Pioneering boutique hotel brand, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurant, continues its expansion into Asia with the 471-room design-led Kimpton Kuala Lumpur, set to debut at the Exchange TRX in 2023.
Part of one of the world’s leading hotel companies, IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), Kimpton®’s reputation for socially immersive experiences will bring a youthful and playful vibe to the lifestyle quarter of Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), Kuala Lumpur’s new CBD, which is also Malaysia’s first masterplanned international financial district.
"We are thrilled to welcome IHG® on board and look forward to partnering with a hotel company with a track record of operational excellence and a true understanding of the modern guests' needs,” Dato' Haji Azmar Talib, Chief Executive Officer of TRX City, said.
“Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants' unique identity and proposition will create a vibrant, lively, and inclusive experience that mirrors TRX’s identity as a district. We are certain that it will further elevate KL city’s hospitality offerings with its brand of casual luxury,” he added.
Personalised and local
The boutique hotel industry was kickstarted in 1981 when the first Kimpton® property opened in San Francisco. Since then, the ethos of a localised hotel experience has spread to a roster of more than 70 hotels and 85 restaurants, bars and lounges across urban locations, resort destinations and up-and-coming markets in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Greater China.
Anchored in one-of-a-kind experiences, whether within uber-modern new builds or adaptive reuse of historical structures, Kimpton® hotels are known for stylish localised design, locally-sourced F&B, corporate responsibility and community integration. This includes partnering with local businesses, movers and shakers to curate highly-personalised adventures which are all about genuine human connections.
“We’re always providing our personal recommendations for our guests on all of the cool things that we think they may not know about,” Mark Jennings, previously a regional VP at Kimpton®, told skift.com.
“That’s what people want, whether they’re international, domestic or drive-in. They really want something they feel they’re not going to get somewhere else. And they really feel special if it’s something that seems off the beaten path, or a closely guarded secret,” he explained.
Kimpton in KL
In line with this spirit, Malaysia’s first Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants will create an exciting, people-led and intimately local experience that befits TRX’s identity as a buzzy business district in the heart of a historic neighbourhood within the city centre.
“We believe the ‘dream’ element of experiential travel will become even more important once people can travel again and this hotel will deliver a great boutique experience to those guests,” Rajit Sukumaran, Managing Director of South East Asia & Korea for InterContinental Hotels Group, said.
The KL property will feature three food and beverage outlets including a rooftop bar & restaurant and a deli-grocer café. Guests can enjoy the views from the outdoor rooftop swimming pool or break a sweat in the lifestyle gym. There will be a range of unique meeting and event spaces to cater to a wide range of activities, from small intimate gatherings to larger energetic social events.
Kimpton Kuala Lumpur will be part of The Exchange TRX, one of the largest urban-regeneration projects in the region, and forms the lifestyle core of TRX, the new CBD that is benchmarked against top global financial hubs such as London’s Canary Wharf, Singapore’s Marina Bay and Hong Kong’s International Commerce Centre. The Exchange TRX, a joint venture between Australia’s Lendlease and TRX City Sdn Bhd, will feature world-class residential, commercial, entertainment and events, complete with lifestyle offers which will be seamlessly integrated with an activated 10-acre public park, the new green heart of the city.
Tony Lombardo, Chief Executive Officer Asia, Lendlease, was all praises for the partnership with IHG® and the prospect of the distinctive, award-winning experience that Kimpton® will bring to the modern traveller looking for a unique hospitality offering: “We are proud to welcome the Kimpton brand into Malaysia at The Exchange TRX as a move that further cements The Exchange TRX’s position as a progressive experience-led destination.
“The debut of Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants strengthens the value proposition of the overall development, especially in our vision of creating memorable guest experiences and add to TRX, KL’s new CBD, a differentiated hospitality experience that will further elevate KL city’s offerings,” he said.
---
