Tag Archive for Hotel

Vasanti Seminyak Resort in Bali – My Review

22 August 2014 Holiday No comments

We stayed at Vasanti for a long weekend in August (17th-20th) – as we wanted to relax and chill in a nice location close to Seminyak beach.

Vasanti was a refreshing stay – the rooms were very modern and clean, although some of the backgrounds face a wall, which makes the natural light limited, and limits the view somewhat!

The hotel service staff (front desk, bell boy, room, restaurant/bar, towel etc) were very attentive and provided service with a smile. We felt very welcome – almost felt like it was a home away from home. They even offered to drop us off to the local currency exchange down the road using their golf buggy – that’s fantastic service.

The pool is really nice and very clean, with a nice selection of sun loungers surrounding the pool and bean bags (on the grass) – they do need to add a few more sun loungers, as they do get taken up very quickly in the mornings – but if you are lucky to spend a few more dollars and get a pool-side room, you have your own private loungers available to use.

The restaurant was perfect – a nice selection of fresh food, and fruits, meats etc.  Nothing special, but pleasant enough for the few days we were there.

There is a room-top bar where this was life music – the views are quite nice, especially at sunset – and there was a nice display of kites – as there was a kite festival on – which made it a joy to watch as we sipped our drinks. The bar doesn’t get that busy though, but it is very relaxing and quaint, and actually quite romantic if you are keen for a quiet evening in.  If you are looking for more ‘action’, I would suggest you go into Seminyak town for the other more lively bar establishments etc.

We did not have any issues with mosquitoes or insects during the stay, however, as you walk in front of the hotel (on the road leading to the hotel), just be aware that there are standard water in the open drains, so you need to spray up if venturing outside.

The location of the hotel was adequate, it was a short walk to the beach, although it involves following a windy path – but just ask for directions, and there are a few signs giving you direction. Unfortunately, there are no street lights, so you have to be careful at night…and there are no pavements on the small road leading to the hotel – so you have to give space for the odd taxi and vehicles that may drive by.

All in all – a very pleasant stay, and I certainly would recommend this modern, clean and very pleasant hotel – hats off to the great staff throughout the hotel 🙂 I just hope they can keep the cleanliness and service levels up!!

Vasanti Seminyak Resort in Bali
Jalan Petitenget Gang Cendrawasih No.99
Seminyak, Badang, Bali 80361
Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 8466966
E-mail: info@vasantiseminyakresort.com
URL: http://www.vasantiseminyakresort.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VasantiSeminyakResort

Shangri La Reunion Dinner

31 January 2014 Entertainment, Family and Friends No comments

The Reunion Night is a big feast for Chinese New Year – as a way to celebrate the new year and have a big feast with the family. We had been invited to attend one at the Shangri-La Hotel – a very nice hotel indeed.

It was quite a grand event – inside one of the ball-rooms, and there was plenty of entertainment both on and away from the table. We started with the infamous Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng is a dish to celebrate Chinese New Years, and wishing years of joy, good luck and abundance.  

The rest of the courses followed, with the Shangri-La also putting on some other entertainment within the room. It was full of acrobats, trapeze artists and live music – although the music and sound was a bit too loud.

The meal cost $138++ – but it was certainly quite enjoyable, and we certainly ate a lot of food and drink.

I think I just need a couple of days to recover now 🙂

Shangri-La Hotel
22 Orange Grove Road
Singapore 258350
Tel: +65 6737 3644
URL: http://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/shangrila/

Aaron acts as a tour guide

20 January 2014 Entertainment, Exercise, Exhibition, Family and Friends, Gardens, Marina Bay No comments

Well what an interesting start of the year, an ex-colleague from the UK office was in town, as she was now working on a project that related to Singapore. It was great that she was able to come out and meet her team, whilst at the same time, we managed to enjoy the sights and sounds of Singapore over the weekend – Aaron became the tour guide for the weekend 🙂

She was in town for about a week, and it was good to see an familiar face and catch-up on the latest happenings from the UK and my old team – it sounded like a lot of change since I left over a year ago. I do kinda miss the UK and Brighton teams, but actually I don’t really miss the work.

So on Saturday, I commenced the tour from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on the north side of Marina Bay, we then walked along the promenade towards Boat Quay and the Fullerton hotel, we headed across towards China Town, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Year of the Horse – as we headed into the Chinese New Year festive period. After that, we took the MRT and went across to Marina Bay Sands, taking the sights and sounds of this landmark. We had a bite to eat at the MBS food court – like any tourist does these days. I then noticed that there was this Ice exhibition on, called 2 Degree Ice Art – in an area just outside of the main MBS facilities. So we went in here, the tickets were a bit pricey at S$32 a ticket, but at least my mum (who was joining us for the tour) was able to register with a Senior ticket (at S$26). The exhibition centre then had the audacity to ask whether we wanted coat and gloves…we asked what temperature was inside, and they said -15oC. I don’t think we had much choice as we were wearing summer-ware!! Anyway, they charged us another S$5 each…making the whole session a total of S$105. Ouch! It was fun inside, and a nice way to see the various monuments of the world calved into Ice Sculptures. We then headed back into MBS, and we decided to do a bit of retail therapy. I got a nice pair of Hush Puppies shoes – very comfortable and reasonable, and a nice selection.

We then had a couple of options, head towards the original Botanic Gardens, or visit the Gardens By the Bay. I decided that we should do this, so we headed there, which is a short walk from the MBS complex. There was a nice Dragon dance within the gardens which was very entertaining (I do wonder what these guys do for the rest of the year!!). We then continued our walk around the gardens until we arrived at the 2 domes, we went to the ticket line. I had my ‘free’ pass, and I then tried to see if there was any ‘senior’ tickets, they said only for local residents, which was a shame. Anyway, I then had this brainwave, and as local / EP-visa holders was slightly cheaper, I pretended to buy one for myself (even though I already had an annual pass entitling me free access), so I got one expensive (S$28), one cheap (S20) and I had my own annual pass …haha! a bit crafty – but that’s me 🙂 If no one tells, I won’t!!

We went into the two domes, I do feel that the flower one is better, as they change the displays to the current themes etc. The first time I went, they had a tulips display, previously it was the horse display, similar to this time. But still nice all the same. The Cloud dome was a bit boring, but was refreshing inside at least.

After this, we headed back towards the hotel across the Helix bridge, just as they were doing some sort of art projection on the ArtsScience museum monument. Very nice indeed, it was like they were throwing paint across it in time with the music. A great show! We then went to the hotel, and relaxed at the bar, and then said our farewells.

On the Sunday, it was more of an Orchard Road tour, so we met up for Brunch at the Wild Honey at Scotts Square location – very nice and tasty indeed. We did a relaxing walk down Orchard Road, being part of the hustle and bustle of the Sunday afternoon. A bit of window shopping and retail therapy throughout the sprawling malls and shops along the road, before we ended up at an interesting wine bar just off Orchard Road – the House of Robert Timms – an interesting spot, as you can watch the world go by and enjoy coffee (or wine, in our case) and chill and relax. We then made on our way, a nice way to end the Singapore tour and the busy weekend 🙂

Hotel Re – Retro Boutique Hotel

10 December 2012 Hotel Re!, New Chapter No comments

Well the first port of call was the hotel to freshen up. Even though I arrived at 8am, I arrived at the hotel with the hope that they had my room available and allowed me an early check-in. The front desk were very accommodating and allowed me to check-in with penalty. I promptly arrived at my room, freshened up and felt actually very awake and rearing to go.

The hotel itself was conveniently located at Outram Park, just up from Pearl Hill. It was a few minutes away from Outram Park MRT – and the hotel offered a courtesy shuttle bus to take you to the MRT – a nice touch. The complimentary refreshments (daily replenished) are a nice treat; so Pepsi, Water, Oreo and a snack is free to eat. There is complimentary wi-fi available throughout the hotel – although it was a bit on the slow side (I guess that is always the risk of being free!).

I had already arranged for my blackberry to be sorted before I left the UK, so I knew it was ready to be picked-up later on in the day. I also had to make my way to pick-up mum when she arrived at 3pm from Hong Kong – would be good to have her around to support the condo hunting 🙂

So onwards and upwards…a trip to the office first 🙂

 

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