Johor Bahru Suasana Home Suites by NEO

The rooftop pool and restaurant were a nice bonus, and there’s a guard at the entrance, which helped me feel secure. Suasana Residence is also handy for getting around: Johor CIQ is a short distance away, and City Square, Komtar, and Downtown are within walking distance. Some parts of the building look run-down and could use better upkeep. Tall buildings around it limit the rooftop view, too. Laundry takes planning, since the machines accept only 10 pieces of 50-cent coins or 25 pieces of 20-cent coins. A coin exchange machine would help. Still, it’s a good option if location and basic facilities matter most.

I enjoyed the stay for a week, and there was beautiful live music nearby at night. The place itself was nice. One funny detail: they skip numbers 4 and 14 because they’re considered unlucky. It was amusing to notice.

I booked Suasana Lifestyle Suites by Keystone on Agoda a month ahead for a trip to Johor Bahru with my boyfriend. I’d seen hygiene complaints in older comments, from one or two years earlier, but thought things might have improved this year. We spent two days in Singapore and arrived around 12am after checking in advance that a late arrival was okay. At the lobby, the BnB had left an elevator key in a first-floor mailbox for us to collect. The elevator worked without it, though, which made us question the apartment’s security. The room we entered using the auto lock code didn’t match the photos of the one I’d booked. We were exhausted and initially tried to settle in. Then my boyfriend found a large, live lizard inside the washing machine. We checked the rest of the room and found long hair on the toilet seat, dust on the bed, and lots of tiny ants on the living room table. We couldn’t stay there, so we left our luggage and looked for another hotel. Once we had found one, we returned for our bags, but the door’s auto lock wouldn’t open despite repeated attempts. We called the BnB from 1am to 3am without an answer. Agoda customer service said they could try calling and email the BnB. We asked for the cost of the new hotel to be covered and the booking fee refunded. Agoda said they’d follow up, but unfamiliar with the area and needing somewhere to sleep, we went to the hotel and left the problem for later. The next morning, I found Agoda’s email confirming a refund of the room fee, but there was no information about collecting our luggage. I called the BnB again and finally got through. They said they’d send someone, and I asked for the bags within half an hour. When we arrived, their staff had already taken the luggage downstairs to the lobby. We explained what had happened and said we’d post a report. The staff member asked us not to and promised compensation. I refused to hold back the report. They said the boss would get back to me within 30 minutes, but no one did. Agoda also never followed up about compensation for our other financial losses. I feel other travelers should avoid this BnB so they don’t have the same experience, and I won’t book travel through Agoda again.

I had a very bad experience. Staff accused me of breaking curtain rings and charged me 100 ringgit, which I say wasn’t true. For clarity, I booked through booking.com for the suites residence on floor 27, which is separate from the hotel.