Four-star One MICHELIN Key City centre, Kuala Lumpur
Else KL
Forty-nine rooms inside the Lee Rubber Building, a grey Art Deco block of 1930 on the edge of Chinatown, with a salt-water pool on the podium and a wood-fire kitchen on the fourth floor.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- One Key, 2025 and 2026
- Rooms
- 49 rooms and suites on seven levels
- Opened
- September 2022
- Building
- Lee Rubber Building, 1930
The hotel
Rubber money, Art Deco lines.
The Lee Rubber Building went up in 1930 on what is now Jalan Tun H S Lee, a grey Art Deco block that was among the tallest in the city when it was built. It stands at the edge of Chinatown, in the old centre of Kuala Lumpur. The hotel now fills about 56,000 square feet across seven levels of the old building.
Justin Chen and Javier Perez turned it into a hotel of 49 rooms, opened in September 2022. The Malaysian studio Studio Bikin led the design with Faizah Architect, keeping the lines of the building and filling it with work by Malaysian and foreign artists, antiques from Gilded Lion and rugs by Omar Khan. In 2025 it was among the first Malaysian hotels to receive a MICHELIN Key.
- Pool house A salt-water infinity pool on the podium, with cabanas and a terrace looking at the skyline.
- Floating Two floatation pods next to the gym, a way to rest after a long flight.
- Places to sit A sunken living room, a drawing room and a library den, with a bar run with Proof & Company.
Dining
Two kitchens, one open fire.
Restaurants as listed by the hotel. Shown for information.
- Raw Kitchen Hall Asian and Mediterranean All day; a sister of Raw Kitchen Bar in Singapore
- Yellow Fin Horse Malaysian and international, cooked over wood On the fourth floor
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Up to age four they stay free in their parents' bed; from five the adult rate applies.
- Pets Not accepted.
Getting there
Flying to Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur International lies about 45 kilometres south; allow 45 minutes to an hour by car, our estimate. Private jets use Subang, the old city airport, about 30 to 40 minutes away by road, also our estimate.
- Singapore 45 min
- Bangkok 1 h 55
- Hong Kong 3 h 40
- Dubai 7 h 35 long-range jet
- London 14 h 15 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Else KL have?
- One. It received a Key in 2025 and keeps it in the 2026 selection.
- What is the Lee Rubber Building?
- An Art Deco building of 1930 on Jalan Tun H S Lee, at the edge of Chinatown. Else has occupied it since 2022.
- Does Else KL have a pool?
- Yes, a salt-water infinity pool on the podium level, with a pool house and cabanas.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Kuala Lumpur?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Kuala Lumpur, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Kuala Lumpur
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur Directly beside the Petronas Twin Towers, and among the first Malaysian hotels given a Key, in 2025.
- The RuMa Hotel and Residences A hotel whose windows frame the Twin Towers across the rooftops of the city centre.
- Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Open since August 2025 on levels 75 to 112 of Merdeka 118, and given its first Key in 2026.
- Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur Joined to the Petronas Twin Towers and Suria KLCC, with Lai Po Heen for Cantonese cooking and MO Bar for single malts.
- The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur Butlers look after 208 rooms here, and the spa looks over the Perdana Botanical Gardens.
- The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur On Jalan Imbi in the Golden Triangle, where Li Yen cooks Chinese classics listed in the MICHELIN Guide.
- Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur Fifty-five rooms and suites on Jalan Conlay, and Vertigo, a bar on the roof.
- EQ Kuala Lumpur Sky51, the bar at the top of Equatorial Plaza, made Time Out's list of five rooftop bars in Asia.
- The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Autograph Collection A hotel of 1932 near KL Sentral, with 47 heritage suites and an orchid conservatory under glass.
- W Kuala Lumpur One hundred and fifty rooms on Jalan Ampang, and an outdoor pool facing the Twin Towers.
Staying at Else KL?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Kuala Lumpur, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.