Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour

Situated a mere 20 minutes from Senai International Airport in Johor, Malaysia and easily accessible from Singapore’s Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints, the Traders Hotel, Puteri Harbour is an up-scale delight for a 4 star accommodation. It is trendy and contemporary and the rooms have retro modern furniture, crisp white bedding and comfortable work desks. One big perk here is that it’s right in front of the marina amidst alfresco restaurants and retail outlets.

The one thing that struck us was the location of this hotel. For starters, we really did not expect the drive from Changi Airport to the hotel to be scenic. Johor Bahru is a bustling city with all the right ingredients to jostle a visitor out of their wits. So we were pleasantly surprised to find the hotel located among greener and quieter surroundings. Our friendly driver Izad Kasim proudly pointed out to various landmarks along the way. It’s always great to meet a local who is proud to show off his home.

Presently we reached our hotel. The Traders Hotel, Puteri Harbour is a beautiful property with landscaped walkways and marine themed décor instilling a local fisherman’s village feel. The hotel’s three towers are just four storeys high and houses 283 rooms, which means that the property is wide and spread out.

Our Deluxe Harbour View Room located in Tower Two was spacious and boasted calming colours with marine life visuals on the wall. It is always refreshing to find a hotel room that caters to a full day bed, giving us another option for lounging in the afternoons. The motorised day and night curtains adds a comfortable touch to our temporary home.

The stylish guest rooms and suites range from 33 to 96 square metres

The rooftop infinity pool

The reception lobby’s ceiling have watery waves like effects reinforcing the hotel’s marine-themed décor

It is an assumed notion among most people that the Traders Hotel chain caters specifically to a business traveller. While that may partly be true as these hotels are located in prime city locations and offer excellent services that please a travelling businessman, the Traders Hotels in fact cater to a wider market segment. Let us take the Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour for instance and look at how your next exciting getaway can be packaged there…

The Attractions

This hotel is nestled inside the Puteri Harbour Theme Park. It sits right next to Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and minutes away from LEGOLAND Malaysia. Restaurants and retail outlets surround the hotel. It’s fronted by the Puteri Harbour from where you could take a ferry to Harbour Front in Singapore or to Kariman and Batam in Indonesia. Travellers between Singapore and Malaysia would agree that this is a much more scenic and novel way to beat the traffic jams on the causeways.

Johor is land of golf courses. There are some 20 international – standard – golf courses that are readily available. It’s is no wonder then, that we saw a few guests at the hotel with golf equipment on their backs. Then there were the sea enthusiastic guests who were drawing summer pleasures of sailing and fishing. We ran into a few doctors attending a medical conference but above all we saw several families with kids in tow. Undoubtedly they were lodging in the best place in town from where they could take their little ones on small adventures to both the indoor and outdoor theme parks or take themselves to quench their shopaholic cravings at the Johor Premium Outlet Mall or the various day and night markets around town.

The Puteri Harbour with the Traders Hotel as backdrop

And just when we thought that we saw all that there was to see (which honestly is quite a lot to take in on a short visit) the evening ushered in the night revellers. Apparently the area has a fair share of popular entertainment spots with multiple bars and leading the way is Traders Hotel’s very own in-house SkyBar.

The SkyBar, Bar and Restaurant

After a hectic day of fun and frolic at the theme parks, we decided to soothe nerves at the SkyBar, which is located on the pool deck. We predict that this place is going to be the coolest (or hottest) place in town. It was officially opened around the time we arrived and the place is multitudinous with chic sophisticated party goers.

With bar stools, wicker chairs and glow in dark seats, the SkyBar is a lovely spot to unwind with perhaps the bar’s signature non-alcoholic JB Punch cocktail or something with a little more kick. Which ever your fancy. Tantalising cocktails, succulent grills and great music abound. It is a great place for the movers and shakers. If you happen to be in Johor you might as well check this place out. You won’t be disappointed.

The SkyBar offers a great place to lounge after a day out in the sun

The view of the harbour right after sunset. Captured this form the SkyBar terrace

Gastronomic Delights

For the want of better adjective, we will simply say that the food is amazing. The spread is wide and the selection is fantastic. You actually feel like you are walking a mile long spread trying to decide where to begin and what to eat! It’s precisely at times such as these that pictures speak a thousand words. So here are some pictures to tempt your taste buds.

The Harbour Cafe has a vast selection of cuisines in their buffet option. Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Western and local Malaysian too.

The amazing Indian spread by chef William Tan. the Murgh Makhani was our favourite!

The freshly made pasta station was a hit among guests

The Chinese Stews were filled with herbs and had a light soupy texture. Great with rice.

The variety of breads and pastries

The seafood station featured various clams and crustaceans

The double dipping option at the dessert station

The various congee options for breakfast

The lovely “Teh Tarik” table action during breakfast. If you love tea, you have to try this!

My ultimate breakfast option – The Malaysian Curry Laksa!

And One Night…

When we got back to the room we found a card on the table. It was a small note left by the room attendant. It simply said:

Hello Good morning Ms. John

I alredy Clean your room and I put estra mineral water.

How is your stay with us?

I help you

Have an excellent day

DEV”

We never asked for extra mineral water, but its obvious that the attendant noticed that we consumed what was available the night before. We have seen room attendants walk the corridor. They are simple-minded folk who nobody even notices or most time even acknowledges their presence. But here was a person who we never met, but he wished that our day went well and was thoughtful enough to put extra water and willing to help at any time. He said it in his own simple way and the message went straight to our hearts.

If a hotel has such thoughtful staff then we think our review is complete and you are in safe hands.

Other Hotel Facilities: Complimentary Wi-Fi, rooftop infinity pool, rooms designed for persons with disabilities, beautiful ballrooms and well appointed boardrooms, “On-the-Go” take-out, health club, easy check-in and check-out and 24 hour room service.

Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour is located at Persiaran Puteri Selatan, Puteri Harbour, 79000 Nusajaya, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia. For more details and room rates visit their official website.

Disclaimer: We thank Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour for inviting Travel and Beyond to an exclusive hosted stay. All opinions are our own.