Posts Tagged "hotel"

the mornington on tanti hotel

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Dec 29, 2011 in Travel | 0 comments

A couple of weeks ago, S and I booked in some R&R over a weekend in Mornington to take advantage of the great weather.

We stayed at the Mornington on Tanti, which we chose mostly because it was the only decent option available at our last minute travel booking. It turned out to be truly delightful despite its outward appearance of being a sportsbar/bottle shop – the hotel section was gorgeously renovated, very quiet and classy, and really quite the haven you want on a weekend away!

I also liked that it was incredibly central – Mornington town centre was a 3 minute drive away, which made for easy breakfast options and being close to convenience stores and supermarkets.

We got a spa suite – which had a lovely large bathtub (nothing worse than a tiny tub) and an impressively clean and spacious bathroom in general.

Overall, there are certainly more romantic wineries and places to stay in Mornington – but S and I were really happy with our accomodation choice because it gave us drives to wineries to chat over, and a quiet, gorgeous room with a lovely comfortable bed to chill out on in the evenings when we retired at 9pm each night.

Would we recommend it? Absolutely. You could do a lot worse for that price – and since Mornington can get pricey when you’re looking at 4star and above accomodation, we felt that it was great value whilst staying incredibly comfortably.

When we were in that neck of the woods, we squeezed in an amazing amount of activity in just 2 days, as S and I tend to do, whist finding it incredibly relaxing, and I’m looking forward to all the posts I’ve got lined up about it so I can reflect on some wonderful summer memories instead of dwelling on feeling homesick in this holiday season!

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torquay weekend

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Mar 4, 2011 in Love, Travel | 0 comments

Every so often, S and I like to take a 2 day roadtrip somewhere to re-connect, regroup, and just spend some quality romantic time together. We try to book these in advance – my weekend dance schedule often means weekends are fraught with busy-ness. Last weekend was booked in months ago, and we decided to head to Torquay since it’s near the end of summer. We figured trying to get any sunshine would be good!

We did a lot of things in 2 days – the things about S and I is that we both love activities, and we love doing things together. We started our Saturday with some coffee and munchies at Scorched, a gorgeous little restaurant by the Esplanade.

Then we cafe-hopped a bit, watching the day go by with newspapers, coffees, and lovely chatting time.

 

After a wonderful morning, we checked in at the Crowne Plaza, which had come recommended by a friend. We weren’t disappointed, it’s a really nice hotel with friendly staff, really nice facilities, and close to everything as well! As soon as we got in, S suggested I go do a couple of spa treatments whilst he went to the gym. TOTAL SCORE, HE IS SUCH A CLEVER MAN.

Off to the spa I skipped off to, and then later, feeling very relaxed and glowing (and him all gym-bunnied), we met for a steam room session, and then jumped in pool for a bit of a splash. It was an afternoon of absolute pampering and fun, with lots of giggles, an impromptu swimming coaching session for me, and super invigorating.

We had a quick drink in the hotel bar – you gotta love big hotels sometimes for their facilities. Thirsty? Just go downstairs and order a cold golden ale! Whoo hoo! Then got primped and ready for dinner. We headed to Geelong, and had dinner at a bar right on the water.

S wanted to see me in  dress featuring some colour, so I happily complied.

 

Date nights with S are always dreamy – we stroll, hand in hand, the wind in our hair, we order comfort food and have a few drinks, and everything always seems to pass in some kind of wonderful, light-drenched movie scene kind of way. The photo above reflects it perfectly!

We ended date night by watching a quality movie together (a tv screen with Brad, George and Matt in Oceans Thirteen, and a handsome man right by my side – PERFECTION!).

Sunday morning, we checked out, then headed to Geelong for some crepes. If you haven’t been to Panache, you MUST go – it’s just awesomeness. Their chai lattes are also wondrous, especially on a day that is pretending to be the last day of summer but feels more like the dead of winter.

Then, because I whined until he agreed, we hit up a couple of wonderful antique markets. And ended up having so much giggling fun with antics, poses and whispered agreements about items we would NEVER buy, that at one point, I laughed till I nearly had a asthma attack. Uh huh. We are just really mature like that.

Yes, I’m wearing S’s shirt from the day before. Don’t judge me – it was cold and the shirt was SO comfy!!

With that much laughter beneath our belt, and so much romantic time and all round glowing happiness, it was time to head home.

So that was that folks, what goes on when S and I disappear for the weekend! It was truly long overdue (we haven’t been away since I’ve been injured because long car rides make Mr Spine angry), and exactly what we needed. It’s also given us a taste of our upcoming overseas trip in May, so we are now doubly excited in anticipation! Hurray for love and days away!!

 

 

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luxury, how i love thee

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Nov 12, 2010 in Travel | 0 comments

The first night that S and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, we were tired, grumpy and altogether not very happy travellers. He had a migraine, I had back pain, and the Aerotrains at KL Airport weren’t working, which meant a cramped, jostle-y bus ride from the plane to the arrivals hall.

By the time we arrived at the Ritz-Carlton, we were more than clamouring to just be given a room, any room, where we could shed our bags and collapse into bed. Upon checking in though, we were told there was a “slight problem with our room”. We had to wait, dejected, in the lobby, for about 15 minutes, me very grumbly and S in disappointed silence, nursing his aching head. A sorry sight we were, huddled miserably and altogether a weary sight in the grand lobby of this plush hotel!

Imagine our surprise when the lovely front desk staff announced to us that we’d been upgraded! To a suite! My ears pricked up – now that’s the language I like to hear! Slightly happier, we were escorted by her to our room, eager to see our certainly undeserved upgraded suite. Our lovely guide opened the door, and we saw this:

Err, it was… massive. See that couch set at the end?

This is what it was, close up:

We almost needed binoculars for viewing them from the front door.

Jaws agape, we asked where the bedroom was.

“Bedroom?” she asked, bemusedly, and took us to the corridor, a vast hallway that almost required a vehicle to transport you down.

“This is a 3 bedroom suite!” A three. Bedroom. Suite. For the 2 of us. Uh huh. You heard us right!

Now gleeful, with all pains, aches and tiredness forgotten, we went exploring.

Bedroom #1:

Bedroom & Bathroom #2:

And of course, the gorgeous gorgeous luxurious would-ve-been-plenty-by-itself master bedroom:

Plus there were the special “extra” rooms like the kitchen:

And the study/office/lounging whilst drinking whisky room:

It was incredible, and like we were living on the penthouse hotel room out of the scene in Pretty Woman. Now we know how rich people live! What an amazing opportunity! The entire place was 3 times the size of my apartment back in Melbourne, and it was all ours for three glorious days. Plus, we had an amazing team of staff tending to our every need right until after checkout.

All this upgrade hullabaloo was, I think, due to the fact that S had requested a king-sized bed and they couldn’t provide us a room with one, as they were fully booked. Hence, to keep us happy, they upgraded us to a suite that cost 8 times more than the rate that S paid! This level of service is simply unmatched anywhere I have ever been, and we were the happiest customers ever.

Planning a trip to KL? Stay at the Ritz. Not only is their service impeccable at the front desk, but throughout your stay, you’ll feel like royalty and like its truly your (indescribably luxurious) second home. It’s extremely central and located in the heart of KL’s great shopping district, and is surrounded by great food and bars! Go. STAY THERE. Trust me on this. But don’t blame me if you don’t get upgraded to a residence suite!

Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

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a thoughtful hotel…

Posted by Sharon Pakir on Nov 8, 2010 in Lifestyle, Travel | 0 comments

… is one that provides guests with a great toiletry kit. In fact, once you pay above a certain price range, all 5 star hotels will come with the standard comfortable bed, plush room surroundings and available amenities that make you not want to leave. The toiletry kit, I find, is what I go looking at to see how well this hotel has thought about its guests. From giving you a luxury kit from a skincare brand, or an organic range, or simply its contents, they can range quite drastically, and I like to think I’ve seen them all!

The Shangri-La in Singapore, however, pleased me mightily with its offering, and not because it was particularly spectacular, but because it was so utterly thoughtful towards its female guests:

So simple, so effective, and so memorable. And sooooo flattering for the female guests – most hotels tend to focus on the male business traveller – so this was very nice indeed.

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