I’ve never been to Malaysia before last year.

Arriving from a four-hour flight from Manila to the now defunct LCCT Airport and taking a one-hour bus to Kuala Lumpur, I was immediately seized with a mild case of a culture shock. I’ve never been out of the country that much and it’s quite unsettling to travel to a place where people don’t speak the same language as you do.

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It was such a relief then that the hotel we booked for an overnight lay-over in Kuala Lumpur has a welcoming feel and a staff that can communicate clearly with us. Ceria Hotel Bukit Bintang was our first stop in the city. Its name translates to happy, cheerful, and warm—and I immediately felt that as we entered its lobby.

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This 40-room hotel has a bare modernist interior design. It looks like a chic boutique hotel with its unpainted concrete walls combining with smooth white planes and black and white cityscape photographs. The whole thing is offset by quirky furniture that softens up its modernist edge.

The staff who received us was very warm and welcoming—and without hitch and fuss, completed our check in and immediately led us to our room.

Judging from their rates—the cheapest of which costs 75 Malaysia Ringgit, which is about ₱1,000.00—Ceria Hotel caters mostly to the backpacker crowd that doesn’t really want to do the hostel route.

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We booked their Superior Double which is basically a queen-sized bed with en suite toilet and bath. The room is a bit tight when it comes to space, but it’s still ample enough to move around. It’s fitted with a flat panel television, a thermos for hot water, and a hanger section for your clothes. They have no closet, but that’s alright with us as we rarely use those during trips.

Drinking water is available on a central water dispenser for each floor, so is free Internet Wi-Fi—two indispensable things for human beings like us.

We requested for a room with a window and they gave us one. The window though is located inside the en suite toilet and bath. The divider between the toilet and the room is made of frosted glass and its door opens directly to the window, so it serves its purpose well.

Linens were provided for and so are bath gel and shampoo set on wall dispensers. There is hot water, even though you really won’t be needing it that much since Kuala Lumpur is as hot as Manila.

But the best thing about Hotel Ceria is its location. It’s just a few minutes walk from Kuala Lumpur’s shopping center, Bukit Bintang, the famous Jalan Alor Food Street, Chinatown Kuala Lumpur, and Bintang Walk, a popular night life spot in the city.

After freshening up, we started to explore Kuala Lumpur for food. And here’s where my love affair with kopi ais and mee goreng all started.

Be happy, stay happy, stay Ceria!

Ceria Hotel ►ROOM RATES
Address: 270 Changkat Thambi Dollah, Pudu, KL
Contact Number: +6(03) 2143-1111
Email: reservation@ceriahotel.com | Facebook
GPS Coordinates: 3.140806, 101.709472