Over the last few years I watched with fascination the construction of Merdeka 118, which is a 118-story, 679m skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the world’s second-tallest building and the tallest building in Asia with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai being the tallest building in the world at 828m. Merdeka 118 was completed in 2023 and then opened formally in January 2024. The former names of Merdeka 118 were KL118 and Warisan Merdeka Tower. The architect for the building was Fender Katsalidis (Australia), the developer/owner is Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and the main contractor was a joint venture between Samsung C&T and UEM Group Berhad.
The building has office spaces, hotel and retail outlets and has an observation deck which will be the highest in South East Asia. There is a shopping mall (118 Mall) planned and will have over 328 stores and several cinemas.
The design of the building is a mix of 18,000 diamond shaped glass facades with advanced solar shading and insulation. The shape and neo-futuristic design of the building is meant to represent Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman’s outstretched hand gesture when he proclaimed the independence of Malaya and chanted “Merdeka”. The tower is situated next to Stadium Merdeka where Malaysian independence was declared hence the name Merdeka (which means ‘independence’).
The contrast between this impressive tall skyscraper with the surrounding area of low rise buildings including the old heritage buildings of Chinatown is quite dramatic and can provide some great photographic opportunities. I have taken numerous photographs of this incredible looking building from different viewpoints over the last few years.
City Views
From the higher floors of Merdeka 118 you get commanding views over the skyline of downtown Kuala Lumpur and out to the surrounding areas and mountains in the background.
Park Hyatt Hotel
The Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Hotel is located in the upper floors of Merdeka 118 with the main lobby at Level 75 and occupies levels up to 114. The hotel began operation on 7 August 2025 and is the very first Park Hyatt property in Malaysia. The hotel has 252 guest rooms and suites with floor to ceiling windows offering incredible views over the city skyline and surrounding areas.
The hotel has a number of dining options with the Merdeka Grill offering a top level modern grill offering premium cuts, sustainable seafood and many locally sourced products. The Park Lounge which is a more casual all-day dining restaurant offering many heritage Malaysian and regional dishes and there is the Cacao Mixology & Chocolate bar where you can have cocktail drinks with snacks, or tea and coffee with confectionary and pastries while getting a panoramic view over the city.
On the 99th floor of the hotel is the Wellness Centre which includes a large 30m infinity pool with dramatic city views, a fitness centre and a number of treatment suites with aromatherapy steam baths and a Himalayan salt alcove.
I had the opportunity to stay there for one night in September, 2025 to celebrate my wife’s birthday. Our room was on level 105 so had some incredible views from the main bedroom/lounge as well as from the bathroom. The views from the hotel lobby, the restaurants, the guest rooms and the swimming pool on Level 99 are stunning and give a wonderful panoramic views over the downtown area of Kuala Lumpur as well as the surrounding hills around the city.
Passionate Photographer …. Lost in Asia
Stuart Taylor of HighlanderImages Photography has been making images for over 40 years focusing on Asia with a documentary/photojournalistic style.
Stuart is available for a variety of assignments in subject areas of photojournalism, commercial, architectural, real estate, industrial, interior design, corporate, urbex, adventure, wilderness, and travel.
E-Mail : staylor@highlanderimages.com