One World Hotel - Connected to 1 Utama Shopping Centre @ Petaling Jaya [Malaysia]

Finding a place to stay is a decision I take a long time deliberating whenever I travel free and easy but for my first official trip to Petaling Jaya (PJ), I didn't have to spend time thinking as my PJ friend strongly recommended One World Hotel! 

It was an evening coach from Singapore to PJ and by the time we arrived at the hotel, it was close to 1.00 am! Hence, our key objective was to quickly check in, take a shower and snooze.

Room 310

One good news, one bad news upon arrival. Bad news first - we were given a room that's on level three! Good news - we were upgraded from a superior room to a junior suite; that's from 40 square meters to 70 square meters!

It came with its spacious living room! That's luxury living for a stingy person who wouldn't pay for that extra space when all one needs in a hotel is, simply put, a bed. The most I asked for would be an attached toilet. 

The study area, which I actually used quite often, since I had to clear my work emails. At 70 square meters, this suite is bigger than my own 67-square-meter apartment back in Singapore. 

USB ports, two and three-pin power sockets. There's a router where I could also plug in a LAN cable to connect to my laptop for better connectivity. I didn't have a LAN cable but manage to borrow one from the hotel, at no cost. p.s. if you lose it, charges will apply. 

50-inch LED television, see through mini fridge, Nespresso coffee capsule machine, and complimentary coffee power, tea bags, chocolate. All items in the mini bar were free of charge for the first round!

Free bottles of water! It was just two bottles initially but we always make it a point to tip the housekeepers every day, and guess this was their way of paying back. 

Sharp Plasmacluster to purify the air! Alex mentioned he had a comfortable stay in One World Hotel; for all you know, the cleaner air might also play a part! 

Our room with another 50-inch LED television, a king sized bed and a chaise lounge by the side. I am not going to bother to show you the view outside as third floor is extremely low and shoppers in the connected mall can see me in my undies! p.s. I didn't even draw open the curtains throughout my three-night stay there.

Bathrobes, in-room safe, ironing board and iron, a hair dryer (kept in a bag) and two extra pillows in the wardrobe. There was even a laundry basket in the room, where I kept all my dirty clothes.

I guess this is a smoking room? 

Bathroom was huge and divided into four separate sections; first of which would be the vanity section, follows by the bathtub. I should have brought along my bath bombs! 

Two other sections would be the toilet and a shower room with rainfall shower! Loving the fact that there was an non-electronic bidet; having one is better than having none.

Bathroom amenities and toiletries by Guild+Pepper. There were also mouth washes, hand sanitizer and body buff (latter of which is "foam scrubber loofah for exfoliation & cleansing"). Since all are free, what are the things you would take home if you don't use them? For me, they would be toothbrushes and shower caps! 

Gymnasium 

Now a requirement whenever I travel as I have adopted a healthier lifestyle ever since the pandemic although my diet preference remains just as sinful. Oh well, it's better than not exercising right?

 

With 452 rooms comprising of a mix of superior, deluxe, executive deluxe, junior suite, premier suite and executive suite, the gym was spacious and well equipped. However, in the few days I was there, I hardly saw any guests. The most I encountered were two other persons, not including the staff.

There was even an aerobic / yoga room!

Personally, I think it would do great as a meditation room too.

Staircase leading up to level two; of course I had to check it out even though I half suspected it would likely be the washrooms / locker rooms. 

Bright, modern and clean! 

Sauna rooms; I just read from the newspapers that saunas are getting popular in Japan and to think that I have always thought saunas originated from the land of the rising sun! Ignorant, I was.

Pictures of the two saunas and also the guidelines. Damn, I didn't know you are not supposed to bring mobile phones into the sauna as there's a tendency for them to explode. Gosh! p.s. the washroom was empty when I took the photos.

Anyway, spending time in saunas isn't my cup of tea. I am happier using the weights or sweating myself out at the running and cycling machines.

Swimming Pool

I was already informed via the above letter that the swimming pool would be closed. Personally, I feel that hotels should inform guests beforehand that certain facilities would not be operational, especially those guests for which the hotels have the contact information.

Nevertheless, I caught sight of the swimming pool area from the connected 1 Utama Shopping Centre. Located on the second floor of the hotel, it's quite a basic layout with a slide section for kids.

Buffet Breakfast 

This was already included in our room rate and even though there were so many things I wanted to try at PJ, free things are hard to resist and the one thing I know I usually wouldn't buy when I am overseas would be fruits, which would be available as part of the buffet breakfast at Cinnamon Cafe.

The amount of food stations surprised me! 

Do check out my separate posting here. 

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In summary, I did enjoy my stay at the five-star One World Hotel; built in 2007, it retained an old school charm with hanging chandeliers and marble flooring. p.s. I had to admit that the free room upgrade was definitely a nice touch!

One key reason for recommending One World Hotel to travelers would be its insane proximity to 1 Utama Shopping Centre; there's a direct pathway and the shopping centre was huge! 

There were two cinema operators and you can have varied experiences like going through a rainforest, surf at the flowrider attraction, or enjoy Next Gen [Family Edutainment Park], Malaysia 1st Integrated Indoor Edutainment! You can literally spend one or two full days within the mall, without stepping out! 

Address

City Centre, First Avenue, Lebuh Bandar Utama, 

Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Website

http://www.oneworldhotel.com.my/

Pricing

Superior Room - S$385.18 for 3 Nights

Tourism Tax - RM 10.00 a night

(Secured a Free Upgrade to Junior Suite)

Lax Lax Restaurant - Nasi Lemak with Crispy Pork Lard @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre in Petaling Jaya [Malaysia]

To be very frank, I was craving for Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng from Village Park Restaurant on my last day in Petaling Jaya but the allure of something supposedly better popped out, and it's tempting to note that its location was literally just a few minutes' walk from our hotel.

Lax Lax Restaurant - a high review score of 4.8 on Google Map, although there were only 48 reviewers. The one thing that caught my attention was that the operator had redefined our beloved nasi lemak by adding one of the world's top ten healthiest food; pork lard! 

Let's scan QR code for the menu.

After a discussion with Alex, we decided to go with the local signature set for two persons, which granted us five sticks of pork satay, two mains and two desserts; for just RM 80! 

Even though there were Japanese dishes on the menu, I would say the foods would be more fusion local and Japanese cuisine. By the way, another draw for Lax Lax restaurant was that it's pet friendly. Pity my visit was on a weekday when most people would be working. 

Pork Satay - when it comes to satay, my choice would always be pork satay unless I am at a halal certified eatery. From the look of the satay, I lamented the lack of fat; a key element to their unmatched satisfaction compared to other types of meat.

Full of turmeric aroma, the meat was packed with herbs (as evidenced by their strands) and a delight to have when dipped into the thick and chunky pineapple peanut gravy! Again, it would have been perfect with segments of glistening pork fat.

Pork Lard Nasi Lemak - this was the version with apple chicken rendang and while I already knew there were pork lards, I didn't expect them to be pressed into the rice! Nevertheless, I happily popped one piece into my mouth; hm.... not the fresh, crisp, sinful type; it's drier and not as tasty. 

Chicken rendang was average; the gravy could have been heavier to compensate for the lack of marination for the chicken meat. This was a pity as rendang in Malaysia should have been nicer than what I have in Singapore.

Another version of the pork lard nasi lemak; this time with unconventional roast pork (siew yoke)! By the way, I love the onsen egg although a part of me would have also enjoyed a sunny side up with crisp edges! Enjoying the pickled vegetables too, which was like achar. The only thing lacking in my opinion would be peanuts! 

A beautiful slab of roast pork that could have beaten down many of those roasted delight stalls; sinfully fatty with that satisfying crunch as my teeth bit through as cackling skin! Between the chicken rendang and roast pork, the latter was the clear winner! 

Sambal makes or breaks a plate of nasi lemak and the dry sambal at Lax Laz, while being flavorful, lacked the sweetness I would have relished better with the rice.

Mini Cendol - the neon green, said to be homemade chendol was a major visual turnoff as it seemed to be screaming artificial coloring; turned out to be bitter tasting, and it didn't help that the red beans weren't too tasty too. I would have gone with just plain ice drenched with their 100% pure gula melaka from Melaka. 

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There were just too much rice for me to stomach, especially when I had already grabbed breakfast just mere hours ago. To me, I love the play on fusion cuisine as it could result in a flavorful clash of flavors but for Alex, a traditionalist, this type of nasi lemak wasn't his cup of tea. I like the roast pork nasi lemak although deep in my heart, I was thinking of the Nasi Lemak Ayam Goreng from Village Park Restaurant. 

Address

LG612, Lower Ground Floor, 

1 Utama Shopping Centre, 1, 

Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama, 

47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Local Signature Set - RM 80.00

(Subject to Service Charge and Tax)