Matchbox Memories: Mutiara Johor Bahru

It was a sad day on June 1, 2021 because it marked the end of an era for the first 4-star hotel in Johor Baru.

Originally opened as Johor Bahru Holiday Inn

With May 23 as its last day opened to the public, the Mutiara Johor Bahru, a hotel in the Mutiara Hotels and Resorts Malaysia group, ceased operations on 1 June 2021.

A few days prior to this date, I received a poster from the hotel which shared a poignant message in a poem written in Malay.

This traditional pantun has four lines which read like this:

 

Manis sungguh buah pulasan

Enak dikesip perlahan lahan

Bila ada sebuah pertemuan

Pasti datang sebuah perpisahan.

As in traditional pantun, its last two lines bore the core message. Its translation in English simply said: When there was a meet-up, there will also be a parting.

I shared this pantun with our friends, the Wangs now based in Kuala Lumpur who were regular guests at this hotel whenever they visited JB.

Mrs Wang’s reply was a shocked exclamation, “My home away from home… gone are the days!”

I am sure her shock resonated among all who have had their own experiences with this hotel.

Johor Bahru Holiday Inn
to Holiday Inn Johor Bahru

Situated along Jalan Dato Sulaiman within the Century Gardens residential area, it opened as Johor Baru Holiday Inn, International-Asia/Pacific in 1982, adjacent to the mall named Holiday Plaza.

From Johor Baru Holiday Inn, its name was changed to, Holiday Inn Johor Bahru.

The hotel expanded with extensive renovation and in 1992, it was rebranded as Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Johor Bahru.

While my relationship with Holiday Inn started in JB, I will never forget my road trip from JB to stay with Holiday Inn Resort Pedu Lake, Alor Setar in Kedah with a stopover stay at Holiday Inn Penang, Batu Ferrenghi.

Our family held many celebrations in Holiday Inn-Mutiara JB, with the grandest of all occasions being a gathering of our extended family for grandmother’s 90^th birthday celebration.

Rebranded as Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza

I can remember the Food and Beverage outlets in the lobby level of Holiday Inn JB: Boulevard Coffee House and Restaurant and the Delicatessen Corner.

The Millennium Disco Club here was probably the coolest club to dance the night away to the tunes of a live band performance. I can still remember having fun dressing up for a glittering night out at this club…

Located on the mezzanine level, the menu and service at Meisan Szechuan Restaurant earned a proud reputation as the first choice in banquet dining on Chinese cuisine.

The restaurant’s Halal status quickly established a firm following of fans for their Szechuan hot-and-spicy soup savoured with freshly fried mantou buns.

One of my most unforgettable taste experiences from the Meisan must be from the exquisite flavour of their Mango Pudding that were not only smooth and tasty but also made with real mango inside.

My only complaint was why they had to serve the pudding on a plate/saucer where I had to “chase” the slippery pudding around the saucer with my spoon…

[I was thrilled to later discover a replica of this fine Mango Pudding in another Chinese restaurant here and they served their smooth pudding in a bowl. I was fortunate to have my last taste of it in September 2019 because it so happened that it was the last day before the chef’s term with this restaurant ended.]

Meisan, a Chinese restaurant that featured Szechuan specialties has established itself as a renowned brand that was also opened in Holiday Inn International-Asia/Pacific at Scotts Road, Singapore and Holiday Inn Penang, Batu Ferringhi Beach, in Penang.

Meanwhile the Red Baron Bar Lounge on the mezzanine floor was a popular hangout for people who enjoyed a drink (or two!) while listening to live lounge music performed by a soloist or three-piece band.

When the hotel further expanded with a new wing, Capri, a fine-dining Italian restaurant was opened in the lobby level of this new wing.

Even when the hotel was rebranded as Mutiara Johor Bahru in 2000, regulars still referred to the hotel as Holiday Inn, and it took a few years before the Mutiara identity was finally established here.

Based on personal experience, I must commend the hotel for its staff training that exceeded expectations and set them apart from other hotels in the city.

From the doormen to the service staff and management, there was an exceptional quality in their training that shaped the identity of a HolidayInn-Mutiara JB branded staff.

The original team and subsequent staff who have gone through their excellent training would agree that they have learnt that there was indeed much more than just the pride of working with an international hotel brand and providing service with a smile.

Over the years, HolidayInn-Mutiara JB was my first choice of hotels to house my visitors and with the help of my hotelier friends there, I had the privilege to check them into the hotel with no fuss.

I always told my family and friends who stayed with the hotel, to share with me about their in-house experiences – whether good or bad.

This was because I wished to provide feedback to the hotel and ensure that any shortcomings would be rectified without delay. After all, I was also their host in this city and my visitors’ comfort was a priority.

They could, of course, deal with the hotel directly for any incidental issues but I always asked them about their stay experience so that I was aware if there was anything out of the ordinary.

I have lost count of the number of my visitors who have stayed with this hotel but I distinctly remember an incident with cousin Malcolm, who stayed with this hotel when he visited from Sydney.

For a guy, I must say he is a good shopper because he enjoyed browsing around the malls to shop for himself and his family before he packed and left for home.

Later we learnt that while he was packing, he discovered that a large bottle of shower gel (he just bought) had spilled inside his travel bag so he quickly emptied the bag’s contents to clean up the shower gel.

We had a good laugh when he told us about how astonished he was to see the foam that flooded the bathtub in the hotel bathroom, which to his thankful relieve, finally subsided.

It was such an unforgettable experience that every time we recounted this hilarious incident in his hotel bathroom, it still tickled us to picture him trying to control the foaming that filled that bathtub!

I can recall my last dining experience at the hotel in 2019 for the Ramadan buffet food preview that featured their spread of local kueh presented in a kampung setting.

While this hotel brand no longer exists in JB, the building still stands at Jalan Dato Sulaiman.

Now each time we drive along Jalan Dato Sulaiman, I am sure the sight of the former Mutiara JB will evoke countless memories for a lot of people and we can spend a lot of time sharing and reminiscing over our many recollections.

As we bid a fond farewell to this grand dame, let us treasure the good memories made with friends and family at this hotel and look forward to having that same experience of the superior standards of service and food quality we once had here.

Note: Between my eldest sister and I, we have accumulated a vast collection of matchboxes over the years.

Samples of matchbooks and matchboxes

In those days, matchbooks and matchboxes were given away by a wide range of brands for the use of smokers and souvenir-collectors like us.

From hotels, restaurants, fast-foods to airlines, there were matchboxes for us to collect from events and our travels locally and abroad.

So each matchbox virtually holds a memory and a story from somewhere. As smoking is now discouraged, we hardly see any matchboxes provided as souvenirs.

This series of stories are based on our matchbox collection. #matchboxmemories