Shobi Hotel Johor Bahru Near CIQ JB

Overall happy to have stayed in this hotel. However, few points to take note: 1) Ground floor room is near reception and very noisy with guests, staff movement and loud voices. 2) Front desk staff was missing during some nights. 3) There is no self-service laundromat nearby. 4) Limited food choices nearby if you are limited by dietary requirements. 5) Housekeeping is limited and based staff availability.

Good

The room was ok and the bathroom was adequate; comfortable enough for a solo traveler. The staff were very helpful. Parking is available but if you don't have transport, there's always e-hailing.

I rarely leave reviews like this, but I genuinely feel that other guests should be aware of what we experienced before deciding to book this hotel. The most disturbing issue was the cleanliness of the bed and bedsheets. The bedsheets had visible stains and appeared extremely unhygienic. Even worse, after sleeping on the bed, we were scratching all over our bodies and experienced what appeared to be bed bug bites. Whether or not they were definitely bed bugs, waking up constantly scratching after sleeping on visibly stained bedding was extremely concerning and made us question the overall cleanliness and hygiene standards of the room. The room itself was also nothing like what we expected from the photos. The pictures make the room appear considerably more spacious, but in reality, it was unbelievably cramped. There was barely enough space to walk around comfortably, and it honestly felt like we had been misled by the photos shown online. The problems continued from the moment we checked in. We were surprised to find out that the air-conditioning remote and TV remote were kept at the reception counter and had to be collected separately. Once we entered the room, the air-con remote was not working properly, and the TV was practically unusable. What made the TV situation even more ridiculous was that we were told the channels had to be changed manually using the TV box itself. Even after doing this, the channels were unclear and the picture quality was poor. The staff themselves acknowledged the problem and even warned us that if we used the TV remote, the TV could go blank. If the hotel is already aware that the television does not function properly, I do not understand why this has not been repaired or replaced. The bathroom situation was equally frustrating. The toilet door could not even close properly, meaning there was basically no proper privacy when using the bathroom. The toilet roll was strangely located outside the toilet, making an already uncomfortable setup even more inconvenient. The bidet was also extremely basic, consisting essentially of just a pipe. Overall, this was one of the most uncomfortable hotel experiences we have had. Stained bedsheets, possible bed bugs, constant itching, a room significantly smaller than the photos suggest, malfunctioning air-conditioning and TV equipment, and a bathroom door that cannot even close properly are not minor inconveniences — these are basic standards that guests should reasonably expect a hotel to maintain. I strongly recommend that anyone considering staying here look carefully at recent guest reviews and manage their expectations before booking. The hotel urgently needs to address its hygiene, maintenance and room conditions. Based on our experience, we would definitely not stay here again and cannot recommend it in its current condition.