Chinatown in KL has a real vibe of its own and not everything has been gentrified. Most of the heritage and the old charm of its historical buildings and architecture as well as family run businesses are well preserved to carry on the legacy that continue to delight locals and international tourists alike.
While many stylish cafes and thematic restaurants and bars spring up like mushrooms lately, one of the most exciting developments has been the rise in the number of reputable small boutique and design hotels beginning to offer unique stylish accommodation in this charming neighbourhood that is rich in heritage and culture.
Opened in September 2022 and located on Jalan Tun H. S. Lee in the heart of Chinatown, ELSE is a curation of contrasts from the past. The transformation of a listed heritage 1930’s Lee Rubber Building punches above its weight with sophisticated design elements that set it apart from other boutique hotels.
The ELSE hotel is the maiden establishment and the latest hospitality brand founded by Justin Chen and Javier Perez – one from a Singapore-based investment company and the other a F&B entrepreneur. Together they have made sense of a pre-war building preserved under the National Heritage Act as Category 2, which requires its entire facade to be maintained. Chen, who trained as an architect, was sensible enough to see that conservation buildings can be a great canvas for stories of the past alongside ideas for the future.
The choice of this old building was quite deliberate, as Chinatown represents a special location, right by the Klang River, where KL really started, so Chen thought there couldn’t be a better place to tell a story about KL and what makes it great.
The moment you step inside it is all about the reveal as the sense of calmness and tranquility inside the hotel which is the total opposite to the heat and bustling of Chinatown. The sensorial experience of the space is emphasized by earthy tones, subtle textures and eclectic interplay between a carefully curated selection of furniture.
The hotel entrance is a large vestibule open space and on the right is RAW - the restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner that is screened off from this ground level lobby by a semi-transparent curtain wall. Subsequently you cannot help but notice this stunning dining room which no doubt tempts guests to eat in house more often than not.
Being designed from the shell of a repurposed building there is a rawness to the design, with the use of bricks, concrete and render, providing the hard surfaces and then a layer of softness is added with plush bespoke rugs created in collaboration with the internationally renowned designer Omar Khan. There are lush furniture finishes in wood, upholstered fabrics and leather, bespoke floor lamps and console tables, you don’t know where to start admiring the interiors.
The actual hotel lobby to check-in is on the first floor and is in itself a surprisingly intimate space after the ground floor expansiveness, but it hints at more exciting architectural elements to be explored, as the whole hotel design is centred around the light wells from the 1st to 3rd floors and you get a glimpse of these at check-in through the full length wall of glass windows.
We were mesmerized by this architectural point of difference and eye for detail. The atrium has been created by introducing a series of voids to bring light and natural ventilation into an otherwise dark and deep interior and this in turn created a sequence of interesting viewpoints as guests traverse vertically and horizontally throughout the hotel.
The lobby check-in is one simple desk and a small arrangement of tables and chairs in a space that is stylish with a wall display art in various mediums in what would appear to be a mix of local and international styles. There are two elegant curved sofas and an enormous marble coffee table displaying books and objet d’art. All in all, a very attractive lobby that is well put together that is set in a soft lighting mood.
Check-in was a very positive experience, firstly because it was before 10am on our arrival and to our surprise, we were upgraded to a suite which was ready for occupation. There was a little mix-up with our departure date, but that was easily rectified and the formalities took no time at all and before we knew it, we were opening the door to our 69sqm Sutera Suite #103 which was conveniently on the same level.
With 49 rooms & suites in total, our Sutera Suite consisted of two main rooms – a very spacious entry living room and a bedroom further in around a dog-leg corner – separated by an extremely attractive bathroom and a line of wardrobes.
The whole design intent is a nod to the Scandinavian minimalism aesthetic, with beige and light wood colours and only a few pops of colour to add depth to the space. At the point of entry you are presented with a huge living room sparsely furnished (in a good way) with a super comfy armchair, beige marble coffee table and matching rug and a large sofa which can be converted into a bed.
A long wall unit immediately on the left which houses the minibar has a small selection of well chosen alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, a pod coffee machine and an elevated tea bag selection. A large floor to ceiling wall mirror was sensibly installed as you head toward the wardrobes and a modernist artwork opposite the mirror adds some life and colour to the minimalism.
Another below the large wall-mounted television entertainment unit is another free-standing long cabinet in a teak mid-century Danish style for more storage. The living area is enlightened by a wall hanging of a patch-work quilt with some local reference points and elegant parquetry floor is laid throughout the main rooms of the suite. All of this is illuminated with a mix of down lights, track lighting, one hanging paper ball pendant light and a wall sconce light with coloured glass. Another good design point for the living room is a large marble shelf/window seat that runs the full length of the wall of windows that looks back out to the atrium when the curtains are drawn.
The bedroom is anchored with the same parquetry flooring and a king bed is sat on a rug with a beautiful built-in low woven bedhead design that was created by Sarawakian tribes in East Malaysia, which positions the lighting and controls with minimalist rustic ceramic stool-style side tables on each side of the bed, adorned with a colourful large modern artwork in the hue of green hanging above the bed.
There is a lengthy wood and rattan bed bench at the foot of the bed and across from the bed is a very attractive solid wood free-form desk and armchair with a wall mounted television above it. The room also features an eye-catching standing lamp adjacent to the desk in the corner along with a similar design paper pendant light in the centre of the room.
Looking out through the small widow offers you a direct view of the city latest iconic landmark - The Merdeka 118 - second tallest building in the world as well as the historical century old Chinese Guan Di Temple just across the street.
The bathroom is sectioned off with glass panelled louvre-style sliding doors and once opened you are presented with a simply stunning beige terrazzo-style floor, vanity and walls throughout with black framed glass shower doors.
There is a large single vanity basin and a illuminated elegant tri-fold panel mirror with vertical strip lighting.
The shower room is at least twice the usual size of any existing 5-star hotels and beyond our expectations, featuring a rain and hand-held shower options in chrome black tap ware with strong pressure. The whole design ethos creates a lightness that creates a calm sense aesthetic.
The hotel uses local premium bathroom amenity brand Re{me}dy which we were smitten with on first use and this niche product gives you a spa-like senses for a very enjoyable shower experience. The Sutera Suite surpassed our expectations on all counts due to the quality of the fit out, design intent, bathroom amenities and luxurious feeling bed linens. There was almost too much space but if the sofa bed was in use, then the perfect proportions for a family stay. Housekeeping came and gone with neatly made bed and clean up our suite orderly with adequate amenities replenishment.
Level 2 has a compact but thoughtfully put together a well functional gym and workout studio with just the right mix of exercise equipment and space. There are also two flotation pods within the gym in separate rooms that can be booked to facilitate your needs.
Level 3 has a beautifully designed library enclosed in glass walls with an adjacent meeting room all looking out to the atrium.
Level 4 has The Yellow Fin Horse bar, as well as a 25m outdoor plunge pool surrounded in bricks with a well-designed pool deck with day bed nooks positioned at the rear of the pool to enjoy the views of the city metropolis, including a partial view of the twin towers and a full view of The Merdeka 118.
Old terrazzo benches with the Lee Rubber Building logo
Sounds quite eclectic, doesn’t it and with good reason, because they want a point of difference and this definitely sets them apart from the competition.
Breakfast is served at RAW on the ground floor and it is a dining room that you won’t forget.
At the end of the room opposite to the bar is given a more residential feel with rugs and bespoke upholstered chairs in varying designs that are extremely eye-catching.
A key example is the curvilinear leather centrepiece that anchors the Raw Kitchen Hall that was inspired by the Terazza series by Ubald Klug with the hundred-year-old 16-feet long dining table, the solid piece of a Merbau tree found hidden in a carpenter’s workshop in Penang that was craned into the intimate space.
At one end of the room is a bar that is also a focal point for good reason, as it is framed by a series of beautiful hand-carved antique columns that were sourced from Armenian palaces in India. Each column is interspersed with mirrors to add more depth to the room and there is seating at the bar counter for good measure. At the other end of the dining room is a small lobby lounge seating arrangement partially screened off by large open bookshelves.
Large Ball lights add some volume at ceiling height with some very attractive crackled glass wall sconce lamps on concrete columns scattered around the room.
The overall design ethos follows the rest of the hotel with brick floors, raw concrete columns and partial wooden ceilings. As light wells are an integral part of the hotel architecture, one of them is directly above the centre of RAW, which adds to the atmosphere off the room. The cutlery and tableware added that extra touch and tied in with the concept of ‘raw’ with finishes that exuded a ‘raw’ visual character.
The breakfast menu is a simple selection of three courses and beverage. Everyone gets a small fruit plate which was barely adequate in size and was composed of two pieces of watermelon, papaya and dragon fruit. Then a choice of one starter (6 options) and one choice of main (8 options) and then coffee, tea or juice. The beverages were all excellent and the coffee was better than some, plus the freshly squeezed juices were refreshing. For a luxury boutique hotel standard, it is a bit limiting from our perspective, but once our choice of food arrived it seemed reasonable, but not a feast.
The first starter of Zucchini Fritters was very soft, too oily and lacked any crunch for a fritter, however the Kaya Toast served with home made pandan jam and lots of butter was perfectly executed and tasted just as we had hoped that was a joy to savour a good classic Malaysian breakfast.
The Miso Mamba was the alternative and premium version of the Malaysian national dish - Nasi Lemak - which was the top dish of the morning with squid ink rice, sunny side eggs, fermented sambal, prawn sambal, spicy anchovies and peanut crisps. The squid ink rice was so tasty, aromatic and you definitely wanted to have a bigger serve, the egg was perfectly fried, very addictive sambal prawns that was not overly cooked, the fermented sambal was a surprise touch, fragrant yet not too strong on palate and the spicy sambal was simply delicious. A very inventive combination for a beautiful execution to create such a memorable dish with all condiments well complimented.
On the second morning, we had the Ruby Grapefruit - the half chilled grapefruit was already cut into segments and baked with cinnamon, so all you had to do was sprinkle the sugar that was on the side and spoon out each segment so easily. It was so refreshing, citrusy and a very attractive presentation.
Beside encoring the Miso Mamba nasi lemak, we had also the Turkish Eggs served with toasted sourdough, garlic dill yogurt, lemon, poached eggs, Aleppo chilli burnt butter, sun-dried tomato oil in chunky tomato sauce which is quite filling and satisfying. The mains were certainly the star attraction.
Service was a bit hit and miss – the first morning was not on point but improved the next morning. With only three tables at the early part (not even during peak hours) when we arrived, service had to be flagged, but it became a more positive experience once the road bump was sorted. Aisha, the supervisor who looked after us both mornings led the team to eventually be more focused and accommodating. A more dedicated focus on the guest arrival experience and some polish to give that seamless service would complete a good overall breakfast experience.
The Else Kuala Lumpur surprised and delighted us at every turn due in part to the interior design to be enjoyed by every guest and has been centred around the concept that Else was to be a place of respite from the chaos of Chinatown, playing to the idea of duality. Every time we stepped back in to the hotel from outside, we felt very welcome. It truly is a hotel of unexpected detail and a showpiece for how buildings can be repurposed into a luxury boutique hotel that will stand the test of time for years to come for a memorable stay, enriching your luxury staycation in a piece of history and experience the living legend blends historic charm with contemporary comforts of a modern nostalgia heritage.
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