checked-in, you are on your own.

6. bad location if you want convenience. its in the middle of no-where - i tried walking around but stopped when i see rows of unopen shops

Anyway, i think this hotel is overrated (despite how it was branded as a hip and cool bountique hotel) - the building is nicely done and thats about the only thing that was good. Other than that, i seriously think they need to engage a professional hotel manager (team) to run this hotel and work on the entire hospitality system again to match how it was branded. The hardware and the software doesnt match at all. Imagine the disappointment i had when i could have sticked to my usual hotel.

Despite the price (reasonable) , i know there are many other hotels out there that gives you better service, experience and hospitality. Give this a miss, or you can just go there for a drink/meals...

A friend had hosted a wedding there over the weekend, and I'd like to share my experience as both a guest and as part of the bridal party involved in the planning and coordination of the day.

As a guest: The King Den room was decent, slightly small but could accommodate the addition of a baby cot, so not too bad. Walls were very thin, I could hear conversations clearly from the next room. One rather disappointing aspect of my stay was the parking - very limited next door parking and it is not covered as a guest of the hotel as well. Rate was at RM15 per 24 hours, I was there for 2 nights which racked up parking costs to RM30 for the duration, and during which due to the limited parking I had to take a Grab if I wanted to head elsewhere for fear of losing my spot. IMO parking should be covered as the cost for the rooms weren't very cheap either. Whether or not you get a spot I understand thats depending on your luck, so that I won't fault the hotel.

My impressions of the hotel for events: This is where it is very disappointing. I only coordinated on the day of, and heard some stories from the bride about the events (which she will relay herself). My personal experience was that the sound system was not great. During the ceremony, it kept breaking in and out so to those further back they may not make out whats being said. Similarly during dinner, the father of the bride's speech was difficult to make out due to the sound system cutting out a fair bit. Some improvements definitely needed there.

Icing on the cake for me was that the initial plan was for dinner to be served at 7:30pm, and from 7:00-7:30, the bride and groom will have a photo session upstairs at the deck. A dessert bar was set up at the side of the restaurant for guests to munch on while waiting for their entry. All of these were suggested by the hotel, and a run down with the hotel was done prior as well to align the schedule. Instead, at 7:05, with the bride and groom absent, food started coming out of the kitchen, much to our horror. When we asked them why did they start serving, the manager on the floor replied with "oh the guests asked cause they're waiting for food", which to me is completely unacceptable. All of these was pre planned, a dessert bar was set up where you can direct the guests to, and you should check with the bridal party. You do not assume and start the programme, especially when it is so clear that the bride and groom were not even present.

But, with that being said, the food was fantastic. They had a scallop avocado pai tee, which was so good I wanted more of, the rendang steak was impressive and the coconut panna cotta too!

Overall, I would give this an OK rating because there were some undeniably great parts. The food is the definite highlight, the hotel decor and environment another. Would definitely come back for a meal, but would not host an event there. Would consider staying again if the parking...

A very disappointing stay up in this hotel. We booked the room from the official website. And we been waited for couple of days or maybe week for our booking information after payment. However, we never received anything until we emailed them. Still, they did not even respond to our email or messenger message on the moment, therefore we about to feel like we got scam at that time. We were very looking forward to the trip as we saw the good feedbacks and the nice photos sharing everywhere on the internet. However, when we reached our room, we found the lighting was dim. Even there was a big window in the room, we still felt the lighting was bad especially when we wanted to make up, we can’t even sure what we had put on to our face. I think that for a four-star hotel, it is a basics to provide the toothpaste, toothbrush and slippers to the customers. But this hotel only provided these after we asked for this. And the reception had a very bad attitude. We been asked for cutlery for us to have our dessert in the room. But the receptionist said: “Sorry we can’t give you the normal cutlery as we scared you will eat non-halal food in the room. We can only provide you the plastic cutlery. Is that ok for you?”. Wow, what a racist explanation from your side! We don’t mind using the plastic cutlery as we can understand that ever hotels might have different rules and regulations. But the way you speak make us felt racist. The hotel shouldn’t have that expectation which is “THIS CUSTOMER WILL EAT NON-HALAL FOOD AS SHE IS A CHINESE”. It is very rude and offensive. Also, the sound insulation of this hotel is very bad! We could hear the staff shouting “room service” all the way, and very loud and clear the vacuum sound from the other room of the same floor in the morning. Is the hotel expecting the customers no need to sleep or what. The sound were loud until I felt like they are knocking my door but it is actually not. Although the hotel is bad all the way, I will still give five stars for the breakfast of this hotel. The breakfast could send up to our room and the breakfast time was the only moment we enjoy in this hotel. I recommended nasi lemak and avocado toast. The taste were good and the portion were quit big for us. But it is pity that the hotel didn’t put menu in the room, we need to call to the reception and listen to the menu through the phone. The moral of the story is, have breakfast here but don’t stay here or you will have a very regretting staying experience...