DoubleTree by Hilton Putrajaya Lakeside… What…? When…? Again what…? You’ll be forgiven if you’ve never heard of it. Well, I myself had to google it!
The resort only recently opened back in October 2021, a result of the prolonged lockdown. I say resort, as it is not your usual city hotel where everything’s concentrated in one building. DoubleTree by Hilton Putrajaya Lakeside has a total of four wings. Wing number four is named wing five cos you know… the Chinese in Malaysia and number four… The hotel is spread out and has the Putrajaya Lakeside as its backdrop.
Cookies at check-in
Check-in was smooth and quick. Be aware that drop off for the hotel is in the basement, which means do turn into parking for drop off! We missed this and had to turn back. Upon check-in, I was given two warm cookies (a DoubleTree by Hilton signature) and I thought it was a very nice touch.
A room with a view
I was led to my wing as like I said earlier, the place is spread out. Walking to my room, again, I liked the openness of it all. The corridors look into an air well and it was breezy. I was so busy taking it all in, that I didn’t notice the blue sticker on my door. I was told later that this is part of Hilton Hotels CleanStay initiative to provide peace of mind to its guests. Housekeeping tidies, cleans and sanitises the room with Dettol after a guest checks-out. When the room is done, they stick the blue sticker over the door to show that the room has been cleaned and disinfected.
So, do look out for the sticker! If you notice that your sticker is torn, you can ask for a change of room, which you will get.
My king deluxe, lakeside view room was huge and came with a balcony. Sitting out on the balcony and watching the sun go down would’ve been really nice, except that when I was there, it was overcast, shame. DoubleTree by Hilton believes in less plastic (something which I am always for!) and so, the water supplied in the room by the resort is in 100% recyclable tetra pack packaging – a first for me. Though at first glance, I thought it was coconut water – ha!
Let’s eat
For lunch, I headed over to Makan Kitchen, which was in a separate wing, across from my room. I was slightly taken aback with the number of diners (a side effect of lockdown for me) when I got there. I was there on a weekday and the resort was running meetings and conferences at full steam. I must admit, it was unnerving for me, but I was led to a table out on the deck and I felt so much better. The tables on the deck are spread out and you feel like you have your own little nook. Plus, it was outdoors with a massive banyan tree as my backdrop, and had an overhead fan – perfect!
I was treated to the lunch tiffin sets, which are available from Mondays to Saturdays. The sets come with a soup, meat, vegetable, rice, and dessert. At RM28 nett, the sets are a steal! All the sets were delectable but I must say, the Malay set was the winner for me, hands down. The blend of spices was aromatic and gives you that punch. However, if you can’t take spicy food, go for the Peranakan set. The dishes were flavourful too, but when put together with the Malay and Indian sets, they were just a tad too ‘tame’ for my tastebuds. I am Malaysian after all!
Heading for a swim
The pools here are standouts for this property. The Splash Pool especially! With a water slide and water play features, I wished the soon-to-be-teen was a toddler once more. He would have had such a ball at the Splash Pool. If you have older kids, you can always opt for the infinity pool which looks out on to the lake. Plus, Putrajaya Waterski School is round the corner where you can learn waterskiing, wakeboarding and more. Read our review here.
Makan Kitchen’s Christmas buffet
We were also treated to Makan Kitchen’s Christmas buffet preview when we were there (yes, I know there was a lot of eating involved during this stay!). As the name implies, most of the food at Makan Kitchen is local, which I think is wonderful and different and such a lovely way to celebrate Malaysia. Having said that, they do have a ‘World Kitchen’ counter, so do not fret as they put out western food here. Plenty of pizzas for the kiddos!
For Christmas, the stars of the show were the Salmon Coulibiac with Dill Cream Sauce (salmon fillets, vegetables and rice wrapped in a crust) and Javanese Flavoured Prime Ribs (prime ribs with sambal gesek). I simply love it that it’s not your usual turkey fare. With plenty of local options to go along, this was a truly Malaysian Christmas feast!
Getting to DoubleTree by Hilton Putrajaya Lakeside from the city gives you a sense that you’re really off for a holiday (taking into account the 45 minutes drive on the highway). It would make quite a nice weekend away for families with things for both young and older children. Plus, you also avoid the conference crowd. DoubleTree by Hilton Putrajaya is literally a resort in the city, just that it’s fronted by a lake and not a beach. And there’s nothing wrong with that!
The hotel will celebrate the holiday month with a Christmas Eve dinner on 24 December, a Light of the Season Buffet High Tea on 25 December, a New Year’s Eve Buffet Dinner on 31 December and a Welcome 2022 Buffet High Tea on 1 January. More info here!
Our stay at DoubleTree by Hilton Putrajaya Lakeside was sponsored. As always, our opinions are honest and our own.
