During one of those days, we had some spare time and wondered what to do with it. We immediately thought of heading out to Johor Bahru for a relaxing day. Of course, because we wanted to get a head start in the morning at JB, we decided to book a night at a hotel. We did a quick search and settled on the Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre. It is located near immigration and should be a good starting point for exploring JB the next day. And so it was, we booked a last-minute stay here!
TL:DR
Clean and beautiful rooms
Large variety of breakfast options
Beautiful rooftop pool and gym
Starbucks in the hotel
Service:
The service was excellent, which is what you would expect from true Malaysian hospitality. We arrived late at night after work, and the concierge wondered why we arrived so late. We explained that we came after work, faced a traffic jam, and grabbed some supper first. She very kindly immediately offered us a late check-out the next day, for which we were so grateful. Check out the next day was a breeze as well. Everything was done smoothly and efficiently. We were soon on our way to explore the city!
Hotel Facilities:
Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre offers the standard facilities that one would find in a hotel. It was a swimming pool and gym for hotel guests to enjoy. Even better, we found that this hotel has a beautiful rooftop pool. We headed there the next morning after breakfast to check it out. It was empty but so inviting. It offers a great view of both the city and across the borders to Singapore. If you so fancy, you can relax in the pool catching the busy causeway.
The gym was also equally inviting. Located on the same floor, it has beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows that just makes one enjoy a workout. There are plenty of equipment and you can choose to go for a jog on the treadmill or use one of the many machines to get a workout done. There is a proper rack of dumbbells so you can do some strength training. Complimentary water is provided and there are towels available to clean yourself after an intense workout.
Breakfast:
Breakfast is served daily at its main restaurant, Dine@EIGHT, on the eighth floor. It is a large restaurant that can accommodate plenty of hotel guests. We were pretty impressed with the variety of breakfast items served.
For Western options, you can always rely on sausages, baked beans, mushrooms, pastries, bread, waffles, pancakes, cold cuts, cheese, and cereal. Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre does all that. Besides these breakfast items to be expected, there is also local food. One of our favourites must be the nasi lemak. Self-served style, load up on the meats to your heart’s content! Another favourite is the roti prata. Made fresh, enjoy multiple servings of hot prata.
Other Asian food includes dumplings, porridge, and stir-fried vegetables. As with many hotel breakfast buffets, there is a live station serving local noodles. You can even choose instant noodles for breakfast, if that is what you fancy.
For desserts, make sure you try the bread-butter pudding, which tastes delicious. For the rest, you can indulge in some fresh fruits to start the day right. Or, you can head back to the waffles and pancakes station for a sweet treat.
There is a special Kids Corner that serves a limited selection of food, including mac and cheese, donuts, muffins, and various jam. It is definitely a child’s dream breakfast and we dare say for some adults as well. It is colourful and inviting, and we are sure many people, young and old, enjoyed those special offerings.
Coffee is self-service and you can choose the type of coffee you want by pushing a button. For some of us, you might be tempted to get a cup of Starbucks. While it is not part of the complimentary breakfast here, you can opt to pay for a delicious cup of Starbucks, just beside the restaurant. This is because the hotel has a Starbucks store within, and you can enjoy all your favourite drinks and cakes without ever stepping out of the hotel. This is a major benefit of staying here and we love how you can get a cup of Starbucks and head up to your hotel room, all without needing to change out of your pyjamas!
Overall, we were very impressed with breakfast at Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre. They had a large variety of food options and all tasted great. They also served delicious local food and it was a nice meal. For families especially, this might be a great option to book a stay since all your essentials can be met here without needing to drive out to get some food or coffee. Everything can be done here!
Room:
We booked a stay at one of Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre’s standard rooms. As we were only staying for a night, it really did not make sense to book a nicer or bigger room. A standard room suited us fine and it was more than enough to sleep in a clean and comfortable room.
We arrived late at night and we still found time to snap the all-important pictures. Perhaps because we liked what we saw, and we wanted to document it so that we can use it for reference the next time we head back to JB for a short trip!
The Standard City View room comes in either two single beds or a King bed. Ours came with a King-sized bed. It is a beautiful room that has all the essentials. The bathroom was clean with all the toiletries and other essentials within. Toiletries are provided by Dove, so you know you will smell good after a shower. The toilet comes with a bidet and there is plenty of toilet paper. The bathroom has a standing shower and we are quite happy to state that the water pressure was great. For the more romantic, you can raise the blinds from the standing shower and you will be able to see your partner on the bed. Just make sure you shut the room’s curtains first!
Coffee and tea come in the form of Nescafe sachets and Dilmah teabags. For the caffeine addicts, these are practical and effective. We have no complaints. Two bottles of complimentary water are provided as well.
The bed itself was very comfortable and we slept like babies that night. Maybe it was because we were so tired from the journey, but we would like to think that Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre provides such great beds. There is a wall plug on either side of the bed so there is no pre-planning needed beforehand on which side you should sleep on. The alarm clock, however, is on one side of the bed only.
There is a workstation in the corner of the room that is more than spacious enough for one person. We know this because I had to attend a meeting the following day and I could feel the spaciousness while my colleagues were speaking on Teams. The chair was very comfortable as well. Workaholics can also retreat to the sofa, which has a small table for their laptop, for a more relaxing time. After you have relaxed for a while, you can return to the workstation. For your suffering partner, the sofa is a great place to relax and catch some shows on Netflix. Even with a workstation and sofa, the room felt very spacious.
Room service is available and while we did not order any during our stay, it was still fun looking at the menu on the television. Much to our delight, hotel guests can also order Starbucks for room service. How many hotels can say that? We rest our case!
Overall, we enjoyed our short stay at Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre. Service was great and the staff members were always polite and friendly. Breakfast was yummy and we can see how it is a great choice for large families. You cannot go wrong with Starbucks and we love having this option in a hotel. The facilities are great as well and you know you want to try out that rooftop pool and gym. We are quite sure we will be back here again for another stay!
Click here to find out more about Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre and book a stay today!
Cost of Standard City View room: RM446.76 (approximately S$127.21) a night - stayed over a weekday in January 2024
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