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After enjoying the theme park at Sunway Lagoon, My Selangor Story participants took off for the hotel of the day – Arenaa Star Luxury Hotel – a new addition to Arenaa Hotels Group. The strategic location of this hotel is a plus point for travellers who seek to venture around Kuala Lumpur City. It is within walking distance to bus hub of Pudu Central and the infamous Petaling Street and Masjid Jamek train hub. Also, it is within the vicinity of old buildings facing Telekom Museum.

The expectation for Areena Star Luxury Hotel was marked high due to the extravagant services we received from Premiere Hotel. The interior design of the hotel lobby is contemporary design with vibrant colours. I can’t wait to see the room. Rika and I were given a room on the 4th floor. We only had 30 minutes to refresh before coming down.

The decoration of the room is so nice that I wish I had a bedroom as beautiful as the room. It did not take long before we realized the air conditioner was not working and all the plugs were dysfunctional. To our horror, our calls to the receptionist, room service were unattended. Rika decided to go down to the receptionist to alert the situation. 10 minutes later, came the technician who told us they were understaffed to get our room fixed and he told us he would come back again.

Unsatisfied with the situation, Rika went down again and insisted for the hotel to change our room to another room. All rooms are fully book, she was told. But they would move us to honeymoon suite on the 9th floor. Oh, this must be good – I thought at first.

The environment on the 9th floor was weird as it was so dusty and I saw some construction workers working on the other wing of the floor. I suspect they were renovating the rooms on the right wing. Once the door to our room creaked open, goodness grace, it was a half-done room. Imagine getting a dusty room, with unwashed cement still on the floor. The hotel staff came to our room and informed us they would clean the room before we come back at night. Fair enough.

Apart from the bad experience, I will still vow for the decoration of the hotel. All furniture and goods in the hotel are imported from China but boy, they are beautiful. Out of 20 participants, we were the only ones having problem with our room. Guess, our lady luck took leave on that day.

Thank you AstuteXperience!!

First and foremost, I’d like to thank AstuteXperience for being MSS2013’s official sponsor for the partner hotels – Areena Star Luxury Hotel KL and Vivatel Hotel KL.

Then, there was a briefing on AstuteXperience. AstuteXperience  offers holiday packages at a fraction of costs. Once you join AstuteXperience you will be given a membership card which is also valid for use by your spouse or family member whom you have nominated. As an AstuteXperience card holder, a member will have access to over 12,000 hotels worldwide and resorts plus 2000 other merchants including lifestyle, medical and education.

As part of the sponsor for my Selangor Story 2013, each participant was given a membership card each and a package of

(a) Five getaway hot deals voucher from Mutiara Burau Bay Beach Resort, Flamingo Hotel by The Beach, Penang, Grand Borneo of Kota Kinabalu, Tower Regency Hotel & Apartments, Radius International Hotel;

(b) Free Body Toning Treatment Voucher worth RM660;

(c) Child Learn How to read in Just 65 days Voucher worth RM450;

(d) Free One Day e-Intense Full Body Treatment worth RM660 from Bizzy Body;

(e) 20% discount for Introductory & Aircraft Familiarisation Programme by Aerovantage;

(f) Privilege Sunway Card;

(g) 30% Discount on Total Food Bill at Soul Out Restaurant and 50% Discount on Bubble Bar.

If you want to know more about AstuteXperience, do visit their website here www.astutexperience.com :- or Like their Facebook page : Astutexperience

Petaling Street

After our dinner at nearby Mamak Restaurant, the group was divided into two where the first group which was led by En Safri went to Petaling Street while the other group headed to KLCC. Like any other big town, Kuala Lumpur also has her own Chinatown. Petaling Street is best visited during night time when vendors occupy the street selling their merchandise. You can find anything from pirated clothes to toys to souvenirs.

Haggling is common sight but these days, it is very hard to cut the price down for some vendors adopt non-negotiable approach. Whether or not you are buying anything from Petaling Street, just stroll down the street enjoying its sights, sounds and vibrant atmosphere.

Tips: Because of the crowd, please be extra careful with your belongings. Some vendors do not approve of taking photos in their premise, so watch out for “No Photography” sign. Remember to bring a bottle of water too.