Time for another hotel stay / mini holiday in Johor Bahru! We wanted to stay away from the city centre and venture to a different part of JB that we hadn’t been to before. And that was how we ended up booking a 3-night stay at the Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel, which is approximately a 15-minute Grab ride from City Square.

Quiet yet accessible location

Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel is located in Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, a neighbourhood in Masai and is in the suburbs.

Initially, we thought this location would be quite ‘ulu’ (remote) but it didn’t seem like it at all. Though the area was less busy than downtown JB, there were ample options of eateries & restaurants, fast food outlets, convenience stores and massage places in the vicinity of the hotel.

Oh, and AEON Permas Jaya Shopping Centre is merely a stone’s throw away (10-minute walk). So if you need to stock up on supplies for a movie night, that’s where you can go.

It was very convenient to get around from the hotel. Just a short car ride to most of the popular shopping malls like Mid Valley Southkey, KSL City, AEON Tebrau City.

Check out Permas Jaya Pasar Malam for tasty street food and cheap buys

For those of you who like visiting pasar malam (night markets) for street food, you’d have to check out the Permas Jaya Pasar Malam that operates every Sunday from 5-9pm. This pasar malam stretches along the same road as Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel. See Google map.

Renaissance Hotels is a luxury hotel brand of Marriott International

Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel is a 5-star luxury property under the Marriott hotel chain.

We booked the Executive Suite (S$270* per night incl. taxes) that was approx. 81 sqm in size. This was the largest room category available on Expedia platform where I made the reservation.

If you want something smaller or just a room but with the same benefits as the Executive Suite i.e. Club Lounge access, you can also go for their Club Room (34 sqm) at about S$187* per night incl. taxes.

*Rates indicated are taken off Expedia website based on June 2022 check-in/out dates

We arrived at the hotel around 1pm+ and still managed to check-in as the room was ready and available. Normally, check-in time only starts from 3pm.

The moment we entered our room, we could see an accent lamp lighting up the entryway area. Going further, there was a guest bathroom on the right hand side and right ahead was a spacious living room space with a minibar, mini fridge, coffee/tea maker, small dining or work table, sofa and TV.

Complimentary bottled drinking water were available.

To the right, we walked into the bedroom that had a King size bed and a second TV.

It was good that we had two TVs in the Executive Suite so we could just watch TV by the living room sofa or in bed. There was a good selection of cable channels (local + Singapore + movie ones).

Sleep experience elevated with a pillow menu

What really excited me wasn’t the comfy bed but the pillow menu, lol. I loved the buckwheat pillow and lavender pillow! Hubby and I slept so well throughout our stay.

Air-conditioning worked perfectly.

Next to the bedroom was the main bathroom with a walk-in wardrobe space, full-length wide mirror and raised platform where we could lay out our luggage and personal belongings.

Bathroom amenities like bathrobes, slippers, toiletries (from Tokyo Milk) and hairdryer were provided.

Huge bathroom + bathtub with a view

This bathroom was just huge. Really HUGE. Shower and WC were separate. And the bathtub area came with another shower head. Water pressure was excellent.

OMG, look at that view! What a treat to do a bubble bath every night and enjoy a stunning view at the same time! Bliss.

Gorgeous view outside our room window

A multi-faceted view with hills, greenery, concrete and sea, lol! Honestly, it was the first time I was ever impressed with ‘scenery’ in JB.

Some miscellaneous things worth mentioning

There was provision of daily newspapers that would be left at the door every morning.

The room included a safe so you can lock up your valuables and also an iPod docking station so you can play your favourite music.

Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel is a smoke-free hotel!

Club Lounge

The Club Lounge on the 16th floor is only open to guests who are staying in rooms with Club Lounge benefits. We spent a fair bit of time working in this lounge as coffee/tea and cold beverages were available all day so we could keep ourselves caffeinated and/or hydrated, haha. It was also because there was complimentary WiFi in the lounge (and some public areas in the hotel) as our room package did not include free WiFi.

The Club Lounge was never that busy when we were there so we really appreciated that peacefulness and privacy to get our work done.

Enjoy evening cocktails and canapés at the Club Lounge

Every evening from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, there would be free flow of wines, beers, hors d’oeuvres, hot food and desserts in the Club Lounge. Good mix of savouries and sweets. The food available during this evening refreshments period was actually very substantial so we didn’t even need dinner after that.

For breakfast, we could either eat at the Club Lounge (smaller selection of food) or join in the breakfast buffet at the hotel’s main restaurant, Cafe BLD.

What we actually did every morning was to go for the variety at the breakfast buffet at Cafe BLD and then head to the lounge for coffee, tea and some desserts.

Lavish breakfast buffet – an extensive variety of international and local cuisine

The breakfast buffet spread at Cafe BLD was really lavish and extensive. Cold cuts. Salads. Asian. Western. Japanese. Indian. Live stations for eggs, noodles and roti canai. Chinese. Dim Sum. Cereals. Sweet treats. Juice bar. Cheeses and more.

It was impossible to try everything but we were generally happy with the standard.

Breakfast hours are from 6.00am to 10.30am. If you come later at around 9.30am, expect a big crowd at breakfast. Restaurant will be super noisy too like a market, lol.

I tend to avoid sugary or carby stuffs for breakfast and yet I still had a satisfying breakfast every morning, lol. It just goes to show – variety is the key!

Needless to say, this was probably one of the better hotel breakfast buffets we had.

Permas Jaya Old Street 2 – A supper spot worth checking out

It was a pity I didn’t get to visit the Permas Jaya Pasar Malam as I didn’t stay over on a Sunday night. But I was happy to discover Permas Jaya Old Street 2 (opens from 4pm to 12am) that was just a short walk away from the hotel. It was a food street with various food stalls specialising in local cuisine. We da-bao satay, oyster omelette and BBQ chicken wings back to our room to enjoy. So yummy! Must come here to makan if you’re staying in Renaissance!

24-hour fitness centre

The hotel had a well-equipped fitness centre/gym that we went to every night at about 11pm. There weren’t anyone else there during that time so hubby and I had the whole gym to ourselves. Only issue was that the aircon would be off when no one was in the gym so you’d have to call the Front Desk (using the phone in the gym) to turn the aircon on, otherwise it would be too stuffy.

Overall experience

All in all, we thought this was one of the best hotel stays we had in Malaysia to date. What we loved the best was how big and spacious the Executive Suite was and of course, having Club Lounge access was the biggest bonus. Felt our money was very well-spent as the whole experience was awesome. Totally worth it.??

The hotel staff we encountered were friendly and helpful. Impeccable service overall. There wasn’t any hiccup during our stay so there wasn’t anything to complain about.

Perhaps the only one thing that was more noticeable was the condition of the bathroom floor and wall tiles which had mould along the grout lines. Maybe it’s time for Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel to have a makeover anyway as it’s starting to look a little dated.

Nonetheless, I can’t wait to come back again and will definitely recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a short getaway in JB.?

Tags: 5 star hotel in johor bahrujb hotel