We only spent a few nights in Kuala Lumpur as we passing through to our main destination of this trip, Chiang Mai. But we were kindly offered the chance to check out the Tune Hotels in the city.
The first time I’d heard of Tune was at the World Travel Market exhibition in London last November. We got chatting to their lovely PR staff and were particularly interested in their new way of offering a hotel service. In my ignorance I thought they were brand new to the scene but in fact they have hotels all over the world including Asia, Australia and even the UK.
Tune Hotels are owned by the same company as Air Asia, the rather prolific budget airline in Asia. I have used their flights on several occasions and much like EasyJet or Ryan Air they operate on a no-frills basis with the offer for various upgrades for certain aspects of the flight.
In the same vein, Tune Hotels is an affordable no-frills hotel option with the opportunity to add on extras as necessary. This is a particularly useful idea if you’re a traveller who doesn’t need the daily in-house breakfast, or aircon makes your throat sore, or perhaps you’ve already brought the toiletries you need. And if you’re a budget traveller this means you can enjoy the privacy and comfort of a hotel room without all the extras.
Our Tune Hotels experience started out rather wet (see the video here). We got caught in a thunderstorm as we arrived in KL and the recommended free bus took a rather long time. My advice if you’re heading there yourself is to jump on the Monorail system.
Anyhow, we arrived at the bright red and white hotel, a shining beacon in a wet, muggy city. The staff were welcoming and after a short wait we could check into our room.
The room itself is small but with enough space for your baggage and room to change. There is an en-suite, small pull-down desk and safe. The extras include a television, air-con, towels and toiletries, breakfast and Wi-Fi. We were given the full package to experience everything they offer.
I’ll be totally honest, the room wasn’t really the cleanest I’ve stayed in. We did mention it to the manager and I think it’s something they’re taking up with their staff. We did notice that cleanliness standards in KL as a whole wasn’t exactly the best, so maybe that’s a cultural thing? I don’t know. Otherwise it was fine for a couple of nights stay. The Wifi was good and we spent a lot of time working on our travel plans from the hotel, so this was a most helpful perk.
Breakfast was a voucher for a limited menu at San Francisco Coffee – it was basic but fine.We were particularly impressed with one of the reception staff who gave us a great local recommendation for dinner. That evening we had a super cheap and delicious Malay dinner just down the road from Tune (the place is called Lotus).
After a couple of nights in Downtown KL we moved out of the city to the airport, KLIA2, to stay at their newest hotel. It was attached to the airport via a covered walkway so no chance of getting caught in the tropical thunderstorms there!
The foyer of Tune Hotels KLIA2 is smart, sleek and spacious. We liked the details such as an Air Asia check-in machine. The staff were super friendly and helpful with any questions we had. There was a lovely little café attached and a 7Eleven.
The room was spotlessly clean, the shower was powerful and hot, the bed was comfy and overall we were really impressed with this hotel.
Yeah…. we made ourselves at home in the hotel room.So why choose Tune Hotels? We liked the affordability, especially as this trip is a budget one for us. It means we can still enjoy some privacy without having to opt for a hostel. We like the options to add on extras as suitable to your travel style. I will always require WIFI when I travel but not necessarily TV or breakfast. And each of the locations appear to be really central to where you need to be.
Overall we like the Tune Hotel concept and will certainly check out the UK-based options when we’re back in that neck of the woods. Could certainly make the big cities a tad more affordable.