Treated like a King - Our relationship with the Hotel Industry - Part 1

Since moving to Kuantan in 2006, we have become very much involved with the hotel industry, both in win-win situations with hotels, and at our own personal cost. Today's post addresses how we first became seriously involved with the hotel industry.

The post can be found at my hotels blog by clicking on this link:

Treated like a King

I'd really appreciate your visit to my blog dedicated solely to my love of hotels, but you can also read the article in full right here.

We go to a hotel expecting a little pleasure, a little pampering, and on the whole, being treated like a King. As the description of my blog states: "Hotels give ordinary people the chance to enjoy a piece of luxury, and to be made to feel extremely important, for 24 hours."

While not all hotels give you that sort of experience, and shame on them if they fail to do so, most hotels will treat you like a King and really hope that you will return in the future.

Posing for a photo in a room at Vistana Hotel Kuantan with then-Hotel Manager Wayne Lee, accompanied by a couple of staff and my family.

One hot and balmy afternoon I was riding my bicycle back home from Teluk Chempedak beach. On the way I would always pass by Vistana Hotel Kuantan. I was curious. It was a hotel I had only ever been inside twice - once for a university function for my wife, and once to look around the meeting room floors out of curiosity. With sweat dripping down  my face on this particular afternoon, I decided to drop in and ask to speak with the Hotel Manager to make a proposal.

Within 5 minutes, this tall and lean man called Wayne Lee approached me in the lobby and we sat down and chatted for a while. I asked him if he would be willing to give us a free stay if in return, I created a blog post to promote his hotel. To my surprise, he immediately agreed and told me to call him as soon as we were ready for our stay!

This was the beginning of a long friendship with Vistana Hotel Kuantan and Wayne Lee, which continues to run now. This extends to Vistana Hotel KL and our comradeship with Pauline Gan too. From my very first contact as a sweaty (and perhaps smelly young man) who came in off the street demanding a free stay, I was treated like a King.

We continue to be treated with the utmost friendliness and respect by all of the hotel staff at Vistana Hotel Kuantan, many of whom we have become good friends with - Sharon, Ms. Fan, Nurul & Nurul, Hanafidhiyah, Carmen, Azam, Sivabalan, Wan, Kamarul, Aazhar, Zul, Hazriq, Zahar, Aman, Roslina, Yok Chi - and many others who have dealt directly with us for the purposes of business and leisure. My thanks and appreciation cannot adequately be expressed in mere words to all of these great people who have treated us like Kings (and Queens) and presented so many opportunities to our family.

When Wayne Lee was transferred to The Majestic Hotel in KL, the same positive treatment was extended to us there and more friendships have been made, particularly with Steven Chen whom we now deal with at Majestic Hotel. We look forward to our next visit to this remarkable hotel!

Wayne Lee, then-Hotel Manager at The Majestic Hotel KL, poses for a photo with a colleague in a beautiful guest room