In 2026, we chose to stay in KLCC, the heart of Kuala Lumpur, during our trip to Malaysia. Previously, we’ve stayed outside the city centre multiple times. Is KLCC the best, or even a good place to stay in KL? Yes and no. We’ll give you a few options, the positives and negatives of staying in the KLCC area. Which hotels to choose, plus one you should avoid. It was so bad that we walked out!
KLCC
KLCC stands for Kuala Lumpur City Centre, it’s also the name of the train station that sits below the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. At KLCC, you will find a huge luxury shopping mall (Suria Mall), KLCC Park, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, KL Aquarium (Aquaria KLCC), and a lot of high-end hotels. The best of Malaysia’s 5-star accommodation is in the area, perfectly placed to enjoy the incredible KL skyline views.
I doubt you will find anywhere to stay in KLCC that is truly budget-friendly. For more affordable accommodation, head out towards Chinatown. We normally stay near Masjid Jamek and free buses take us to KLCC from there.
You need to check for added fees and taxes when you book accommodation anywhere in Malaysia. Malaysia is possibly the worst country for hidden extra charges. You may also need to pay the Malaysia tourism tax at check-in.
While we enjoyed staying in KLCC with easy access to all of these attractions and things to do, I wouldn’t say it’s the best area to stay in Kuala Lumpur to really discover this city. There is a lot more of KL to enjoy, outside the busy, modern CBD. However, for a short stay, shopping, a business stay, or weekend break, then KLCC may be the best place to stay for you.
We already have a post on where to stay in KL with a family, it will be updated with info and photos from our most recent visit to the city.
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Getting Around KLCC
Kuala Lumpur is a very hot and humid city with a fair amount of rain. The highly developed city centre isn’t fun to walk around at street level, luckily, you don’t need to. Walking in the heat and traffic fumes is one of the major negatives of KL
There are covered walkways, with a degree of air conditioning, above many of KLCC’s busiest streets connecting shopping malls, hotels and more. There is also a system of underground tunnels for pedestrians. The hotel we chose, The Impiana, had its own direct connection (in the photo above) to one of these pedestrian overpasses.
The walkway took us directly to the KL Convention Centre and Aquaria KLCC. This building opens directly onto the park and fountains, or you can walk underground to Suria Mall. If you take the walkway in the opposite direction, you can travel directly to the Pavilion Mall at Bukit Bintang.
You never have to walk on the street if you stay in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and don’t stray far. It’s a great system, but if you normally rely on Google Maps to get around a new city, you may struggle. Online maps don’t work well with underground and above-ground walkways.
Where To Eat in and Near KLCC
You will probably have breakfast in your hotel in this part of Kuala Lumpur. Most hotels will also have restaurants, and there are several hotels with rooftop bars and dining, with views of the incredible skyline, in this area.
There are a few restaurants, plus the shopping malls have food courts, but inexpensive places to eat traditional local foods are fairly hard to find. We’d recommend a food tour if you’re interested in local cuisine.
If you’d like to buy ready-made food or groceries, there are supermarkets inside Suria Mall, plus convenience stores (7-11 etc) in the KLCC area.
Where To Stay in KLCC
Possibly the best hotel to stay in KLCC is next to the Petronas Towers and the Suria Mall. The Mandarin Oriental (on Booking.com here) and on Agoda here, is on the left of the entrance as you approach it (in the photo above).
The Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur and Trader’s Hotel Kuala Lumpur are also on KLCC Park.
- The Mandarin Oriental, 5 Star. It’s also on Agoda, Expedia, and Trip. We give you several options for online booking platforms, personally, we use Booking.com today, Agoda if we’re looking for a better deal in Asia.
- The Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, 5 Star.
- Trader’s Hotel Kuala Lumpur 5 Star.
- The Impiana, 4 Star. See The Impiana Hotel on Booking.com here and on Agoda here. This is a more affordable option than the 5 star hotels, above. It’s not perfect, it could use some refurbishment, but the staff and location were wonderful. It is possible to have connecting rooms here, so this may suit a family. It won’t be cheap, but it’s mid-range cost.
- Various “Suites” near KLCC, often managed by private hosts. In this area, you have Sky Suites, Soho Suites, Vortex Suites, and Parkview KLCC Serviced Suites, plus more. I’d be very cautious about booking these after our terrible experience with Vortex. Look for genuine reviews, in large numbers. When we booked a suite at Vortex it had a perfect 10 score from just a handful of reviews. This simply does not compute for such an old building. These were potentially all fake. Soho Suites had over 500 reviews when we checked, but if you look closely, some of the reviews are very bad, mentioning the sort of practices that we experienced at Vortex. Had we not experienced a “suite” stay in Melaka that was good, I’d recommend not booking suite stays in Malaysia at all. If any of our readers have had experiences with these places, I’d love for you to tell us in the comments. It’s possible that these places are also on Airbnb, but we never use this platform. It’s rare for us to leave a bad review, or be negative about hotels, but I have no trust left for these places, and it’s a shame.
- The Marriott Kuala Lumpur, at Bukit Bintang, could also be in a good location if you don’t mind a walk on the pedestrian walkways from the Pavilion Mall.
- Novotel KLCC, a 4 Star (according to the sign, below) is also connected to these central walkways. In our experience Novotel are a reliable hotel brand and great with kids. Take a look at Novotel KLCC on Agoda, here.
Where Not To Stay Near KLCC (Our Suites Experience)
We booked a “suite” at Vortex, near KLCC on our last trip. We had a great experience booking a 2-bedroom suite hotel in Malacca, so we thought we’d do the same in KL. The two experiences couldn’t have been more different.
The night before we were due to check in, I received a WhatsApp message from the operator at Vortex Suites to say that they only accepted cash. That set off alarm bells; obviously, it stinks of a scam. But as my booking was non-refundable, there was nothing I could do easily other than withdraw the cash (over $400 Au) at an ATM.
When we turned up at The Vortex Building, it was obvious that this wasn’t a good place to stay. When the person only referred to as “my brother”, eventually turned up in the packed lobby to show us our suite, it was filthy, as were the corridors of the building and the lifts. We walked out and did indeed get a free cancellation from Booking.com.
It was easy enough to head to a nearby bar and book The Impiana KLCC for that night. We were happy with our huge room, and it was a lot cleaner. The buffet breakfast was pretty good, and the hotel had a pool, gym, and small shop. The location was great, with direct access to the covered walkways of KLCC. The Vortex building does not have this, it’s just a little further away and the area didn’t feel as safe, nor as clean.
How To Get To KLCC from KLIA
The easiest, and probably cheapest way to get to KLCC from KLIA T1 or T2, is to book a Grab car. For 2 or more people, it’s the cheapest, or the cost difference will be minimal.
Our journey from our KLCC hotel (The Impiana) to KLIA T2 for Air Asia, was just 90 MYR, including tolls. This was in a Grab Plus vehicle. It was so much easier than the bus or train.
If you are travelling solo, on a budget, there are bus and train options that depart directly from the KLIA terminal.
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