Staycation @ Renaissance Hotel Johor Bahru

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Friday, 20th February 2015

Second day of Lunar New Year.

We were on our way to Johor Bahru this morning to spend a short weekend staycation. The traffic at both sides of the Causeway was incredibly smooth as we took minimal efforts to clear the customs. Our bus ride to the Renaissance Hotel at Permas Jaya took a little more than 30 minutes as it made its way across the waterfront along Berjaya Hotel.

By 11.15am, we were greeted by the beautiful hotel lobby. Since our room could only be ready after 3pm, we popped over to a nearby coffeeshop for our brunch. Surprisingly, there were quite a number of Chinese eateries opened for business even though today was a very important festival observed by the Chinese. It was also business as usual at the nearby Jusco and after our mini Lao Hei at Sushi King, it was time for us to head back to Renaissance.

Since Renaissance was the #1 hotel in Johor Bahru according to tripadvisor, there was a certain level of expectation prior to our stay. Fortunately, our well-equipped deluxe room was modern and fantastic. It also commanded a good view of the swimming pool and the city's skyline. Our day was divided between the comfy room and the pool even though I wished that the size could be bigger to accommodate more swimmers.

We were back at Jusco in the evening for our dinner at Old Town before retiring for the night. For the nice prices we paid, this was a well-deserved staycation in a five star property. Thumbs up!

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