3 July 2019 – Opening in the heart of old Kuala Lumpur, The Chow Kit – an Ormond Hotel, will boast 113 rooms and suites in the eponymous Chow Kit neighborhood. Known for its bustling market and local businesses, Chow Kit will now be home to the first property from Ormond Hotels.
With two further sites set to open in Melbourne and Dublin by 2022, Ormond Hotels is rethinking the notion of luxury for the contemporary traveller. Ormond Hotels believe that life’s greatest luxury is one lived with comfort, purpose and balance. In a world filled with excess, extravagance no longer evokes desire, so Ormond Hotels has edited out the unnecessary and is focusing on what matters the most. This new, simplified, luxury boutique concept prioritizes great service, design and price ensuring that Ormond Hotels’ guests enjoy the highest quality essentials alongside thoughtful, beautiful design.
The Chow Kit will be Kuala Lumpur’s first design-led, experience-driven hotel inspired by an area of the city that is famously rich in character and history. The Chow Kit will pay homage to its neighborhood, offering guests a magnetic and alluring hub that reflects its location by marrying tradition with modernity, blending cosmopolitan finishes with cosy comfort, making it feel more like a home than a hotel. The hotel is a travelers’ sanctuary for exploration and inspiration, bringing new energy to old Kuala Lumpur. Located just five minutes from Chow Kit’s famous market, The Chow Kit is in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s most authentic neighborhood, untouched by skyscrapers and corporate suits.
Both the architecture and interiors of The Chow Kit have been developed by Brooklyn-based design practice, Studio Tack, who was inspired by the late-night revelry that lurked in the shadows of Chow Kit’s alleys and bars in the 1970s and 1980s. The Chow Kit is Studio Tacks’s first project in Asia.
Whilst The Chow Kit will feature carefully selected, modern amenities any 21st-century guest would expect of a boutique hotel, the building honors and reinterprets the past, with local materials showcased throughout. This is also apparent through the hotel’s Art Programme, where carefully curated artworks will feature throughout the public areas and guestrooms; individually selected from private collections and commissioned from local artists in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Stripping back the excess and focusing on what matters most, guests will experience a fusion of local Malaysian culture and modern design without compromising on service, amenities or location. Guest rooms will offer a reflection of the layered history and culture of Kuala Lumpur with thoughtful design touches that make guests feel at home. Each room will exude mystery and elegance whilst remaining light and peaceful. All guestrooms will feature plush beds, an open wardrobe and desk space, a smart TV, bespoke toiletries and a self-pick-up room service concept.
The public spaces at The Chow Kit will effortlessly blend the energetic, gritty atmosphere of its location with the serenity expected from an upscale, boutique hotel. The romantic lobby invites guests to linger from day to night and will feature rich fabrics and textiles that would have been traded in old Chow Kit. Packed with deep, tufted banquets, lounge chairs and layered rugs, the lobby will be reminiscent of a casual social parlor where secrets are divulged and stories exchanged. The lobby will be a place where locals and guests collide, creating an energy that is intimate, relaxed and infectious.
The Chow Kit Kitchen will be the heart and soul of the hotel. It will be a place of social and physical nourishment, where people come together and collectively participate in the most basic human function – to eat. Inspired by the local Malaysian kopitiams, traditional cafés, the restaurant will be a democratic space welcoming people from various walks of life. Nestled within the ground floor, it will be centrally located so that its energy and liveliness pulsate throughout the lobby.
Open all-day, guests will be able to enjoy an à la carte breakfast, a quick business catch-up over an express lunch menu or family style sharing plates, based on reimagined Malaysian favorites for dinner. The bar will offer signature cocktails from 11am to midnight and the venue will host regular restaurant pop-ups, featuring guest chefs and mixologists from around the world, throughout the year.
The ground floor will also be home to The Library, a beautifully wallpapered space designed for complete privacy. It will be perfect for private dining parties, of up to ten people, or small meetings. It will feature furniture that is as beautiful as it is functional with a large wood and marble table adding character and warmth.
An intimate mezzanine space will be located above the hustle and bustle of the ground floor providing an escape from the action below. A glazed wall overlooking the lobby will provide an important sense of light and calm, encouraging guests to lose themselves in a moment of solitude. The mezzanine space will also be easily converted into additional meeting and event rooms.
The Chow Kit’s rooftop has a dedicated yoga pavilion which will host a series of weekly yoga and meditation sessions.
Guests of The Chow Kit will also be able to access a curated list of things to see, eat and do in the neighborhood, which can be used to build their own tours. In addition, the hotel will also offer themed walking food and culture tours of the eclectic Chow Kit, giving guests a quietly authentic experience of this unique neighborhood.
Gareth Lim, CEO of Ormond Group, says of the opening of The Chow Kit, “The Chow Kit is the perfect introduction to our new brand, Ormond Hotels. The property embodies a romantic vision of simplified luxury for the 21st century traveller. The Chow Kit will showcase great design and service whilst demonstrating a strong connection to an often overlooked part of old Kuala Lumpur, and we’re confident it will be an interesting addition to the city’s hospitality scene.”
Ormond Hotels is a collection of thoughtfully designed hotels, inspired by local stories and honest materials. Their meaningful design creates spaces that function in timeless style – spaces that welcome everyone, whether they are guests, locals or nomads. A warm bed, a cold drink, a reservation at the best new local restaurant – Ormond Hotels is about service that matters. Every experience with Ormond Hotels is delivered with purpose and simple elegance, thoughtfully designed to leave a lasting impression.
The opening of The Chow Kit comes in tandem with the opening of the neighboring MoMo’s, a second new social hotel brand from Ormond Group, created for a more value-conscious, lifestyle traveller.
