Hotel and Inn Review: Times Hotel (Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei)

Date of Stay: September 10-12, 2016

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: *******

Rooms: *******

Condition and Cleanliness: *******

Staff Performance: *******

Room Comfort: *******

Food and Beverage: *****

Other Amenities: *****

Value for Money: ******

Hotel Entrance

Times Square Mall

The 112-room Times Hotel, located within the Times Square  Mall, is a very convenient 5-minute drive from Brunei International Airport. It is also located 2 kms. from the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, 5.2 kms. from the Royal Regalia Museum, 5.6 kms. from the  Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, 6.5 kms. from the Water Village and 11.6 kms. from Jerudong Park.

The  sleek and luxurious, elegantly furnished airconditioned rooms (standard, superior, deluxe and executive deluxe) with electronic key lock; private bathrooms complete with a rainshower head and hair dryer; minibar, flat-screen LCD cable TV (with just 10 satellite channels  including HBO movie channel, National Geographic Channel, a sport channel but  no international news coverage), coffee/tea making facility, work desk and in-room safe. 

There is no DVD player so your entertainment options are limited. They charge for additional pillows or towels.  Even if some rooms have balconies, don’t expect any view from there and from the windows. There's only one outlet within the room, plus another in the bathroom, which you can use for charging your cellular phones, laptops, cameras and other electronic gadgets.

Front Desk

Swimming Pool

Facilities include a small outdoor swimming pool with sun loungers where you can sit and relax; a 24-hour Front Desk, meeting room and a 32-pax coffee shop (Times Cafe). Wi-fi internet is available in all rooms (spotty) and public areas. They offer room service, shuttle service (surcharge), valet parking, laundry, concierge and airport transfers.

Times Cafe

Times Square food court

Breakfast was good but with limited choices (fried/steamed rice, noodles, cereals, toast, milk, coffee/tea, chicken nuggets and chicken sausage). The hotel was clean and the staff  were pleasant and very helpful.  

There are many dining options at the ground level (for Filipino cuisine, try Cocina de Lola) and at the relatively nice Times Square food court. There’s also a multiplex cinema on Level 4, a pharmacy, a full-service supermarket on the ground floor and a bowling alley is a 5 min walk away. There are no international brand name stores at this small mall, but it is still a good place to buy souvenirs.   

Times Square Mall shopping area

It is also a 10-min. drive from the Gadong and Kiulap commercial area. However, it is far from the center (about 20 mins. away) and taxis are difficult to get and very expensive (about 20-30 Brunei dollars just to go to the city center). You can pre-book a taxi via the hotel but it is not always guaranteed they will find one available.

The hotel lobby

Times Hotel: 2/F, Times Square Shopping Center, Simpang 13-29, Jalan Berakas, Kampong Jaya Setia, Mukim Berakas ‘A’, BS2713 Negara Brunei Darussalam. Tel: 673-233-7878. Email: reservation@timeshotelbrunei.com. Website: www.timeshotelbrunei.com.