Good value service apartment in Bangkok | KC Place

I'm going to share about the place I stayed recently in Bangkok. It is a service apartment that is near to Ratchaprarop Station, convenient for us who travel from Suvarnabhumi Airport. It is just 3 mins walk from the train station and less than 10 mins from Platinum Mall.

I booked the Deluxe room for two nights, cost only RM 133 per night including tax & fees. There are 4 types of rooms- Standard room, Standard with balcony, Deluxe room and Deluxe Family room. Rates start from RM 120 -RM 450++ depends on seasons. I booked the room from Expedia as it was the lowest among during that time. 

The room is not as big as I expected, around 30 m² in long dimension. Basically if you have two big luggage, it block the whole walk path. The down side about the place is if you stay the highest floor, you need to take the stairs to walk up as the lift will stop at the second highest floor. The staircase is very narrow too, it is hard if you have big luggage to carry. 

The toilet and bathroom are separated. The hotel only provide shampoo and body wash. Recommend to prepare you own toiletries or you can get from the mini market beside the hotel.

The room I booked do not come with breakfast, however you can have breakfast at their restaurant at ground floor. There is also a Thai massage shop at the lower level of the hotel, very convenient. You will need to make an appointment if it is after 6pm.

Source: Hotels.com

Even though, the room is small and staircase is narrow, we are quite satisfied with the service and location. It is a convenient place to stay and value for money. If you are planning for shopping and outing whole day in Bangkok, this can be a good place to have a sleepover. But if you are spending most of the time in room, I would skipped this place.

A pleasant stay at Hotel Jen | Johor

I'm going to review about the room that I stayed recently at Hotel Jen, Johor. It is located near Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and Thomas Town. It is rated as a 4 Star Hotel in Johor but I think it is better than what I have expected.

Photo taken from Agoda

I booked the Premier Room that is 53sqm in size, very spacious with a separate bedroom and living room. Two LED TVs are provided, one in the bedroom and one in the living room. A good room for family with one or two kids. The room also come with fast-free wifi! 

We really enjoy the living room, really feel like home even though we came for a short vacation.

The extra-wide super King size bed, one of the best beds we tried for a 4 Star Hotel quality. A "strange magnetic force" keeps us from getting up from the bed every morning :). Every detail of the decorations were well planned and designed.

A small open wardrobe at the walkway to the bathroom. They do provide a safe box in the cupboard as well.

Spacious bathroom with a separate toilet, shower cubicle and a bathtub. I am spoilt with choices on whether to use shower cubicle or bathtub!

We really enjoyed our stay in Hotel Jen, no regrets in paying the price for such a nice and spacious room for our trip in Johor.

Besides, we were impressed with their breakfast buffet. A wide range of food varieties to choose, from Malay-Nasi Lemak to Indian-roti canai, Chinese-curry noodle & dim sum, as well as Western food too. They do have several jars of detox fruit juices, something very interesting and definitely a must try item!

I would recommend getting the buffet breakfast together with your room as the shops downstairs probably do not open that early, and unless if you have your own transportation, there's pretty much nothing else to eat nearby in the morning. Other than that, the hotel is located close to Legoland, although not within walking distance but definitely a worthy choice if you plan to spend a few days at Legoland.

You can check from Booking.com on their promotion rates during this school holiday!


Love,
sufen

2016 Top 3 Best Hotels in Kuala Terengganu

Kuala Terengganu might be considered as one of the most affordable destinations in Malaysia. There's a lot of reason to visit this city, either to embrace the picturesque nature scenery of the South China Sea and the Terengganu River, enjoy the recreations in various spots, savor the Syariah trip by visiting the Islamic heritage park and themed park, or even doing the business matters.

Despite any reasons, you have to get a good rest while staying in Kuala Terengganu. For the best retreat, it is definitely offered by the best Kuala Terengganu hotel. Today, I would like to share with you the 2016 Top 3 Best Hotel in KualaTerengganu.

1.       TH Hotel & Convention Centre Terengganu

Source: TH Hotel Website

This hotel is located at Jalan Lapangan Tembak, Gong Badak 21, TH Hotel is claimed as the 4-star Kuala Terengganu hotel focused on Syariah value. This hotel lies in the widespread land of the size more than 7 acres, engaging the tranquil environment aside from the crowded city. Even though, the hotel still within close proximity to the airport and Telok Ketapang Beach.

Source: TH Hotel Website

Source: Expedia.sg website

Notable as the #1 hotel in Kuala Terengganu by TripAdvisor, this is the affordable hotel for any matters. There are 182 classy decorated guestrooms with modern amenities. The entire rooms are designed with luxury sense shown by the golden color scheme. En-suite plush amenities are provided such as AC, sofa bed, flat TV, working station, electric kettle, mini fridge, full body sized mirror, also a modern bathroom with toiletries and hairdryer.

Source: TH Hotel website

Source: TH Hotel Website

The swimming pools are available both indoor and outdoor, where the outdoor pools also complemented by wading pool with a playground that is very attractive for children. Other facilities presented by this exquisite hotel are a restaurant, lounge, shuttle service, and also business and convention center.

2.       Hotel Grand Continental Kuala Terengganu

   

Source: Grand Continental KT Website

This hotel settled at Jalan Sultan Zainal Abidin, Daerah 8 - City Center, the 4-star hotel is very strategic with the quick access to surrounding areas. Sultan Mahmud Airport is within 25 minutes driving away from this hotel. The China Town, Pasar Pasang, and Redang Island Jetty are located even closer, only 10 – 15 minutes drive away from the hotel.

Source: Grand Continental KT Website

There are nearly 200 guestrooms and suites; the Grand Continental Kuala Terengganu embraces luxury touch with specific contemporary decoration, alongside with the top-notch amenities. The standard amenities you’ll find in each room are AC, flat screen TV, sofa, working station, electric kettle, mini fridge, ironing facilities, and bathroom with bathtub, toiletries, and hair dryer.

Source: Grand Continental KT Website

Source: Grand Continental KT Website

As the 4-star Kuala Terengganu hotel, the Grand Continental Kuala Lumpur owns both leisure and business facilities to cater the traveler needs. Some highlights in the hotel comprise coffee house and restaurant, gym, boutique and shops, BBQ facilities, tour desk, various meeting rooms, business center, premium business lounge, and car rental.

3. Duyong Marina Resort

Source: Duyong Marina Resort website

Duyong Marina Resort is the 5-star Kuala Terengganu hotel that offers a great retreat on the Putri Duyong Terengganu. The hotel nestled in a very serene place, complemented with sailing facilities for those dreaming of a getaway to the ocean. Even though it is closer to nature, this hotel is still considered strategic to reach vital areas, such as the airport, located only 7 minutes drive away from the property.

Source: Duyong Marina Resort website

Source: Duyong Marina Resort website

There are nearly 100 guestrooms and suites that settled in beautiful decoration as a chalet exuding the traditional majestic sense. Each guestroom and suite are complemented with ultra-modern amenities, including the entertainment system with plasma TV, and DVD Player. The bathroom already has a soaking tub. Each room also has the private veranda or balcony facing either the garden or the sea. 

Source: Duyong Marina Resort website

Source: Duyong Marina Resort website

Duyong Marina Resort presents a comprehensive retreat to ensure every guest can savor the best time while in Kuala Terengganu. The restaurant is available, with the open-air dining venue overlooking the stunning South China Sea. The other facilities on this 5-star hotel in Kuala Terengganu are the outdoor swimming pool, lounge, fitness and spa, children’s playground, business and exhibition center, as well as outdoor activity services. The Oasis Lounge and the swimming pool might be your favorite place to relax while staying with Duyong Marina Resort.

Source: Duyong Marina Resort website

Where to stay in Hokkaido? | A trip to Hokkaido during Winter

Many people asked me where to stay in Hokkaido that is cheap and good. My advice is that it depends on one's budget and your requirements. As for us, we like to pick hotels that have a private toilet/bathroom and are near to the train station or near to the city center, also preferably to be just within walking distance. These hotels might be slightly more expensive than those further away. However, in this trip, we rented a car to drive around Hokkaido and our priority is to have parking area for our car. We picked all the hotels that come with free parking or a lower parking fee per day.

We travelled to 4 cities in Hokkaido- Sapporo, Hakodate, Otaru and Furano. Here are the hotels we stayed during our trip. All the hotels are book through booking.com.

Hotel New Ohte (Hakodate)

We picked this hotel because it is able to accommodate 4 persons in a room. We booked the Japanese style as it is more spacious than the Quadruple room. We requested for their biggest Japanese style room which is at the Third floor. Although the Japanese style room is stated to be able to fit 5 persons but I think 4 person is just nice for everyone to have some private space to sleep.

Hotel New Ohte is located right across the Hakodate Station’s West Exit, just 5 mins walking distance. Hakodate Morning Market is also just in front of the hotel, very convenient. Their room rate is quite reasonable as well, we pay around RM 440 per night which is only RM 110 person/night. I would recommend to stay in this hotel, as they have English speaking staff and they are very friendly. There is a parking bay at the top of the roof, with a parking fee of 540 yen per day. If you are driving in Hokkaido, I would recommend that you to mention to them when you make a room booking as they will prepare the parking bay and you just need to pay them directly on the spot when you check in.

Photo adapted from booking.com

Reception Area

Japanese style Room

We like their toilet as they separate the toilet and bathroom with a dressing area in the middle.

Toilet/Bathroom area

Bathroom

Toilet

Smile Hotel Otaru

We were quite disappointed with this hotel due to the condition of the room. Again, I booked the Japanese style room which caters for 4 persons. However, it was smaller than we imagined. The men were hardly able to use the toilet because it is too small to fit in. The room comes with two heaters but it is filthy, cover with thick dust. There is also a humid smell inside the room which gave us an unpleasant stay. This location of the hotel is just 3 mins walking distance from the JR Otaru station.

We were quite disappointed with their allocation of parking lot as well as we were told that it is first come first serve basis. However when we came back at night, even though there are a few parking lots, the staff insisted that we are not allowed to park because it has been booked. We pay the same amount of parking fee which is 600 yen per day but we are not allowed to park which made us very angry and sad about their service. At the end we have to park at the back of the narrow alley, luckily there was still one parking left for us, I'm not sure whether they ran out of parking for other guests though. 

Photo adapted from Booking.com

Photo adapted from Booking.com

Photo adapted from Booking.com

Welcome drink for the guest- Hokkaido milk. This is the speciality drink in Hokkaido which I managed to find it in Furano only.

Sleeping Area

Tatami floor with Futon bedding

Tatami floor with Futon bedding

Sitting area

Toilet & Bathroom

Log Yukari- Furano
I managed to book this at the last minute and we were pleasantly surprised on this place. I never imagined the scenery of the place is so beautiful until we arrived at the place. The downside of this place is that you will need a car to get there. It is located around 5 minutes drive to the Furano Ski Area.

It is a log house style cottage where the house that we booked can cater up to 8 person. Free parking is available on site and free wifi in the house. The owner does not speak very good English, you might need a translator if you do not speak Japanese but he is very friendly. Since we went during winter time, the whole lodges are covered with snow, looks like a small Christmas town.

We really enjoyed staying here as it was quite unique and the surrounding area is very relaxing. The price is also quite reasonable compare to most of the hotels in Furano. Accommodations in Furano are slightly higher because it is a popular skiing spot for tourists.We paid around RM 700 per night for the whole house.

Each lodge comes with a seating area, tv, kitchen, bathroom with wooden bath and toilet. The kitchen includes microwave, fridge, kettle and kitchen utensils where you can cook in the house.

Bathroom

Toilet

I think we had a wonderful winter time in Hokkaido, I believe there are many other better places but I highly, highly recommend that you book very early ahead of time. We booked our places roughly one month before our departure and there isn't much choices left. I guess there's quite a lot of tourists in Hokkaido and the best and cheapest accommodation tends to get snag up in no time. Check out HotelsCombined price comparison website to compare for the best deal the next time your travel?

 

Get RM 76 off with Airbnb, just click on the link HERE.

Make your reservation with booking HERE.