PARK HYATT KUALA LUMPUR
Occupying the soaring heights of Merdeka 118- Southeast Asia's tallest skyscraper - across floors 75 to 114, the hotel is a landmark creation by the London-based GA Group. The studio's vision masterfully merges the building's vertiginous scale with a deep sense of cultural heritage and an elevated, sophisticated design.
All imagery in this article was captured exclusively through the lens of Splendid Magazine.
A Vertical Journey into Place
Arrival at Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur begins not with a grand porte-cochère, but a humble - yet beautifully rendered - staircase (or escalator) leading to a timber-lined serambi on level 3. This raised-veranda-inspired space echoes the vernacular architecture of traditional Malay kampung houses.
From there, high-speed elevators transport you high above the city to the 75th floor, where a double-height lobby awaits. Here, brass batik screens cast intricate, shifting shadows across warm stonework - a subtle marriage of heritage craft and contemporary artifice. The panoramic windows frame Kuala Lumpur’s skyline, turning the lobby into a permanent observatory of towers, lights, and shifting urban mood.
Living in the Clouds: Rooms & Atmosphere
Every room and suite boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing the city skyline to dominate your view. But it’s in the geometry of the rooms -particularly the corner rooms and suites - where the design truly shines. Alcoves create shifting perspectives: a cozy window lounger for reading, a bathtub positioned for skyline soaking. A daybed echoes the feel of a traditional veranda, allowing panoramic city views without stepping outside.
Materials and details heighten the effect: linen-textured wall panels, delicate brass fittings, woven basket-weave tiles in the shower, rattan lampshades, ceramic reliefs - a kind of visual layering that rewards slow, appreciative glances. Even the minibar plays into the narrative: hidden behind batik-inspired cabinet doors, its contents include locally crafted lavender chocolates and sparkling tea - a cultural micro-gesture rather than a generic hotel convenience.
Design That Roots in Culture
Behind the hotel’s interiors is GA Group, a London-based studio given the delicate brief to channel Malaysian heritage without tipping into kitsch. The result is a deft alchemy of tradition and restraint.
They draw from materials like timber, woven songket and batik motifs, and timber carving traditions - but reinterpret them through modernist sensibilities. Think clean lines, soft natural lighting, and tactile surfaces. Throughout the public spaces and accommodations, these elements are present not as folkloric pastiche, but as refined abstractions of identity.
Dining In The Sky
The 75th floor houses three distinct dining venues, each with its own ambience and architectural voice:
Park Lounge acts as the hotel’s living room: airy and communal during the day, intimate by evening. Breeze-block geometry borrows from traditional Malay architecture; Peranakan-inspired red tiles add vibrant warmth to the open kitchen.
Merdeka Grill offers a moodier, more sensual experience - silver travertine, ribbed walls, dramatic lighting and skyline views through open kitchens.
Cacao Mixology & Chocolate pairs Amazonite stone and dark timbers with double-height shutters and intimate seating - a chocolate-themed bar that becomes alive well after dusk.
For those seeking repose, the spa and pool on level 99 deliver. Arched corridors evoke colonial-era shophouse architecture, while fretwork friezes filter light over an indoor pool from which the city sprawls below. Swimming literally above iconic towers like the Petronas Twin Towers or KL Tower - this is a view usually reserved for helicopter pilots or high-rise residents.
What makes Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur remarkable is the way it bridges extremes. It proves that a hotel high above the city need not feel alien or disconnected - instead, it can become a “vertical home,” steeped in local character, with views that mesmerize and interiors that invite lingering. As the original review concludes: this isn’t just spectacle for Instagram, but luxury hospitality that feels meaningful, grounded, and quietly human.
Discover more or book your stay on the Hyatt website.