Photography by Robin Liew
In the words of Kamal Munasinghe, General Manager of Alila Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur:
I think that one of the best things about the Alila brand is that it is small. Right now, we have 13 properties, with around 20 more in the pipeline over the next two to three years. Despite that, we’re still very selective about the locations we open in. We are very much destination driven. Take this property, for example. We really work with the neighbourhood and try to engage with the surrounding community in our day-to-day operations – whether it is the VIP gifts or the snacks we serve, we try to incorporate them into our system.
The whole landscape in this area has been changing – you have KL Sentral just down the road, for example, while high-rises are sprouting all around. This is an interesting location for us – very busy and exciting, but also changing quite rapidly.
I’ve been in this business for more than 25 years. I was born in Sri Lanka and went to Switzerland to study, where I majored in hospitality. My career has mainly been in hospitality – I’ve had short stints in other industries but I’ve always gravitated back to hospitality. It’s something that you need a passion for – it’s very people-oriented and that’s something you to love doing.
Personally, I like Kuala Lumpur. It’s a convenient hub for me when I want to go home to Sri Lanka. I like that it’s multicultural, so it’s easy to fit in and the food is great – even the Sri Lankan food! The city is definitely growing and there’s plenty of optimism. In hospitality, for example, you have so many big, luxury brands opening.
Luxury hospitality brands offer so many different experiences – you have the ‘bling bling’ sort of luxury, for example, or you have luxury that connects you closely to nature. What Alila does is provide is an intimate connection to the destination, which is how we set ourselves apart.
It is true that luxury hospitality brands have their own followers, and this definitely helps promote the destination. I got an e-mail recently from someone in France, who said that he had stayed in Alila hotels all over the world. He’s never been to Malaysia but, since we are now opened here, he wants to come and explore the destination with us!
I do feel that Malaysia is an underrated destination – there is so much to do and explore here, and it offers a range of experiences for all tourists. In fact, Alila is working on an all-villa property in Dalit Bay, Sabah, which is scheduled to open around 2020.
We have 143 rooms in Alila Bangsar, ranging in size from 38 to 252 sq m. The rooms are spread over six floors of this multi-use development call The Establishment. While our lobby is on the 41st floor, the rooms are on the 35th to 40th floors. Our concept here is to promote a homely experience, and every floor has a living room with personalised butler services. This is an open communal area where we take you for your paperless check-in, and also where you can enjoy local snacks and drinks.
You will find our hotel quite uniquely designed. It is very symmetrical and you will discover that there are no dead ends anywhere, even in the rooms – you can literally walk all around the building! We have amazing views from directions, and we also offer five excellent F&B outlets for our guests – there’s Botanica & Co on the ground floor, which is inspired by the freshest local product, and Entier Restaurant on the 41st floor, which is a semifine dining French restaurant that celebrates nose-to-tail dining that uses every single part of the produce.
There is also Pacific Standard, a stylish cocktail lounge and bar that exudes the old-world glamour of mid-20th century Los Angeles on level 41 and the Rooftop Bar on levels 42, 43 and roof, with panoramic backdrops of the city skyline. Finally, there’s Club Alila’s Pool Bar, which is a sanctuary for guests to enjoy a menu that draws on retro favourites and local tropical flavours. All three bars have been conceptualised by Proof & Company, the award-winning collective of Asia’s most respected bartenders and creators of fixtures on the World’s 50 Best Bars List.
Alila is synonymous with connecting to nature and the wellbeing of the self. That is the luxury that we offer to our guests – the close connection to the destination. The cultural experiences that we offer guests are unique in the sense that what we curate is based on our own experiences in visiting, for example, local vendors and even the people who conduct cooking classes. All Alila destinations promote the local community and that is exactly what we are replicating here. We have spent the last six months exploring the area and understanding what it is all about. This way, we can really know what is truly local and unique to offer our guests.
