The Lace Boutique Hotel

The long weekend is here. PKPP is extended till the end of the year. Malaysians are saying bye bye to their passports already. I have decided that we will not go back to Kuching this year for our annual trip. Instead, we will just go for short trips in Semenanjung Malaysia. And that was what we did.

It was a 3D2N stay in Johor Bahru. Mr Husband booked our staycation abode at the Lace Boutique Hotel he stumbled upon Agoda at a very good price. On the first night, he chose a one bedroom suite priced at RM130/night and on the second night a 2 bedroom suite for RM 150/night. Both without breakfast options. It was a huge price drop having seen it’s original price at the website. Perhaps the CEO was being benevolent and wanted more Malaysians to travel interstate and stay at the hotel. Stimulating the economy, they say.

Lace Boutique Hotel is owned by a YB Datuk Paduka Hjh Rokiah Hj Omar. From what I gather online, she is an entrepreneur with an impressive portfolio. Such as in the motoring business, hotel and saloon. All branded under the name Lace.

Lace Hotel is covered in gold-ish decorations. It gave me the Las Vegas & Empire Classic vibe. I was honestly surprised that both rooms that we booked has a bathtub.

The boutique hotel has a terrific location. You will never go hungry as there are loads of eateries at the area of Kpg Melayu Majidee and is of walking distance. The hotel is also in the heart of the city near the main road making trips easy for anybody outside of Johor.

The rooms were clean. The amenities they provided were plenty and enough. There was a microwave, kettle, plates, cutleries and even a complete set of teapot to make our own coffee and tea. The rooms were spacious and the bed was comfy. The air conditioning was wow!.

This location is also FOOD PANDA and GRABFOOD friendly!!! I know cause that was one the things I checked first. The riders can deliver your food to the hotel as it is so accessible. Of course you can always go out in your car and get food or take a walk.

The swimming pool was at the rooftop and the kids loved it. I was not sure where the cafe was as we did not have breakfast there. It was generally a wonderful stay despite a few small bumps. By that, I mean:

  • On the first night, the WIFI was not working at our floor. The TV was also not getting a good reception as they were using some sort of internet TV. The shows keep on buffering.
  • The bathroom could use an additional ‘ambience’ light. I know moms or ladies would appreciate soaking in the tub at night while watching the night sky through the big window with that sort of light in place.
  • Enough shower/bath gel. As opposed to 2 bottles of shampoo and conditioner without the shower gels. Texture dia rasa lain. Oh well, maybe for my future trips I should consider bringing my own travel-sized bath gels. Although I really love the hotel ones especially if they have nice bottles.

That should be it. Very minor problems.

For this trip, we were very relaxed. We did not even go to Legoland. Instead, we spent most of the time in the room (since husband has things to sort out about work), goofing around & sleeping. We only went out twice to go to the Johor Zoo and Ikea Tebrau.

Ended our Johor trip at Tanjung Piai. Took a few photos as momento.

If I was a Johorean, this would definitely be high up on my list for a mini weekend getaway with the girls or something. It does look high-end exclusive yet a bit abandoned from far. Probably because the glass windows have not been regularly cleansed for some time. Or maybe it has but it still looks stained with mold. Otherwise, the interiors are truly Instagram-mable and worth checking out.

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Hotel Sentral Johor Bahru

We stayed at Hotel Sentral Johor Bahru. This is not to be confused with JB Central Hotel as this is a different place altogether.

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Ours is a budget, 3 star hotel with just enough facilities to bring about a restful day. It is at Tanjung Puteri and a few minutes walk away from the R&F Mall JB. The hotel is a comfortable place for you to have a quick breakfast, a comfortable bed to sleep in after a tiring day at USS. If you find this hotel not to your liking, then there are nearby hotels – practically a doorstep away such as Erica Hotel, Erya by Suria and GBW Hotel.

We booked a Family Room for 2 Nights. It came to a total of just below RM 350 without tax. Breakfast included. The room has a single bed and a double bed.

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I specifically mention these hotels because they are walking distance from each other and are in collaboration with Pakej USS dot Com (yes, the name of the agency is that straight forward) in terms of pickup and group movement.

The day trip is done daily and it offers ticket prices as below; (as of April 2019)

Adult   : RM 265 / Children : RM 215/ Senior : RM 175

This will include the entrance ticket for USS as well. Nice, right? Will write about USS later.

Back to the hotel, it was OK. At night, they have food trucks near the lobby and the food sold there were great. We really enjoyed the Mac & Cheese. Breakfast at the hotel was adequate. You have the toast section, noodles, nasi lemak (of course), cereals, fruits & salad and your juice with beverages. Kira OKlah with what you pay.

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Then, there is a swimming pool located on the second floor. Unfortunately, the changing room was not open, so you kinda have to wipe yourself really dry before entering the lift or find a spot and change to a drier outfit.

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The toiletries were at its minimum – meaning no toothbrush or toothpaste. So bring your own – it is not that difficult if you are a frequent traveler. The hot shower was great, water pressure nice.

Most importantly, every floor has a Cuckoo water dispenser machine. Imagine the joy of free flow hot and cold water. Especially when the machine  is standing just 2 doors a way. No need for boiling hot water for Ninie’s milk.

Since this hotel was booked by Mr Husband, I will put any small discomforts to rest. Like the broken furniture, limited parking space and ragged looking towels. If it was up to me though, I’d probably upgrade my room or choose another hotel. However since we were tired after a long day at USS, these small glitches just doesn’t matter anymore as it was drowned in our snores.

 

 

 

Pic taken with Samsung A7

the short trip to Johor Bahru

#throwback

If it was entirely up to me – I’d probably sleep my way from Saturday (postcall) to Monday. But Mr Husband has other plans and when he throws Ee into the picture like “kesian Ee cuti sekolah tak pergi mana2” _ I caved in. OK lah oklah… where are we going?

Merenung Jauh

JOHOR BAHRU

 

and I imagined having bowls and bowls of laksa johor. which I ended up did not having. *pilu*

For our short stay – we booked a room at Tropical Inn. Which is just opposite Double Tree HIlton guys. A contrasting picture indeed. Wished I took a photo. One old school, haunted look hotel and the other, very modern and posh.

Despite its ancient decor – our room was clean with complimentary breakfast. There was no bath tub to Ee’s dismay but there’s a mini fridge which was good enough. The location of the hotel is very near to the shopping mall and Pasar Karat. You can literally walk there in 10 mins unless you’re heavily pregnant like Yours Truly.

Air conditioning was inconsistent. Perhaps they switched it off temporarily at night during certain hours as sometimes you do wake up feeling either too cold or too warm.  To save electricity, maybe? Otherwise, the service and amenities were fulfilling the star ratings. If only the breakfast options were a bit more meriah.  ha ha

The highlight of the trip was a visit to Zoo Johor. Its a small zoo in the city and the entrance fee was super cheap. RM1 for kids and RM2 for adults. Most of the time I’d be sitting down on the benches while Ee and Mr Husband climb the many flights of stairs to see the lions or something. I just couldn’t manage it anymore. Generally, it was still a nice zoo where the whole family could enjoy a day out together with minimal budget.

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As of food, Wak Radols satay is a must. Mr Husband seems to like it very much.

somehow we drove to a different branch of wak radol..

 

This time, we took the opportunity to try Sup Tulang Zz’s famous mee rebus. Each bowl was quite pricey. Taste-wise .. nasib baik sedap. tkdelah very marvelous but the dish kept the business going.

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And like any tourist, a picture around bandar JB is a must. We wanted to go to the night petting zoo but posing near the crown at the fountain was good enough. I thought the city was very pretty at night with all the LED lights. Very clean as well. If only we could stay longer but our jobs await. hmph.

 

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THE CROWNED PRINCE OF MELAKA

Johor Trip : O&G Life Saving Skills

“There is no day in which you learn something is a complete loss”

It was a one and a half day course hosted at HSAJB.

To be honest, I had not the slightest interest to go in view of its duration and location. What with now I have a baby in need 24/7! However I felt compelled to go in the end out of these reasons;

  • for my CPD points
  • the most experienced MO in the field of O&G will be leaving soon, hence someone’s got to know something extra than the rest of the group. someones got to reverse an inverted uterus or deliver a surprisingly huge baby.
  • it would be an opportunity to visit my bestie who studied together with me in Manchester and STF.
  • a good chance to travel out of Jasin/Malacca once in a while

In short, I did benefit from a few things in the course. Above all, I was able to expand on my connections. We never know when we’ll ever meet again. There’s no harm in adding on a few more friends while soaking the lessons like a sponge.

In the end, what mattered were the good times I had and a certificate!! Woohooo..

Johor Trip : Sate Wak Radol

“Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch.”
 Orson Welles

We placed our trust in the stranger as she led the way to the famous satay stall in JB : Restoran Sate Wak Radol.

The sate was succulent, juicy, sweet, meaty and makes me want more and more. I constantly had to remind myself

“this is the last stick, stop it Minci.. stop it! You’re on a diet!!”

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Jauh juak aku pegi JB makan sate jawa.. sate celup rah melaka tok pun blum dirasa..