Hotel highlights
✓ Community spaces for those who enjoy socialising
✓ Coworking spaces for digital nomads
✓ Self-service kiosks for efficiency
✓ Great location with many nearby food and leisure options
Amidst the ever-growing skyline of Bangsar South lies Komune Living (Komune), a hotel that’s… not exactly a hotel.
Yes, you’ll find its rooms available on sites like Expedia, Booking.com, and more, and it has the typical hotel amenities, but it’s not just a hotel.
Another brainchild of UOA Group, which already has a strong foothold in the affluent address of Bangsar South, Komune is a co-living concept space that’s designed with shared experiences and community in mind.
But beyond the co-living spaces and experiences, what really drew us to Komune Living was what it could offer digital nomads.
The space attempts to be a home, a workplace, and a playground all in one, and we were curious as to how that balance could be achieved.
To find out, we decided to arrange something with the Komune team who then graciously extended a 3D2N workcation offer to us.
Self-service for a streamlined experience
Although there were staff members at the check-in counter, I couldn’t pass up trying the self-check-in kiosk.
At one of the two available machines, I filled out the booking code then inserted my IC. As my colleagues and I were sharing a room, just my IC sufficed. In any case, if you do run into hiccups here, the staff is ready to step in.
After checking in through the kiosk, I got the key cards to our room.
Before we went up to our room though, we had to check out the other self-service machine in the lobby. Opposite the Komune Cafe, there’s an unmanned Starbucks kiosk where you can purchase and “make” your own drinks.
(It only serves tall and short drinks, but if you’re looking for that Starbucks hit, there’s an actual one just five minutes away.)
A few of us ordered drinks, and let’s just say, they taste better when you manage your expectations. It’s still a kiosk, after all.
Compact and comfortable accommodations
Once we had dropped off our luggage in our room, we were given a tour by Cindy Chee, Assistant Director, Sales at UOA Hospitality.
She brought us to see a few of the 648 rooms in the building to explore the different room types, which ranged from ones for individuals up to groups of four pax.
Each room type had its own theme too, from the Japanese zen-like Artist One Plus Loft to the moodier Thinker Two Type 2, for example.
According to Cindy, the current occupancy rate is around 65% to 70%, with long-stay guests making up around 20% to 30% of that figure, Ng Bee Fong, the director of marketing at UOA Hospitality, later added.
The most memorable room we visited was the Artist One Plus Loft. As the name suggests, this 38 sqm room has an upper storey (loft) where the second queen bed can be found.
There’s a glass panel on the upper floor which makes it feel more spacious and lets natural light in.
In general though, most of Komune’s rooms are pretty compact, and they might not be too suitable for groups who aren’t close to one another, as every room type only comes with one shared bathroom.
If you’re looking for an ultra-spacious and lux hotel room, Komune’s ones might leave more to desire.
My two colleagues and I were spending the night in one of the larger rooms, the Thinker Two Type 2 mentioned earlier.
Our common area consisted of a kitchenette with a kettle, fridge, sink, and microwave. Mugs and teaspoons were provided, but there are no complimentary packeted drinks provided. Interestingly, there are also no sponges or dishwashing liquid available.
Komune provides a glass jug you can use to get water in the hallway, as each floor comes with a water dispenser providing both hot and cold water, reducing the need for single-use plastics.
The living area was tucked in the corner with a small coffee table, sofa, and a smart TV. Another common area was an average-sized dining table for four.
Our room type consisted of two bedrooms of roughly the same size that came with a small desk, lamp, and a stool.
Each bedroom had a queen-sized bed and a safe for your valuable belongings, and you could also close and lock the sliding doors of each bedroom for privacy.
The bathroom is admittedly quite small, and there’s only a glass slab separating the shower and the rest of the bathroom. No doors or shower curtains means that the water can splash out sometimes, making the bathroom quite wet.
With that said, it was still a comfortable room with several options for one to work at.
But since Komune Living is all about its communal spaces, we decided not to hole ourselves up inside the room and instead visited another great spot to work.
Getting down to business
One highlight of Komune is that it comes with a proper coworking space. Taking up the entirety of the second floor, this coworking space offers hot-desking, permanent spots, conference rooms, and private offices.
There are also first-come-first-serve telephone rooms for one to take calls in.
Komune kindly extended some hot-desking passes for the three of us to try the space over the duration of our stay.
We found a spot near the windows as well as the kitchen/pantry area, which is fitted with a sink, water dispenser, microwave, and fridge.
For caffeine lovers, you’ll be happy to find complimentary tea bags, instant coffee powder, creamer, and sugar here. Just make sure you bring your own tumbler or mug, and clean up after yourself.
The tables here were spacious with ample plug points for us to charge all our electronics, so an extension cord wasn’t necessary.
The fixed desks and private offices come with lockable cabinets, but the hot desks come without. If you’re hot-desking and want your own storage though, there are lockers you can book.
If I had to point out one qualm I had with the coworking space (and the whole hotel in general), it would be the WiFi connection.
It was definitely usable and strong enough, but it would serve to be a bit more stable. If the WiFi connection does become too weak for you, there are LAN cables available.
The staff manning the front desk seemed to leave at around 6PM, but we were allowed to stay back until 8PM to get our work done.
According to their website, plan members of the coworking space actually get 24/7 access to the area.
The prices for Komune Co-working are as follows, and residents can inquire about promotional rates there.
- Day pass – RM35/day
- Hot desk – RM490/month
- Dedicated Desk – RM690/month
- Private office – RM790/month
Cowork hard, co-play hard
Coworking isn’t the only communal space in Komune, of course. There’s also a community kitchen, community lounge, laundromat, and game base. All of these can be found on Level 1, which is accessed with a key card.
The laundromat costs RM10 to wash and RM10 to dry, but it’s inclusive of detergent and softener. Tokens (1 token = RM5) must be used, which can be bought with a machine nearby. You can also do some ironing here.
The community lounge that stretches outside the laundromat and all the way to the community kitchen can be used as another working space, but we saw it mostly being used as an eating area.
If you do want to work here, you’d need an extension cord as sockets are limited, located near pillars and walls.
Briefly, we also checked out an outdoor seating area filled with lush greenery, but it was rather humid and a little too noisy for our liking, as it faced the road. On cooler, quieter days though, it’d make a nice working area too.
Back inside, there’s the community kitchen that you need to make a reservation to use. We booked the last slot available, which was from 7PM to 8PM.
As per their SOPs, the staff provided a pot, pan, spatula, tongs, colander, knife, and cutting board, which was perfect for our spaghetti dinner. The induction stoves were easy and safe to use, and we got to cooking without much issue.
That is, until it was almost time to eat, during which we suddenly realised there were no utensils or cutleries.
We ended up having to head out mid-cooking to get our own paper plates and some cutleries, which soured the experience a little.
Another guest (long-stay, it seemed) who cooked alongside us had readily brought along his own.
After checking in with Cindy on whether cutleries and utensils generally aren’t provided at Komune, she told us that our experience was unusual and apologised for the inconvenience.
Whatever the case, it’s best to check in with the staff before you start cooking. After our homecooked meal and some cleaning up, we headed over to the Game Base.
Inside, there’s a ping pong table, a pool table, a foosball table, claw machines, and a row of arcade machines. There was also an air hockey table, but it was sadly out of service.
For those like me who aren’t very good at these games, there’s a reading nook towards the back of the room with some interesting titles available.
More recreational activities can be found on the 29th floor where the infinity pool and 24/7 gymnasium reside, encircled by views of the surrounding city.
Although the pool is described as a rooftop pool, there’s actually a higher level you can access via a stairwell called the Lookout Point.
Due to the railings and walls though, not much can be seen from the Lookout Point. The view from the pool is definitely much nicer, so save yourself a trip up the two flights of stairs.
Finding food inside and around the hotel
Komune comes with one food option within the building, Komune Cafe. Featuring a biophilic design, the cafe is green and cosy, much like the rest of the building.
On our first day, we opted to try Komune Cafe’s RM15+ lunch meal. It’s somewhat buffet-style, but you can’t go back for seconds, so choose wisely. The drinks are bottomless.
With a small mix of heavier Western and Malaysian dishes, they were satisfying for a quick and convenient meal so we could get back to work. We revisited the cafe the next morning for our complimentary breakfast too.
Since the cafe doesn’t open for dinner, we visited a nearby food court on our first evening. Housed in the neighbouring building of South Link Lifestyle Apartments, the food court is just a short walk away and includes rather robust choices.
From wan tan mee to Japanese bentos, there’s a lot to choose from here, but unfortunately, it’s not halal, so Muslim friends might want to go for something else.
If you’re up for a walk, there are plenty of malls within a 15-minute radius with more F&B options such as The Sphere, KL Gateway, and Nexus Bangsar South.
Bidding goodbye
Checking out was simple and stress-free—you can drop the cards off with the reception or just use the kiosks again.
Komune Living doesn’t provide any validations for its basement parking, but at RM5 for every 24 hours, it was a reasonable ticket, especially for the area.
From our experience, we’d say that there could be improvements made to the rooms in order to provide a more comfortable “home” experience, such as readily providing dishwashing soap and sponges, handwash by the kitchen sink, plus cutleries and utensils.
However, Komune Living certainly satisfies as an office and playground, providing lots of opportunities to get work done productively and several fun activities to wind down with.
| What workcation crowd is Komune Living fit for? | Pro tip |
| Small to medium-sized teams | Use the coworking space’s conference rooms or private offices to get team-based work done |
| Digital nomads | Make sure to enquire about the promotional rates at the coworking space available |
| Expats/long-term business travellers/students | Make full use of all the facilities and amenities such as the laundromat, community kitchen, and inclusive breakfast |
| Families | The Game Base and infinity pool make for entertaining spots for kids. You can even let them try out the self-service kiosks |
Want to suggest a specific place for us to try that’s not in the poll above? Send the suggestion to our Facebook page!