Over the long Labour Day weekends, we headed to Johor Bahru to celebrate my birthday. Hubby scored himself brownie points when he smugly told me how he’s been whisking me away on holidays or staycation for my birthday ever so often. What can I say, I’m very very blessed and am utterly pampered by him 🙂 Having been to JB a few times now with the family, we realised it’s not as dangerous as some may make it out to be. Of course, you have to exercise caution and common sense so that you’re not making yourself an easy target for crime by like parking in dark and doggy corners in the mall, going to unfamiliar places and taking your own sweet time to load and unload your baggage into the car. For this trip, we planned to go to Legoland Water Park at Sophie’s request because that’s what mums always do- put our kids first. It was an excellent choice as we had a splashing good time under the sun. Usually we’ll choose to stay at Hotel Jen when we visit the Legoland themepark but this time, we stayed at Somerset Medini Nusajaya Service Residence, a relatively new accommodation that opened early this year. A
couple of my friends who stayed there recommended it as it is just 5 minutes walk away from Legoland and a mere 15 minutes drive from Tuas Second Link. But the plus point is that it’s a spanking new service apartment where they are eager to impress their guests at very wallet-friendly prices too. As we anticipated crawling traffic on Saturday, the eve of the long Labour Day weekend, we took leave on Friday and set off at 2pm. It proved to be a wise decision ( no doubt my brilliant idea #notshyatall) and reached JB without any jams at both immigration check points. That’s my tip for you if you’re planning to go on the next long weekend. We arrived at the service apartment around 3pm and proceeded to the 2nd floor for check-in which took longer than expected as they only have one staff at that time and I’m guessing they probably weren’t expecting many guests on a Friday afternoon. We were issued our room keys on the 10th floor but our room was not ready as we found the staff still cleaning away when we tried to enter. T
he staff was quick to apologise and offered us another room next door to drop our luggage, which is a much bigger 2-bedroom apartment! I’m sure you’re keen to see how it looks, so I peeked into the rooms where 1 of the bedroom had a king size bed that comes with an attached bathroom with a bathtub. And in the other bedroom, they have 2 single beds and there’s a common bathroom. Equipped with 4 seater sofa, dining table for 4 in the living and dining area as well as a kitchen, this is a ideal accommodation especially for larger families. I heard that 3 bedroom accommodation are also available. And here’s what our more humble looking Studio Premier room looks like with a modern and contemporary furnishing. The full length sliding doors at the balcony filled the room with plenty of natural lighting which I liked very much. And if you’re a paranoid mum like me… no, the sliding doors are locked for safety reasons. Here’s the view from our room, Gleneagles next door.
So a tip I have for you is to ask for a room on the higher floor that faces the Legoland Park if you want to avoid facing the hospital. We had a very comfortable stay in our apartment, the pillows were plush and the mattress was just right. And oh and remembered how I mentioned our room was not ready when we tried to enter. The hotel staff was so apologetic about it and came to our room with a small token to make up for the inconvenience caused. Sophie found herself with a colouring book and was of course delighted to have another baby (which she really means a soft toy to add to her growing brood!) whom she affectionately named …S The service apartment has your usual hotel amenities, so if you’re planning to hit the gym or pool, head to level 1. They have an infinity swimming pool with a wading area for young kids, a fully equipped gym and even a children’s playroom with an under the sea theme complete with TV, Lego table and a mini slide. Bright and airy children’s indoor playground that’s suitable for younger guests and parents can chill out too. Th
e facilities and toys all looked very new and that’s the best part of a fairly new establishment. Our stay came with breakfast that is served daily from 6:30-10:30 in a function room on level 2. They had a buffet line offering Continental choices like mee goreng, chicken porridge, scrambled eggs, hot dogs, potatoe wedges, bread and pastries, fruits, kuehs, sandwiches, cereal and hot beverages. I would say that breakfast is fairly decent but nothing very fanciful. A friend who came back in February only a bento box for breakfast back then as their kitchen was not ready, so I kept my expectations real low and got a pleasant surprise. Though the apartment lacks a cafe or restaurant and in room dining service is also unavailable, you can easily head next door to the Mall of Medini for your meals. They have fast food joints like Burger King and KFC, local delights like Old Town, Secret Recipe, Chicken Rice Shop as well as Absolute Thai, Shi Lin and also a few conveniences stalls. Bu
t do take note that most eateries open from 9am to 10pm. Of course, if you’re prepared to cook, you can always make use of the kitchen facilities and whip up your meals. Review of Somerset Medini Nusajaya, Johor We stayed at Somerset Medini for a night and paid S$100 a night before heading to Double Tree by Hilton hotel for the next 2 nights as we wanted to shop at the malls. Price wise, Somerset offered very good value for money given the convenience to Legoland as well as from the 2nd Causeway in Tuas. Being a fairly new establishment, it always means the staff are generally more attentive and eager to leave a pleasant experience for guests which can be felt from their warm hospitality. Security wise, we felt safe as there is security guard on patrol as well. If you’re planning to go to Puteri Harbour for Little Big Club and Thomas Town or AEON Mall Bukit Indah where they have a cinema, Popular, Toys R Us, Watsons, Daiso and a huge supermarket, you can hop on the shuttle bus that departs 4 times a day.
And yes, they have complimentary Wi-Fi too 🙂 Would we return for another stay if we are planning to Legoland? You bet and I hope this review has been useful 🙂 This is our second visit to Legoland Water Park and this time Sophie got to try a new ride, the Lego Slide Racer which made her declare it as the best slide EVER!!!! See I told you, she’s one drama queen. There’s so much to love about the Legoland Water Park and you’ve got to read it for yourself to know why we’re back for more this year. Somerset Medini Nusajaya, Johor Address: Lot 5 Jalan Medini Utara 4, Medini Iskandar Malaysia 79200 Nusajaya Johor, Malaysia If you’re heading to JB, then don’t miss these posts where I share some of my shopping finds and places to go cafe hopping across the causeway as well. Enjoyed reading this post? Do like my Facebook page to get more family friendly travel updates. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Susankoh) or Instagram (@ajugglingmom) for more travel and parenting posts.