The pros and cons of Arte Plus

Last weekend I checked into Arte Plus at Ampang. I was attracted to what I see online with beautiful instagrammable facilities like these- The Lazy River Spa, The Swedish Garden, The Floating Fantasy Garden. Indeed they do live up to the expectation of being an beautiful arty place for the perfect picture but I must say the whole property has many shortcomings which I will share later below. For now let's enjoy some of the beautiful shots.

The Lazy River was what I was looking forward to. Many friends have also enquired about this place when I started posting beautiful photos on my social media. 

 The Floating Fantasy Garden by day and at night it looks like a scene from Avatar, lit up with changing colour lights that looked like fibre optics.

 I was captivated by the beauty of The Swedish Garden where it looked more beautiful when lit up at night.

  The waiting lobby interior of towers were done in good taste.

Each Tower seem to have their own theme. 

There are a total of 3 Towers at Arte Plus and at Level R (this open pool area) is where you can access each Tower with a short walk.

This egg looking structure is the Cloud Podium which is for events. It was not open when I visited. Hence I did not get to enter to view that place.

I booked 2 units. Now let's take peek at the rooms.

One of the Units I booked is a studio.

And the other located on Level 50 on another Tower.

 The view here is awesome.

 Now let's talk about some of the shortcomings after staying here for a weekend.

Firstly it took me quite a while to get adjusted on how they assign the lifts to the units. This causes many confusion for many first timers like myself. I was told to hunt for the tower with lifts to my unit number before pressing the floor. I entered into all possible entries and went pusing around with my luggage to find the right lift. You may end up frustrated because first you have to find the right lift that goes to your unit. I understand that the thinking and planning is done in such a way for privacy and safety but this could be a hassle. One lift service the entire floor (up to 50th Floor or 38th Floor for some towers) and the waiting time per lift can be horrible.

I remember when I first arrived for check in and we parked at the basement, there was no line or signal and to make matters worse, we waited and waited for the lift to arrive at basement to head up but it was always full. Imagine the trauma of waiting for the lift with minimal air conditioning and no line. Finally, we drove up again as my brother dropped me at the security area for me to meet the OYO team for check in. That was another mess! My check in took 40 mins trying to call and locate them! It was a pure mess and that was the start of my misadventures here. Even right up to the security door cards that you will have to have with you even when you take a lift down from your unit to the R Floor which I find it's rather unnecessary. 

Well also good luck in waiting for the lifts to the attractions housed in different Towers and on different floors. My most traumatic experience has to be the lift waiting time. I remember waiting for the lift at Level 35 Lazy River and wanting to go down to level R, there was no aircorn outside the waiting area and inside the lifts. I was suffocating. There were about 5 people making stops at different levels. And at level 35 there was no phone signal or service. I was expecting a gf to call on her arrival. That was another story. My gf was lucky to be able to find her way up to level R when she took the bomba lift. Other lifts without the access card you cannot access level R. A shocker for her was that I asked her to call when she reached. I totally forgot to warn here about the No service/ no line at the parking basement. I was only praying for her to find he way up to me at Level R as I have been waiting tirelessly for her. What an uneventful misadventure I had to succumb over this weekend of a supposedly fun staycation. 

From 2 months ago as I started researching this property to book a night, I found out they were handled by 3 different operators!!! Afflexia who manages the serviced suites, Arte Plus by Fifi Suite and OYO. I booked my room through OYO.

 This parking entry point with a nice huge red lamp leads to the check in area for Afflexia and Fifi Suites. Unfortunately I booked through OYO that does not have a proper terminal like these yet. They mentioned in weeks to come they will have a proper terminal which will make it easier for check ins.

Will I stay here again? Thanks but no thanks. I may still book OYO's services but with another hotel. As they are still fairly new in Malaysia, saya #Bagichancelah! 

 I hope this has given you some fair views on Arte Plus, it's pros and cons and just be prepared to brave the lift waiting time and unit hunting. Good Luck!