Tag Archives: 4 star hotel

The wedding stay at Meritz Hotel

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My cousin’s wedding reception was held at The Meritz Hotel. Do not be fooled by its somewhat biashe biashe exterior appearance because this 4-star business hotel is so worth the money. I was lucky this accommodation was part of Air Asia’s Flight+Hotel promo. Hence, I paid only RM578.49 for a 2D1N stay at the hotel plus return flight tickets from KLIA2 to MIRI.

The hotel is in Miri’s city centre and is attached to a shopping mall. So, although the hotel has 3 on-site restaurants, you could have other meal options at Bintang Megamall. We had bbq.chicken there. I am sure they have similar branches in semenanjung but it was something that we’ve never had before. Father ordered the Jamaican chicken with rice and we sisters had the burger. After lunch, we stayed in our rooms to rest until it was time for dinner.

Bintang Megamall has considerable options of stores to shop in. Initially, I wanted to get my hair done at a salon that said it was Muslim-friendly (on the internet) but when I arrived there, I saw that it was no longer offering said services. This is not the first salon in a shopping mall that does so – in fact, it was something that I observed has been going on in Kuching as well. Although it is the owner’s personal choice to run their business how they wish with a target market in mind – I believe it is also a subtle way for certain businesses to say that they do not intend to serve certain members of the population. Hopefully out of cost-effective issues and not out of prejudice. On second thought, I think the salon at my place in semenanjung is also doing the same. Ha ha ha. Hence, if I want to cut my hair, I could like, these owners would say, find an establishment that could entertain such requests ( yup, I totally understand) or give up my values to receive the services. I thought the haircut could wait.

The room was spacious and it had a bathtub in it. I believe mine was a superior room and I booked one with two single beds inside because my sister and my niece are also staying with me. There was a mini fridge and access to free WIFI. I bought additional bottled water, bread and some cup noodles for breakfast in our room the next day. It took a while to figure out how to switch on the TV as the remote was not functioning. I saw that they have a room service menu which was cool but we did not order any. We also have an iron inside the room which is so convenient.

There was an outdoor swimming pool just a few floors down and I saw that the visitors did not have to adhere to strict swimwear in the pool. I believe that is a plus point for families who come to the hotel. For some women, for example, mothers with a postpartum body, wearing a normal T-shirt with leggings is definitely more comfortable than putting on a swimming suit or a burkini.

The wedding reception was held at a ballroom on Level 7. Nuh Salleh from the indie band, Hujan performed a short song during the event. Singing LIVE is definitely his forte because it just sounded really nice even though it was just him and a guitar. The couple’s dais was very pastel and flowery – I loved it a lot. It was a seated and served wedding – a very Sarawakian way of doing a wedding reception and so you see guests arriving and leaving promptly. The event was done in less than 3 hours. If my other brother, Danial is getting married, we’d do this for him instead of the usual majlis where people come and go as they please within a certain time frame. It’s just tiring to see who is coming and leaving amidst the crowd.

We checked out of the hotel just after 12pm. Then I ordered a MaximCar for our ride to the airport which was roughly 15 to 20 mins away. It cost us RM10. My flight was slightly delayed in leaving to KLIA2 and once I landed, the walk from the god knows which K terminal took ages to arrive to the main arrival hall. I then took the FREE SHUTTLE at the transportation hub of KLIA2 to get to LTCP.

I managed to get a BOOST drink and some onigiri for my refreshments in the car for my drive back home to Melaka. The highway was exceptionally dark probably due to the rain and I think I reached my house just after 2030H that day. Had a quick hot shower and went to bed since I had work the next day.

The Pearl, Kuala Lumpur

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We stayed at this hotel because my son had a National Scrabble Championship at the conjoining mall, Pearl Point over the weekend. The game is spread over two days and quite lengthy for someone like me, who doesn’t understand the rules. Since the whole family is going, we might as well have a place to rest so that my daughter would not get cranky. Therefore, The Pearl was a convenient choice.

Mr Husband booked a room for one night. the lobby was welcoming with it’s Hari Kemerdekaan Display.

It had all the expected amenities of a 4-star hotel: Free Wi-Fi, a mini fridge, a kettle, a tub and a comfortable king-size bed. Our room had breakfast included which was great. The spread was adequate with the usual mix of Western and Malaysian breakfast options. There is also a swimming pool but we did not bring any swimming gear. So, just a photo it is.

I like that we get two card keys because the husband obviously needs to go to and fro the mall and the hotel to check on our son who is playing. So he gets to keep one card and my daughter and I get to enjoy the big bed and air-conditioned room with the other card in the power slot. My daughter gets to soak in the bathtub as well. The elevators are easy. This means there is no need to put your card on a reader and press the floor number. It may be secure but that is so maa-fan.

Considering that it is joined to a mall, food is easy to access. There are so many nice stores under one roof at Pearl Point. While waiting for check-in, we get to eat McD for breakfast, Old Town Kopitiam for lunch and some takeouts for dinner. In between, I got Milkis from Jaya Grocers and my first Llao LLao. Now I get what the hype is with that green yoghurt thing. There’s even Zus Coffee at the mall which is something I would have loved to order but since I’d had too many sweets for the weekend – I will have it on a different occasion.

my first llao llao – had the pistachio sauce and biscoff crumbs

Staycation at The Shore Hotel & Residences, Melaka

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Our residential area has been affected by the recent water rationing measure due to the low water level in our dams. We have been on an alternate day roster since early February. Our water supply is dependent on the little tank on days without water. Hence it is a mandi burung, berak perpada kind of affair. On days where water is supplied, we get to do the laundry, do some exercise (hence able to wash hair) and other cleaning chores. I have never took cleaning so seriously until this happened. Rajin plak tetiba nak menge-mop.

Interestingly, last weekend Mr Husband booked a hotel room at The Shores Hotel & Residences, Melaka for a 3D2N stay there. He was surprised to see price plunges and placed a booking for a Studio Suite Room since hotels are not affected by the water rationing schedule. The Shore is not to be mistaken with Swiss Garden Hotel despite towering beside each other.

Our room was facing a beautiful skyline at night. We have a mini fridge, the usual amenities with complimentary beverages (upon checking in only) and spacious single beds. The bathroom was not kid friendly because of the near transparent glass windows and so I preferred to shower at night. Good for me though as I get to shower longer and scrub down my dirt. The shower gels had a lovely scent to it.

I brought my laptop with me and did some studying on my uni portal. The FREE WIFI speed was awesome. We did not choose the breakfast option in our stay as Mr Husband preferred to buy roti canai at the nearby 24 hours mamak just underneath the hotel. You will never starve in Melaka. InsyaAllah. The 24 hours convenience store is also of walking distance.

We played tourist and had lunch at Dataran Pahlawan. We ate at Johnny’s. I really loved the sauce they serve with the meal and of course the tomyam. I am salivating (again) as I blog of this.

The kids enjoyed the swimming pool on Level 23. There is a gym aesthetically placed over the pool with a connecting bridge. It is so Instagrammable but I did not bring my shoe. There was a tragedy though in the pool less than a year ago where a young boy drowned. It made headlines in the local paper for a few days. I hope the family is coping well.

You could get to the SkyDeck if you want at the 43rd floor but we didn’t do that. We were lucky that during our stay, there were not many visitors. Maybe because of Covid-19. Cause I couldn’t imagine how 4 lifts are going to serve the whole tower. It would be a very very long wait on each floor.

It was a short and memorable staycation. Although I was a bit pissed at first for the abrupt getaway (cause I love a planned vacay), I was glad that we went ahead with the rush anyway. Sometimes you just gotta let the wind take you to where it wants to blow. I felt rejuvenated. I was able to bathe without a time restriction and water quota. I get to apply a facial mask while studying in an air conditioned environment for hours without having to think of skyrocketing bills. I get to see the moon and stars in the night by just stepping out into the balcony. And I get to have my husband with me over the weekend with the kids in one room at most times. LOL.

Thank you Mr Husband

The little princess. NINIE

A one night stay at Dorsett Putrajaya

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I love staycations. Especially when we landed on a bargain for a hotel room or an experience. Last weekend, it was my moms 60th birthday. After the feast I decided to check into DORSETT PUTRAJAYA hotel overnight based on its location near Masjid Besi and the Food Truck Area in Putrajaya.

Hotel parking was adequate. FREE of course. Reception was friendly. Room was spacious. Breakfast was a delight. I love how they give you mug options for your coffee. Cause mom’s ain’t gonna have enough of caffeine in those eeenny meeeenyyy white cuppas. Ee’s breakfast rate was RM25.

I booked a Deluxe Room with balcony for a night through Agoda.com and it was RM210.00 including service tax and fee. My room comes with a nice view, free WIFI, complimentary breakfast for 2, coffee. tea and 2 bottles of drinking water. There is an in room iron with board, hairdryer, bath robes with slippers and alhamdulilah a prayer mat. It’s those little touches that make your stay wonderful.

The bathroom had no bath tub but it was fine. The toiletries were cute. I had to try the shampoo and conditioner. It smelt like Lemongrass.

The hotel has an infinity swimming pool and gym on the top floor. The pool is open from 7AM to 7PM whilst the gym is open for 24 hours. The hotel was initially conjoined with a shopping mall but we noticed that only the main supermarket and a few eateries are open. I am not quite sure what happened to the rest of the business premises. The mall looked haunted. Such a waste of space and facilities. I really hope that Waterfront Hotel in Kuching would not suffer from a similar fate.

The scene outside at the balcony in the night was really really beautiful. I could stare at the mosque all night. We had dinner at the food truck area. The options were alright and they had a sitting area too for you to eat your meals. It’s like an open air foodcourt cuma yg berjualnya guna truck. We had western food – spaghetti aglio olio and carbonara with iced milk tea.

 

I would book a room here again if I had any business going on in Putrajaya. The location is calm. There is not much traffic for a weekend staycation. You could even get involved in healthy activities like walking or cycling.

Upon completion of my stay here, I received an automated email saying that I am now a member of Dorsett Loyalty Rewards programme. This entitles me to exclusive member benefits etc. Will explore on that later.

Hotel Tenera, Bangi

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I drove straight to Hotel TENERA after my morning CSR activity at Rumah Seri Mesra Ampang. It took me about an hour with all the horrendous traffic using Google Map. I was surviving on a 39% Samsung battery life because I forgot to charge at the centre. I forgot I did an FB Live which consumed much of my battery. I need a power bank.

Traffic was bad. Honestly, I don’t know how y’ll Kay-Ell peeps live this life everyday.

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“Shariah compliant, prestigious and elegant 4 star hotel with an average rating of 8.5/10”

Meaning no alcohol or pubs on site. Hence, most guests were muslims. But don’t get them wrong, non muslims are still very welcome to stay. And do relax, it’s not that they play the Quran recitation in the lobby 24 hours a day! You can even wear shorts and sleeveless T-shirts if that is comfortable attire to you. They don’t force a hijab on you. Perhaps not strutting in a bikini though. I booked the hotel through my favourite app – AGODA.Com. Gosh, Agoda should make me their affiliate or collaborator or something. Hahaha.

Hotel TENERA has 2 separate buildings to accommodate the hotel rooms and their apartments. I chose to stay in the apartments cause the price is a bargain.

Mine is a Studio King Apartment which comes with Free Wifi and Breakfast for 2 that I shared with my mom. I paid RM228 per night including tax and service fee. What was not included was the RM10 tourism fee which international tourists pay at the site.

The hotel was easily located with Google Map. Check in was at the hotel main lobby and I was brought to the apartment with a buggy. It was an 8 second ride. LOL.

My room was on the 14th floor. It was just after 3 PM when I arrived, so I took the time to run the water for my soak in the bath tub. I made myself coffee, put on my doTERRA diffuser and relaxed at the living space watching the remaining Shah Rukhs Khans hindi movie – Paheli. The story is about hantu raya. LOL.

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There’s a prayer mat, hairdryer, iron with board and mini fridge as well in my room. After my rest, I went to my parents place to have dinner and also picked my mum up to come stay with me at the hotel. I think she needs time away from home. Hahaha. Plus, she loves breakfast at the hotel.

Public Amenities

There are plenty of parking spaces at both parts of the hotel. In the apartment area, there is a swimming pool and mini gymnasiums for patrons to work out.

At the hotel building, there is a separate pool for ladies! But my mom and I did not have time to explore much cause we both slept in the morning after Subuh prayers. Yeh, two very exhausted moms of different ages. Hahaha.

There is a designated Smoking Area too outside.

Breakfast & Restaurant

I am not quite sure what to advice. If you come too early, you’ve got to beat the huge crowd. Especially on a weekend. So we had ours a bit late. We both went up for breakfast at 900am but risked having some of the local favourites on the finishing end with no signs of being replenished. Such as the half boiled eggs. There was a wait for roti canai and pastries. Even the normal sliced breads are not topped up. The main dishes were alright but I was dying for the good ol Nasi Lemak which was substituted with fried rice instead. Hampa.

Perhaps the good part of it is that we get to eat bowls and bowls of cereal. If only they would consider having overseas cereal options.. the ones not available in your regular supermarkets like those premium ones sold at Jaya grocers for a change. Barulah cornflake hotel. giteww.

There is however a stand alone restaurant within the same compound of the hotel if you are still hungry. A small cafe is also available at the lobby just beside the little Siti Khadijah store . To those in the dark, Siti Khadijah is famous for its prayer garments. It is usually given as gifts especially for umrah/hajj.

Even then, there is a huge mall beside the hotel. I am not sure of its name but you do need to drive a bit unless you need to fulfill your 10,000 steps exercise for the day. There, you could find most fast food joints and regular shops for window shopping. Mum and I decided to just stay in the hotel room until it was time to check out.

I checked out by 11AM because I did not want to be caught up in traffic back to Melaka. Overall, it was a satisfying pleasant and relaxing stay. I would definitely bring my kids here next time.