Posted: 14 Aug 2014 11:35 PM PDT

Last weekend, we had an awesome staycation at the new Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at Jalan Ngee Heng, Johor Bahru. The hotel building was previously Landmark if you are familiar. We were one of the folks who were invited to stay there for 2 nights, for their 'test run'. Could this be the best hotel in Johor Bahru?

YES!

Here's why:

The Service:
It is impeccable. The staff is attentive, friendly, polite, helpful and efficient. I must say they are very well-trained for the hotel and tourism industry. We need more people like them!

The Reception. I love the flock of birds wall art.

The Design:
Oh where do I even start!! I LOVE EVERYTHING IN THAT HOTEL! It's modern yet organic. I would love to meet the designer and the one who sourced for the cool awesome stuff in it, seriously. To give you a bit of the style, if you love MUJI, you'll love staying here. And I noticed the unique lamps and light fixtures.

Wooden block chandelier...

...above this dining table at Makan Kitchen.

The Lobby:

Love this long big table. Other hotels may not have the luxury of space for this but they don't know how useful it is! And for me, I am so tempted to cut fabric on it!

The Room:

The corridor leading to our room.

Bathrobes and extra pillow.

What I love about this door is that the bottom is lined with squeegee, so it sweeps away any excess water on the floor outside the shower cubicle.

Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries.

Enlarge mirror. And see that 'up down' switches?

They are for opening and closing this shade. Some people just want to watch TV when they shower huh...tsk tsk tsk.

The phone.

The other stuff worth mentioning is that all the switches are labelled so you don't have a hard time finding which switches are for which lights. This is one of the little things that make a hotel room rock.

The Makan Kitchen:
Serves local cuisine buffet.

Keropok station

My favourite station. Ulam, cucumber, local salad, and the belacan dips!

Indian Cuisine.

Rojak.

Satay.

The noodle station.

There are local kuehs too on the other side.

LOVE the chairs.

The jacuzzi and steam room:

The ladies changing room.

The jacuzzi, overlooking JB townscape.

Steam room.

And *DRUMROLL*... THE POOL!
I'm not boasting or anything (OH YES I AM!) but I think it is the most awesome pool I have seen and swam in. Because it is built by the husband! I have to tell you though, this area is very breezy, and is shaded from 3 pm onwards, so the water is quite cold! If you want the sun, go before 3pm.

Panoramic view.

Shower area.

Kids just love to walk along this shallow path.

Poolside chillax area. This place comes alive at night! It is a very cool place to hang out for drinks after dinner.

The gym: You get the perfect poolview when you're running on the treadmill.

The signature cookie:

How cute is that a hotel has a signature cookie. It is not too sweet, has lots of chocolate chips and nuts in it. Just awesome.

It was such an honour to be one of the very first guest to experience Doubletree's immaculate standard.

The location:

Update: I would like to add that this hotel is located very near to my favourite area in Johor Bahru, the old JB town! If you come out of the hotel lobby and turn right, you will see this:

Walk straight and you'll reach (in sequence): The bus and taxi terminal to Singapore, Pan Pacific Hotel (and the Persada Convention), the famous Jalan Trus old temple and Kotaraya Galleria. After Kotaraya, the area is filled with old coffeshops (Hwa Mui and Kin Hwa), Hiap Joo Bakery (the famous bakery using the 100 year old oven that looks like a kiln!). At night this area becomes festive with the JB Bazaar.

Hotel review and value staycation idea – 5* Doubletree Hilton Johor ...

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:06 PM PDT

Doubletree by Hilton, a top tier brand run by Hilton hotels, recently opened a brand new 5* hotel in the city center of Johor Bahru. A few of us did a weekend staycation to the hotel to test it out and found it to be very accommodative of elite members and provides stunning value, especially with an upgrade to a deluxe suite with executive lounge access even though we booked the cheapest room. This provides a great opportunity for a great value luxury staycation as the price is 80% cheaper than the same type of room in a 5* hotel in Singapore (1/5 the price!).

The room comes with a living room as well and a separate bedroom. Description on its website: 64 sq. m./689 sq. ft., separate living room, executive benefits. Spoil yourself in this modern one-bedroom suite. Have a restful night's sleep in the king Sweet Dreams bed and luxuriate in the sleek bathroom with stand-alone bath tub and walk-in rain-shower. Unwind in your stylish living room with sofa.

The swimming pool – they also have a very nice Jacuzzi tub for 4 persons next to the swimming pool next to the respective men/women sauna

Further to the post yesterday on Hilton http://ktravelplanners.com/top-hotel-partners-series-hilton-and-accor/ upgrades for diamond members include 1 tier upgrade at least (but sometimes 2 to suite), and free lounge access and 2 free buffet breakfast. Buffet breakfast contains South East Asian delights and there are chefs that can cook noodles/ eggs/ nasi lemak on the spot.

Executive lounge – free for diamond bookings. They had very nice macaroons, desert, cakes, salads, and other main courses during dinner time (with free flow alcohol during this period), while providing non alcoholic drinks all day

This hotel is extremely centrally located in the Johor central business district, which is less than 5 minutes by Taxi from the Johor Bahru Causeway checkpoint with Singapore and a 15 minutes walk. It is also next to shopping malls and lots of food places. At 20% of the price of a Singapore comparable, this has great relative value for a short weekend getaway – one can just spend the whole trip within the hotel!

Email us to ask for exclusive benefits and discounted prices!

Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel - TripAdvisor

Posted: 22 Sep 2014 12:00 AM PDT

Great property (modern, quiet and low-key), super staffs, large gym/outdoor pool, free wi-fi and huge breakfast buffet! Had a king-bed room: large, very clean, flat screen TV, great bed and with all amenities you would expect. The gym had the latest equipment and many accessories such as balls, mats and free weights, etc. The staffs (front desk, restaurant and bell... More

Dear JPDallas, I am extremely pleased to hear you already decided to visit us again and to know that our ambassadors who are the heart of the property took such great care of you and you enjoyed our facilities and location. We continuously focus on our service delivery and the food and beverage offerings, so I am glad that it... More

Hotel in Johor Blog

Friday 3 October 2014

s In Wonderland: Doubletree by Hilton <b> - <b>Hotel in Johor</b> Blog - Hotel in Johor Blog

s In Wonderland: Doubletree by Hilton <b> - <b>Hotel in Johor</b> Blog - Hotel in Johor Blog

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