Five-star Jalan Sultan Ismail, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur
EQ Kuala Lumpur
A 52-storey tower on Jalan Sultan Ismail, rebuilt on the site of the 1973 Hotel Equatorial, with the rooms from the 29th floor up and Sky51 at the top.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Rooms
- 440 rooms and suites
- Opened
- March 2019
- Building
- 52 storeys, the hotel from the 29th floor up
- From the airport
- About 45 km from KLIA
The hotel
A new tower for an old name.
Hotel Equatorial opened on Jalan Sultan Ismail in 1973 and stood there as a five-star hotel for almost forty years. It closed on 1 April 2012, and the staff worked their last day at the end of that month. The owners pulled the building down and raised a 52-storey tower in its place, part of the new Equatorial Plaza in the Golden Triangle, a short walk from KLCC and the convention centre.
EQ opened in March 2019. The hotel takes the lower floors for its lobby and the 29th to 52nd floors for its 440 rooms and suites. One name came across from the old building: Kampachi, the Japanese restaurant, reopened here a few days before the hotel. At the top of the tower is Sky51, the rooftop bar and deck, and the infinity pool on the wellness floor runs 25 metres.
- Sky51 The bar, deck and restaurant on the roof, which Time Out counts among the five best rooftop bars in Asia.
- The wellness floor A 25-metre infinity pool, a Himalayan salt sauna, a spa and a fitness centre.
- Kampachi The Japanese restaurant of the old Hotel Equatorial, carried over to the new building.
Dining
From the street café to the 51st floor.
Venues as listed at the hotel's opening in 2019. Shown for information.
- Sky51 Rooftop bar and restaurant At the top of the tower
- Kampachi Japanese Kept from the original Hotel Equatorial
- Nipah All-day dining In the hotel
- Etoile Café A street café
- Bottega Lounge Wine Wine lounge
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Pets Not accepted.
- Suites The suite range runs from Studio and AHA! Suites to Executive and Presidential Suites.
Getting there
Flying to Kuala Lumpur.
Kuala Lumpur International at Sepang, for scheduled flights, is about 45 kilometres south; allow about an hour by car, our estimate, or take the KLIA Ekspres to KL Sentral in about 28 minutes and a car from there. Business jets land at Subang, about half an hour away outside the rush, 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.
- Does EQ Kuala Lumpur have a MICHELIN Key?
- No. The hotel is in the MICHELIN Guide selection without a Key.
- Is EQ the old Hotel Equatorial?
- It stands on the same site. Hotel Equatorial opened in 1973 and closed in 2012; the building was demolished and EQ opened in a new 52-storey tower in March 2019.
- Is there a pool at EQ Kuala Lumpur?
- Yes. A 25-metre infinity pool on the wellness floor, with a Himalayan salt sauna and a spa.
- 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.
- Else KL Rooms inside the Lee Rubber Building, an Art Deco block of the 1930s.
- 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.
- 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 EQ Kuala Lumpur?
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.