Hotele Romantic w: Johor, Malaysia

„Mixed Experience – Good Service Recovery but Initial Handling Could Be Better I recently stayed at Holiday Villa Johor Bahru City Centre and had a mixed experience. For the first two nights, we suspected the room was not properly cleaned as both my husband and I experienced continuous sneezing throughout the stay. I reported this to the front desk after the first night, but no action was taken or escalated. Unfortunately, we had to endure a second uncomfortable night before I raised the issue again to the duty manager. I must commend the duty manager for her prompt and decisive action — she arranged an immediate room change, which made a significant difference. This level of service recovery was appreciated. However, it is unclear why the initial concern was not escalated earlier by the front desk, which could have prevented unnecessary discomfort. On a positive note, when I fell sick during the stay, the front desk staff were thoughtful enough to send porridge and warm water to my room — a kind gesture that I truly appreciated. The hotel’s location is very convenient, and the breakfast selection varies daily, which is a plus. A special mention to the egg station staff — they were consistently friendly and attentive, handling every request with a smile even during busy periods. Check-out was smooth and efficient. Overall, while there were some lapses in initial handling, the service recovery and certain staff members’ efforts stood out.”

„The hotel is located in a convenient spot, especially if you are driving. They were having Ramadan buffet promo during my trip but it is a short drive to lots of nice restaurants. We tried Teck Sing for their curry fishhead and paper wrapped herbal chicken (prepare to queue) and Ah Soon BKT. Car park is free for hotel guest. Room design looks dated and lighting is adequate but could be brighter. Toilet looks like it belongs to a different decade. The shower curtain rod was bent and looks flimsy. Overall it is alright for a night stay but they should definitely update their rooms. Plenty of new boutique hotels around for the same price.”

„Service was very good, friendly and helpful front desk/reservation office. I had a request as it was my son's actual birthday on the date we checked in and the hotel kindly arranged for a complimentary slice of cake. The hotel itself is a bit dated but rooms were clean and spacious. We had 2 smoking rooms on the 13th floor which had a nice view. The AC worked well, the bed was comfortable and the fridge did cool our drinks. Usual toiletries were provided, no hand towels though. Water pressure was alright but you may need to request for a bathtub stopper (if needed) as this was missing from both our rooms. TV channels were a bit spotty, in one room all movie channels were grainy and in the other room it was actually worse, could only see a few local channels. Wi-fi signal was strong. Power points were far from bedside which is to me a major drawback as I could not charge my devices conveniently next to the bed. In one room, one of the power points did not work and we had to use the kettle power point as the other was underneath the vanity table. We didn't bother to call maintenance as we were only there for one night. Location was good, it's not in the city itself but not very far, maybe 10-15 mins by Grab. There's quite a few food outlets nearby if you're willing to walk out of the property. It's also attached to a mall but I think the duty free outlet was being renovated. We didn't really walk around the mall so can't comment. Seems a bit limited though. There's a 7-11 downstairs at the hotel itself for any snack emergencies. Lots of clubs and nightlife immediately outside the hotel but it didn't really interfere with hotel guests so that's fine. Breakfast was a bit underwhelming but wasn't terrible. There was no live egg station which is always a disappointment as the pre-prepared eggs became rather dry and unappealing. I saw bread and butter pudding tag which I thought was a nice, however it was not replenished while I was there so couldn't try. Overall, I guess it's alright for the price point.”

„Clean hotel with very affordable price. 👍🏻 highly recommended for business travellers.”

„The hotel is old but well taken care. The check in and check out process needs to be improved, took too long. The breakfast charge is over priced. I paid Rm50.88 per meal for my 7 year old kid. And the breakfast varieties are very normal, very limited choices. The environment to eat is also very messy, people queue up for 10-15mins just to get the omelettes. Probably due to long holidays, it’s hard to find a table to sit down and eat. Shortage of workers to clean the table and to clean the room too. Our room only managed to be clean at 5pm. The room is clean, the staff are friendly to help. We enjoy the beach and the pool, the pool is very friendly for kids. The hotel also provides many other activities.”

„This is the second time my family were staying in this hotel, we have a good experience and stayed for the first stayed but the second time seem like the customer service standards dropped, and also breakfast was nit as good as the last time, may try other hotels next time.”