THE WHOLE (CHOW) KIT AND CABOODLE

Taking a fresh look at an old city-center district in Kuala Lumpur.

Having a monorail train roll past your window every few minutes isn’t a typical selling point for a hotel. But at the Towkay Soh Suite in Kuala Lumpur’s new (and well-soundproofed) The Chow Kit, I find it adds some visual excitement to the views of the needle-like KL Tower and the hills surrounding the Malaysian capital. I’m also enamored of my supremely comfortable rattan rocking chair and the hotel’s polished retro styling. Along with sister property MoMo’s next door, The Chow Kit is a beautifully expressed retreat in an eponymous part of the city center better known for its former red-light district than any eminent attractions. Thanks to the hotels’ arrival on the scene last December, however, that looks set to change.

“Chow Kit is a historic part of Kuala Lumpur that has been much forgotten over the years, akin to Shoreditch in London before the gentrification,” says Caroline King, the Australian general manager overseeing both properties. “Locals come here for the nostalgic feel, but they haven’t really discovered its potential. I think that’s about to change.”

Ormond Group, the fledgling Malaysian hospitality company behind the new hotels, certainly thinks so, to judge by the thought and care that have been put into its debut projects. While MoMo’s, with a semiunfinished look, fun taco bar, and micro-rooms, is pitched at young flashpackers, The Chow Kit targets more discerning travelers. Its brownstone exterior (a former Tune hotel that was gutted and rebuilt) seems lifted from the streets of New York, so it should come as no surprise that the design firm behind the property, Studio Tack, is based in Brooklyn. Interior touches also evoke a certain vintage Americana, starting with the Chow Kit Kitchen and Bar, which commands a

Above: Overlooking buzzy Jalan Sultan Ismail, The Chow Kit hotel is a striking new addition to the neighborhood from which it takes its name and inspiration.