The KSL Resort Hotel in Johor Bahru has opened and is running a pre-opening offer for its rooms. I took this opportunity to stay for one night to get an impression of this new 5 star hotel. In its website it stated that the swimming pool, Gym, and Games room were not ready. I took a bus from Johor Bahru Checkpoint and Immigration bus station and alighted at the KSL City Mall. There is a side entrance to this hotel via back of the reception counter at the mall. When I reached the hotel lobby, I noted that there were many people waiting to check as it was a Saturday afternoon. A hotel staff told me that I needed to take a queue number and wait for my number to appear on the LCD screen. I think this is a good system as it get rid of people crowding around the check in counter. When my number appeared on the LCD screen, I went to the check in counter and it was a quick and no fuss check in process; and I was given a electronic card which served as a room key as well as for the elevator access to my floor.

The room that I was given had a queen size bed as well as a single bed. But the size of the room was quite small; sufficient space for 2 or 3 people and your luggage. There is a large LCD TV, a minibar with complimentary tea and coffee bags. There was a kettle, two bottle of mineral water and 2 mugs. When I opened the cabinet door directly below the minibar, it was empty – and I was expecting a mini fridge. Then I went over to the long cabinet with a flat top for putting your luggage and I saw the mini fridge and a small compact safe. The fridge was totally empty which was good – I could then stocked up on my favorite drinks.

There were 2 beds in my room. The beds were firm but I felt that the pillows were too soft for me. It would be better if the hotel could provide a combination of firm and soft pillows for its guests. The bathroom was clean and there was ample toiletries given. There was a shower cubicle with rain shower but unfortunately there was no bathtub. The water pressure from the rain shower was really strong; you can remove all the soap and foam from your body in less than 3  minutes. There is even a hair dryer mounted on the wall of the bathroom for those who needed it.

The TV channels was limited to Malaysian channel networks only for standard rooms. For deluxe rooms ( which were not opened yet ) you get to enjoy international channels. I think this is a very petty thing to do for a 5 star hotel. Providing international TV channels is a basic requirement for a good 5 stars hotel irregardless of the type of rooms. Everything seems perfect till it was raining during the night. The rain could be heard loudly in my room. Then I realized that there was no double glazed windows installed in the hotel rooms. It was rather difficult to sleep with the sound of the rain hitting on the full size glass panels.

For the morning breakfast, I liked the restaurant at the hotel lobby. It was very spacious with lots of tables and chairs; sufficient to serve a large number of diners. The breakfast spread was sufficient but it was just a normal breakfast that you can find in any 4 stars hotels. The food was not fantastic and I disliked the way coffee and tea were served – it was store in a huge plastic container dispenser machine. The problem was that the tea was only lukewarm when I drank it. I hate to drink lukewarm tea and coffee; and the tea tasted very diluted too. So I switched to drinking fruit juice instead during the morning breakfast.

Overall I felt that it is a satisfactory one night stay at KSL Resort Hotel. I will try out the deluxe room when it is ready and post a review here in my blog.