3D2N Weekend Staycation @ KSL Resort & Hotel

My 2 year old son has been itching for a holiday since we started bringing him to travel late last year. I think blood runs into the same stream. He is always seeking new things to explore, be it things or places.

Since my wife is at her third trimester of her pregnancy, we are unable to travel to places where it requires a flight. So we decide to head our way onto a nearby JB and stayed at the KSL Resort & Hotel, where we spent 2 nights stay in it.

The hotel was located in an extremely convenient location as it is directly connected to the KSL mall which is huge. We spent plenty of our time exploring the malls, dine at the eateries, read at the bookstore, buy groceries and milk powder and some tidbits to bring back home. At one time we contemplated watching movies after our son is asleep but we were so tired that we wanted to enjoy the hot bath and the nice comfortable bed provided.

I booked the hotel through Expedia where I chose the Superior Triple Room so that I am able to bring my helper to come and stay with us as well. The costs for the 2 nights stay is SGD 167.40 and this excludes breakfast option. I also used the Amex credit card as it allows a further 10% savings. I'd say it's really worth the price for a weekend staycation and you will see why later below.

Breakfast was easy as the malls are just next door so the breakfast option was not chosen, though we were curious and tried on the first day and it was absolutely packed with Chinese tourist!! Horrible choice.

The Superior Triple Room was a normal standard room which provided a queen and a single bed. Size of the room was normal but it was decent enough for the little one to sneak and roam around.

We were slightly disappointed though that there was no bathtub in the bathroom as it was one of the activities which we like to pamper ourselves when we go for other travel.

Bedroom

Bathroom

The outside views were pretty amazing as it directly faces the main pool area (more on this below later). On the opposite side, there are an apartment / service apartment where they were up for sale / rent for interested parties. I think the location is decent given that it's right next to the mall and provide direct competitor to the hotel.

Outside Views - The Swimming Pool Weeeee~

Opposite Views

Dinosaur Water Theme Park

This is a really awesome water theme park and kids love it because it is catered for them.

Do note that entry to the park is only free for hotel guests. Otherwise, charges would apply at RM50 per adults and RM30 for the kid.

We started camwhoring first at the entrance before entering the park. Lol

Still looking around the park and taking pictures

The Dinosaur sculptures

And then we started diving right into the different pools.

Goggles and Floats are available for rents in the same area for those who required it.

There were so many different slides to play with that we tried out over and over again, drenching ourselves all over the water.

We went to the pool 2 times in our 3 days. If it was not because of the rain, we would have stayed and soaked ourselves a lot longer.

We are hiding inside the Egg!!!

Family Portrait with the Dinosaur

The overall stay was pleasant and it was one of the better values out there for a rather good experience.

My original intention was to book the Legoland Hotel experience which we stayed during Oscar's 2nd birthday but it was extremely expensive. On a weekday, it is at about RM800 and on the weekend, it can go up to RM1000. That's almost 4 times the amount of what we are paying at the KSL Resort.

With the Ringgit so cheap and getting even cheaper these days, why not hop to the nearest neighborhood?

A Fun Day At The Zoo

It's been raining for the past couple of days so we are praying the weather will be good when we get to the zoo. Thankfully, the weather was accommodating so the walk was not as hot as we expected it to be.

This was our second visit to the zoo since we went a few years ago when Oscar was only 1 year old. This time though, we brought along the grandparents since they've never visited the Singapore zoo.

Right at the center of entrance

After a few meters walk inside, we'd quickly found the engulfing polar bear on our right hand corner. The polar bear was mesmerizing as it was swimming in a pool of cooling water. I bet he too can't stand the heat we have right here on our tiny island.

Polar Bear swimming in the background

Polar Bear

Right at the heart of the zoo is the Orang Utan area where you can see monkeys and genetically similar species jumping around the tree in an open area. It was a very scenic view and one of my personal favorites because you can feel the natural scenery of our living habitat. It was fun looking at them just as much as they are looking at us. Hmm.

With the Orang Utan in the background

Their living habitat

We walked past a few other animals such as the Rhinoceros and the babisaurs but didn't manage to capture a moment. Nevertheless, we managed to get a good view of the cheetah as it was lurking through right in front of us back and forth as it appears hungry. I guess, it gotta wait for feeding time!!!

Hey, Rhino!!!

Cheetah in the background

What a view!!!

We managed to get a nice close shoot up of the giraffe this time round as they seemed busy eating the leaves. One of our best memories of giraffe was the zoo in Bangkok where there are literally hundreds and thousands of giraffe lining up in front of us. That was an incredible sight.

Hey, Giraffe!!!

More than 1 giraffe today :)

We watched two shows during the day. One is by the amphitheatre where the splash shows are showing sealion. The shows are the earliest at 10.30 am, so everyone was rushing almost for the same seat. Still, since it was a weekday, there were plenty of seats around so no worries on getting no seat. The shows last for about 30 min and it was pretty entertaining and the crowd was enjoying themselves.

We can't say the same for the elephant shows though as we came in later after lunch. The elephant shows were not as entertaining as the one we have had in Bangkok where I feel they were being trained more skillfully and intelligently. The elephants in Bangkok zoo can even draw a nice picture just by using their trunks.

Elephants doing their show time

Elephant shows but sadly no seat for us :(

Sealion juggling ball

Pose for photo time

All in all, I think a good day outing for the family. We went right in the morning at 9am when the gate opens and we finished just about at 1pm since Oscar was already in sleepy mode so we decide to get back early. Since it's also not our first visit, we are also more familiarize with the place itself.

Until then again next time maybe after our second kid is born next year!!

Fun & Laughter Indoor Playground @ Citysquare Mall Review

It's been a while since I last updated this blog when we went for a holiday in Krabi in July. Things moved so fast that there are hardly anytime to breathe these days.

In any case, our activities have been as plentiful nevertheless as it was in the past and I have a lot of backlog to update on this blog. I've finally managed to push myself to upload the picture into the blog today.

We went to the Citysquare mall this afternoon as part of our weekly adventure to find something new to explore. After we had our lunch, I brought my son to the Fun & Laughter indoor playground located at groundfloor B2. This was the 2nd time we had explored the playground.

Entrance

Fun & Laughter Playground

The playground itself isn't huge by any means but they had well concentrated areas that attracted kids to the place.

As we enter, we were immediately greeted by a spacious free and easy area where there are buses and cars for kids to ride along. The Tayo bus was popular because it was obviously the kids' favorite as they grew up watching the cartoon. For Oscar, he extremely loves anything that has to do with buses so there was no doubt he was going to catch it first.

Playing together with jie jie

Wheels on the bus ^^

F1 Racing

Beside the playing area, there was a ball filled area where kids usually like to slide and drown themselves in the pool.

There was also a shooting area by the top where kids can pit their skills against one another by putting the ball into the machine and shooting to score points. For the younger kids, they can still participate as the management has kindly put a small ladder across where kids can climb and reach the shooting gun. That really helps a lot!!!

Kids love to drown themselves in the pool for some reason :)

Aiming right before shooting

"I'll make sure I get it right this time!!!"

"Where is the ball I've put in?"

Posing for the camera ^^

On the other side, there was a small room where kids can gather to play the games that was being screened from the projector. Most of the games include stepping on the monster or bubbles that allow kids to move and jump around so it can get crowded at times. 

I'm scoring my next points ~

Rolling the ball

The highlight of the playground is the gym activities area and the huge long deep slides which kids (and myself) thoroughly enjoy playing it over and over again. The area itself wasn't big but it is enough for parents to get really tired chasing their kids one after another.

Get ready to start chasing after your kid!~

Jumping Matrix

Thinking how to overcome the next obstacle

The super long and deep slides

Overall, it was a good decent playground with very reasonable fees. 

The playground is catered more towards the slightly older kids as the mall has another one which catered for the younger kids (more on this next time).

If the kid is enjoying it, why would the adults complaint? :)

Fun N Laughter

City Square Mall

180 Kitchener Road

 #B2-32 Fun N Laughter
Singapore 208539
10:30 AM to 9:30 PM (Daily)

Grand Centara Resort @ Krabi Vacation 2016

It was just a recent holiday that we've been to which was still fresh from my memory.

We chose Krabi as our destination for 3 nights because we previously experienced Hua Hin and we totally loved the atmosphere and serenity of the resort.

The resort we chose this time was the Grand Centara Resort, which was quite a pretty huge resort compared to the rest we've been.

We had to take Tiger Air to Krabi airport because there were not many airlines that were offering such route. Upon arrival, we flagged a cab for THB 600 baht which would bring us to Noppharatara pier where there were complimentary speedboat transfer to the resort itself. Do reach out for the timetable which was provided from the resort when you book.

~ Noppharatara Pier ~

~ Riding the speedboat ~

After 15 min, we reached the entrance to the resort, which was isolated in an island.

~ Grand Entrance ~

Finally reached!!!

I'll break this down into the most important factors for looking into the resort, in case anyone would like to book the same in the future.

1.) Location

It's not the most convenient location as the only way to reach the resort is via a boat which we have to take from the pier. 

In order to travel to Ao Nang or Krabi Town area, you'll have to take the boat again to the pier and make your way out from there.

Since it is isolated in an island, it also means that it's very difficult to reach a supermarket to grab drinks or snacks and there are a number of limited restaurants for you to take your meal inside the resort.

2.) Beach & Nature of Resort

The resort is an absolute stunning nature lovers. 

There are plenty of butterflies, lizards and monkeys flying around the resort, and the resort sparks a very open and friendly environment towards nature.

The beach is amazingly huge and was very child friendly as the water is clear and the sand is soft on the touch.

It was Oscar first experience playing by the beach and he absolutely loved it to the core, especially when the wave starts to spill over to the sandcastle we were building in vain.

Throughout our stay, the weather was absolutely great and it was sunny hot throughout, which sparks a great number of tourists to lie down tanning on the beach and the pool area.

Delight Play With The Sand

Beach

~ Oscar @ Krabi ~

~ Daddy B 3Fs ~

3.) Accommodation

We chose the Ocean Suites Luxury which was located on the 3rd floor.

There is no elevator or lift, so you'll have to exercise up and down. We did that throughout and were flat tired everytime.

The room were huge, similar to what we have back at Hua Hin. However, they were a few tad signs of aging and I had very much preferred the one we have at Hua Hin.

There were a balcony overseeing the ocean and there were bath-up outside. We used them quite a bit and my son totally love it. You can see from his expression that he was genuinely excited when the water fills up.

~ Room ~

Bath Time!!!

4.) Facilities

The resort was very huge and there were plenty of facilities that we are able to use during the stay.

There is the spa club, which I stupidly signed up on the first day to try on a 4 hands massage since I was longing for massage for the longest time.

There is also the fitness center, which we went in a few times to enjoy the aircon... hahaha.

There is the recreation club where you can play xbox or playstation, and there is also a table tennis table which I played a few rounds with my wife.

~ Recreation Club ~

There is also the kids indoor playground which we brought our son to play inside. There were not too much crowd since everyone is hanging out by the beach and pool area so he has all the toys and games to himself.

~ Indoor Playground ~

The swimming pool is huge. And the view is amazing as it oversees the mountain and the ocean.

There were also not much crowd as most people were sun-tanning when we went so we had the pool almost all to ourselves. It was a very enjoyable swim.

~ Swimming Pool ~

5.) Service

I had to include this in the review as I believe it is one of the most important factor.

The service was not the best as compared to the one we stayed at Hua Hin but it was decent overall. We had experienced much worse elsewhere.

There were a few times when we had to remind for housekeeping and call for service but I guess because of the huge size of the resort they couldn't accommodate all the guests' request.

Still, I will rate the service as only decent as I had much expected better from a 5 star resort.

Overall

There were some great and misses throughout our stay but the overall stay was great.

It is definitely something which I do not regret choosing to go for a staycation for a chill and relax and the money spent is definitely worth it.

P.S: The review is purely based on my own experience and I do not receive any compensation for writing this review.