I planned to bring my mother for a pre-Mother's Day staycation at Holiday Villa after my comfortable experience with the new hotel on my birthday but i missed out on the last room on hotels.com!
However, i did manage to secure a room at the nearby KSL resort hotel although i did have some reservations as i had received pretty negative feedback from family and friends! Whatever the case, i guess i should just try for the sake of reviewing it and it's also beneficial to have the popular KSL mall directly connected to the hotel.
After an excruciating two-hour wait at the Malaysia checkpoint, we finally checked in to the hotel at about 5.30 pm! I was thoroughly shagged and it didn't help that i had stomach upset since morning that day.
There are two towers; so please ensure you are taking the lifts at the correct tower. Just to note that there's also an apartment wing which doesn't have in-room WiFi and in my sister's opinion, not really well maintained.
Don't ask me why but i was upgraded to a superior triple room on the 22nd floor. My original purchase was a superior room (2 twin beds) that can sleep three persons. It's also the first room nearest to the lift lobby; can strike out one of the 10 taboos for staying in a hotel.
Room
Superior Triple Room - the layout of hotel rooms (for superior class) is usually quite standard i feel. From the picture on hotels.com, the twin-bedded is the same as the superior triple room on KSL website!
Parallel to Tower 1 is Tower 2 right opposite! I can literally see the people staying in the hotel right opposite and needless to say, i kept the curtains drawn most of the time and would very much prefer the room view at Holiday Villa hotel.
View of the swimming pools on level 7.
To the right is Holiday Villa hotel; the black platform that formed the horizontal line of the letter L is actually the infinity pool on level 25 of Holiday Villa.
On the left would be the city view in between Tower 2 and the apartment block.
There's something unique about the room at KSL and i bet some of you would have noticed. The hotel provides bolsters on the beds which is a rarity! Hugging a bolster is very much an Asian thing and i would unwillingly replace it with a pillow whenever i travel overseas.
Another view of the room - it wasn't big although sufficient for just a night stay for three of us. As i wasn't feeling well, i went to bed before 6.00 pm and slept till the next morning!
What else to expect in the room? A dressing table, flat screen television with safe and mini fridge underneath it, complimentary bottled water and coffee / tea maker. To use the room WiFi, please log in with the provided username and password on the key card holder given by the receptionist.
Aside from the bolsters which caught me by surprise, i was also taken apart to find pool slippers, an iron and an ironing board in the closet! Seeing the iron reminded me of the incident at Bandung's Best Western Premier La Grande Hotel.
Fine (Recovery fee) for those who smoke in non-smoking room!
Now the washroom with the usual shower gel, shampoo, body lotion and numerous kits that i don't use except. As i am with two ladies, the situation is different as most of the kits were no longer there the next day! As expected, mum loves the existence of the hair dryer!
Heng ah; no see through glass in between the shower and the bedroom. There's rainfall shower and the toilet bowl came with a bidet! Trust me, it's good to have it when you have diarrhea as i did on my day of stay.
Amenities
Pool on the seventh level - in a condominium setting, it's common to have the pool in the centre of all the residential blocks although for KSL, it also faces the ballrooms and function rooms.
Feel free to flaunt your assets! Please keep in mind that you can redeem towel by using a card (not the room access card) that's given by the receptionist.
The two hotel towers; first time i am attempting this shoot as it's usually from left to right and i didn't know i can stitch the photos on Photoshop from bottom to top!
Dinosaur water theme park - entry for hotel residents would be free and viewing from the outside (as the park was still closed when i checked out the place), the rides were nothing to scream about but would likely be enjoyed by kids. Non-hotel residents would need to fork out RM 50 an adult and RM 30 a child to access the theme park.
Arcade games on the same level - chargeable!
Accessing the games room behind the arcade machines which came with table tennis table, a pool table and even a golf simulator (charges apply) known as The Mission Golf. If Alex was with me, he would likely challenge me to either table tennis or pool.
Gymnasium was within the games room, albeit further in and it's actually very big; taking up three rooms with running machines in one and weights in another.
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Overall, it was a satisfying stay and i didn't encounter anything unpleasant. I didn't opt for the breakfast package since there's ample food surrounding KSL in the morning (one of which is the pork porridge at one of the kopitiams). As mentioned above, the hotel is very near to Holiday Villa hotel; do try the KFry at Holiday Villa.
Location
33 Jalan Seladang, Taman Abad,
Johor Bahru 80250, Johore,
Malaysia
Website
Pricing from Hotels.com
Superior (2 Twin Beds) - S$84.18