YTL Hotels to open JW Marriott Hotel Johor Bahru in December 2026

• YTL Hotels had announced the acquisition of the Thistle Johor Bahru hotel from GuocoLand Ltd for RM150 million in September this year. YTL Hotels then completed the acquisition on Dec 1 and will convert the 381-key hotel into the 410-key JW Marriott Hotel Johor Bahru.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 3): YTL Hotels & Properties Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of YTL Corp Bhd (KL:YTL), announced that it will open JW Marriott Hotel Johor Bahru on Dec 1, 2026, at a signing ceremony with Marriott International Inc held at JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. This is the first JW Marriott hotel in Johor Bahru and the second in Malaysia.

During the ceremony, YTL Hotels executive director Datuk Mark Yeoh Seok Kah gave an update on the working progress of the hotel. “We bought the Thistle Hotel a few months ago and we completed the transaction on Dec 1. The work started yesterday (Dec 2) and we are working full speed to get it ready for the Dec 1 next year opening.”

YTL Hotels had announced the acquisition of the Thistle Johor Bahru hotel from GuocoLand Ltd for RM150 million in September this year. YTL Hotels then completed the acquisition on Dec 1 and will convert the 381-key hotel into the 410-key JW Marriott Hotel Johor Bahru. The hotel is located on a 1.9-hectare tract of land at the intersection of Jalan Sungai Chat and Jalan Lingkaran Dalam.

Facilities include a tennis court, three pickleball courts, an outdoor resort-style swimming pool, a fitness centre, a signature spa featuring five treatment rooms and hydrothermal amenities, a 900 sq m grand ballroom, a 600 sq m junior ballroom and 16 meeting rooms. 

Commenting on the partnership, Marriott International president (Asia-Pacific excluding China) Rajeev Menon said, “We had less than 40 hotels [25 years ago]. We now have over 700 hotels in Asia-Pacific (excluding China). That’s the growth we have experienced. The growth is hugely driven by finding partners like YTL Hotels. Today, when we look at the growth Marriott is experiencing in our part of the world, 55% of our signings are fuelled by existing partners. That tells you the confidence and trust in our partners.”

This year, YTL Hotels has opened three Marriott-branded hotels in Malaysia, which are AC Hotel Ipoh, Moxy Kuala Lumpur Chinatown and AC Hotel Puchong.

YTL Hotels currently has 22 existing Marriott-branded hotels in its Asia-Pacific portfolio. In 2026, besides JW Marriott Hotel Johor Bahru, they will also open one in Japan.

Meanwhile, Marriott International chief development officer (Asia-Pacific excluding China) Shawn Hill said that there is significant demand for high-quality hospitality products.

“We are seeing significant demand and growth in a lot of the secondary and tertiary markets," he said, "This will be a new destination [in Johor Bahru] opening up at this level of quality and we definitely think the location adjacent to Singapore and the ease of access will increase the demand exponentially over time."

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