Nuffnang

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Ample Hotel (Taman Sutera Utama)

The children's examinations are finally over and we drove in to Johor Bahru over the weekend for a 2D1N staycation! This time, we did not make any bookings in advance and decided to try our luck to find our resting place for the night around Sutera Mall.

A risky move as there were 6 of us (including my inlaws) and we needed 2 rooms. Luckily, there are a couple of hotels within Taman Sutera Utama and we walked in to enquire the availability, room types and room rates. While many were fully booked over the Halloween weekend, we managed to settle for Ample Hotel (formerly known as Kingston Hotel) as they has a family room which can accommodate all of us at an affordable price of RM178 nett per night.


About 10 minutes walk away from Sutera Mall, it is a convenient location to do our shopping. Surrounded by many eateries, cafe, restaurants among the nearby shophouses, we were spoilt with choices.


The lobby area of Ample Hotel is bright, clean and neat and there are plenty of parking lots in front of the hotel. However, do note that during weekends (especially Friday & Saturday nights), it seems harder to find parking lots. If you wish to park your vehicle in front of the hotel, it would be based on first come first served basis. Parking lots are not specially reserved for guests.



Security wise, entry to the rooms is based on key card access. While there are always staff at the front counter, it seems public can enter the hotel/lift freely. It would be nice if there is a security feature at the front door or lift for additional assurance.

Family Room 1

Let's take a look at their biggest family room. It comes with 1 Queen and 3 Single bedding which can accommodate 5 - 6 person comfortably. TV, water flask, cups are available within the room but do note that there is no fridge, security box and hair dryer. Free Wifi is available.


As our room is located at the corner of the building, it has windows on both sides of the wall, allowing more light to enter. The flooring is tiled and there is ample of space for us to move around.

The amenities within the room looked old with bedding covers appeared yellowish but it was relatively clean and we rested comfortably for the night.


Even though the room looked out of fashion and old, 2 areas within the room caught my eyes. The wooden chair located at the corner of the room where I can rest my feet and the black hat/coat hanger which stands out in the room.

Toilet/bathroom is attached within the room and comes with a heater unit. No disposable toothbrush/toothpaste is provided but clean towels are available.

Our boy is particularly happy as he has one of the single bed all to himself (plus it is right underneath the air-condition).


For less than S$60, our family consisting of three generations stayed together for the night. It may not be a luxurious experience but our basic needs were met. While the children hooked on to their handheld devices, my inlaws rested while watching television programs. Hubby and I can go out for our night walk and supper with our children under the care of my in-laws. Overall, it has been a pleasant stay.

Family Room 2

We stayed in a 'smaller' family room on our second visit to Ample Hotel as the other boutique hotels nearby were fully booked. Room size looked equally as big compared to Family Room 1. It comes with 1 Queen and 2 Single beds at a pricing of RM168 nett per night.



Generally, both rooms are clean. If you are looking for a place to stay for the night, this would be sufficient to satisfy your needs.

Summary Notes:
Room
- Free Wifi
- Air-condition rather strong despite the bigger room
- Spacious
- Window view - available
- Flooring - tiled
- Water Flask - available
- No Safety Box
- No Hair Dryer
- No Fridge

Toilet/Shower
- Bath towels are provided
- Water Heater available. Water jets from shower is moderate
- No toothbrush/toothpaste provided

Parking & Security
- Parking lot (first come first served basis) - no reservation
- Security (Access to room via key card). No additional security feature

Ample Hotel
Address: 70, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/3, Taman Sutera Utama, 81300 Skudai, Johor
GPS: 1.515208, 103.668409

Want to find out more where you can stay in Johor Bahru?
Check out our blog post collection on

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the recommendation! Most people seem to stay at the hotels attached to the shopping malls in JB city... Good to know there's a safe and clean option at this price point. :)

Adeline said...

Wow this is really a good deal, and I can't believe you were so adventurous to go without any hotel bookings. But then again, if you couldn't find a nice hotel for the night, I guess you could have just turned back and headed home right? The hotel is really quite no-frills, but if all you want is a place to rest for the night, then it's good enough for sure. :)

Unknown said...

Not bad for a large family travelling on a budget!

Unknown said...

I love shopping and eating at Sutera Mall. The room is so spacious! Looks like great value for money.

Waiwai Leung said...

That is really value for money!

Cynthia said...

Wow! A hotel for 3 generations to stay together. It's the experience and time together that matters. :)

Unknown said...

Wow!! $60 is very reasonable especially for 6 of you! What a great deal! Thanks for sharing! :-)

Unknown said...

You are truly JB queen! This budget hotel looks clean and cosy, and near to Sutera Mall :D

qi said...

That's really cheap for such a big room!

Phoebe said...

It is a no frill room which we found. Safety wise not too sure yet but we did saw the staff looking out and we check on our car at times.

Phoebe said...

This is the 2nd time we go without booking a hotel.. the first time was bad as the hotel's bedding condition is bad.. This time we were lucky! Being in JB there is always the option to turn back home ^_^

Phoebe said...

Definitely! :) We just needed a room to rest :)

Phoebe said...

It is a good deal as we would have to go for 2 rooms at other hotels.

Phoebe said...

I guess we were lucky to go knock door to door to check out their rooms.

Phoebe said...

I thought it was fun too! Surprisingly, we didnt need to fight for toilet as my inlaws wake up super early and they are always ready before us!

Phoebe said...

Yes! I thought so too! and we feel more secure staying together

Phoebe said...

Its good enough for a night stay! More post on JB coming up!! I have a huge backlog! :D

Phoebe said...

It is a steal! But we will continue to try out the other hotels :)

Post a Comment