Tag Archives: travel with toddler

A one night stay at Dorsett Putrajaya

Posted in Everyday Life, Reviews, Travel by

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.

Advertisement

the short trip to Johor Bahru

Posted in Everyday Life, Places to Eat, Travel by

#throwback

If it was entirely up to me – I’d probably sleep my way from Saturday (postcall) to Monday. But Mr Husband has other plans and when he throws Ee into the picture like “kesian Ee cuti sekolah tak pergi mana2” _ I caved in. OK lah oklah… where are we going?

Merenung Jauh

JOHOR BAHRU

 

and I imagined having bowls and bowls of laksa johor. which I ended up did not having. *pilu*

For our short stay – we booked a room at Tropical Inn. Which is just opposite Double Tree HIlton guys. A contrasting picture indeed. Wished I took a photo. One old school, haunted look hotel and the other, very modern and posh.

pretending its spicy food
free basic toileteries
the lobby
complimentary beverages

Despite its ancient decor – our room was clean with complimentary breakfast. There was no bath tub to Ee’s dismay but there’s a mini fridge which was good enough. The location of the hotel is very near to the shopping mall and Pasar Karat. You can literally walk there in 10 mins unless you’re heavily pregnant like Yours Truly.

Air conditioning was inconsistent. Perhaps they switched it off temporarily at night during certain hours as sometimes you do wake up feeling either too cold or too warm.  To save electricity, maybe? Otherwise, the service and amenities were fulfilling the star ratings. If only the breakfast options were a bit more meriah.  ha ha

The highlight of the trip was a visit to Zoo Johor. Its a small zoo in the city and the entrance fee was super cheap. RM1 for kids and RM2 for adults. Most of the time I’d be sitting down on the benches while Ee and Mr Husband climb the many flights of stairs to see the lions or something. I just couldn’t manage it anymore. Generally, it was still a nice zoo where the whole family could enjoy a day out together with minimal budget.

20170903_091659.jpg

 

As of food, Wak Radols satay is a must. Mr Husband seems to like it very much.

somehow we drove to a different branch of wak radol..

 

This time, we took the opportunity to try Sup Tulang Zz’s famous mee rebus. Each bowl was quite pricey. Taste-wise .. nasib baik sedap. tkdelah very marvelous but the dish kept the business going.

20170903_190801.jpg

 

And like any tourist, a picture around bandar JB is a must. We wanted to go to the night petting zoo but posing near the crown at the fountain was good enough. I thought the city was very pretty at night with all the LED lights. Very clean as well. If only we could stay longer but our jobs await. hmph.

 

IMG-20170904-WA0006-1.jpg

THE CROWNED PRINCE OF MELAKA

Thistle Port Dickson Resort And Spa

Posted in Everyday Life, Reviews, Travel by

It’s an all in hotel where you can just have a truly relaxing and enjoyable stay within the compound itself. Not only they have a wonderful swimming pool, an in-house spa and private beach, the resort also have plenty of activities for kids! And if that still does not entice you – hey, there’s a Pokestop and PokeGym on site too. You don’t even have to leave the hotel to gain levels and search for Pokemon.

img1471007420127.jpg

We were there because Mr Husband had a conference to attend. Since it coincides with my birthday – he decided to not share a room with his roommate and instead upgraded his options just so Ee and I could tag along. It was definitely quality time between Mother and Son.

It was a 4D3N stay. The room size and facilities were top notch. Yelah.. its a RM375 rate room per night but Mr Husband just paid like a bit lah.. kira top up jak.

img1471007578515.jpg

img1471007737235.jpg

Mr Husbands programmes starts at 8AM till 5PM. While he cracks his head for poster presentations and group work stuff – both me and my son decided to explore PD. We went to the Ostrich Farm, PD Waterfront, 3D Alive Art Gallery,  Oceania Mall (sgt usang).. had meals at the Cowboy Nasi Kukus place, plenty of cendols and coconut drinks plus a McD Happy Meal with Chocolate Cone ice cream.

img1471007871878.jpgimg1471007254571.jpg

We are usually back by noon as I need to perform my Zuhr prayers. Cannot jamak. It’s just 66KM away. In the afternoon when the weather is scorching hot – we’d stay indoors and entertain ourselves at the facilities on site.

THISTLE has a media room for kids where they’d play animation movies on the projector. Macam pegi wayang lahh. We wanted to watch  Frozen but missed its screening time, so we went for Penguin Madagascar and Kungfu Panda on 2 consecutive days. Ee enjoyed the Lego Room very much. Strangely he was not a fan of the kiddies swimming pool. He said he doesn’t want to fall sick playing in the pool. Fine by me – I don’t have to get changed in a burkini. Da ketat dahh… bluek

img1471007064586.jpg

If you have the monetary capacity and need to pamper yourself without moving much muscle – Thistle is the best place to go. Besides, I have yet to try the Spa.

 

Kuching : Lime Tree Hotel

Posted in Everyday Life, Food and Drinks, Travel by

lime shower, banana fritters and laksa!!

I chose to highlight The LimeTree Hotel strengths through its breakfast selection and their special in-house lime shower gel. For this trip to Kuching, Sarawak I made 2 separate bookings using 2 websites. One is Agoda.Com and the other with AirAsiaGo.Com.

The LimeTree Hotel

Lot 317 Abell Road,
Kuching, Malaysia

 

I used Agoda.Com for my own booking as my flight tickets were already available. I only needed to sort out my accommodation. Through the Insider’s Deal feature on top of an Early Bird (non refundable) discount I managed to book the Deluxe King with City View room at a total cost of RM807.55 (including tax and fees). Its roughly RM143 per night as opposed to its usual RM190 . I planned to stay for 6D5N , so every penny counts. I paid with my credit card and within minutes I was booked. I only had to print the voucher to be presented to the reception later during check in.

Then, I needed to book my mother’s flight + hotel. she also had the same length for stay. so I turned to our very own local NO 1 Best Low cost airline Air Asia. Searching for one person was a tad costly compared to if you were to book for two people. Naturally the less popular flight hours were cheapest, and finally I got to make a booking for her (flight + hotel) at a cost of RM967.26 (including tax and fees). I then tweaked her flight itinerary a bit and ordered inflight meals at a reasonable cost (range Rm9 – Rm15 per meal). We were good to go.

img1468912237667.jpg

CHECKING IN

Standard procedure was to have an ID card of the main client at hand. What wasn’t standard was to also register the 2nd adult guest staying in the same room on the system. This was for extra security measures. I had to remind my mother that she can only bring in one of her sisters to accompany her in her room and not bring all the sisters for a slumber party. She cheekily obliged.

Guests were given only one room key and could only access the floors they are staying on. This also meant that my mother (at level 3) cannot freely stop on our floor (level 2) for a chat in the morning on her way down to the G floor for the breakfast buffet.

My mother had her reservation paid in full online – she had to leave an RM50 deposit during check in.

ROOMS

Impeccably clean with that lovely citrus scent. No complaints. The wardrobe was very tiny though but we made do. If only they had an extra drawer at the dressing table. I guess they were going for a minimalist concept. Ha ha. The showers had strong pressure and it was refreshing to use their in-house lime shower/shampoo gels. My son looked forward to his baths every time.

Each room has access to FREE WIFI. They also have their GREEN WAYS in running the hotel which I totally heart!

Daily complimentary beverages and bottled water was very nice. And they also have an inbuilt universal socket adapter which was very very thoughtful.

BREAKFAST

They have a varied selection to choose from  – asian, western etc.. but they may not necessarily differ on a daily basis. Meaning you will see laksa everyday. Chicken slices everyday. Banana fritters everyday. So guests must refrain themselves from having everything on that one day. Instead, reserve your appetite for a western breakfast every other day or so. Even so, I chose to enjoy the Laksa Sarawak and Banana Fritters every freaking day!! Whoever you have cooking in the kitchen is a keeper!!

wp-1469148796290.jpg

LOCATION

This cute hotel is situated in the city with nearby attractions – what more can I say.

Mr Husband and my mother enjoyed the stay very much.The staff were very helpful. The fact that they want to stay in this hotel again says a lot about its services and facilities. My mother, a very direct 59 year old lady who still loves wearing her leggings even went up to one of the hotel staff (ntah2 owner) and praised the hotel for its very nyaman goreng pisang!

Well Done LimeTree Hotel. keep it up!

Hotel Tanjong Vista, Terengganu .. a 3 star hotel. Really?

Posted in Everyday Life, Reviews, Travel by

Work and leisure can come hand in hand. Especially when the husband is the one doing the work stuff like going to a conference whilst the wifey gets to explore her surroundings. teeeheee.. we did just that last month as we make an 8 hour drive to Terengganu.

TGDI

Mr Husband chose Tanjong Vista Hotel because it promised a lot of good things. Their selling points included a pool for the kids, a breakfast buffet to ease the early morning hunger pangs, free parking for in house guest and a strategic location to most of the places you need to go.

Recently Updated19

I have to admit. They delivered these wonderful things without fail.

I too loved that they have an ironing board in each room. And a fresh smelling sejadah (praying mat) because most public prayer mat macam kusam and kepam rite? Most importantly they have a mini fridge which is like awesome for a 3 star hotel. And can we please give them a round of applause for complimentary drinks in the lobby and daily newspaper!!

The location is just great as it is nearby tourist attractions like Pasar Payang and the beach with loads of stalls and eateries. Finding local delicacies is not a problem. there was not a single stall in Terengganu where the food taste awful .Like wow.. kitak urang tok keturunan chef istana dolok marek ka apa? he he.. 

Recently Updated20

Even the hotel breakfast buffet was commendable. Such delish nasi dagang for breakfast. And a whole lot more variety befit of a 3 star hotel.

Of course there were minor glitches. For instance;

  1. free but limited parking space. So if you happen to be staying there during a conference or something – be prepared to leave your vehicle outside the hotel premises. You can still see your car from the hotel room window but if something happens – you can only manage an ‘oh nooo’ from your room
  2. customer service information may vary from one personnel to another – to make it simple, be nice and just talk to the most senior person in charge. They have no malicious intent on charging you extra. They just don’t get that you need separate receipts for each room.
  3. Housekeeping may arrive at your room a bit late. Even if you’ve been out for almost the whole day. They were nice to apologize for not being able to make your room on time especially when you have soiled diapers that need to be disposed off. We make do by just allowing the team to get rid of the rubbish and replenish the supplies which include shower gels and bottled water.

Despite the above, it was still a good stay. it was a 3 star hotel on the high side. LOlz..