You can walk, or jog, to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre development, and carry your shopping bags back without need of a taxi. You can ogle the glowing, cloud-piercing thrust of the Petronas Twin Towers at night from the rooftop pool or popular bar. You can get a high-tech room at an unpretentious price and the brightly lit buffets go way beyond standard congealing stews  [ Read More ]

  The grand old Oriental (Bangkok’s citizens have no use for the Mandarin chain’s prefix) suffers by way of comparison — to itself. Past attention to every guest’s personal detail has strayed a bit, and the lobby entry is starting to look like a U.S. embassy from the 1950s. The rooms, while bright and thoughtfully appointed (Bose stereos, teak and silk furnishings), are boxy; the restaurants (Thai, French, casual) could  [ Read More ]

One of the abiding images of Manila is that of a loyalist armored car crashing through the lobby of the Peninsula Manila, in the suppression of an attempted 2007 coup during which rebel soldiers had occupied the building. Shots were fired and tear gas discharged, but fortunately there were no fatalities. Every society hotel worth the name needs a dash of spice in its history, and the Peninsula is most  [ Read More ]