Thistle Johor Bahru – A Hotel with a Heartbeat (Part 1/2)

April 18th, 2010 admin

One common question that pops out occasionally is on which hotel to stay in Johor Bahru. In our special series write-up, we decided to cover in detail THE only 5-star hotel in Johor Bahru: Thistle Johor Bahru.    

A Hotel with a Heartbeat (Part 1/2) 

Dedicated. Super-serious office workers. Typical Singaporeans. Tired and drained of energy by our hectic and deadline-conscious working world.  

That’s how my husband and I feel most of the time about the state we are in at the end of the day, after putting up great battles at work. Because of that, we go to great lengths to maximise our precious weekends, ensuring that we play harder during the weekends than work hard over the weekdays. Having short getaways from the hustle and bustle of daily life are what we make a concerted effort to, at least once a month. Not for the fact that we are newlyweds, but for the fact that regular getaways should keep us sane amidst the volumes of emails we have to read, analyze and more often than not, act on.  

And, needless to say, the most conventional way most couples or families would go about planning their short getaways would be to conveniently use the weekends and go for the option of 2D1N in Singapore, Bintan,  Batam or Johor Bahru (or JB as what most Singaporeans would affectionately call it). This 2D1N arrangement eliminates the need to apply leave, hence allowing them to save up their annual leave for travel beyond our shores and to ideally venture into the other side of the world. The last two short trips we had were a 2D1N stay at Holiday Inn, Batam and a 2D1N stay at St Regis, Singapore. So, we thought that this time around, we should plan a short trip to Johor Bahru!  

Travelling to a neighboring country (specifically, Bintan & Batam in Indonesia or Johor Bahru in Malaysia) is good simply for the fact that it allows us the luxury of short travelling time (within an hour) and the right to brand ourselves tourists (even though home is only a short drive or boat ride away), seeking “mental asylum” in a place far enough from home and away from the cares of our world, & the harsh realities of work, deadlines, politics & demands back home.  

Thistle Johor Bahru, a totally unknown hotel to us, was a suggestion put across to us by a Lawrence Gan (editor or Limsimi.com) during one of our regular coffee sessions when we were lamenting to one another, as usual, grievances about people, could-be-better computer systems and anything & everything under the sun (that’s what friends are for!). For the fact that so far (thank goodness), most of the movies & restaurants Lawrence has recommended has delightfully lived up to our lofty expectations, we decided to step up in faith and follow his recommendation, without consulting my good friend, Google, on his opinion of Thistle Johor Bahru and to simply venture across the causeway with absolutely no clue about what our weekend hideout venue has to offer.  

8am 17 March 2010, Saturday (Where it all began)  

I woke up to the alarm tunes of my iPhone. Luggage was packed the previous night. And was glad that Thistle Johor Bahru kindly accommodated our written request for early check in! Only after coming back from Thistle Johor Bahru on Sunday evening did I realise it was actually part of the UK-based Thistle group which owns 33 hotels in UK and 2 in Malaysia.   

Thank goodness it was a breeze driving through both checkpoints! 30 minutes was all it took us to get from our home in Woodlands (yes, we live near the border of Singapore) to the main lobby of this five-star hotel, which is the only one in JB. My first impression of the hotel as we drove up the driveway was that it resembled a classy and majestically enormous model of Lego bricks, except that it was built using blocks and blocks of “glass cubes”!  

It is unlike conventional squarish or rectangular-shaped hotels which, in my brutally cruel but honest opinion, scream of an obvious lack of thought and creative juices by the people from the hotels who, more often than not, promise in their various marketing campaigns to make a difference throughout your entire stay.  

The exterior architecture is the first point of contact from where guests form their initial perception of the hotel. Two things caught my attention. Firstly, the entire building resembled the silhouette of a half crescent moon. Secondly, the bold outline of the sides of the building gave a perspective of a huge staircase to the skies.  

First Impression of Thistle – Its Architecture  

We had no problem finding “2D1N accommodation” for our 4-month old 1.6 litre Hyundai Avante. We found plenty of open lots outside the hotel’s main entrance. There was also a carpark located in the hotel basement. Walking into the main lobby, my eyes started to light up.  

I am a huge fan of architecture or anything that’s beautiful (including anyone who’s beautiful too!) and the chic interior décor certainly excited me! Entering into the heart of the hotel, I was swept away by its white-washed pillars flanking the sides of the lobby (at least 6 on each side). The 100-meter long (at least) unblocked hallway of the lobby, with its tall ceilings mounted with gigantic chic designer light fixtures, certainly gave me the freedom to delightfully feast on the panoramic views of the classy lobby.  

The one thing in the lobby that I fancied most was its majestic spiral staircase, which was such a beautiful structure to behold.  The heavenly staircase had chic art embodied in its white patterned railings and elegance brought out by its contrasting gold-coloured handle. Standing still right before the staircase, snapping multiple shots with my Canon SLR camera, I felt as if I was transported for a brief moment into the main hall of a 16^th century European palace, art gallery or opera house. It was a marriage between royalty and fine art. It was a staircase fit for a King. I will let the picture below do it more justice.  

Second Impression of Thistle – Check-In  

The check-in took us about 15 minutes, not exactly the most efficient, but the pretty face + chirpy voice + genuine smile of the lady at the reception certainly made the 15 minutes a more bearable wait. My request for 2 room access cards (my usual request) was met with an almost immediate response of “Yes”. Great, I like that. It affirms me that making extra requests is a right of every valued guest and was glad that it was not met with an obligatory response and an indifferent facial expression! One thing I thought, however, that would have sweetened this entire waiting process and which I have also seen being practised in various 5-star hotels is that after handing over the access card, the reception lady would walk the guest to the lift and along the way, feed the guest with a mental map as to the locations of the gym, swimming pool, spa, breakfast area and other places of note. I do know for a fact that some hotels have their reception staff walk their guest right up to the room, while verbally giving a mental orientation of the hotel’s facilities.     

Anyway, the lift floor buttons were activated by the access card, a usual security hotel feature. But what was cool was that the button to each floor could only be activated by the cards of guests who stayed on that floor. Talk about intelligent systems and tight security! Not that Thistle Johor Bahru is located up on a hill or in a danger zone area, but it made us feel good that the hotel management valued not only our safety, but also our privacy.  

Room Review 
Our weekend sanctuary was an Executive Club Room on the 16^th floor. Inside the room, there was a complimentary plate of fruits and cookies placed on the coffee table, seemingly greeting us with a warm, hospitable welcome. 

The room was spacious and clean, with trendy and chic as its room décor theme. 

The king-sized bed came with a generous supply of 4 classic pillows and 2 metallic gold throw pillows and homey bed linens. 

We love the contemporary design of the bathroom, which came with a large glass partition between the bathroom and bedroom that left the shower in full view. It made the room bigger by leaving sightlines unobstructed and maximizing natural light from the bedroom windows.  

We loved the cosy and homey feel of the room, especially the superb views that came with it! Our room came with a breathtaking view of the Straits of Johor and an adorably cute-looking yellow clock tower built on a contrasting huge green pitch. It is actually a landmark clock tower in Dataran Bandaraya, built to commemorate the proclamation of Johor Bahru as a city in January 1994. I was madly elated with the views that our room came with! We also had loads and loads of sunshine, thanks to its floor-to-ceiling glass windows!  

The Executive Club room we stayed in came with complimentary access to the Thistle Club lounge located on the same floor.  

There we could have access to the internet with wi-fi connection, and with free unlimited servings of canapés, brewed coffee, bottled drinks in their mini-bar and, last but not least, beautiful balcony views of the Straits of Johor.   

What a perfect place to chill and to soak in all that Thistle Johor Bahru’s surroundings have to offer!  

Checking out other places  

Conference Rooms  

We managed to get a few shots of their conference rooms as we went about exploring every turn and corner of Thistle Johor Bahru, but we were unable to snap pictures of their grand ballroom as there was a Christian women’s conference going on, organised by Covenant Evangelical Free Church from Singapore!

We had also learnt earlier, from the hotel reception, that the hotel was fully booked, no mean feat for a hotel that was only about 9 months old. Gauging from the fact that the rooms were fully booked, and from the observation of the numerous groups of people we saw at the lobby, the various hotel restaurants and in the lifts, it seemed like Thistle Johor Bahru was a popular choice for organizations (both profit & non-profit) to hold meetings, conferences & events, as well as for couples & families to plan short relaxation trips or romantic retreats.

Love the different layouts of the conference rooms. They were named after species of flowers – Ixora, Rafflesia, Jasmine, Dahlia & Kenanga.

Wedding Room
Tucked in a quiet corner of the longish lobby of Thistle Johor Bahru was a room specially designed for couples intending to have their once-in-a-lifetime wedding dinner at Thistle Johor Bahru.  

It was interesting to observe the various displays of chair and table layouts and plush sofas for wedding couples to hold their discussions with the hotel’s wedding team.   

To top it off, there were 2 gorgeous gowns displayed in the room, courtesy of Dreams, a bridal boutique in JB.  

Picking up a wedding booklet by Dreams from inside the room, we finally understood why Thistle Johor Bahru was already booked in advance for wedding banquets even before it opened its doors in July last year! We were impressed with the contents in the wedding booklet as we had never seen one as extensively compiled as this. We have met many wedding planners from hotels such as the Fullerton Hotel, Grand Hyatt, Marriott Hotel and Swissotel (our final choice for our wedding venue held in July last year) but have never seen a compilation as detailed as this. The wedding team at Thistle Johor Bahru had taken the initiative to offer loads of information upfront, including the price tag and details of the various wedding packages. I loved their tagline “Where dreams come true at Thistle Johor Bahru…” The minimum and maximum seating capacities for every restaurant, poolside and ballroom were also listed in the marketing brochures.  

Poolside
The cobalt blue poolside deck with its stunning views of the magnificent hotel building is a signature feature of Thistle Johor Bahru. The charming garden landscape, with its generous spread of soaring palm trees, has to be the main attraction amidst the countless views and perspectives of the hotel’s surroundings and facilities.   

We fell in love with the poolside the moment we laid our eyes on it. It is our ideal spot for an experience of ultimate relaxation and indulgence.  

We loved the slide structure and dramatic curves of the swimming pool, with the picturesque arched bridge over the water allowing us to cross over the swimming pool without needing to get around it. Of course, it was fun swimming under the beautiful bridge.   

We also liked the fact that, swimming in the pool, we were able to have a wonderful view of the magnificent hotel building.  

On top of that, we were also able to spot all 4 of the hotel’s restaurants – Glass, Oasis, Steps & Chinoise & vice versa. We were also impressed by the way the wading pool’s steps (a total of 10 steps) were built into the water, allowing guests to make their way into the pool without needing to strain their knees or bend their backs.  

These steps also ensured that guests were able to sit on the pool’s ledge before lifting their bums off the ledge and thrusting their bodies into the pool, the way a swimmer enters into an Olympic-sized pool.  

We had fun dipping and swimming in the pool. It gave us an alluring and luxuriant experience amidst an ambience of peacefulness and serenity. We were glad that we found a peaceful haven and tranquil respite where we could free our minds in the pool’s pristine natural surroundings, and simply soak in the natural beauty of the lush greenery & unique collection of flora and fauna.  

Providing an extremely refreshing atmosphere, Thistle Johor Bahru’s poolside area is indeed an ideal venue to hold events and would even be perfect for weddings and other special occasions.  

(continue to part 2 here…. ) 

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Entry Filed under: Hotels and Stays