Nova Highlands Resort and Residence, Cameron Highlands (29-30 May 2016)

We chose Nova Highlands Resort because of the good reviews given on Booking.com. The location is great as it situated on top of a small mall with a few restaurants like Teh Tarik Place, a mamak shop and a bakery. For entertainment there's an indoor playground and a 3D Art Museum (for which we received 4 free tickets). There's also some stalls selling fruits/flowers and vegetables across the road, Watsons and shops selling jackets/clothing items nearby. The pasar sayur is also nearby and within a walking distance. The famous pasar malam in Brinchang is also just about 15 minutes drive away

The hotel is quite new, plenty of indoor parking space. Checking in was a breeze and the service was quite fast. The staff is also quite friendly and chatty. 

We booked the 2 bedroom apartment for one night. The space consist of a small kitchenette, living room, one bathroom and 2 bedrooms. I find the space to be adequate to fit 7 people. The living room is quite big but the bedrooms are quite small. My issues was with the sliding glass door they use which I find to be pretty impractical and quite dangerous for small children. Other than that I have no other issue with rooms. 

 View from our the room is pretty nice, breakfast is not bad but with limited selection.

To me the best thing about this hotel is its location. There's a lot of attractions nearby and some within a walking distance so you don't have to drive and fight for parking so much. All in all I rate the room at 7/10. 

Impiana Hotel, Ipoh ( 28 May 2016)

We decided at the very last minute to bring the kids on a short break during the mid-term school holidays. We managed to keep the plan quiet until my parents accidentally spoiled the surprised. The munchkins ended up announcing our plans to everyone while making promises to get them strawberries haha. We also dragged our parents along for this trip so that we can all spend some quality time together.

The initial plan was to drive to Cameron Highland on Sunday and spend one night there. 2 days before our trip and looking at our planned itinerary, we changed our minds and booked a one night stay in Ipoh. We figured that it would be better to break the travel time so that the trip won't be so rushed. I don't think we would have been able to enjoy Cameron much after a 4 hours drive with the kids :p

We managed to get our hands on 2 deluxe rooms in Impiana Hotel, Ipoh at the very last minute. The location is right smack in the middle of the town and it is about a 1.5 hour drive up to Cameron. 

Source: Google Pic

The rooms are comfortable with the usual amenities. The furniture is quite dated and when we first arrived our TVs are without cable. The hotel managed to remedy the problems within 20 minutes of our complaints.

We managed to secure adjoining rooms and the rooms that were given to my parents are the spacious corner room. You can imagine all the fun the munchkin had running from one room to another. Drove the adults nuts, I tell you :p 

 

The pool were under renovation and was closed when we were there. The munchkins had to make do with the tub. Irregardless of the source, give my children water and they'll be more than happy for hours. 

Breakfast is part of the room package. The choices are adequate though the nasi lemak could do with a tad more santan. The kids also ate for free.

Left:  The buffet spread. Right: One of nenek, daddy and Ranya for the album

The hotel is good for day trips. Go for it especially if you're planning on being out the whole day to visit Tambun or go on an Ipoh Foodpedition. The town is about 15 mins drive out and Tambun is less than 20 mins away. I rate our stay here at 6.9/10. Not bad but not super awesome either. 

We brought my parents to try out Nasi Lemak Ayam Kampung.  Service was a bit slow and the lamb was overcooked and tough. The nasi lemak is still tasty but it does put a damper to the whole experience. Note to self:  do not come here during peak season. Anyway Day 1 of our road trip went well, alhamdullilah. Will blog about our stay in Cameron soon. 

Golden Sands, Penang (17-19 March 2016)

Reading this people would automatically think of "overseas" destination. However, I've come to realized there's plenty of  places in Malaysia that I've yet to explore with the munchkins. This year we choose Penang. The last I've been here was 25 years ago and this is Ryan, Iman and Ranya's first trip to the Island. 

Passing through the new bridge :)

We've decided to stay at Golden Sands Penang @ Batu Feringhi. A good choice in terms of location. There's plenty of eateries and stalls within walking distance and the night market starts from the entrance of the hotel every evening. Plenty of things to do if you don't want to be cooped inside your hotel. 

Having said that my children were more than happy to laze around in the hotel for 3 days. The facilities is awesome. There's a few pools for kids and adults, a playground and an activity center. The hotel is also very child friendly. Upon arrival, my kids were welcomed with balloons, sweets and drinks. 

THE ROOM

The room is very spacious and comfortable. The room came with a king bed + a single bed, so all of us can happily sleep without having to squeeze much :) There's plenty of nooks and space for the munchkins to make a mess with all their toys. The balcony offers an awesome view in the morning and evening. 

THE FACILITIES

 As you can see plenty of fun for the munchkins. The weather was very hot in Penang, so all they wanted to do was to hang around in the pool all day. One of the pool is covered, so it is possible for the children to take a dip in the afternoon without being overheated. 

THE FOOD AND EXTRAS

The hotel also gave complimentary RM50 food vouchers per day to their patrons. We managed to  order 3 types of kids meals for under RM45 :) we also enjoyed the ice creams available at the pool side cafe. Obviously this "extra" gesture was a plus point for Lan and I :)

The breakfast spread was also quite good. There's nasi lemak, dim sum, pancakes, waffles, cereals and a selection of pastries every morning. The food served from room service was also tasty. The cafe is also quite generous with condiments ( seeing that we've been to some 5 star hotels that don't even have chili sauce :p) 

THE BEACH

The hotel come with its own private beach . The wave is a bit strong so we didn't go in the water but played with the sands instead. My girls are not a big fan, so we had to drag them to the beach everyday *duh* what is the point of a beach holiday if you refused to spend time at the beach? *sigh* There's also plenty of lounge chairs set up around the hotel facilities, so you can also choose to relax and read a book or sun tan if you want. 

As usual, my booking was made at Booking.com . We had a good time here minus one incident where there's a blackout in our room for about 20 minutes on the day of arrival. Other than that no complaint and we will make a point to come back again one day InshaAllah :)

We rate our stay here at 8.5/10

Grand Lexis, Port Dickson (6-7 February 2016)

During the Chinese New Year holidays we decided to join my in laws in Port Dickson and treat them to a one day stay in Grand Lexis. We went through several options but settled for Grand Lexis due to the allure of its private pool.

As usual, my booking was done through Booking.com. Since it was super last minute, we managed to secure the Garden Pool Villa and Executive Pool Villa. Our room was also upgraded to the beach view unit. Let me tell you, the view is stunning.

 The room is spacious with 2 king beds, spacious living room area and a simple kitchenette. 

 Microwave, utensils and an electronic kettle was provided for our use. 

The main attraction is of course the pool. We rented the floats from an online company. I'm not very happy with their end service so I don't think I want to endorse them in my blog. Thank god all the headache was worth it  as my babies loved it very much. Anyway the pool was quite narrow so we didn't manage to use all 3 floats at the same time and had to take turns. 

We had plenty fun swimming together as a family. I usually don't join the munchkins during the swimming activities as I feel self conscious donning swimsuits in public. There's a few paid activities around the hotel such as archery and bumper cars, but we were more than happy to stay in our room and enjoy the pool for two days. Sadly there's not public beach within the hotel vicinity so we drove out to enjoy the sun/sand. We had fun exploring Port Dickson beaches and its night markets.

I rate my stay here @ 8/10. 

Somerset Putri Harbour Hotel, Nusajaya Johor (25-27 December 2015)

Source: Google Picture

We decided to continue our stay in Johor in Somerset Hotel for 2 days. I was attracted to the place due to its location and apartment facilities. 

The location is also super strategic as it is situated in Putri Harbour, so if you need a bite you can just take a 5 minute walk to the likes of Sushi King, Batman Cafe etc. For those who's planning on visiting Hello Kitty World, this would be a good place to stay in. 

Check in was a bit slow, which I think could be better managed as they should have anticipated the crowd during the long holiday. Other than that we had a good stay,

The Room

 Ample of place to roam in during our 3 days 2 nights stay. It was a comfortable and clean space for the kiddies. Each room has a full kitchenette with all its appliances so I managed to cook meals for the munchkins on the days we wanted to stay in :) 

The toilet :) clean and I love the toiletries especially the hair conditioner

The Infinity Pool

 The pool is nice with a good view. It is divided into two sections. Adult/ children pool. Nothing special just your basic pool, There is also a simple playroom on the same floor. 

Breakfast Buffet

I was surprise that the hotel offered breakfast since there's a kitchenette in the room. They offer a super basic continental breakfast selection. I'm ok with the lack of choice but the food itself tasted a bit bland the two days I was there. Space is also a bit limited so I suggest you come down a bit early to avoid disappointment especially during weekend/public holidays

Facilities/ Surrounding Areas

There's a laundry area with washing machines and dryers (which you need to pay for tokens to operate).I find this to be super helpful especially after our Legoland water park adventure. Nobody want to  lug around damp clothes for days. So I did do our laundry during our holiday. Less things to worry about coming home, I say :) 

We took long walks in the morning along the harbor to look at yachts (boats?) We didn't make the trip to Hello Kitty world this time around as we've been there twice. We managed to  distract the kids with continuous trips to the nearby weekend bazaar and Toys R Us express :p. Anyway it a fun and much needed year end break. 

I rate the hotel at 8/10. I'm planning to bring my parents next time around and try the 2 bedroom apartment next. Inshaallah.