Ceria Hotel - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Looking for a hotel in an unexplored city is quite tricky. You need to study the map and plot your itineraries first before booking a place to stay. And we just didn’t do that.

Ceria Hotel in Kuala Lumpur City (check rates) may be one of those hotels that will give you a hard time in terms of location but once you’ve stepped in to this modern hotel then you’ll realized that it’s all worth it.

Getting there was challenging, my buddy and I hopped on the LRT and got off at Pudu Station (with our huge backpacks), it was our first time in Kuala Lumpur City. We walked a few hundred meters more and found Ceria Hotel tucked along a busy main road in Pudu area. The most convenient way of getting there is to ride a cab or a bus that goes to Pudu area (Furama Hotel is your landmark; it’s just across the hotel).

There’s this “Industrial” feel once you stepped inside this hotel. The rawness and “unfinished” look made it feel very modern (and I am sounding like a design expert here eh?). This relatively new hotel, opened in 2013, has 40 rooms in total.

We were welcomed by the gracious front desk officer and processed our reservation immediately. The theme of the whole place echoed inside the rooms. Please take note that some of the rooms do not have windows, you have to specifically tell them ahead of time if you have any concerns about this. Also, they don’t have an elevator which is not a problem for us but you could ask them beforehand if this troubles you.

Our room didn’t have a huge window but the small one in the bathroom sufficed. The black and white theme of the room is quite sleek. The glass partition of the bathroom makes the space airy and more fluid.

The room has basic amenities; TV, huge double bed, coffee and tea making facilities, en suite toilet and bath, the works. There’s also a complimentary drinking water station on every floor. Complimentary Wi-Fi connections are available.

Luggage storage, laundry services, tours, shuttle services and airport transfers are also available in the hotel. We availed of their airport transfer service and they booked us effortlessly through their partner transport company at 20 RM each (we had an early morning flight).

The location is good as it’s located near Bukit Bintang. Shopping malls, restaurants, hawker stalls, clubs and other city’s attractions are within reach.

Overall, I like the feel of the hotel. I like its “rawness” that you’d never find in those huge hotels. The warmth of the staff is also commendable. They never failed to attend to our needs and queries.