I recently stayed at the new St Giles Southkey Hotel at Mid Valley in Johor Bahru, and I must say I was impressed with the experience. Opened in 2022 the 575-room hotel is conveniently located within the Mid Valley Southkey complex, which houses a mall, an office tower, and several residential towers.
I booked a one-night stay on a weekday at RM342 (~SGD104) for a double room including breakfast for two. There is also an additional RM10 tourist tax per room-night.
The hotel itself is modern and clean with a spacious lobby that featured comfortable seating areas. The staff were friendly and check-in was a breeze. To avoid the long queues it is best to arrive before the official 3pm check-in time to register. You can then return after 3pm to collect your card key from the concierge without waiting.
The room was spacious and comfortable, with a large, plush king bed perfect for a good night’s sleep. The room was well-appointed, with a flat-screen TV, writing cum dressing table, free Wi-Fi, mini-fridge and a bay window with panoramic view.
The bathroom was also clean and modern, with a good-sized shower, a powerful hairdryer and a variety of toiletries.
Great Job Going Green
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that this is an environmentally friendly hotel. They do not provide complimentary bottled water like other hotels. And you need not bring your own. Instead they provide a sanitised glass jar for you to collect filtered drinking water from water dispensers at every floor. Kudos to the hotel for saving the earth from the scourge of plastic waste.
Mid Valley Mall
The reason of our stay at St Giles is the proximity of the hotel to the Mid Valley Mall. The mall is massive, with a wide range of shops and restaurants. There is more than enough variety to keep you occupied through the day.
After shopping for half a day we decided to pamper our tired legs for a 60-min foot massage at DVC Borneo Wellness at level 2. After that we had hot pot dinner at Chi-Gui Mala Hot Pot.
If you are short on time use the mall’s directory to plan your shopping and dining.
Rooftop Bar, Pool & Fitness Centre
The hotel also features a rooftop infinity pool, a fitness center and a bar with a 360° birds-eye view of Johor Bahru. Happy hour is from 5pm to 7pm.
Buffet breakfast is served from 6am to 10am at the Causeway Cafe on the 6th floor. The cafe is huge but crowded even on a weekday. Breakfast spread is the usual fare which includes an egg station, local food like porridge, noodles and nasi lemak. Quality is nothing to shout about. The coffee from the coffee machines dispensing cappuccino, latte and espresso was good though.
Checkout was smooth. If you are driving, parking is RM5 a day for hotel guests. You need to validate your Touch n Go card at the concierge to qualify for the discounted rate.
On the whole we had an enjoyable stay at the St Giles Southkey hotel. It sure was great to have a comfortable room to rest after walking around the vast mall, getting lost at times, and not having to join the evening rush hour at the Causeway. We checked out at 1pm the next day, had a leisurely lunch at Empurau Restaurant on the first floor before making our way back to Singapore.
We booked our stay at St Giles from Agoda.com.
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