Kuala Lumpur mall Starhill to be revamped

Kuala Lumpur mall Starhill Gallery is undergoing a transformation and will be fully revealed as The Starhill come 2021. 

The mall, located in Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Bintang shopping belt, will be repositioned as the “Home of the Tastemakers” following a new concept that infuses hospitality into the retail experience – where patrons will shop and stay in a refined home-like environment offering experiential retail in a warm, intimate boutique atmosphere.

The Starhill will feature four floors of experiential retail space and three more floors of 162 hotel rooms under the JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur brand. The new extension will be seamlessly integrated with the lower retail space in one vertical seven-floor development – the first of its kind in Asia.

JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur room

Combining JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur and The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur, there will be more than 1100 rooms connected to The Starhill by 2021.   

“With fast-changing values and consumption behaviour among savvy and socially-connected consumers, the transformation to become The Starhill is in line with the need for retail malls to constantly evolve and differentiate to stay at the forefront of the changing retail landscape,” said YTL Land & Development Bhd VP Joseph Yeoh. “The concept of The Starhill reinforces our positioning as the place to be in Bukit Bintang – an exclusive urban oasis focused on experiences in a refined and polished retail environment.”

Yeoh says the Kuala Lumpur mall Starhill bucks the city’s cookie-cutter mall trend – going boutique-size at 300,000sqft of retail space to cultivate a more personalised retail ambience which is warm yet discreet, when others have gone mega with an anodyne take on the shopping experience. Today – more than ever, discerning shoppers spend on brands with experiences that reinforce their presence and identity. They seek special access and discoveries but most importantly, they want meaning, authenticity and connection – and this is what we set out to achieve in The Starhill.”

Key to the refurbishment are improvements to the spatial layout, circulation and overall shopping experience. A new double-volume entrance atrium will feature a lush green wall with multiple LED screens projecting brand videos of The Starhill and tenants to welcome all visitors. The central atrium will also be overhauled to include a new connecting bridge across the sunlit atrium and cantilevered balconies designed as pop-up space. The Bukit Bintang facade will be given a facelift with new LED screens and a new café terrace on level one overlooking the new piazza.

From this month, the mall will be partially closed for renovation with some brands continuing to operate. The completion of phase one renovation is scheduled for the second quarter of next year in tandem with the relaunch of Shook!, Lu Yu Tea House and Jogoya. The soft opening of new stores and other F&B outlets is scheduled for late next year.

Shook! ( Japanese view)
Lu Yu Tea House


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