[Hotel Review] - Thavorn Palm Beach Resort (Premium Deluxe Room), Phuket, Thailand (7 - 10 Sep 14)

Location

Thavorn Palm Beach Resort is located in a quite area in Karon Area in Phuket. The resort is one road away from the beach, which sees much lesser crowd as compared to Patong. The resort is far from everything else and the nearest 7-Eleven is a good 10 mins walk from the resort. If one is looking for a quiet place to relax, this resort can be placed in your consideration list. The resort is about 20 mins walk from the famous Phad Thai shop in Phuket. There are some shops about 10 mins walk from the resort selling mostly daily use products. There isn't much to see or do in the vicinity of the resort.

Hardware

The facade of the resort look aged and run down. The rustic lobby gives guests a feel of being taken back in time to the 60s. Most of the time the resort feels dark and deserted, perhaps partly due to the period I stay there being the low season for Phuket. 

Quiet lobby

Welcome drinks

After checking-in, we were escorted by a front desk staff to our room. Despite by aged facade of the resort, the Premium Deluxe room, which offers partial sea view, we were assigned to is rather new. The contemporary room seem to be recently renovated, however there are signs of ageing in the room. As one enters the room, one can spot the wardrobe located to the right of the main door.  The wardrobe is sufficient for 2 persons to unpack their clothing into. However my friend and I did not utilise this wardrobe much as it seemed aged, this is one of the few areas in the room where the resort did not managed to renovate. Right next to the wardrobe is the mini bar area. The standard mini bar is where can find complementary coffee and tea, however the rest of the beverages in the fridge is chargeable. We also did not use the electric air pot for water as it looked rusted and dirty.

Wardrobe by the main door

Mini bar area

Opposite the mini bar is the entrance to the bathroom. The bathroom provides sufficient space for guests. There is a large glass window in the bathroom, right next to the sink. The resort also provided curtains for one to hang for privacy. Opposite the door to the bathroom is the toilet bowl and the sink is next to it. This room only comes with walk-in shower. There is a ledge by the toilet bowl, which provides guests space to put their bathing amenities.

Toilet

Shower area

Bath amenities

Walking past the corridor from the main door opens up to the bedroom. The bed room is rather spacious. To the left of the room is where can find the bed. We requested for a king size bed and was given a bed which is a combination of 2 super-single bed. The bed sleep quality on the bed is bad as the mattress is very soft and one can feel the bed frame of the 2 single beds when sleeping. The pillows are also too soft for my liking. Next to the bed is the makeup table, which is of a decent size for female patrons to stow their cosmetics. Opposite the bed is where one can locate the LED TV. The TV only shows local channels and some outdated channels from popular TV shows such as National Geographic and Discovery Channels for free, one would have to pay for the rest of the channels. To the right of the TV, and in between the TV and the mini bar area, is a marble ledge where one can stow their luggages. The ledge is large enough to hold one huge luggage or 2 cabin sized luggages. To the left of the TV is a queen size day bed, placed next to a window that looks out into the balcony, this day bed is good for one to relax and laze without messing up their bed.  There is a coffee table placed right in front of the day bed.

"King Size" Bed

View of the room

TV

Day bed

Beyond the makeup table is a glass door that leads to the balcony. The balcony is quite big, taking the entire width of the room. There are a couple of straw made chairs and a table placed on the balcony that looks into the beach a far and the swimming pool below. On a clear day, this is a good spot for guests to see the sunset. 

Balcony

Heartware

We had very minimal interaction with the staffs in the resort. The service in the resort is generally acceptable. Cold drinks were being served upon arrival, and the front desk staff invited us to sit by the lobby while she processed our check-in. It took quite awhile before we were handed our keys. The staff volunteered to show us to our room, despite us rejecting a few times. She was however very friendly, and showed us the way to our room and the various facilities within the resort. Upon entering our room, she also show us the fixtures in the room. I can sense that she was waiting for tip and seem to refuse to leave without tipping, by going into mindless introductions such as the air port and the toilet bowl flush. We had tipped her to get her off our back.

The housekeeping staffs are very friendly and was never stingy with their smiles and greetings. However the same cannot be said of the staffs at the restaurant where breakfast was served. We had to search for our seats as the staffs were engaged in petty gossips amongst themselves, paying occasional attention to guests. The bellboys at the lobby is a nice bunch of people, who truly portrays the spirit of Thais. They are always asking how was our day, where did we go and if we needed help with our luggages whenever we walked past them.

Overall

Despite efforts to revitalise the resort, the effort is only restricted to the rooms. The facade and parts of the room still show signs of ageing. The location of the resort is very bad as it is far form everything else. Throughout my stay in the resort, it felt that most of the staffs did not bother to initiate a relationship with guests, rather the relationship building is left to chance. At the period of my stay in the hotel, it was low season for tourism in Phuket, however the attitude of the staffs towards guests seemed to be lukewarm. The sleep quality of the bed is also pretty bad, despite being a spacious room. This resort is not worth staying.

[Hotel Review] - Conrad Centennial (Centennial Suite), Singapore (18 - 19 May 14)

Location

Conrad is located next to the Millennia Walk Shopping Mall as well as the Suntec City Shopping Mall and a stone's throw from the Marina Shopping Centre. The hotel is a great place to stay for those who prefer a convenient location with links to the subway stations and lots of shopping around. The subway station is accessible via Suntec City Shopping Mall.

Hardware

I stayed in the One bedroom Executive Premier Room, also known as the Centennial Suite. Once entering the suite, a small corridor decorated with sculptures by the wall leads guests into the living room. The first thing that would catch the eyes of patrons is the study desk. Here is where one can find a couple of powerpoint outlets to charge their electronic gadgets. Making a turn to the right, one would find the living area of the suite. The chic living room is the home of a 2-seater couch decked in maroon colour, coupled with 2 single seater arm chairs decked in olive green. Behind the 2-seater couch is where one can find the floor to ceiling windows that peeks into Suntec City Shopping Mall. Right between the 2 armchairs is a coffee table and a side table, decked with welcome tropical fruits can be found between the 2-seater couch and the armchair. There is also a small wall side table behind the armchair that is closer to the door to the bedroom. 

Study desk by the main door

Living room of the suite

Living room of the suite

Welcome fruits and chocolate with their signature Conrad Bear, one for each guest staying in the suite

Infront of the 2-seater couch is a large cabinet housing the entertainment system. The minibar and glasses are well hidden on the right side of this cabinet. On top of the cabinet is a large 46 in Sony LED TV. The TV is controlled by a all-in-one remote controller that also controls the radio, the DVD player as well as PC connections. One can also find the Nespresso single served capsule coffee machine, which is becoming increasing standard in major 5-star hotels. The living area is a great place to hang out and laze around for guests to spend some couch-potato time. There are extra blanket and pillow inside the wardrobe in the living room. This part of the room feels rather cluttered as the room is a tad too small to fit so much furnitures into. Having said that, one can still find space to manoeuvre around in this part of the suite.

Entertainment system in the living room

Between the wall side table and the TV cabinet, is a door leading into the bedroom. Here is where one would be ushered into slightly more space. Upon entering the bedroom, a 3-drawer dressing table greets guests occupying this room.  Next to the dresser is a single seater armchair, placed in the floor to ceiling window in the bedroom. The centrepiece of the bedroom is a king-sized bed. The firm mattress ensures guests get a good night's rest. There is a menu of pillows for guests to choose from.

Comfortable king bed in the bedroom

Bedroom

Awkwardly placed by the side wall is a cabinet, housing a 32 in LCD TV. The placement of the TV is rather weird as guests will not be able to watch the TV properly given its position in the room. Next to the TV is the wardrobe for guests to unpack into. The wardrobe is rather modest in size, however coupled with the dresser, there are sufficient space for 2 guests to unpack their 4 days worth of clothings.

TV in the bedroom

TV and wardrobe in the bedroom

Between the bed and the wardrobe is a door that opens into a large marble bathroom. Most of the amenities can be found in the sink area. There are ample space for one to place their toiletries and cosmetics onto. The hotel provides 3 series of bathing amenities for guests to choose from. I prefer the Shanghai Tang series which is available upon request. Just opposite the door to the bathroom is a large bathtub. The hotel also provides bath salt, which is topped up regularly and a rubber ducky for guests to enjoy while soaking in the tub. Next to the tub is a walk-in shower. The walk-in shower is very spacious and comes with massaging shower head. The toilet bowl is housed in a separate room, located in the bathroom, next to the walk-in shower.

Bathtub and walk-in shower in the bathroom

Sink area

Bathing amenities

Bathing amenities

Bathing amenities

Bathtub

Sink area

Toilet

The Suite is rather comfortable, and is a right size for party of 2. Guests can be assured of comfortable stay in the suite. However the room is not without flaws. The power points, other then that on the study desks, are positioned in rather odd places within the suite. For heavy users of electronic gadgets, one would have to plan for a charging schedule for their gadgets. There are no power points in the bedroom, other that those that has lamps or TVs plugged into. Secondly, if one were to opt for HDMI connection from their laptop to the 2 TVs in the room, one would have to stretch all the way to the rear of the TV, where the HDMI ports are usually located. There is, however, a port on the TV cabinet in the living room for guests to link their laptop to the TV. However this port is the outdated VGA port.

Staying in this suite entitles guests to access to the Executive Lounge located on the 31 floor of the hotel. The lounge has a certain dress code for guests to abide by. There are limited seatings in the lounge, however the hotel does open up the library and the meeting rooms (if not in use) to cope with the guest volume visiting the lounge if need to. The lounge can be segregated into the lounge area and the food area where daily afternoon tea and evening cocktails are being served. Guests are welcomed to the lounge during its opening hours for drinks and cookies outside the afternoon tea and evening cocktail timings.

View from the Executive lounge

Executive Lounge

Food area in the lounge

Afternoon tea

View of the Executive Lounge

View from the lounge

Heartware

The service standards varied during my stay at Conrad Centennial Singapore. Guests staying in the Executive Premier Suite can opt for checking in at the lounge. Checking in was a breeze and I was promptly greeted by the staff at the check in counter, located outside the lounge. However when I checked for the late check out, the staff offered 2pm check out timing while the hotel website stated late check out up to 6pm. Upon asking, the staff reluctantly mentioned that she will get back to me. However an good 8 hours has passed and my late check out request seemed to turned to deaf ears. I had to resort to checking with the reception on the ground floor before being granted a late check out at 6pm.

As I was celebrating  my birthday during my stay at Conrad, the treatment for my birthday seemed underwhelmed, a stark contrast to that I read over at Tripadvisor forum. There wasn't special greeting at the point of checking in, despite my friend had highlighted the purpose of our stay weeks prior to arrival at the hotel. The hotel does provide a birthday cake, however the cake seemed to be good for only one pax.

Very small cake

The staff at the Terrace Cafe does not seemed too interested in building a relationship with guests. 3 times I was there, none of the these times does the staffs, despite appearing to be rather free, bothered to greet me nor were they seem interested in assisting me in my choices of food. There were eye contact with the staffs during my visit, all the times I was met with a cold shoulder.

My initial impression of the staffs at the Executive Lounge is negative. During my initial visits to the lounge, none of the staffs offered to help me and my friend in getting a seat. Nor were they seen to be approaching us for drinks. We had to help ourselves and figure out where the drinks are and helped ourselves to whatever is put out. The worst is there isn't too many people in the lounge during our visits. During afternoon tea and evening cocktail timings, our table is overflow with plates and none of the staffs seemed to be bothered to clear our table. We had to signal to the staffs to make space for us on our table. Staffs at the lounge are seen standing around like statues or chatting amongst themselves.

There are however, some staffs that made a difference during my stay in Conrad. We met with a housekeeping staff, Mdm Goh, who was friendly and ensured the supplies in our suite is sufficiently topped up. We were also pleasantly surprised to be offered make up room on the day of our checking out by Mdm Goh. Mdm Goh never failed to greet us with a smile and checked if our supplies are sufficient in the room for our usage. She also never fails to check if we are sufficiently comfortable during our stay whenever we bumped into her. There are also a couple of staffs in the lounge that made a difference. Ms Stacia, with her bubbly character, jumped into action and quickly offered us drinks during one occasion of our visit to the lounge. She constantly pop by our table to see if there are empty plates on our table. At the sight of our drink almost finishing, she would appear to ask if we would like to have more drinks. The other staff, Ms Christine from the lounge has superb knowledge of the hotel. From her, we came to know that there are a number of art pieces around the hotel. On our check out, Ms Christine even send us from the 31 floor to the ground floor, ensuring that our experience in the hotel is a pleasant one. The staff at the gym, Ms Isha, never fails to remind us to keep ourselves hydrated after our gym workout. She also offered to loan us sneakers and work out gears when we told her that we did not bring gym gears. 

Overall

Conrad Centennial Singapore is well appointed in terms of its location. The suite we stayed in offered comfortable and great sleep quality. The room, despite being chic, seemed to be outdated in terms of the electronics. The service offered is mixed and is really dependent on who one meets in the hotel. Overall, it is a good stay, but not great at Conrad Centennial Singapore. 

[Airline Review] -Scoot (TZ201) - Economy Class, TPE-SIN, (4 May 14)

Pre-Flight

Scoot check-in counters are located at the first row of Terminal 1 in Taipei. As we were one of the last passengers to arrive at the airport, checking in was a swift. Despite us being rather late for for checking in, the ground staff who processed our check-in was claim and composed and reassuring. He kept reassuring us we will make it in time for boarding in a claimly manner. We were pleasantly surprised that we were being upgraded to Stretch seats. Before leaving the counter, the staff pointed out the gate and the time for us to be at the gate for boarding.

Airport check-in counters

Row 1 check-in for Scoot

In-Flight

Scoot uses 777-200s for all their flight. All the aircrafts in the Scoot fleet is decked in the standard 3 classes, namely Business Class, ScootinSilence, and Economy Class. We were promptly welcomed onboard and shown the aisle that will lead us to our seats. The legroom for the stretched seat are decent, and I can see we got an extra or 2 inches as compared to the rest of the seats. These yellow seats were located up front in the Economy Class section. The seat boasted a 86cm (or 34in) seat pitch, which allowed me to stretch onboard the aircraft. The seats are rather comfortable for the short 4-hour flytime to SIN. There are no personalised entertainment onboard Scoot flights, controls of the seat is only limited to the button for one to adjust their seating position.

Cabin view

Lavatory onboard this section of the aircraft is located in the front the section between the ScootinSilence and the Economy Class cabins. The lavatory has very standard Economy Class amenities that one can find in other airlines.

Standard lavatory onboard

Standard lavatory onboard

Service

Service onboard is rather prompt.  about 30 minutes after taking off, the crew came by with our pre-ordered food. The food portion is rather small, sufficient as a snack more then a proper meal. Having said that, the food that we bought is rather tasty. Cabin crew will request your boarding pass and check off before serving food. Cabin crew is also seen selling food and duty free to passengers onboard. The crew cleared the tray in good time, allowing passengers to slowly enjoy their food. Scoot is a no-frill airlines, one only pays for the seats. Anything extra is chargeable, from food to comfort kits and even check-in baggages.

Rather small portion of food

Meal onboard

Menu of items being sold onboard

Cabin crew going around in their trolleys selling

Overall

Scoot is a decent choice and is certainly above the rest of the budget carriers. The seats are comfortable. However the food portion is rather small, other passengers whom bought food is seen buying extra snacks. Scoot is definitely way above the rest of the budget carriers.

[Hotel Review] - The Tango - Xinyi (Tango Suite), Taipei, Taiwan (30 Apr - 4 May 14)

Location

Tango Xinyi is located near downtown Taipei, within mere minutes walk to YongChun Subway station. The subway station is within a few stops from the main Taipei Subway station. With the subway system in Taipei, the hotel is conveniently located within reach to major parts of Taipei via the subway. There are several banks and 24hour marts around the hotel. The location is rather quiet and seem to be located in a local neighbourhood. There isn't any mega shopping malls within walking distance from the hotel, however with the subway system, it makes staying in this hotel convenient.

Hotel Logo

Entrance of the hotel

Entrance of the hotel

Facade of the hotel

Hotel lobby

Hardware

The hotel seem to be falling part perhaps due to poor maintenance. We were checked into our suite (having made to pay extra half a day's rate) and discovered the door to the wardrobe come loose. When my friend and I were getting ready to head out to explore the city, we discover the door was about to give way. When we returned to our suite at the end of the day, the entire wardrobe door was missing. We contacted the hotel reception, whom subsequently changed our suite for us. As we thought this might be a one-off incident, my friend and I were soon being disappointed even with another suite being assigned to us. 

The hardware of the hotel suite was decent. The decor is contemporary and comfortable to be in. However if you are looking for a window room, do not bother. Even the Eagle suite, though there are windows, those pathetic panels are only good to let sunlight in. It is placed so high that one can't even see through it. The certain between the bathroom (Where the only window is located) and the bedroom is only blocked my fairly thin sheets of curtain, which sunlight would still pass through. There a glass door between the bathroom and the bedroom. Once one enters the suite, a couch and a study table welcomes one into the suite. This area is small and there is a TV in this area. Here is where one would find the minibar. We mainly used this area to stow our luggage. There is a translucent glass panel dividing the lounge area and the bedroom. 

Study Desk next to the main door

Couch just beside the study desk

TV in the lounge/study area

Mini bar next to the main door

Overview of the lounge /study area

The centre piece of the bedroom is the king-sized bed. The bed was comfortable for one to rest the night. However I do find the pillows too soft (it is a personal preference). In front of the bed is another huge TV. Beside the TV is a smallish wardrobe, which has little space for storage and is definitely too small for 2 person. 

Second TV in front of the bed

Very small wardrobe

King size bed in the sleeping area

2 TVs side by side

Arm chair beside the bed

Further into the suite is the bathroom. The bathroom is huge and has a small TV in front of the jacuzzi tub, which is rage enough for 2 persons. The jacuzzi tub has a unique feature, where the water will fall from the ceiling. In front of the tub is a sink and behind the sink is the walk in shower area and the toilet bowl. I am impressed with the tub (that is one of the reason why we opted for this hotel over others). However there are a few areas that demonstrated the hotel was poorly maintained. Firstly the wardrobe door in the first room as maintained earlier on. Secondly, the nozzles for the bubbles in the jacuzzi were all gone except for one. Thirdly, metal piece on the taps were all loose. The suites are already in such bad shape, i can't imagine how the other type of rooms would fair.

Walk-in shower

Toilet area in the bathroom

Oversized jacuzzi tub with a 3rd TV

Sink area

Heartware

We stayed in one of the top range Eagle Suite. I was initially very excited to stay here and looked forward to a wonderful stay on my first trip to Taipei. I was shortly disappointed by the hotel's response when my friend tried to arrange a complimentary cake for my birthday. The hotel mentioned that they do not give out complimentary cake, and leave it as that. Given a 4-star rating, the hotel did not bother to do much to impress my friend. As we arrived early in Taipei, we were given the option to leave our luggage at the concierge or pay for early check in. This is the first time i was made to pay for early check in, granted this is a 4-star hotel, however I have stayed in hotels ranging from 3-star to 6-star rating, they did not have such a policy. Nonetheless we paid for the early check in and caught up some rest. 

Prior to resting, as we were unpacking, we found one of the doors to the wardrobe came lose. When we were about to head out to the city, the whole of the defective door seem to be coming off. We highlighted to the staff at the front desk, whom assured us that they will have it sorted out by the time of our return. We also requested for make up room while we went out to explore the city. By our return at night around 10pm, we were horrid to discover our room was not made up despite leaving the make up room light on and informing the front desk staff about making up our room. When we returned to our unmade up room, we also discover the defective door to the wardrobe is missing. No one has left any messages nor inform us of what they have done to our room. We called up the front desk and was told that the parts to the defective door is not available and had to be ordered. We were given the option of either staying put, while the hotel get someone to remove the bulb in the wardrobe or to change to another room. Without hesitating, we opted to change room. These series of incidents has further increase the already existing bad impression of this hotel. 

The most ridiculous part is the stinginess of the hotel in giving out bathing amenities. I had requested for 4 sets of bathing amenities on the first night, fearing that we might run out of it soon. We used the bath foams for the huge jacuzzi tub and the 2nd day when we returned from our day trip, we found that the bathing amenities was not topped up. I called the reception to request for more amenities, to my horror I was informed that the hotel has given us 4 sets and that's all they will give. I questioned if the hotel expect their guests to run to the nearby 7-11 to get our own amenities and upon questioning, the reception agreed to replenish a set each day. To think the worst is over, on the 4th day the housekeeping staff did not replenish our bathing amenities again. I called up the reception, again the same excuse is given. I told the staff to check with her colleague about the agreement that I had 2 days ago. After waiting for 5 mins, the reception got her housekeeping counterpart to deliver a set of bathing amenities.

On the night before checking out, I was shocked to discover that the hotel did not book my airport transfer. When in my prior communication with them via email, I had booked for return airport transfer on their Mercedes sedan. It was already 3 am when I argued with the staff over the phone regarding airport transfer and we have yet to pack our luggage. When I demanded to speak to their duty manager or supervisor the next day, the staff was still trying to pacify me in accepting his offer of hailing a cab to the airport. Despite my persistence in wanting to leave the issue till the next day when the manager or supervisor is in, the inconsiderate staff still persist on getting me to take a cab instead. I had mentioned to the staff several times that it is already late and I would want to pack my luggage and turn in soon. However these requests (along with my other requests) were turned to deaf ears. I had to scold the staff to get him off my back. 

The next day the supervisor called and apologise for all the service hiccups. She assured me that they already has a Mercedes waiting for me. When we were about to leave the room (after packing up all our stuffs, there was a bottle of red wine and a box with all the bathing amenities inside. This was meant to be a gesture of apology from the management of hotel. To think they even dare to pull such a stunt was laughable. We left whatever they have left outside our door in the room and checked out. We did not want to go through the trouble of squeezing the bottle of wine into our already full luggage. The service is NOT up to standard and do not even deserve a 1 star. The apology gesture is insincere and laughable.

Overall

If one to be looking for a great time here, FORGET IT!! This hotel has the cheek to make us pay for  early check-in and yet provided service that is not worth the money. I certainly did not expect a hotel who is stingy of bath amenities. The service is below par and the quality of the hotel is ageing. The food selection for breakfast is boring (we only had 2 breakfast out of our 5 days stay). The service level is sub-standard, the rooms are ageing. Do not bother staying here, go elsewhere. I WILL NOT RETURN TO THIS HOTEL FOR MY FUTURE TRIPS TO TAIPEI. They do not even accord guests staying in one of their most expensive suites the status befitting of it.