It's a Wonderland {Review of LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia}

The year end school holidays are here and if you are tired of visiting the same old places and wish to explore somewhere new, I have just the perfect destination for you and your family - Asia's first LEGOLAND Hotel in Nusajaya, Malaysia. 

If you have not brought the kids to LEGOLAND yet, now there is all the more reason why you should make that trip. I'll share with you why.

Designed to bring children's imagination to life, LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia boasts over five million LEGO bricks and has vibrantly coloured LEGO features throughout the lobby, play areas, rooms, elevators and restaurants.

The opening of the hotel marks the final phase and now LEGOLAND Malaysia, 5th LEGOLAND in the world, is now a fully completed resort - bringing together a Theme Park, Water Park and Hotel with over 70 rides, slides, shows and attractions.



We were thankful to to get a sneak peek during the media preview last week and today, I'll be taking you on a tour inside the hotel. Well, you are welcome!


Are you ready for a colourful, visually stimulating and possibly adrenalin pumping experience? Let's go!

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A tour around LEGOLAND Hotel

From the outside, the LEGOLAND hotel can be easily spotted with its LEGO brick-like appearance, the bright hues of red, blue, yellow, green, the towering LEGO guards and a spectacular fire-breathing dragon that roars and gives off fumes every half hourly.

Once you step into the hotel, you are greeted by a 32-foot high pirate shipwreck, a LEGO river and a castle guarded by a LEGO ogre, as well as a play area for kids. These help to make the kids feel welcome and keep them entertained while you do the checking in. 

The lobby is spacious, has a big area for kids to run about and also provides comfortable, cushioned seats. There is an impressive window display of buildings and skycrapers made out of small LEGO bricks and I especially love the attention to details. For those who wish to do some last minute shopping, there is also a small retail shop available.

As you go around the hotel, look out for the LEGO figurines - my favourite is the skeleton inside the castle, these never fail to fascinate the kids and they make great photo opportunities too.

Are you excited to see our room? Seriously, I think my heart was thumping wildly when I opened the door for the first time. I was hoping it would be awesome and yet I was afraid of disappointment. Well, I guess that worry was redundant because we fell in love with our room at first sight.

Ahoy! We stayed in the Pirates room and I loved the skull and crossbones, kind of badass look! More on the different themed rooms in the next section! Our room was a Premium room which came complete with wallpaper and had a beautiful, overlooking view of the theme park and water park.

For those who wish to stay away from the crowd at the water park and yet have a dip, there is a swimming pool and a wading pool available in the hotel on Level 5.

There is also an outdoor section of the hotel where guests can open their doors to a garden and LEGO butterflies. Interestingly, it is pretty straightforward to distinguish Premium rooms (face the parks and have wallpaper all around) from Themed rooms (face the hotel entrance and have plain walls). For the Premium rooms, all the entrance doors are fully decorated to the theme while Themed rooms have plain, wooden doors.

As weird as it might sound, the cubicle doors in the lobby toilets looked so inviting and bright that I had to take a picture to show you.



For food, you can choose to dine in the buffet style concept Bricks Family Restaurant, or go A La Carte Style at Gourmet Bricks. For those who wish to chill out, there is also the Skyline Bar located inside Bricks Family Restaurant. We had all our meals, including breakfast, lunch and dinner at Bricks and I was satisfied with the variety of cuisines offered, including spicy Asian food for the adult palates as well as food dedicated for the kids to enjoy.

Angel's favourite corner was the Ice Cream Factory, though ironically we didn't get any ice cream, we were treated to a delightful spread of sweets, lollipops, marshmallows and a yummy chocolate fondue.

Wait, that's not all I want to show you! Read on and discover more about this paradise for families with kids.

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LEGO Themed Hotel Bedrooms

LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia offers 249 bedrooms in three unique themes:

1) Pirate: Enter Captain Red Brick's pirate cabin decked out with pirate bedding, curtains, wallpaper, skulls and crossbones, pirate hats and even a LEGO parrot that watches over you when you sleep.

 2) Adventure: Go on an adventure and follow the footsteps of the LEGO hero adventurer Johnny Thunder as you hunt for the hidden treasure amongst scorpions, lizards, tarantulas and other jungle animals.

3) Kingdom: A royal welcome awaits you as you step into a kingdom fit for a Prince or Princess. With buntings, shield and flags above the bed, little knights and maidens will love this luxurious space fit for the royalty.

Now, which is your favourite theme? For me, I thought it might be Kingdom as it was the only theme with a Princess (is it obvious that I kind of wish there is a pink Princess theme with castles and butterflies?), but ultimately I decided that the badass one, yes the Pirate, was the one I loved best in LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia.

All the bedrooms include two separate sleeping areas, with a king-size bed for adults, and a separate area for up to three children, complete with a bunk size bed, pull-out trundle bed and entertainment unit. For parents who likes to have their privacy, there is also a sliding door between the adult and kids areas. I like that although the family stays together, both adults and kids get to have their own designated areas for play and rest. Why, there is even a kids washbasin in the toilet.

The hotel consists of 234 Themed rooms and Premium rooms, 7 Deluxe rooms and 8 suites. Basic rates start from RM400++ and depends on room types as well as seasonal demand. Prices are based on a family room for five people, including breakfast, and you can also purchase combo tickets to gain access to the Theme Park and Water Park. For more information or booking, visit their website here.

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My top 5 picks

I have also picked out my top five favourite things about  LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia and they are namely:

1) Brick Wall
This is an awesome wall display behind the check-in counter which consists of 12,528 LEGO Mini figures. If you can't see them clearly from far, not to worry, there is a LEGO figurine which cycles past the wall and guess what, the wheels of the bicycle are magnifying glasses for guests who wish to get a closer look.

2) Disco Elevator
I've never felt like dancing in an elevator as much as I've felt in this one. When the door closes, the disco music and bright lights come alive in the character themed elevator and it just makes all the kids, and even the adults, move to the beat. 

3) Treasure chest
Each room in the hotel has a treasure chest where kids have to solve clues in their room to get the code to unlock. This is a sure hit with the little ones because once they open the chest, inside it lies a surprise gift which they get to take home. Oh, there is also a box of LEGO Duplo for the kids to play in the room but no, these are meant for all guests to enjoy and you are not supposed to take them away.

4) LEGO soft play area
In the lobby area right outside Bricks Restaurant, there is a dedicated play area for kids with more than 1,000 LEGO bricks. I love that the hotel is considerate about babies and toddlers enough to have these giant LEGO soft bricks and carpeted floors where we can let the smaller ones play and roam freely without being afraid that they would get hurt. For the bigger kids and adults, there is also a Xbox Kinect for you to play but since it takes only 1-2 players at a time, you might be in for a queue.

5) Lego Mascots
Lastly, we love waking up in the morning to see the LEGO mascots who brighten up the day with their friendly high fives and hugs. Our favourite is Olli, the cute green dragon. Note: We heard they are here for the opening weekend only but you can always try to catch some mascots at the Theme Park.

Having been to the original LEGOLAND Hotel in Billund, Denmark, I have to openly admit that we were more blown away back then. However, since the Malaysia one has just opened up its doors, we are definitely anticipating more to come from it and here are some of my suggestions for improvement.

1) Variety of LEGO bricks
Other than LEGO soft, there was only one size of bricks for the kids to play with in the common areas - the classic 2 x 4 brick. We would love to see more options available, including different sized bricks, plates and figurines, so that kids can have a wider room for imagination.

2) Treasure hunts around the hotel
Although the treasure chest was a good idea, it would be better if there was a puzzle for kids to solve by having to go around the hotel, like the lobby and main corridors. It could involve simple questions like asking them to count the number of LEGO butterflies or find the colour of the ogre's hammer.

3) Display of winning LEGO creations
In the near future, there will be LEGO building contests where kids can have fun and take pride in making their own LEGO creations. A good idea would be to display some of the winning models in the lobby so that this would inspire and encourage the new guests to join in.
 
4) More waste bins in common areas
This might sound trivial but when you have an infant, it is not funny to go around hunting for a waste bin to dispose of a soiled diaper. Obviously, I didn't want to throw it in our room to prevent a stench but alas I could not find any waste bin along the corridor or lift lobby and had to go downstairs before I finally threw it in the public toilet.

5) Ensure treasure chest is restocked and locked
Lastly, we were disappointed to see that our treasure chest in the room was empty and I had to get the housekeeping to come and replenish so that Angel could continue playing her treasure game. The Duplo set was also missing from our room so if you are staying in the hotel next time, do make sure these items are intact for the kids to enjoy.

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Let's Celebrate Christmas

What can be better than spending a day at a kid-friendly, attractive and exciting hotel this festive season?

It would be spending two days and one night, at least, at the LEGOLAND Resort. One day at the Theme Park which has seven themed areas of attractions for all ages.

One day at the newly opened Water Park which is the largest LEGOLAND Water Park in the world and features more than 20 slides and 70 LEGO models.

And when night falls, take the family to relax and unwind at the LEGOLAND Hotel before the fun begins the next day again. Oh wait, in fact, in the fully complete LEGOLAND Resort, the fun never stops, does it?

With the lovely kids of fellow bloggers from Our Little Smarties, Cheekiemonkies and Sengkang Babies

This Christmas, when you are at the LEGOLAND Theme park, be sure to visit the LEGO Santa - created using more than 250,000 LEGO bricks and the giant LEGO Christmas tree - made from over 400,000 LEGO Duplo bricks and stands over nine metres tall.

You can also celebrate this special time of the year with the carol singers, mascot appearances, Christmas LEGO building activities and witness the lighting of the Park at 7pm daily.

Christmas is definitely one of my favourite time of the year. Thank you LEGOLAND for the awesome experience and I hope more people will get to experience your wonders soon!

LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia opens to the public from 29 November 2013. For more information on the Hotel, Theme Park, Water Park or for more booking details. visit their website at www.legoland.com.my.

To read about our adventures in the original LEGOLAND in Billund, Denmark, go here and be amazed by the Underwater LEGO World or how Indiana Jones, Captain Hook or even Mona Lisa can be built using these bricks.

To see more of the world, visit my Travelogue page here.

Disclosure: We were invited to the media preview of LEGOLAND Hotel Malaysia and received a complimentary night's stay and combo tickets to the parks. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions are our own..