Got a longer transit in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and wondering where to spend it? I have the perfect and the BEST option – the Sama Sama Express KLIA Transit Hotel.
If you would like privacy, a shower and/or a rest, the hotel rooms here will definitely fill this need. The Sama Sama Hotel Express is a great option for a layover and at a very reasonable price.
I think staying in a transit hotel is the ultimate way to spend your time in transit and you won’t be disappointed here.
If you are looking for Kuala Lumpur Airport transit hotels in general, take note that this is your only option. So if you want a hotel room, head straight here.
So, what is it like? Is it worth your money?
Below, I share everything about the Sama Sama Express KLIA 1 so you can make up your own mind from our personal experiences. I also briefly discuss a Sama Sama Express lounge review as there is a lounge here as well as hotel.
Click here to see the latest prices.
Sama Sama Express KLIA Review
Below is our full Sama Sama Express Kuala Lumpur Airport review after spending some time here on a recent trip when travelling between Melbourne and Europe on Malaysia Airlines. It’s such a long journey and a stop at this hotel really helped ease the pain.
The Sama Sama KLIA Express is open 24 hours a day.
Sama Sama Express Hotel KLIA Location
The first thing to note is that the Sama Sama Express KLIA location is in KLIA1, often referred to just as KLIA. This can be a little confusing as there are actually two KLIA terminals. This is the main terminal, and there is KLIA2 where some budget airlines operate.
Make sure you will be transiting in KLIA1 if you want to book this hotel.
The KLIA Sama Sama Express is located airside in the Satellite “A” Building. This means after immigration and security so it is suited to people transiting between two flights where you are already checked through and don’t need to collect your luggage and go through immigration.
If you do need to collect your luggage and go through immigration, I recommend you consider this Sama Sama Hotel instead.
Within the Satellite Terminal, it is on the Mezzanine Level at Gate C5. It is not hard to find.
Hotel Sama Sama Express KLIA Rooms
There are two types of rooms at the Sama Sama Express Airside Transit Hotel. They are all aimed at two people.
There is a superior twin/queen and one suite room. All rooms are nicely furnished with flat screen televisions, safes, bathrooms, tea and coffee making facilities and wifi. The suite rooms also have a living area that looks out over the runway.
We stayed in a superior queen room. It had a desk area, luggage stand, water and everything listed above. It looked out over the tarmac and it was more spacious than I expected. It was clean, comfortable and actually a much better standard than I expected for a transit hotel.
It was also more spacious than I expected. It was very quiet. The best part was the shower which had excellent pressure and was nice and hot. Just perfect! There was hand soap, shampoo, body soap and toothbrushes and toothpaste for two.
We actually stayed here with our family of five which is fine with the hotel as long you accept there is no extra bedding or towels. Our transit was in the morning and was only for a few hours so we didn’t all need a bed.
If we had been staying during the night or if I wanted us all to sleep, I would book two rooms. Although we did all sleep during our time in here.
We had a refreshing three hours here having a nap, showering, changing our clothes and charging our devices . It was super fantastic downtime and felt like it was for longer than three hours.
You can also get a baby cot/crib for an extra charge.
My only complaint is that when we got to the room, we couldn’t get the lights to come on. Like many hotels, it has the system where you need to insert your room keycard. We had to get help to get it on which wasn’t a big deal.
Click here to see the latest prices.
Sama Sama Express KL International Airport Transit Hotel Facilities
In room dining is possible from 1pm-2am. We had left by then so didn’t get to try it. I wish it had been offered when we were there though.
There is good wifi.
There is also a lounge here which I talk more about below. It is an extra charge and not included in the hotel rate.
Sama Sama Express Price
The Sama Sama Express room rates start at a rate for six hours and you can buy additional hours on top of that.
When we stayed, we were able to get a room for MYR286 including taxes which I thought was a great deal, especially for a family compared to lounge costs which tend to start around MYR150 per person. While you don’t get free food and drinks, like in a lounge, you do get far more privacy and it’s far nicer.
You can book it here on Agoda.
Sama Sama Express Lounge KLIA
As mentioned earlier, there is also a lounge that anyone can enter for a fee. There are places to sit, shower facilities, wifi and food and beverages including up to three alcoholic beverages.
When we were there, the Sama Sama Express lounge price started at MYR150 which was a bad deal compared to the hotel in my opinion. We did not pay for this.
The upside is that this lounge and hotel are a little out of the way and there was barely anyone here when we stayed here.
It looked nice.
Final Words
If you want to take it easy during a KL transit, I don’t think you can beat the Sama Sama Express Hotel Kuala Lumpur Airport. It’s clean, comfortable and just so easy. It’s also a good price.
I had wondered if it would be worth stopping here when we just had a few hours but it was. We were so much more refreshed and ready to face the next flight. We thought the hotel was fantastic value too.
I’m definitely going to stay here every time we have a longer transit in KL.
Click here to see the latest prices.
Looking for other accommodation options around KL International Airport? Find our full hotel guide here. You can also find our review of the bigger Sama Sama Hotel just next to the airport here or all our guides to KLIA here.
