Friday, August 04, 2017

Meritz Hotel Miri

Miri has never failed to attract out-of-town visitors from neighbouring towns including neighbouring country, Brunei. One of the main attraction of Miri is its shopping malls that only second to Kuching's shopping malls, particularly Bintang Megamall, Boulevard Shopping Mall and Permaisuri Mall.

It is therefore no surprise to me that Meritz Hotel which is adjacent to Bintang Megamall was in high demand when I booked the hotel room for a weekend shopping excursion in Miri.

Checking in was a breeze and we were in our room in no time at all.

Stepping into the hotel room, we realize quickly that the hotel decor was a far cry from the photos in travel websites. While still offering some level of comfort, the room exudes looks that are passé and dull. Below are photos of the Superior Room that we booked:

Meritz Superior Room

From another angle

The bed

Bathroom that comes with a bathtub

Hotel toiletries

View of the bathtub

The study desk

There isn't much to review about this hotel as the amenities are quite standard. A few things that I observed during our stay there:

1. The hotel car park is not exclusive to hotel guests, which poses inconvenience if the parking is full.
2. The hotel room looks slightly rundown - the cabinet in our room looks like it was about to fall apart while the wooden shelf under the sink in the bathroom is badly stained with water marks and swollen due to water dripping down the sink
3. The breakfast buffet portions need to be increased during weekend as it quickly depleted but took a long time to be replenished each time the item was finished.

I seriously hope the hotel management will do something to restore and refurbish the hotel to maintain it as among the top choices of travellers who seek shopping and entertainment at the shopping mall next door.

Verdict: 5/10

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Thursday, August 03, 2017

The Best Travel Experience... Ever.

We just got back from KL last Monday and although the trip ended with quite an adrenaline rush of having to sprint to the boarding gate which was far, far away with two kids in tow, I would still say it was the best trip ever.

Why is that so? I am so giddy with glee while thinking of it, and here goes...

WE GOT UPGRADED NOT ONCE, NOT TWICE, BUT THRICE! Yup, you read it right. We got upgraded three times and that is what I say a very lucky trip indeed!

#1 Upgrade: From standard seat to hot seat (and free meal!) at no extra cost

Being a budget-conscious mom, when I decided to bring my kids for a short vacation to KL (as a reward for doing so well in their exams), I booked AirAsia's tickets on promo fare with no frills whatsoever. I figured out if we didn't manage to catch a meal at the airport, then we will buy food on board. As usual, I didn't even pay to have us four seated together, knowing that the kids will get to be seated with one or both of us.

Imagine my surprise that upon checking in, Khadeeja and I were assigned to hot seat numbers which were in the second row on board! To make it even sweeter, the nice elderly lady sitting next to me insisted that I take her pre-ordered meal because she had her dinner before boarding. A hot seat and free meal, guys! 

Off to a lucky start!

#2: Warm Welcome to New Guests in Town

Our luck continued when we checked in to Le Apple Boutique Hotel just opposite Avenue K and next to Corus Hotel. Upon hearing that we were first-time guests, the staff offered to upgrade us to superior room even though we only booked deluxe room, again at no additional cost. 

Le Apple Boutique Hotel KLCC

#3: The ultimate upgrade - the highlight of the trip

I thought that was the end of such luck when we checked out from Le Apple to check in to yet another hotel (yes, we were hotel-hopping throughout the trip!). Boy, was I wrong? We decided to stay at Le Meridien Putrajaya, and booked the standard deluxe room at SPG website to get their best rate.

Although I planned to check in by 8pm (so we could go window shopping at the adjacent mall), we took longer than planned time touring Zoo Negara and later, Bukit Bintang area that we only reached hotel at 10pm.

The reception staff who attended to us told me that the room we requested were already full, but being an SPG member, she informed that she will give us a free upgrade.

Guess what? This time, we were upgraded to a suite! Woohoo! 

Welcome to Le Meridien Suite...

It was certainly the cherry on top of our very lucky trip this time. Imagine, a suite which is double the price that I paid! Phew, it certainly pays off to sign up as SPG member knowing that you could get upgraded at any time when you stay at their hotels.

Look how spacious the bedroom area is

As you can see, we did quite extensive hotel hopping this trip, so stay tuned to my review of the hotels. From budget-less-than-RM150 hotel, to five-star suite, it was certainly a very exciting (and lucky!) trip indeed for us!

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Sunday, July 23, 2017

Traders Hotel by Shangri-La, Kuala Lumpur

I almost forgot about my trip to Kuala Lumpur a few months back until I scrolled my photos and noticed that I haven't done a review on Traders Hotel. 

The hotel's strategic location opposite Suria KLCC and adjacent to KL Convention Centre is one of the reasons why it is always in demand among both business and leisure travellers alike. The hotel boasts of 571 guestrooms and suites in total, and direct covered access to the KL Convention Centre. 

Arriving at the hotel from the airport, a doorman helped to open my door and carried in my bag. I noticed there was a few security personnel on standby, perhaps due to the hotel's location near KLCC which is quite high-security area.

While most hotel lobbies are located on the ground floor, Traders Hotel's lobby is located on the fifth floor opposite Gobo Chit Chat restaurant. Checking in took some time for me because of the crowd but other than that, the process was smooth and easy. The staff was attentive to my request and remained courteous even during busy time of checking in quite a large crowd.

I stayed at its 32sqm Deluxe Room which affords me the view of KLCC fountain. The room features contemporary design and modern amenities to provide a comfortable and memorable stay. Cozy lighting provides a warm and relaxing ambience after a day's of hard work / sightseeing / shopping. The room is outfitted with two spacious single beds, a long working desk with glass top which also housed a flat LCD TV facing the beds, an ergonomic office chair, a two-seater sofa and coffee table and a lounge chair.

The view outside my window

The beds are super comfy with luxurious bedding that are cool to the touch

A splash of orange on its wall gives an energetic vibe to the room

You can work comfortably on the ergonomic office chair at the work desk or chill with your smartphone or book on the lounge chair by the window

The hotel room entrance

Meanwhile, the bathroom's luxury is accentuated by the polished granite tiles that are used throughout the bathroom. The translucent sink is illuminated with yellow lighting, lending the bathroom a touch of elegance to its overall concept.

The bathroom is tastefully done with polished granite

The sink and bathtub area

Signature toiletries are provided on complimentary basis

Like every other hotels, Traders Hotel provide complete amenities such as safe box, iron and ironing board, bathrobes, coffee/tea-making facilities, a minibar and laundry services. The hotel also provides complimentary WiFi throughout the hotel including in the room. You can also peruse the broadband service for free in the room.

Safe box is available in the built-in cabinet

Bathrobe and ironing facilities

The mini-bar is stocked up with drinks and light snacks

After work, I decided to have my dinner at KLCC. Despite the short distance, I decided to use Traders Hotel's complimentary buggy shuttle service as I was in a hurry to meet up with a friend. Not only it is convenient to hotel guests, it is also a favourite among young guests to ride on a buggy. Well, in my case it is just convenient when you are in a hurry.

Although I don't have any picture of the breakfast spread at Gobo Chit Chat, it is worthy to mention that Traders Hotel work hard to bring a variety of sumptuous breakfast buffet spread ranging from local to international dishes - from Western to East Asian and Oriental dishes to cater to guests from all over the world. No wonder Traders Hotel remains a much sought-after hotel among KL guests.

Rating: 9/10

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Sunday, July 23, 2017

Adonit Snap on GoodNotes

Over the past year, I have been into styli ever since I laid my eyes on Pencil by FiftyThree. I fell in love with the stylus so hard that I begged Le Hubby to gift it on my birthday (and he gave in, love ya Suami Terchenta!)

Why styli? Well, I have done away with paper and pen as mentioned in my previous post, partly because I hate to be wasteful and because of the convenience of being able to search keywords to look up my notes. But occasionally, I do have to sketch or make notes on PDF files, so I found it a little bit inconvenient without a writing tool. That is how I ended up with my Pencil FiftyThree.

I love my Pencil (obviously because it was a gift!), but to me, I prefer a hard-tipped stylus because it feels more natural to write compared to a soft-tipped / capacitive stylus. While The Pencil did a good job taking down notes in GoodNotes apps, the wide rubbery tip did not give me the 'satisfaction' of writing. It's probably a better tool to sketch a drawing and do a lot of cool drawing stuffs since it is designed for Paper apps.

That is why I ended up buying Adonit Snap.

Why I bought Adonit Snap:

1. It has a nice design, flat like The Pencil.
2. Its body is magnetic and it comes with a small magnet plate that you attach to your smartphone, and you will never lose it. So convenient to bring anywhere and not fear of losing it.
3. When not use for writing, it can double up as a selfie button when connected to a smartphone's bluetooth. Cool, right?
4. It is cheaper than Adonit Pixel (my dream stylus) by a few hundreds.

I perfectly knew that Snap is not meant for iPad, and GoodNotes apps is not compatible with Snap. Still, after weighing the above reasons (especially the price factor!), I proceeded to order Snap in matching color with my new iPhone (previously The Pencil matched with my old iPhone because I love matching my gadgets, LOL):

Adonit Snap next to Pencil FiftyThree. Snap is smaller and shorter.

Not only Snap is smaller, it is also thinner but still comfortable to hold.

The Pencil, Snap and a real pencil for comparison.

So let's see both styli's performance when using the GoodNotes apps:

Both are written using the same setting i.e. fountain pen and second finest line on preset. Notice the difference in the thickness of the handwriting.

The good thing about The Pencil is it is compatible with most note-taking apps such as GoodNotes. It even connects with the apps to deliver a more superior experience, such as palm rejection and better accuracy. I guess this would have been a fairer review if I had used Adonit Jot or Pixel to compare against The Pencil. But that's not the purpose of this review. It is simply to see how well is Snap's performance when taking notes using GoodNotes.

The Pencil works wondrously when 'kissed' with the apps.

As I mentioned before, Snap is not designed to work with iPad. It is simply not a tool for work, but more for fun. Therefore, it doesn't require any connection to link it to GoodNotes, and to write with this stylus, simply choose Smart Stylus > None.

Both handwriting is legitimate, but writing with Snap requires some getting used to since it is less accurate.

The trick with writing with Snap is to practice for a while until you get the hang of it. By getting the hang of it, I mean knowing the angle of holding the stylus so the apps can detect it and knowing how to space between each letter. If you write like you are using The Pencil, the handwriting may end up too close to each other or even piling up on each other (what a description, LOL!).

So, this is the best part about GoodNotes apps. After writing down my notes, I can select the words and then convert them to text. I then simply transfer my notes to OneNote where I keep all my work notes.

As you can see below, both handwriting are perfectly legible and when converted to text, it is 100% accurate.

Accuracy is important when you are buying a stylus for taking notes

My conclusion is that Adonit Snap can be used to take notes using iPad. Although it is not designed for note-taking apps, it can deliver as long as you don't put too much expectation as you would on other premium smart stylus like Pencil FiftyThree. If you are, then you will be greatly disappointed with its performance.

I only wish that Adonit would design a stylus that has the feel and look of Adonit Snap but with all the features of Adonit Pixel (the 1.9mm tip is a good start). If they do, I would probably be among the first in line to purchase that stylus.

Hoping that Apple will design a stylus that can work on all iPad models as well *wishful thinking*

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Sunday, May 14, 2017

Happy Mother's Day

The one whom I called Mom and the ones who made me a mom.

Me: Khayla, do you know how long I've been a mom?
Khayla: Since me & Khadeeja were born?
Me: ❤️

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