Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara

In a luxury hospitality industry crowded with often indiscernible brands, Sofitel’s claim to distinction is its Frenchness — not just in its ownership, but in its style as well. And while the Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, in the upscale Damansara Heights district of Malaysia’s capital, pays generous tribute to its immediate surroundings (as any decent luxury hotel should), this is Kuala Lumpur with a noticeable French accent.

Its green glass towers rise high above its verdant surroundings, a few minutes’ walk from downtown Damansara and its MRT station. Inside it’s clear you’ve entered a modern, style-conscious luxury hotel; soaring spaces are decorated in figured stone and bold, bright colors, setting a tone that’s as vibrant as it is elegant.

The rooms and suites carry on in a similar, if more restful key; here the bright colors and playful graphic elements serve as accents on a backdrop of soothing neutrals. The Parisian influence arrives in the form of subtle nods to Art Deco design, as well as ornately figured mirror frames and dark, lavish marble bathrooms.

A handful of restaurants and bars include the pan-Asian Kwee Zeen, the Cantonese/Imperial Chinese fine-dining restaurant Wan Chun Ting, and Nizza, a Mediterranean restaurant whose menu and décor recall the Côte d’Azur.