Summer Adventures: The Ritz-Carlton experience

The way we looked at it, our “last day” would actually be the second to last day. We would spend the day doing tourist things around Kuala Lumpur, finishing off anything on our list that we hadn’t gotten to. Our actual last day we had allocated weeks before, when my parents gifted us with one night’s stay in THE Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur. Of course, the ENTIRE day was allotted to staying inside the hotel walls- determined to experience every nook and cranny of the Ritz. So, we referred to that as our “luxury day”.

So for our “last day”, we headed to the Petronus Towers. Our trusty guidebook has said that if you arrive early enough, they actually give out 100 free tickets to the first visitors. However, the locals warned us that they don’t actually do that anymore. The fee was $50 for a ride to the Petronus Towers Bridge. Free tickets? Pfft, they all scoffed at us. Not to take our chances, we woke early on the “last day” to try and score some mystical “free” tickets.

Let me save you the hassle. Locals weren’t kidding; the ticket agents looked at me like I was INSANE for asking for “free” tickets. Totally a Diane Tango move, btw. Not wanting to drop some serious dough on tickets for a view of a city we were (at BEST) lukewarm about, we headed for the shopping center underneath the Petronus Towers. Hey, the guidebook recommended it!

We spent the day shopping (books for me! So cheap!), eating gluttonous food (I ate like a 6 year old- cinnamon pretzels, red velvet cupcakes, jelly beans, chocolate. Is anyone surprised that I felt sick to my stomach hours later?), and seeing a final cheap movie (SERIOUSLY, for $3?!? Can anyone argue with that?). It was laid back and perfect. We even finished the day with some shopping in Chinatown (yayyy, finally got my silk robe) and Subway Sandwiches. Minus the outrageous stomach ache, the “last day” could not have been more perfect.

The inspiration for Emma's future bakery

 Anddd then, it was here. The LUXURY day. We had been counting down ever since I got the “we booked you a room…” email from my Mom. Emma spent the entire trip fantasizing about how it would be, what it would look like, how amazing the service would be. We set the alarms, took great care in ironing out the “ritziest” outfit we had, and skipped excitedly to the taxis. When we arrived, everything changed. It was a 180 degree turn around from the Kuala Lumpur we had seen. Even the cab driver (who could barely be bothered to open the trunk for our backpacks), opened our doors and took great care in handing our bulging backpacks to the bellboy.

The staff was incredible. I’ve never felt more like royalty in my life. They all acted as if Emma and I were actual queens and they never had more important guests. It was surreal and, contrasted with the way our ENTIRE experience in Kuala Lumpur had been, bewildering. I don’t know if I’ve ever been treated that way in my life so to go from having your boobs gawked at to have people clamoring to carry my bags for me was a bit insane.

Someone literally escorted us to our room, opened the door for us, and asked us if everything was ok with our room. I’m telling you… surreal.

I’ll let past me do the talking here…

The fanciest outfits we could muster

After thoroughly dissecting the room, we came up with a loose game plan that included finding the pool(s) and eating lunch. We wandered around the Ritz, oohing and ahhing, and trying to act like we fit in before deciding on lunch at the Ritz café. There, I had THE MOST delicious burger I’ve ever had in my entire life (just barely beating out John’s homemade hamburgers). It was scrumptious and mouthwatering and I’m drooling right now just remembering it.

(mouth full of heavenly burger)

We went to the room for an outfit change and then went in search of the pool. It was like an oasis. If I ever become disgustingly rich, I want a pool exactly like the Ritz Carlton one. It was like swimming in a tropical paradise. We hopped from tropical paradise to Jacuzzi to rooftop infinity pool and finally the soak tub. It was incredible.

Then, we spent our time pampering ourselves in their spa and retreated to get ready for dinner.

Emma’s parents had generously wired her enough money to splurge for our “last meal” at the Ritz. We. Went. CRAZY. Salmon, wine, side of onion rings, grilled vegetables, creamed spinach. It was a meal for queens. It was WITHOUT A DOUBT the BEST meal we’d had on the trip, and definitely one of the top 5 “Best meals of my life”.

We retreated to the room and I swear, the beds there are 40%bed, 40%cloud and 10%pure heaven. I felt like I was floating and I’ve NEVER been in a more comfortable bed. I can now understand why crazy people stay at hotels like this for days (even weeks) on end. It was addicting.

They left us extra chocolate!!! And FREE water

All too fast, it was morning. We had complimentary tea, coffee, and juice delivered to our room. We did some final letter writing, made sure to take the shampoos, toothbrushes, stationary, etc… and checked out. It was a cruel slap back to reality, climbing into the peasant cab (they had to actually go and search for a local cab since the Ritz only had limo/luxury cabs). That smell was back and we had a brooding, gawking cab driver. But for 24 hours, we were queens. We ate like queens, relaxed like queens, and were treated like queens. It was unforgettable and the biggest possible BANG! we could have had to end our trip.

A million thanks to BOTH our sets of parents, who managed to take care of us from thousands of miles away. You guys ensured that our last night was the best night EVER and it was. It was better than we could have ever imagined and more than we ever expected. We are so lucky to have experienced the greatest luxuries of Kuala Lumpur