The Majestic Hotel (Kuala Lumpur)

Malaysia / Kuala Lumpur / Kuala Lumpur
 hotel, 1932_construction
www.majestickl.com/
Historic British colonial hotel, built in 1932.

Originally closed in 1984. Used for some time afterward as the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, then sat derelict for many years. Restored and reopened in 2012 as a luxury hotel by YTL Hotels, with a new tower wing built south of the historic building.

Dato Onn bin Jaafar held an inaugural meeting for the formation of the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP), a non-racial party at the Majestic Hotel on 17 September 1951. It was presided by Tan Cheng Lock, the President of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA). A resolution was adopted by one thousand people - representatives of the Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian and other communities to fight for self government within ten years.
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Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Majestic_(Kuala_Lumpur)
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Coordinates:   3°8'19"N   101°41'30"E

Comments

  • I stayed in the Majestic Hotel in the early 1970s when it was an old, interesting and colorful colonial hotel. The public rooms were grand and the lounge chairs were comfortable. I don't remember the food or the service but they must have been equally good. The most interesting feature of the hotel to me was the troop of monkeys roaming free on the verdant hillside and visible through the windows at the back of the hotel. An old, retired colonial gentleman lived on the top floor in a suite; this was his home as he did not return to England following Independence. I remember him slowly climbing the stairs following his meals. My most embarrassing memory involved my passport. I was working then at the United Nations regional office in Bangkok (UNECAFE) and had gone to KL on duty travel. In my haste to leave Bangkok, I grabbed my passport, left from Don Muang Airport, arrived in KL, checked into the Majestic, and enjoyed my stay while conducting my business and meeting old and new friends. When I checked out of the Majestic, the desk clerk returned my passport and I discovered that it actually belonged to my young son! I quickly considered the consequences and penalties of traveling with a false passport and concluded that, if I'd gotten this far without anybody really noticing it, I could return to Bangkok with the same luck. I did. My son now has the distinction of having his first passport stamped on four official occasions as having traveled between Bangkok and KL without actually having done so! Those were the days!
  • My wife and I stayed at the Majestic on our honeymoon in 1975. She still remembers the giant beetle that came flying in through the open back window as I was taking a bath. The maitre'd at the hotel was one of the most dignified gentlemen I ever met, and served as the model for the lead industrialist in my early novel CACHALOT.
  • My father went to work for the Chemical Company of Malaysia (CCM - a subsidiary of ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries)) in 1966 and we all went with him. The Majestic was our first home in Malaysia and it was a delight, the Raffles of KL! Very stylish (though those stairs at the front of the building were a challenge even then)with a beautiful ballroom on the top floor. My brother and I used to play up there when we weren't at school and were often chased by the hotel staff for turning the ceiling fans on. The head chef at the time gave us a little white kitten (presumably the kitchen cat) when we finally moved out to our own home some months after our arrival. The monkeys on the balconies were amazing (and they are still there.....).
This article was last modified 6 years ago