Opero Hotel Southkey, JB — Hotel in Johor

Honest Review:

Room: Deluxe King Room

A really surprising stay! Exceeded quite a lot of expectations. We were having a dilemma between Opero and St Giles. After staying at Opero, it’s a clear decision! Though I have to say I haven’t stayed at St Giles yet, definitely have to try it out too. Here’s the breakdown:

Decision Winner: ROOM SERVICE that actually tastes pretty good!

Breakfast spread was extensive. Quite a number of Asian choices! From Salads to cooking your own noodles to pastries, dessert and cereal. Wish there were more western food options but still decent overall. Food quality is a 6/10 not too bad

Service by Arnel was impeccable! He noticed our preference of non-dairy latte for breakfast (soy milk) and came up to us to confirm our room number so he could make sure we get the same coffee arrangement the next day as he wasn’t around. Also had a lovely conversation with him! Izzat served us the next day and that was lovely too. The coffee was delivered without us asking for it (though it did take a while, I thought they forgot but they were probably just preparing it!) Manager who was in blue jacket and name starts with an M was very charismatic and energetic which was nice breath of fresh air. :)

Walkable to Mid-Valley: 5-10min walk (7mins for me) You only had to cross one small road that didn’t have a pedestrian crossing but traffic is not busy at all. Enter via MidValley’s carpark which leads you to South Court entrance. Ask the front desk if you need help!

Wins: Decent room Clean Comfortable Gym had barbells and had a decent space Infinity pool with a decent view: Photo attached (though crows would stand at the edge and drink the pool’s water! Doesn’t really bother me) Nice outdoor seating on the 5th floor by the pool and bar if you wanna just chill :) Bathroom was decently decorated.

Could be better: Bathroom had some stains from wear and tear and a tiny bit of mould at the edge of the shower area, away from where you stand (not very noticeable) Bathroom shower area leaks into dry area (asked for extra floor towel which kinda helped - not a huge issue for me) AC isn’t the coldest at 16 and max fan speed (still pretty good tho!) Service could be more consistent throughout staff team. There were a few outstanding ones while the rest were okay :) More acknowledgement to guests and a gentle nod/smile here and there would definitely elevate the entire experience.

Overall a great stay at half the price of St Giles. 10/10 would come...

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED – Opero Hotel Staff Are Dishonest and Untrustworthy

BEWARE OF THEFT. STAY HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

This will be my last and final stay at Opero Hotel, and I’m writing this to warn other travellers and cooperate client before they become victims like I did.

For the past two years, Opero was my go-to hotel in Johor Bahru. But after what happened during my stay from 18–20 November 2024 (Room 1202), I will never set foot in this hotel again. And honestly, you shouldn’t either.

After checking out and returning to KL, I realised I had accidentally left behind my universal adapter in the room – this included: • 1 original apple charger with cable • 1 Type-C cable (short type) • 1 original apple lightning cable (long type)

I called the reception immediately and even sent a friend to collect it. Shockingly, the staff took over an hour to retrieve what should have been a simple item.

But here’s the real issue: When I finally got it back, I noticed my items had been clearly swapped:

My original Apple lightning cable was swapped with a cheap, short generic cable – the kind you get free with power banks.

The fast charger was also swapped – mine had a nicely intact SIRIM sticker, and the one they gave me had SIRIM sticker pealed off on the side.

Let’s be clear — this wasn’t a mistake. It was intentional theft. And when I called the hotel to report this, all I got was a weak excuse: “Housekeeping said they didn’t see your original charger and cable.”

No apology. No investigation. No responsibility. Just denial, like nothing happened.

And honestly — it’s not about the money. These aren’t expensive items; I could easily replace them. But that’s not the point.What I cannot accept is the blatant dishonesty, the irresponsible attitude, and the hotel’s complete failure to take ownership. If this is how Opero treats loyal guests, then no one is safe.

This hotel has been officially removed from my company’s corporate hotel list immediately after the incident, and I will personally advise everyone I know to avoid this hotel entirely.

I will continue spreading this experience to everyone I know, online and offline — because people deserve to know what kind of hotel this really is.

SHAME ON YOU, OPERO.

I strongly advise you to book another hotel after reading this. Your belongings, and your peace of mind — are worth far more than a few...

I was so excited to try this "luxury" hotel in jb, but frankly, I feel it's quite overrated. To start with a positive note, the hotel is just next to Mid Valley Mall. The parking itself is in a multistory carpark in the same building as the hotel that is free for hotel guests. There is direct access to the hotel from the car park.

Check-in was relatively fast, and the staff were very friendly and professional. We got room 1221 and was quite excited, but was quickly greeted with a funny stale smell in the room once we entered. The view from the room was great. But that, too, didn't last long after immediately seeing cigarette buds left on the outer window ledge from the previous guest. Then, even after switching on the aircon on cooling mode for a good 20 mins at 16deg, the room was still warm. Even the hotel lobby felt colder; the aircon was not working properly. I tried calling the hotel lobby twice and the concierge once, but not once did anyone pick up.

We decided to pack it up and head down to ask for a change of room. The front desk staff was extremely apologetic and immediately changed rooms for us. We got 0821, which was the same type of room, but with a working aircon this time.

Included in the room, they gave us a non alcoholic welcome drink voucher, which must be utilised with a very strict timing between 3pm to 9pm on the same day although the bars close at a much later timing. We went still to the bar just shortly after 9 pm, and even though it was still open and the staff was there, they flat out rejected our drink voucher and asked us to try to go down and get from the bar at the lobby, which we just came from and had no staff and was visibly closed. It was obvious the staff was giving off a 'not my problem try your luck elsewhere, bye.' kind of feeling.

Then, when I was checking out, the hotel staff asked if I made any local calls, which I did, and I was told I had to pay RM2.01 for the call. Its a small amount that anyone would pay, but it kind of came as a surprise as they did not indicate anywhere there would be a charge for local calls (we called to make reservations as we didn't have a local number). Would they still have charged us if I went down to the lobby and asked the reception to help me make the booking? Probably not, right? So why...