Arden Serviced Residence Review: From RM 1,078,000

Quick answer: who is Arden Serviced Residence for?

Arden suits buyers who want space in the middle of Johor Bahru. The smallest home is 797 sq ft with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, the 3-bedroom Type B is 1,130 sq ft and the 4-bedroom Type C is 1,700 sq ft, all on freehold land, with 2 car parks for the two larger layouts. It is less suited to buyers working with a budget under RM 1 million, because the entry price is RM 1,078,000, and to anyone who expects the RTS station at the door: Bukit Chagar is about 840 m away in a straight line. For the latest price list and available units, WhatsApp +60 17-279 8932.

My view

In one line: These are large family homes in central Johor Bahru: even the smallest has two bedrooms, with 3- and 4-bedroom layouts on freehold land. But the entry price is over RM 1 million and the maintenance fee is not confirmed yet.

The price: Dividing the starting price by the smallest unit gives about RM 1,353 per sq ft, close to Princess Cove Phase 3 (about RM 1,369) and below Dover (about RM 1,535). Dividing the top price, RM 2,476,500, by the largest unit gives about RM 1,457 per sq ft, so the larger homes cost more per foot as well. The high ticket comes mainly from the fact that its smallest home is the largest in the table.

Who it suits, who it doesn't: It suits families moving to central Johor Bahru who need three or four bedrooms and run two cars (Types B and C come with 2 car parks). It does not suit a budget under RM 1 million, or anyone who wants to walk to the RTS every day: road crossings make the real walk to Bukit Chagar longer than the straight-line distance.

How long to hold: Completion is expected in 2029, and it works as a long-term home. For most families I would look first at Type B, the 1,130 sq ft 3-bedroom. If you need four bedrooms, the 1,700 sq ft Type C may be among the first to be taken, so I'd suggest asking about it early.

Check for yourself at the viewing: The maintenance fee and whether it includes the sinking fund; whether the hotel-style management option has its own fees, with the terms in writing; the price of the exact unit you want, not just the layout; and time the walk from the project to Bukit Chagar at peak hour.

• Suits: families relocating to central Johor Bahru who want three or four bedrooms; buyers who want freehold land and 2 car parks; owners who prefer fewer homes per floor.
• Think twice if: your budget is under RM 1 million, you want a sub-500 m walk to the RTS, or you need to know the maintenance fee before you decide (it has not been confirmed in the data yet).

Project facts (checked, updated October 2026)

Who is the developer?

The project company is Astaka Kimlun Sdn Bhd, a joint venture that the developer describes as pairing Astaka Padu, the Johor Bahru developer behind One Bukit Senyum, with Kimlun, a publicly listed Malaysian construction company. The developer states that the tower is designed by GDP Architects, that it is built to Green Building Index (GBI) standards with EV charging, an automated waste system and rainwater harvesting, and that property management will be handled by Knight Frank with a concierge service. None of those points changes the price per square foot, but a named property manager is worth noting in a 618-unit building, because how a tower is run in its first five years shapes how it looks when you sell.

What is near Arden Serviced Residence?

Distances are measured in a straight line from the project's coordinates. A walk or a drive is always longer.

The road links listed for the project are the Inner Ring Road (Jalan Lingkaran Dalam), which the site fronts, and the Tebrau Expressway. The developer also lists the Johor Bahru checkpoint (CIQ) and the planned Automated Rapid Transit (ART) among its connections.

How I read the location. Arden sits in the commercial belt north of the Johor Bahru city centre, with daily needs within a kilometre: a mall cluster at SKS Tower and Plaza Pelangi, a grocer, a college next door and two specialist clinics. The station is the point to test with your own feet. About 840 m in a straight line is a real walk in Johor heat once you add road crossings, so if you plan to commute to Singapore through the RTS every day, time the route at peak hour before you commit. For a family that mostly drives, the Inner Ring Road frontage matters more.

Which Arden layout suits you?

What I would pick. Type B is the layout I would point most families at. With three bedrooms and two car parks, it covers what a typical Malaysian or relocating family needs without paying for the fourth bedroom. Type A is the only way into the building under the 1,000 sq ft mark and the only one with a single car park; the two bathrooms make it a sensible home for two working adults who each want their own. Type C is the rarest kind of home in central Johor Bahru launches, where most towers stop well below 1,000 sq ft, and it is the layout to ask about first if you need four bedrooms, because large units are often the first stacks to be taken.

A note on the price spread: as worked out in My view above, the larger homes and higher floors carry a premium per foot as well as a higher ticket. Ask for the price of the exact unit, not the layout.

What will it cost to hold?

The maintenance fee is not confirmed in the project data yet, so I have not worked out a monthly figure. When you ask for it, check three things: whether the quoted rate includes the sinking fund, whether the hotel-style management option carries its own fees, and how the serviced apartment title affects how quit rent and assessment are billed. Get each answer in writing before you pay a booking fee.

On the financing side, a buyer taking a loan pays stamp duty on the loan agreement at 0.5% of your loan, on top of the stamp duty on the transfer. Our stamp duty guide explains how the two are worked out.

Price per square foot against its neighbours

The price per square foot below is the starting price divided by the smallest unit, a rough guide only. Distances are straight-line from Arden.

How I read it. On a rough per-foot basis, Arden sits in the middle of the central Johor Bahru pack, below the Causewayz Square towers and close to Princess Cove Phase 3, while its ticket price is the highest because its smallest home is the largest in the table. That is the real choice: Arden asks you to buy more floor area at a similar rate per foot, and it has the fewest units of the projects listed. If you only need a compact unit near the checkpoint, the other towers give you a lower entry price. If you need three or four bedrooms in the city centre, Arden and Aethera are the two in this list built around larger homes.

Facilities

The developer describes facilities spread over four levels. At the lower levels are separate lobbies for Arden Residence and Arden Suites, a convenience shop, laundry, café and child-care centre. The pool deck has an infinity pool, jacuzzi, kids' pool, sauna and changing rooms, with a multipurpose hall for badminton and basketball, BBQ areas (halal and non-halal), an outdoor playground and a kids' fun gym. Indoors there is a gymnasium, a yoga and dance room, an entertainment room, a golf simulator, a book club, a meeting room and a business centre, plus a surau and management office. Higher up are a sky dining hall and sky BBQ (both halal and non-halal), a sky yoga deck, sunrise and sunset lounges, a sky cinema, a karaoke lounge, a wine parlour and a cigar parlour, a sky garden and a herb garden.

That is a long list for a 618-unit building, and every item has a running cost. Ask which facilities are run by outside operators and which are covered by the maintenance fee.

Buying as a foreigner or from Singapore

The developer says it designed Arden with buyers from Singapore and overseas in mind. A foreign buyer needs approval from the state authority before the transfer, and Johor sets its own minimum purchase price for foreign buyers, which can depend on the property type and title. Check the current Johor threshold for this serviced apartment title before you book; our foreign buyer guide explains where to look. Also allow for the time the approval takes when you plan your loan and the dates in the sale and purchase agreement.

Pros and cons (my view)

How to view Arden Serviced Residence

WhatsApp Shyan Yee (REN 46305, IQI Realty) at +60 17-279 8932 for the price list, floor plans and a viewing. Full specifications are on the Arden Serviced Residence project page.