Accolades

Sabayon received the Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator in 2026. The honour acknowledges a wine programme of real depth and thoughtful curation and adds to the restaurant’s growing reputation among discerning diners.

EQ has been ranked the No. 1 hotel in Malaysia on La Liste Top 1000 Hotels 2026, the global guide that brings together the world’s most acclaimed addresses. The distinction places the hotel at the very top of the country’s hospitality landscape and reflects the consistency of its service, design, and guest experience. Click here to see our score.

EQ has been placed at No. 27 among the World’s 100 Best at the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2026. Voted on by travellers from around the globe, the ranking is a meaningful mark of the hotel’s standing on the international stage.

At the Travel + Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2026, EQ was recognised as No. 3 City Hotel in Malaysia, No. 3 for Hotel Spa and No. 9 for Hotel Pool. The results celebrate the breadth of the experience, from the rooms and the spa to the pool deck above the city.

EQ has once again been recognised among the country’s leading hospitality destinations, receiving two distinctions at the Tatler Best Awards 2026. The hotel was named among the Best 10 Hotels in Malaysia and also received the Best-in-Class award for Best Innovation in Malaysia, reinforcing its reputation as one of the country’s leading luxury hotels. Stay and experience one of Tatler Asia’s favourite hotels. Pick a room

EQ has been listed among the Best City Hotels in Malaysia in the DestinAsian 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards. Voted for by the magazine’s well-travelled readers, this recognition is a welcome endorsement from guests who know the region best.

Fresh from being named the Best Service Hotel in Malaysia by Tatler Malaysia earlier this year, EQ has now secured a place on the coveted Tatler Asia’s Best 100 Hotels in Asia-Pacific 2025 list. This latest accolade elevates the Malaysian independent luxury hotel to sit amongst the most distinguished and celebrated hospitality addresses in the entire region.

EQ has soared to #22 in the world and secured the #2 spot in Asia in the prestigious 2025 Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards, a landmark global achievement that builds upon its remarkable legacy. This dual honour follows EQ’s fourth consecutive year as the No. 1 City Hotel in Malaysia, awarded at the Travel + Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2025, cementing its unparalleled position in Malaysian hospitality and its consistent excellence at all levels.

EQ continues its winning streak into the third quarter of 2024 with yet another accolade. The three-time winner of Travel + Leisure Asia Pacific’s Number 1 Hotel in Malaysia has just been named Best Hotel – Kuala Lumpur by one of Asia-Pacific’s most prestigious travel industry awards.

EQ has once again demonstrated its excellence by sweeping multiple prestigious awards at the Travel + Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2024.

EQ emerged victorious in all four categories for which it was nominated, cementing its position as a leader in luxury hospitality in Malaysia. The hotel secured top honours as the No.1 Best City Hotel and won awards for the No.1 Best Hotel Pool and No.2 Best Hotel Spa in Malaysia. In addition, EQ’s General Manager, Gerard Walker, was honoured as the No.1 Hotel General Manager in the country for the Hospitality Leadership category.

EQ marks the second quarter of 2024 with another nod to hospitality excellence. Named by Travel + Leisure’s Top 500 Hotels in the World, this is EQ’s first year making it into this prestigious list.

The Travel + Leisure Awards have always been coveted due to the stringency of its selection process, and the way the categories are voted on. Travel + Leisure is the largest travel media brand in the United States of America, with an audience of more than 36 million.

EQ was acknowledged by the top travel media brand in the world, Travel + Leisure, in their Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2023. The hotel was voted No. 1 City Hotel in Malaysia for the second consecutive year, No. 5 in the Favourite City Hotels in Asia category, and No. 35 out of 100 in the Favourite Hotels in the World category.

EQ was voted Hotel of the Year 2023 for the Asia Pacific region during the recent Preferred Hotels and Resorts Award of Excellence ceremony. This prestigious award by Preferred Hotels and Resorts, the world’s largest independent hotel brand, is conferred after a meticulous selection process which includes, among others, third-party on-site inspections and real-time guest feedback from international top consumer review sites.

Making waves again at the HAPA Hospitality & Tourism Awards 2023-2024, EQ successfully bagged the following awards:

• Malaysia’s Service Excellence Establishments
• Malaysia’s Best Hotels and Resorts
• Malaysia’s Best Hospitality and Tourism Personalities -General Manager
• Malaysia’s Best Executive Chef of The Year – Kampachi
• Malaysia’s Best Human Resource Strategic Talent Development for Hotels and Resorts
• HAPA Best Restaurants Recommended – Kampachi
• Malaysia’s Best Restaurants – Sabayon
• Malaysia’s Best Service Excellence Establishments – Blue and Sanctum Wellness
• Malaysia’s Best Spa – Sanctum Wellness

On the environmental front, EQ proudly received the Green Building Index (GBI) Gold Certification, making it the only 5-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur to achieve Gold Certification, further reinforcing EQ’s commitment to sustainability. The assessment by GBI comprised six criteria, including energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, sustainable site planning and management, materials and resources, water efficiency, as well as innovation.

EQ has just been named M&C Asia Stella Awards’ Best Meetings Hotel in Malaysia for 2022. The award honours excellence in the Asia Pacific meetings industry, and on 23 August 2022, Mr Gerard Walker, the General Manager of EQ, graciously accepted on behalf of the hotel, team and management.

Read the full list of winners here.

The votes have been counted in Travel + Leisure’s first-ever Asia’s Best Awards 2022, and EQ won No. 1 Best City Hotels in Malaysia. Thank you to all who voted for us.

Click here for the full article and details.

EQ is proud to announce that Sabayon has been named one of the Top Picture-Perfect Restaurants in the world during the 2021 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice awards. Located on the 51st floor, the award-winning rooftop restaurant boasts elegant and dreamy high ceilings embodied by a backdrop of the ever-changing hues of the Kuala Lumpur cityscape.

Click here to see the full list of winners.

19 top hotels and restaurants in the Klang Valley submitted a total of 47 of their best mooncakes. Award newcomer EQ Kuala Lumpur’s Yuzu Pandan with Pumpkin Seeds took the second spot in the Snow Skin category.

Click here to see the full list of winners.

Yesterday, EQ announced the newest feather in its cap, a significant accolade to add on to an extensive collection. The hotel has been recognised as a 2020 Travellers’ Choice winner on Tripadvisor, with over 215 reviews earned since its opening last year.

Click here to read the press release.

Sabayon is honoured to receive the Best of Award of Excellence in the Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards 2020. The 350 selections of wines have an inventory of about 700 bottles featuring the finest of the regions and times – from France, Italy and Spain to the new world’s U.S., Australia and New Zealand varietals.

EQ is honoured to have received The Creative Touch Award (City Hotel) for The Best Interior Design. The hotel is proud to share this accolade with the talented team at Blu Water Studio. Click here to see the full list of winners.

The award was for IJM Construction’s work on Equatorial Plaza, a redevelopment of the iconic former Hotel Equatorial site, located in Kuala Lumpur’s golden triangle. The 52-storey development is an integration of Grade ‘A’ offices and the 5-star luxury EQ Hotel – its sleek new design redefining the hotel’s revered status in its Jalan Sultan Ismail surroundings. Click here to read about the redevelopment.

Fifty awards were handed out to travel organisations at the intimate awards ceremony held in Singapore, which saw more than 160 tourism and hospitality leaders from Asia Pacific and other regions in attendance. EQ was honoured to have won Best New Hotel – Asia Pacific. Click here to see the full list of winners.

TimeOut, the leading authority on what to do and where to go, has named Sky51 Asia’s top 5 Rooftop Bars 2024. We do not take this award lightly and are honoured to be in such good company. Our prime location offers the perfect vantage point to witness stunning sunsets and vibrant city lights. Indulge in world-class cocktails, including our signature creations inspired by local flavours. Book your table now and experience the magic of Kuala Lumpur at our sky bar.

I Prefer Hotel Rewards, the world’s biggest loyalty program for independent hotel experiences by Preferred Travel Group, today unveiled the winners of its seventh annual I Prefer Members’ Choice Awards with EQ among the 21 hotels recognised globally across four regional categories. These awards celebrate hotels represented within Preferred Travel Group’s global family of brands, including Preferred Hotels & Resorts and Beyond Green, that are best-of-the-best in delivering outstanding service and exceptional, unique experiences to I Prefer Members, as determined by the members themselves.

EQ has cemented its status as Malaysia’s defining luxury hotel after securing three top honours at the Travel + Leisure Luxury Awards Asia Pacific 2025. The hotel achieved an unprecedented fourth consecutive win as No.1 City Hotel in Malaysia, alongside No.2 Hotel Pool and No.3 Hotel Spa awards, setting a new benchmark for excellence in the Asia Pacific’s competitive hospitality landscape.

EQ, Kuala Lumpur, has achieved a landmark recognition, winning the Best Business Hotel (Asia) title at the Travel Weekly Asia Readers’ Choice Awards 2025. This is EQ’s debut at this award, making the triumph a defining moment for the much-lauded Malaysian hotel.