It probably wouldn’t surprise you that our Lego-loving family loves Legoland. We’ve made it across the 2nd link several times to visit the Legoland Malaysia Resort after it opened in September 2012. We even stopped by Legoland in Windsor on holiday in London a couple of years back. What might be surprising is that we had not been to the Legoland Hotel before. Until last weekend when we got an extra-special Valentine’s Day treat from the good folks at Legoland!
Each time we’ve visited Legoland Malaysia, the kids would ask about the hotel. And no wonder, with it’s enticing colourful exterior so reminiscent of their favourite Lego bricks! So as you can imagine, they were thrilled to be given the news that they’d be getting the opportunity to check-in and check it out.
We’re here at the Legoland Hotel!
The verdict: They loved it! (We all did.) Here’s why:
1. Lego and more lego everywhere!
We knew we were in for a treat when we stepped into lobby as there was Lego being represented everywhere! Our attention was immediately drawn to the huge pirate ship near the check-in counters with larger-than-life Lego replica models. To the right there was also a huge castle that you could actually venture into. The best part was that there were whole troughs of Lego pieces surrounding both structures, just waiting to be played with. The kids got stuck in quickly and for once I didn’t have to worry about them keeping themselves occupied while I waited to check-in. It was great! In fact, the problem was dragging them away when we needed to leave.
The pirate ship at the hotel lobby, where you will find people (and kids!) at all hours of the day.
Entrance to the castle at the lobby, looking like it is made of giant Lego pieces. I liked the figurines like this soldier which were actually build out of Lego!
Hark! Who goes there?
Lego free play!
Also worth mentioning is the eye-catching wall behind the check-in and concierge counters lined with 12,528 minifigures. Yes, you read that right. It was enough to make my husband’s eyes pop right out of his head.
Wall of minifigs!
2. Character meet-and-greets
Oh yes, Lego characters come to life too! And they make special appearances in the hotel lobby and outside the restaurants at different times of the day, much to Noey and Mei’s delight. A pirate greeted us on our entry into the hotel and we got to meet Emmett and a princess outside the Di Mattoni restaurant. It’s always magical to meet characters in the flesh! And it makes for a great photo opportunity too.
3. Themed rooms for the whole family
The fun doesn’t stop when you reach your room. No staid, boring rooms here! The kids were terribly excited to hear that we would be staying in a pirate-themed room and they were not disappointed. The thing that they were most thrilled about: the bunk beds just for them! One of the best things about this hotel is that it was designed with families in mind. So each of the standard and premier rooms sleep up to 5 persons and the deluxe and suite rooms up to 8 persons. The room is even planned such that the kids and adults can have their own spaces with a sliding door between them, and the kids have their own TV! Yay, no more cartoons for me! The toilet also had two sinks, one lower than the other for the little ones.
The room also had a lot of fun touches from sheets, to the wallpaper, to the Lego wall decorations. Best of all, there was even a treasure chest in the room which the kids had to solve a puzzle to crack open. After some detective work, we managed to open the chest and there were Lego gifts for us to take home. What fun!
This is OUR room!
Beds for the kids and parents!
Pleased to have a sink and amenities sized just for her!
Unlocking our treasure!
The clues and prizes.
4. Lots of fun-filled activities
People visit Legoland to go to the theme park and water park, but there are so many things to do around the hotel that I honestly would not have been surprised if folks just spent the whole day there! Aside from the Lego playground that is the lobby, there is another big play area near the lifts and outside the Bricks Family Restaurant. Here you will find sponge “bricks”, perfect for the little ones. What really drew my kids though was the Nintendo Wii with a big screen. There was a dance game that Noey was really fond of and as soon as we head out the lifts, he would immediately zoom there to play. In the evenings, we also found that they screened movies. It was Night at the Museum 2 the night we were there, and we stopped to watch on our way to the lift lobby after dinner.
And speaking of lifts, the Legoland Hotel lifts are not normal lifts. Oh no, they are disco lifts! The kids would spontaneously break into dance every time the music and lights start going. I’ll admit it, I did too, when no one was in the lift with us!
Left: Mei eyeing the foam bricks suspiciously; Right: Noey dancing away in the lift!
Noey trying out the dance game on the Wii. He loved this and would always try to play every time we walked past.
Watching Night at the Museum 2.
The hotel also has regular scheduled activities for guests. Want to learn to build a Lego pineapple for Chinese new year? Join the session! There was also a daily lego-building contest for all guests with prizes to be won.
If chilling out is more your thing, however, the hotel also has a swimming pool. We went to take a peek but didn’t get to use it since we were too busy spending our days at the parks. I did think it would make a nice and relaxing option otherwise.
6. Super easy access to both Legoland parks
The main reason we would choose to stay at the Legoland Hotel is, of course, its proximity to the Legoland theme park and water park. When they say it’s right at the doorstep to the parks, they really mean it! I knew it was close, but when we stepped out of the hotel doors at the lower ground floor, I was very pleasantly surprised by just how close we were to the entrance of the parks. The best part for me was that when the husband indulged in his favourite pastime of shopping at The Big Shop at Legoland, I could easily zip out of there back to the cool comforts of our hotel room instead of hanging around waiting for him to be done. That I REALLY appreciated!
Just hanging out at the lower ground floor entrance, a stone’s throw from the parks!
If there was one thing I thought could have been better, it was the food. We had both dinner and breakfast at the colourful and family-friendly Bricks Family Restaurant, the hotel’s all-day dining buffet restaurant. It was certainly convenient but while the selection was fairly wide, we found the quality of the food was rather average, for the price. (Dinner: Adult RM88++, Child RM48++) I thought that the local dishes, especially the rempah-based ones were better than the western offerings. If you do eat here, don’t miss out on the live stations which are actually beyond the glass doors on the left of the restaurant. For dinner, they had a barbecue going, rojak, and a pasta station. In the morning there was roti prata (though of the pre-packaged variety), and noodles, amongst other things.
The colourful and cheery entrance to Bricks Family Restaurant.
The cute Lego theming carries right into the restaurant too.
Tempe… with veggies and samba belachan. Oo!
The kids’ favourite section: the sweets section. That’s right, a whole section with sweets, fruit skewers you could tip in chocolate fondue, mini cupcakes you could decorate, and waffles.
We didn’t manage to eat at the only other restaurant in the hotel, Di Mattoni, the Italian ala carte restaurant. It only operates from 3pm to 10.30pm, so really, Bricks Family Restaurant is your only choice for breakfast in the morning unless you prefer to venture further to nearby Medini Mall and beyond.
All in all though, we had a fantastic stay and the kids are asking to go back again. This is also because we really enjoyed the parks, especially the Legoland Water Park, which I’ll be talking about in a subsequent post. I’ve posted some pictures on the Life is in the Small Things Facebook Page as a sort of preview — do check it out! You can also visit MummyWee’s blog to get a taste of a day’s itinerary.
This Chinese New Year, Legoland Malaysia Resort is having various fun promotional activities, which include building Lego mandarin oranges, pineapples, goats, and also auspicious Chinese characters at the Legoland Hotel. You can also join the attempt at a record-breaking feat over at Legoland theme park where they have set a target of building 1888 Lego mandarin oranges. Do check out this CNY schedule for details of the special festive displays and other events.
Legoland Malaysia
No.7 Jalan Legoland
Bandar Medini Iskandar Malaysia
79250 Nusajaya Johor
Legoland Hotel Website: http://www.legoland.com.my/Hotel/Home/
*Thank you Legoland Malaysia for inviting us to the Legoland Malaysia Resort for the purpose of this review. All options are strictly and authentically my own.
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