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. 

Johor Foodpedition (24-27 December 2015)

Restauran Singgah Selalu

Read about this restaurant on a few blogs while I was doing my "Johor Food Research". The review was mostly positive, so we decided to give it a try. First of all there's ample food selection in this place. There's also a play area for the kids to play in while the parents eat, so another check in my good books :)

We ordered telur dadar and ayam lemon for the kids and also some kangkung belacan. 

 The best dish for me would be the sup ekor goreng. Super yummy and majorly pedas. Drooling while typing this.....

The butter prawn was nice but nothing special. All in all the food was good. I don't mind making another trip here especially to have another go at the sup ekor goreng *yum*

Batman Cafe, Nusajaya

Let's get real, the main attraction to this restaurant is the Justice League superheroes paraphernalia. We've been to the one in Sunway Putra Mall but the one in Nusajaya is so much bigger. The food itself is good with interesting presentation and selection. Price is quite expensive in my opinion but I guess that is what you get when you're paying not only for the food but also the "dining experience"

The burger is quite yummy but for the life of me I can't recall the name. We also ordered the Batman thin crust pepperoni pizza for Ryan. It was nice but nothing special in my opinion. We also had some waffles, Batman ice chocolate and a glass of Man of Steel Soda which is not in the picture but was previously reviewed here

You got my recommendation, so try it out foodies :)

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.