I had tried Hot Tomato at NEX before and I didnt remember it being better But sadly my visit on 31 March turned out to worse than what my memory serves.
I mean I know it is really supposed to be casual western fare and I dont expect it to light a lighbulb on my palette but I didnt think it was unreasonable for me to ask that the food was averge. A below average meal costing us $140 for 7pax is not acceptable to me.
I wont review in details but generally we ordered their pasta, grilled chicken, mixed grill, grilled salmon, and an extremely sad looking fried platter which consists of fries, sausages, calamari, and chicken wings.
While they were not revolting they were not nice either. What a bad choice I made. SIGH.
I discovered this spot because of the UOB promotion where you pay for only 2 when dining for 3 - their weekend high tea at $38 per pax.
For a buffet high tea, one cant expect the variety to be big but it has to be appetiziing enough at the same time especially for hotel standards. And it has to be a place cosy enough for people to feel that they are happy chilling their time away there and not being hungry at the same time.
Lobby Lounge at Pan Pac Orchard meets the mark for me. It is in Orchard but you get to avoid the mad crowds on weekends. And there's a decent spread of bites to boot (but do note they are average and not wow) - plus the unlimited ala carte orders of char kway teow, prawn noodles, and assamn laksa makes this deal abut more substaintial. You get the unlimited ala carte thingy at their buffet at 10 at Claymore too (Ive just written a review about it).
The spread - assorted pastries (cold though), breadsticks, cheesese, assorted mini desserts, snowcrab bruschetta, buckwheat soba with tako, marinated octopus, hummus bread, scones, asparagus beef.
Specials only for weekends - two live stations featuring Swiss Cottage Melting Raclette and Spanish-Bred Iberian-Cured Ham. But the chef frequently goes missing at the station.
The service was almost non-existent though - it was painful trying to get their attention when we were only the 3rd table occupied.
I probably wont return without any promotions though. At $38 there's alot more places you can go to, but at $25 with the deal, this is a nice option.
Located at Pan Pacific Orchard, this new find of mine suffers from its location although it is still in Orchard Road. Still not many people know of and even if they do, see this as a potential dining destination - such a pity as their buffet lunch is actually quite good!
I went for a weekday buffet lunch promotion which allows 3pax to dine for the price of 2pax using UOB cards and we were plesantly surprised by the value of the meal, both variety and quality.
Cold dishes - DIY salad station, appetizers like spicy pasta salad (nice) and achar (good), cold soba noodles, cold cuts, and smoked salmon. I missed fresh salmon sashimi though.
Soups - there were 2 selections that day - Tomato and Tom Yam. We all did try the tomato but the tom yam was the best I have ever tasted, seriously. It was chockful of flavour but not too spicy - a wonderful pipping hot concoction of lemongrass, tomotoes, and thai spices. And this coming from a non-tom yam lover.
Bread - the selection looked great but honestly, I try to stay away from bread at buffets in general.
Cheeses - I was overwhelmed by the cheese selection and they were all very nice! Wensleydale cranberry, Port wine cheddar, Pakari smoked cheddar, Long Clawson chilli & lime and black pepper. All super good and goes extremely well with the condiments and crackers provided.
Hot dishes - am reviewing this based on my limited meat intake here. There were thai olive rice (nice but oddly cold sitting on top of a steamer), chilli steam sea bass (delicious), roasted veg (my favourite), mussels in soya sauce (good), teriyaki chicken (very good). The things I didnt eat was lamb shank, braised beef, braised ginger chicken, stir fried kailan which looked competently attractive.
Live station - Not really 'live' live but there was a chef slicing bbq ribs and grilled pineapple for you if you like.
Ala carte food - The highlight was no doubt the unlimited ala carte order of 3 local fav - char kway teow (good), spicy prawn noodle broth (good), and assam laksa (average). I liked that they really kept it to smallish portions but even so, most people wont be able to get through to seconds as they are so carb heavy.
Desserts - A big assortment but me being me, I only tried a few - the chocolate truffle (like rocher in cake form), mango pudding (good) and swiss roll (nah). The same chef slicing the ribs at the station is also in charge of making crepes with your choice of fillings, including durian which seems to make my table very happy indeed. There's also cookies and ice creams available which I didnt have the space for.
Drinks / juices - there are 4 prepared juices - pineapple, grapefruit, guava, orange which were not too bad. The buffet also comes with coffee / tea which came with hot milk - nice.
Service was mostly good save for a young girl who was almost too enthusiatic about clearing our plates - she would swoop down on us when we were at our last month but still holding on to the spoon / fork.
*Disclaimer* - I have no idea how to input the address and postal codes of Shanghai so the details I've indicated are of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore.
Before I visited Shanghai, I used to think that oh another Chinese city - and with RMB, it shouldnt be expensive at all. How wrong I was!
Everything is expensive in Shanghai - food, accommodation, everyday living expenses, entertainment. EVERYTHING. More so if you're a expat who lives there - then double the above-mentioned costs. A plain turtle neck top is RMB800 after discount. Really.
Shanghai is an interesting mix of the 'old' times and the 'modern' times of today. You can see the stark contrast almost everywhere, including by the people you see on the streets.
But its still a good place to visit if you want to feel like you're on holiday but yet a place that's city enough for you. Good to visit between March - April when its cool and not cold.
Macau is probably my favorite destination which I'll never get sick of visiting because:
1. New luxury hotels / buildings seem to be popping up every now and then and there's always something new to see / look / play.
2. These new luxury hotels are not expensive to stay in. YAY!
3. Weather is perfect if you choose to go between November and March - nice cool winds without being too cold to take a night walk.
3. Food is cheap but you can also eat atas if that's your choice.
4. You'll never be too bored with the overwhelm of casinos around. Or too broke that is.
The only thing I dont like is that only Tiger flies direct to Macau and that takes away the pressure for them to lower their prices. But that's not the fault of Macau itself I guess.
I think Xiamen Airline has the honour of being on my 'worst airline' list. Why? Plenty of reasons, but here goes some:
Price - their tickets are expensive. My tickets to Fuzhou typically falls between $800 - $1,000 which is way above what it is worth.
Planes - their planes are like toy planes - so smallish it almost looks cute. Their seats are tight, and they have no individual inflight entertainment systems. So you either have to force yourself to sleep or force yourself to watch whatever they decide to play for you on the common screens. Food - they also have the worst airline meals ever. I have vivid memories of being served plain rice with green peas - not appetizing at all. I always end up mixing their rice with the pre-packed pickled veg to make it more bearable.
Service - quite crappy. You see sullen faces, occasionally some nice ones if you're lucky. They shout 'A' or 'B' as choices for the meals during meal service but plonk whatever is available on your tray without waiting for your answer. So they're really asking for erm fun.
Loyalty prog - non existent. Their programme is called Egret membership and during my last flight my points were not accrued. So I wrote to them and.............nothing happened. I didnt bother to chase up too as really, what's the point.
I sometimes have to travel to Fuzhou for work and this airline unfortunately is the only airline which flies direct so I have no choice. But if you do, dont take this!!
I last tried this airline on a KL trip and managed to get a nice rate at about $80 inclusive of luggage. The flight itself was short so no complains thankfully. The air crew was most usually smiley and accommodating to simple requests.
However, they dont seem to have very good promotions recently. Even their $1 one-way promotion seems cheap at first, but if you click on dates etc, you'd find that the return sector is quite expensive and with taxes, it is hardly a good deal. I have this feeling that they try and sneak part of the price into the return sector to make people think that its a good promo. But I guess its my personal opinion - I'm sure the promotion works for alot of other people too.
Their marketing seems to fall below Jetstar and Tiger though. Of course I dont prefer them to spend alot on marketing then pass on the costs to passengers but there has to be some cost-effective ways which they can bring themselves up to par with their competitors no?
I've taken Jetstar many a times because I feel that they are one of the best budget airlines around. Their planes seem to be newer, seats bigger, and service better. And of course, their marketing makes them look a notch above their competitors.
I had a surprisingly good experience with them 2 years back when they agreed to amend flight dates and times for me after much pleading. Usually such requests are not acceded to unless you pay extra but I guess I was lucky (or sounded pitiful enough).
I wish they would be more transparent with their taxes though, and yes I know that being not transport with the extra charges is a norm, but still getting to know what you would be paying for in total much earlier will be still very much appreciated.
Their promotions are also quite good although I can never seem to catch on their 1-4-1 promotion which is such a shame - the timings are always off. But I did manage to snag a $14 per way ticket for a short holiday which is nice and I am looking forward to it! $14 x 2 ways taxes = $100. Not bad at all!
Popped by Canton Paradise @ I12 Katong one weekday afternoon for some dim sum to chase away the weekday blues. I honestly would have preferred Wah Lok but didn't quite fancy jostling with the CBD crowd and it definitely helped that the porridge at Canton Paradise had a certain allure. Just for the record, as at time of writing, I've been to Canton Paradise a total of 9 times in 3 months, but this is probably going to be my only post on Canton Paradise (I am usually too famished during lunch to bother taking photos). And yes, I'm that crazy about dim sum.
The place is huge and sports a rather "ancient Chinese" decor with its uneven brick walls and wooden decorative panels. If you can stand the cold air conditioning, ask for a booth seat (2-4 pax) because the other tables are spaced a tad too close for comfortable conversation.
BBQ Combination - We had the combination platter of BBQ pork belly with honey sauce and roasted pork, of which the former was sinfully better with a high fat to meat ratio and smothered in gooey honey marinade. I personally like to eat the BBQ pork belly with the salted peanuts that are served alongside. Makes for a nice contrast in both areas of taste and texture. Unfortunately, the BBQ pork's skin wasn't crisp enough and I think they need to add in a wee bit more salt for flavouring.
Steamed Cheong Fun with BBQ Pork - The cheong fun featured translucent but rather limp skin with a reasonable amount of BBQ pork filling. Decent but no great shakes. And remember to eat immediately when served, lest it turns cold and clammy.
Steamed Prawn Dumplings - Fresh, crunchy prawns coupled with translucent but mildly elastic skin. Pretty decent.
Steamed Pork Dumplings - The "porkyness" of the siew mai wasn't too overwhelming and the fat to lean meat ratio was reasonable. As with most dim sum items, eat them while they are hot.
Century Egg Porridge with Lean Meat - I personally think the porridge, especially the 皮蛋瘦肉粥, at Canton Paradise is quite good and this is one of the main reasons why I keep coming back. Consistently sticky with visible rice grains and a subtle, savoury aftertaste. And that's coming from someone who doesn't take century egg. The meatball porridge is nice as well but a little on the bland side.
Baked BBQ Honey Pork Bun - This is reminiscent of the one I had at Tim Ho Wan in HK. Unfortunately, the standards did not quite match up. For starters, the base was overly oily and the BBQ pork wasn't gooey enough. Decent but try the real thing from Tim Ho Wan when it opens in Singapore!
If my memory serves me correct, the bill for this lunch came up to around $50, which is pretty much the range you pay for decent quality dim sum these days. However the staff did seem a little overwhelmed with the place running at almost full capacity, which naturally led to slower service and forgotten requests.
I chose this hotel based on TA reviews and some research on my own for a short trip for a group of 7 friends. Reservation was easy via their online system and email responses came quickly as well.
PRICE - We paid 2 x Family Suites (each equipped with 2 bedrooms) and paid MYR630nett for each suite including breakfast for 4pax each which was not too bad a deal.
CHECKING IN - We arrived on a Sat morning 9am and obviously we were early so we came back late afternoon about 4pm (usual check in time is 3pm) and received the keys to our rooms. There were adequate staffing at the check in counters to assist guests though. ROOMS - We were assigned 1304 and 1307. The rooms were very spacious and each bedroom in each suite was too - so much so it felt that there were a lot of wasted space in the rooms. Amenities were average though. Room 1304 was a corridor room and the layout was usual with the living room in the middle and the 2 bedrooms to the left and right. Room 1307 was a corner room so it had a more awkward layout with a smaller living room and then the rooms to each side of it. The bedrooms had 1 king and 2 double beds in each - the double beds can in fact sleep 2 comfortably - and each bedrooms has its own washroom, Each suite is also allowed to put in a max of 2 extra rooms although the space would have allowed for many more. The cleanliness in 1307 can be better though, with stained linens (which I didnt bother to seek a replacement for since its only for 1 night) and dusty couches. FACILITIES - Apparently the hotel has it own spa on level 5 which is reasonably priced. Also a pooi, gym and your usual offerings. RESTAURANTS - I only had breakfast at the Para Para restaurant (ground floor) hotel which was alright. I could see that they try to do well on the variety but nothing was excellent in terms of quality. The place was also quite bustling when we were there. CHECK OUT - Check out was quick since our bill was quite simple and we paid in cash. They also tore the credit card deposit on the spot in my presence which was good.
SERVICE - Service in general was nothing to complain about since we didnt spend a lot of time in the hotel itself. A call for a wine opener was quickly answered to which was a plus point.
LOCATION - The nearest mall is KSL which was big and offered many options for a 2d1n trip but the walk from the hotel to the mall takes about 10-15mins at leisure pace. The route is also extremely un-sheltered so be prepared to brave the elements (heat / rain) if you are unlucky.
Although nothing memorable, this must already be one of the better hotels in JB. I will definitely stay here again but I will probably request for 1304 again or any room along the corridor as I feel housekeeping pays more attention to those than the corner ones.
1=SGD 0.0587
I had tried Hot Tomato at NEX before and I didnt remember it being better But sadly my visit on 31 March turned out to worse than what my memory serves.
I mean I know it is really supposed to be casual western fare and I dont expect it to light a lighbulb on my palette but I didnt think it was unreasonable for me to ask that the food was averge. A below average meal costing us $140 for 7pax is not acceptable to me.
I wont review in details but generally we ordered their pasta, grilled chicken, mixed grill, grilled salmon, and an extremely sad looking fried platter which consists of fries, sausages, calamari, and chicken wings.
While they were not revolting they were not nice either. What a bad choice I made. SIGH.
Rating given:
I discovered this spot because of the UOB promotion where you pay for only 2 when dining for 3 - their weekend high tea at $38 per pax.
For a buffet high tea, one cant expect the variety to be big but it has to be appetiziing enough at the same time especially for hotel standards. And it has to be a place cosy enough for people to feel that they are happy chilling their time away there and not being hungry at the same time.
Lobby Lounge at Pan Pac Orchard meets the mark for me. It is in Orchard but you get to avoid the mad crowds on weekends. And there's a decent spread of bites to boot (but do note they are average and not wow) - plus the unlimited ala carte orders of char kway teow, prawn noodles, and assamn laksa makes this deal abut more substaintial. You get the unlimited ala carte thingy at their buffet at 10 at Claymore too (Ive just written a review about it).
The spread - assorted pastries (cold though), breadsticks, cheesese, assorted mini desserts, snowcrab bruschetta, buckwheat soba with tako, marinated octopus, hummus bread, scones, asparagus beef.
Specials only for weekends - two live stations featuring Swiss Cottage Melting Raclette and Spanish-Bred Iberian-Cured Ham. But the chef frequently goes missing at the station.
The service was almost non-existent though - it was painful trying to get their attention when we were only the 3rd table occupied.
I probably wont return without any promotions though. At $38 there's alot more places you can go to, but at $25 with the deal, this is a nice option.
Rating given:
Located at Pan Pacific Orchard, this new find of mine suffers from its location although it is still in Orchard Road. Still not many people know of and even if they do, see this as a potential dining destination - such a pity as their buffet lunch is actually quite good!
I went for a weekday buffet lunch promotion which allows 3pax to dine for the price of 2pax using UOB cards and we were plesantly surprised by the value of the meal, both variety and quality.
Cold dishes - DIY salad station, appetizers like spicy pasta salad (nice) and achar (good), cold soba noodles, cold cuts, and smoked salmon. I missed fresh salmon sashimi though.
Soups - there were 2 selections that day - Tomato and Tom Yam. We all did try the tomato but the tom yam was the best I have ever tasted, seriously. It was chockful of flavour but not too spicy - a wonderful pipping hot concoction of lemongrass, tomotoes, and thai spices. And this coming from a non-tom yam lover.
Bread - the selection looked great but honestly, I try to stay away from bread at buffets in general.
Cheeses - I was overwhelmed by the cheese selection and they were all very nice! Wensleydale cranberry, Port wine cheddar, Pakari smoked cheddar, Long Clawson chilli & lime and black pepper. All super good and goes extremely well with the condiments and crackers provided.
Hot dishes - am reviewing this based on my limited meat intake here. There were thai olive rice (nice but oddly cold sitting on top of a steamer), chilli steam sea bass (delicious), roasted veg (my favourite), mussels in soya sauce (good), teriyaki chicken (very good). The things I didnt eat was lamb shank, braised beef, braised ginger chicken, stir fried kailan which looked competently attractive.
Live station - Not really 'live' live but there was a chef slicing bbq ribs and grilled pineapple for you if you like.
Ala carte food - The highlight was no doubt the unlimited ala carte order of 3 local fav - char kway teow (good), spicy prawn noodle broth (good), and assam laksa (average). I liked that they really kept it to smallish portions but even so, most people wont be able to get through to seconds as they are so carb heavy.
Desserts - A big assortment but me being me, I only tried a few - the chocolate truffle (like rocher in cake form), mango pudding (good) and swiss roll (nah). The same chef slicing the ribs at the station is also in charge of making crepes with your choice of fillings, including durian which seems to make my table very happy indeed. There's also cookies and ice creams available which I didnt have the space for.
Drinks / juices - there are 4 prepared juices - pineapple, grapefruit, guava, orange which were not too bad. The buffet also comes with coffee / tea which came with hot milk - nice.
Service was mostly good save for a young girl who was almost too enthusiatic about clearing our plates - she would swoop down on us when we were at our last month but still holding on to the spoon / fork.
Will do a return visit!
Rating given:
*Disclaimer* - I have no idea how to input the address and postal codes of Shanghai so the details I've indicated are of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore.
Before I visited Shanghai, I used to think that oh another Chinese city - and with RMB, it shouldnt be expensive at all. How wrong I was!
Everything is expensive in Shanghai - food, accommodation, everyday living expenses, entertainment. EVERYTHING. More so if you're a expat who lives there - then double the above-mentioned costs. A plain turtle neck top is RMB800 after discount. Really.
Shanghai is an interesting mix of the 'old' times and the 'modern' times of today. You can see the stark contrast almost everywhere, including by the people you see on the streets.
But its still a good place to visit if you want to feel like you're on holiday but yet a place that's city enough for you. Good to visit between March - April when its cool and not cold.
Rating given:
Macau is probably my favorite destination which I'll never get sick of visiting because:
1. New luxury hotels / buildings seem to be popping up every now and then and there's always something new to see / look / play.
2. These new luxury hotels are not expensive to stay in. YAY!
3. Weather is perfect if you choose to go between November and March - nice cool winds without being too cold to take a night walk.
3. Food is cheap but you can also eat atas if that's your choice.
4. You'll never be too bored with the overwhelm of casinos around. Or too broke that is.
The only thing I dont like is that only Tiger flies direct to Macau and that takes away the pressure for them to lower their prices. But that's not the fault of Macau itself I guess.
Rating given:
I think Xiamen Airline has the honour of being on my 'worst airline' list. Why? Plenty of reasons, but here goes some:
Price - their tickets are expensive. My tickets to Fuzhou typically falls between $800 - $1,000 which is way above what it is worth.
Planes - their planes are like toy planes - so smallish it almost looks cute. Their seats are tight, and they have no individual inflight entertainment systems. So you either have to force yourself to sleep or force yourself to watch whatever they decide to play for you on the common screens.
Food - they also have the worst airline meals ever. I have vivid memories of being served plain rice with green peas - not appetizing at all. I always end up mixing their rice with the pre-packed pickled veg to make it more bearable.
Service - quite crappy. You see sullen faces, occasionally some nice ones if you're lucky. They shout 'A' or 'B' as choices for the meals during meal service but plonk whatever is available on your tray without waiting for your answer. So they're really asking for erm fun.
Loyalty prog - non existent. Their programme is called Egret membership and during my last flight my points were not accrued. So I wrote to them and.............nothing happened. I didnt bother to chase up too as really, what's the point.
I sometimes have to travel to Fuzhou for work and this airline unfortunately is the only airline which flies direct so I have no choice. But if you do, dont take this!!
Rating given:
I last tried this airline on a KL trip and managed to get a nice rate at about $80 inclusive of luggage. The flight itself was short so no complains thankfully. The air crew was most usually smiley and accommodating to simple requests.
However, they dont seem to have very good promotions recently. Even their $1 one-way promotion seems cheap at first, but if you click on dates etc, you'd find that the return sector is quite expensive and with taxes, it is hardly a good deal. I have this feeling that they try and sneak part of the price into the return sector to make people think that its a good promo. But I guess its my personal opinion - I'm sure the promotion works for alot of other people too.
Their marketing seems to fall below Jetstar and Tiger though. Of course I dont prefer them to spend alot on marketing then pass on the costs to passengers but there has to be some cost-effective ways which they can bring themselves up to par with their competitors no?
Rating given:
I've taken Jetstar many a times because I feel that they are one of the best budget airlines around. Their planes seem to be newer, seats bigger, and service better. And of course, their marketing makes them look a notch above their competitors.
I had a surprisingly good experience with them 2 years back when they agreed to amend flight dates and times for me after much pleading. Usually such requests are not acceded to unless you pay extra but I guess I was lucky (or sounded pitiful enough).
I wish they would be more transparent with their taxes though, and yes I know that being not transport with the extra charges is a norm, but still getting to know what you would be paying for in total much earlier will be still very much appreciated.
Their promotions are also quite good although I can never seem to catch on their 1-4-1 promotion which is such a shame - the timings are always off. But I did manage to snag a $14 per way ticket for a short holiday which is nice and I am looking forward to it! $14 x 2 ways taxes = $100. Not bad at all!
Rating given:
Popped by Canton Paradise @ I12 Katong one weekday afternoon for some dim sum to chase away the weekday blues. I honestly would have preferred Wah Lok but didn't quite fancy jostling with the CBD crowd and it definitely helped that the porridge at Canton Paradise had a certain allure. Just for the record, as at time of writing, I've been to Canton Paradise a total of 9 times in 3 months, but this is probably going to be my only post on Canton Paradise (I am usually too famished during lunch to bother taking photos). And yes, I'm that crazy about dim sum.
The place is huge and sports a rather "ancient Chinese" decor with its uneven brick walls and wooden decorative panels. If you can stand the cold air conditioning, ask for a booth seat (2-4 pax) because the other tables are spaced a tad too close for comfortable conversation.
BBQ Combination - We had the combination platter of BBQ pork belly with honey sauce and roasted pork, of which the former was sinfully better with a high fat to meat ratio and smothered in gooey honey marinade. I personally like to eat the BBQ pork belly with the salted peanuts that are served alongside. Makes for a nice contrast in both areas of taste and texture. Unfortunately, the BBQ pork's skin wasn't crisp enough and I think they need to add in a wee bit more salt for flavouring.
Steamed Cheong Fun with BBQ Pork - The cheong fun featured translucent but rather limp skin with a reasonable amount of BBQ pork filling. Decent but no great shakes. And remember to eat immediately when served, lest it turns cold and clammy.
Steamed Prawn Dumplings - Fresh, crunchy prawns coupled with translucent but mildly elastic skin. Pretty decent.
Steamed Pork Dumplings - The "porkyness" of the siew mai wasn't too overwhelming and the fat to lean meat ratio was reasonable. As with most dim sum items, eat them while they are hot.
Century Egg Porridge with Lean Meat - I personally think the porridge, especially the 皮蛋瘦肉粥, at Canton Paradise is quite good and this is one of the main reasons why I keep coming back. Consistently sticky with visible rice grains and a subtle, savoury aftertaste. And that's coming from someone who doesn't take century egg. The meatball porridge is nice as well but a little on the bland side.
Baked BBQ Honey Pork Bun - This is reminiscent of the one I had at Tim Ho Wan in HK. Unfortunately, the standards did not quite match up. For starters, the base was overly oily and the BBQ pork wasn't gooey enough. Decent but try the real thing from Tim Ho Wan when it opens in Singapore!
If my memory serves me correct, the bill for this lunch came up to around $50, which is pretty much the range you pay for decent quality dim sum these days. However the staff did seem a little overwhelmed with the place running at almost full capacity, which naturally led to slower service and forgotten requests.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I chose this hotel based on TA reviews and some research on my own for a short trip for a group of 7 friends. Reservation was easy via their online system and email responses came quickly as well.
PRICE - We paid 2 x Family Suites (each equipped with 2 bedrooms) and paid MYR630nett for each suite including breakfast for 4pax each which was not too bad a deal.
CHECKING IN - We arrived on a Sat morning 9am and obviously we were early so we came back late afternoon about 4pm (usual check in time is 3pm) and received the keys to our rooms. There were adequate staffing at the check in counters to assist guests though.
ROOMS - We were assigned 1304 and 1307. The rooms were very spacious and each bedroom in each suite was too - so much so it felt that there were a lot of wasted space in the rooms. Amenities were average though. Room 1304 was a corridor room and the layout was usual with the living room in the middle and the 2 bedrooms to the left and right. Room 1307 was a corner room so it had a more awkward layout with a smaller living room and then the rooms to each side of it. The bedrooms had 1 king and 2 double beds in each - the double beds can in fact sleep 2 comfortably - and each bedrooms has its own washroom, Each suite is also allowed to put in a max of 2 extra rooms although the space would have allowed for many more. The cleanliness in 1307 can be better though, with stained linens (which I didnt bother to seek a replacement for since its only for 1 night) and dusty couches.
FACILITIES - Apparently the hotel has it own spa on level 5 which is reasonably priced. Also a pooi, gym and your usual offerings.
RESTAURANTS - I only had breakfast at the Para Para restaurant (ground floor) hotel which was alright. I could see that they try to do well on the variety but nothing was excellent in terms of quality. The place was also quite bustling when we were there.
CHECK OUT - Check out was quick since our bill was quite simple and we paid in cash. They also tore the credit card deposit on the spot in my presence which was good.
SERVICE - Service in general was nothing to complain about since we didnt spend a lot of time in the hotel itself. A call for a wine opener was quickly answered to which was a plus point.
LOCATION - The nearest mall is KSL which was big and offered many options for a 2d1n trip but the walk from the hotel to the mall takes about 10-15mins at leisure pace. The route is also extremely un-sheltered so be prepared to brave the elements (heat / rain) if you are unlucky.
Although nothing memorable, this must already be one of the better hotels in JB. I will definitely stay here again but I will probably request for 1304 again or any room along the corridor as I feel housekeeping pays more attention to those than the corner ones.
Rating given: