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This hotel were kind enough to host us while visiting Kuala Lumpur, but know that we recommend only places we truly enjoy - and all content is our own.
When we first decided to travel to Kuala Lumpur, we weren’t sure exactly how long to stay there. From reading online it seemed that 2-4 days is an average recommendation. We ended up staying 10 days in the very best places, as we really got to know the city.
Christmas and New Year in KL
We went to Kuala Lumpur to to celebrate Christmas and New Year. We decided that we wanted to be somewhere with more of a Christmassy feel than where had been so far in December. KL did not disappoint. Lots of places, restaurants, and malls with Christmas trees, decorations etc. That helped us getting into the spirit, which had been somewhat difficult to find in the heat and sun under the palm trees
KL is a big city, but there are two areas that you definitely want to explore, whether you are staying 3 days or 10 days. These areas are KL City Centre (KLCC) and Bukit Bintang. We stayed in both places, and each hotel was super centrally located, so it couldn’t have been more convenient.
Best Centrally Located Stay in KLCC
The first place we stayed in KL was at the Maya Hotel, who were so kind as to host us during Christmas. The hotel is located right by the Petrona Twin Towers in KLCC so it was super central, near the great big park with a huge playground and water splashing area, museums, malls, aquarium, restaurants etc. You really have everything you want to explore within a 10 minute walk. We stayed in a wonderful and spacious suite, where we could each find a comfortable corner for some own time with a book or some toys.
Dancing around the Christmas Tree
When we talked to the sweet staff at the Maya, we told them about our Danish tradition of “dancing around the Christmas tree” on Christmas Eve. An hour later, they sent a Christmas tree to our room, which we spent all afternoon making paper decorations for it, like it’s tradition in Denmark. It was great to have lots of space so we comfortably could spend most of Christmas Day in our suite. We played games, the boys could play with their new toys, all of which was travel friendly (Lego, card games, Kindle gift cards, hats, mini toys, experiences and new markers).
Celebrating Christmas with Locals
It has been important for us to be somewhere, where we would be able to celebrate Christmas in a special way, as we expected that Christmas without our family at home would be a bit of a challenge. For this reason, we were so thankful to be able to hold on to some of our Danish Christmas traditions. On Christmas Day, we also made use of the pool, which looked so inviting in the calm surroundings by the Spa, where we also went for a wonderful and relaxing treatment. Both of which is something we have never been able to do at Christmas time, so that was kind of fun. Finally, we took part in the festive Maya Christmas Brunch, which was a fun and different way for us to celebrate, but we were so happy to be able to celebrate with the locals in KL.
We had so much fun staying in KLCC and really loved the area. There is so much to do and see and so much great food to be eaten whether you fancy local or western food. You find it all in this fascinating part of KL. In this area it's key to stay central, and I know that we'll be coming back to The Maya Hotel for our next KL adventure. If you want to know more about what to do and get some great tips on exploring KL, you can read much more right here, where we go into detail about how to and what to explore in KL.