Art Series - The Olsen, Melbourne

Happy New Year Guys!!!  I know, I know, I've been AWOL lately from the blog.  Blame it on the holiday season.  It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also the busiest!  But I'm back now, and boy do I have some stuff to share! 

So how was YOUR holiday?  Ours was spent in Australia.  3 days in Melbourne and 3 days in Sydney.  Since it was a really short trip, we decided to just hang out, eat and shop for the whole trip.  No sightseeing, no touristy stuff.  Besides, the whole Australia was closed during Christmas day so that's another day we had to slash off from our trip.

First up, is our hotel.  Do you guys remember my post about Sydney's QT Hotel last 2013?  Was really blown away with that one.  So we stayed at the QT again this time.  Funny thing is, they gave us the exact same room!  So no blog post about QT since everything was exactly the was we remembered it.  Let's go to the Melbourne hotel, shall we?

The Olsen was booked by my Dad.  He actually tasked me to book a hotel somewhere near CBD or someplace with a lot of shopping places, but I wasn't able to find one.  So he did the booking himself and sent me the confirmation email.  I briefly researched about the hotel, and found it ok.  It looked nice enough, but somehow didn't interest me as much as the QT did.  So I didn't think much of it until the moment I set foot at The Olsen. 

First look at the room

Working table and Kitchen

That's a fully working kitchen complete with a mini refrigerator, sink, microwave, induction cooker, plates, cups and utensils.  You could easily get food from the supermarket and cook it yourself.  Oh what convenience!

Master's Bed

Couch and Dining Area

Notice the small entry way beside the working area?  It leads you to...

Second Room

...this!  A second room!  Just as we were thinking we'd have to sleep on the floor... surprise, surprise!   

Closet

Bathroom

The view from our window

The Olsen's Hotel Lobby

Hats off to my Dad.  I have no words - Australians really know their hotels!  First was QT Hotel, and now this.  QT might be aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but this one wins as the most complete.  They even had a washing and drying room right next to our room.  Plus, they offer Smart cars for rent.  As if that's not enough, The Olsen's location is quite fantastic too - lots of small boutiques/restaurants around the area and a Big W (superstore somewhat similar to Target/Kmart) plus a huge supermarket is just right across it!  How awesome is that?!  5 out of 5 stars!  I love it!  

Art Series - The Olsen is at 637-641 Chapel Street, Melbourne, Australia

Le Montrose Suite Hotel

From my previous post, I mentioned that we were going to stay 4 nights at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, and then move to another hotel downtown for the remaining nights.  And this was it.  Le Montrose Suite Hotel.  Truthfully speaking, the reason why we chose Le Montrose was because of the pictures we saw on the site.  The space is huge!  The interiors are also quite modern, and that's how I like my hotels to be.  So the day after my cousin's wedding, we packed our bags, said goodbye to the Hyatt Regency, and set off for Le Montrose. 

Le Montrose is situated downtown in West Hollywood.  It's not located on the main street.  But if you like a quiet neighborhood, then you'd appreciate it.  It's also quite near to The Grove, Beverly Center and Universal Studios, which is a huge plus.  

Curious about the room?  Here's what it looks like:

The Room

Working Area

Lounge Area

Bathroom

So how was it?  I breathed a sigh of relief when we saw that the room looks exactly like the ones on the site photo.  You know how sometimes you see really nice room photos and get the disappointment of your life when you see that the actual room looks nothing like it?  Not in this case.  Plus points too for the extremely friendly and helpful staff.  They helped us make the booking for the car rental, gave us a tip on the Uber car service, and also pointed out some places where we can go.  The rooms are a bit pricey but it's well worth it!  4.5 out of 5 stars!

Le Montrose Suite Hotel is at 900 Hammond St, West Hollywood, California, United States of America

Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa

My cousin's wedding was to be at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, so as we were planning on where to stay, we figured it's best to stay at the same hotel to avoid the trouble of shuffling back and forth from one hotel to another at the day of the wedding.  Since we will be in LA for a week, we figured we'll just stay at the Hyatt for 4 nights, then move to another hotel downtown for the remaining 3.  And that's exactly what we did.  Here's a look at our room at the Hyatt Regency:

View from the door

Bed

TV and Working Area

Couch

A closer look at the working area

The room from another view

Tub/Sink

Bathroom

So how was it?  The hotel had this really old elegant look to it, but I like modern looking ones better.  That being said, I have zero complaints about the hotel.  The rooms are big and clean, the staff extremely accommodating and there's free wifi!  Another plus is that the Huntington Beach is less than 5 minutes walk away, so if you feel like catching the breeze or going in for a dip, it's really convenient to do so!  4.5 out of 5 stars!

Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa is at 21500 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, California, United States of America

QT Hotel

Starting off my Sydney posts with where we stayed for one whole week:  QT Hotel.  Before we flew to Australia, my brother and I asked our Dad which hotel he booked for our vacation.  Dad's answer was "QT".  Whaaa...?  Cutie?   Is this a joke?  We both wondered.  "No.  QT.  Letter Q and letter T.  Google it."  was his reply.  So google we did, and boy oh boy, the place looked nothing like your standard traditional hotel.  Reviews online described it as quirky.  Well, quirky is good for me.  I'm too tired from seeing countless cookie-cutter hotel rooms anyway so this one is one refreshing change.  The pictures online were so nice that I actually looked forward to getting to the hotel more than seeing what Sydney has to offer! 

After a few more weeks of waiting, vacation time finally came.  Our flight arrived early in the morning and the first thing we did when we got to Sydney was to check into the hotel.  Let me tell you, nothing prepared me for what we saw.  It was way better than I expected.  A visual feast for the eyes.  Mind-blowingly perfect.  Don't believe me?  Scroll down for your treat:

Part of the hotel lobby

Hotel Lobby and Check-In Counters

What greeted us when the elevator opened to our floor

Our room number

Key card

Our room with two queen beds

Wide shot of the bar/bathroom/working area

Closer shot of the minibar

Not your ordinary minibar.  They had these for sale!  Emergency bowtie, anyone?

Closet

Bottoms Up!

The Throne.  This is an entire section separate from  the bath area.

Wash area

Bath!

And Bath Tub!

Mismatched seats and wall art

Soooo... What do you think?  Did you guys love it as much as I did?  They really paid great attention to detail.  Everything was well thought of, from the staff uniforms down to the elevator.  Just a bit of tidbit:  the elevators in QT Hotel plays a different song every time the door closes.  And when it opens to let a guest off on one of the floors, sometimes it even says "Hasta La Vista, Baby!"  LOL.  I was literally speechless.  

 

So how would I rate QT Hotel?  Is that even a question?  I'm so in love with this hotel!  In fact, I've never loved a hotel more in my life!  Quirky became an understatement.  Everything was perfect in their own mismatched ways - from the rooms, to the lobby, and the service... All I can say is, WOW!  5 out of 5 stars!

QT Hotel is at 49 Market Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia

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V Hotel Lavender

Over the weekend, Hubby and I went to Singapore for a short vacation. It's been quite a while since we last visited the Lion City, two years to be exact!  And since it's not sale season, our main agenda for Singapore is to eat, eat and eat!  But before I share our old and new discoveries, let me share with you where we stayed: V Hotel Lavender.  

View from the door

The bed

Working Area

Bathroom

The main reason why we stayed at V Hotel Lavender is because of it's proximity from the MRT station.  The nearest station was literally just behind the hotel.  This reason aside, I wouldn't exactly recommend this hotel.  Why?  The toiletries were very basic and the room itself is pretty small.  Also, there is a SGD 10/day charge for wifi.  It only lets you use one device, and the internet is slower than a turtle.  Sometimes the pages won't even load at all, which makes it very frustrating.  So book at your own risk.  2 out of 5 stars.

V Hotel Lavender is at 70 Jellicoe Road, Singapore

Best Western Hotel Fino Osaka Shinsaibashi

If you guys noticed the lack of posts last week, I've got an excuse.  Two words:  Osaka, Japan!  Yup, was out of the country for a while, so wasn't able to blog much.  My apologies!  But, I am back, and I've got a few upcoming blog posts about our recently concluded trip!  Excited much!  It was my very first time in Japan and being a country that speaks little to no English, we had quite an adventure!  But first, let me show you where we stayed.  

A little back story:  My best friend D went to Osaka early this year.  When he got back, he had so much interesting stories that it made me want to go there and I soon found myself booking a flight to Osaka!  While booking for the hotel accommodations, I remembered D telling me that the main shopping and eating place is called Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori, so I made sure that our hotel would be somewhere nearby.  Best Western Hotel seemed like the perfect hotel.  Reviews were good, and it's within walking distance to Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori.

Arriving in Osaka, our flight was delayed and even with directions to the hotel, we had a bit of a difficulty getting there.  So when we finally got to Best Western, it was close to midnight.  The good thing was that the hotel is located right across 7-Eleven!  Off topic:  Japan's 7-Eleven is AHHHMAZING.  They have the most amazing selection of heat-and-serve food and it tastes soooo good!  Even better than some restaurants here, I daresay.  

Ok ok, enough stories, scroll down and see the place we called home for 4 nights! 

View from the doorway

Closet/Luggage Space

Bathroom

Twin Beds

Working Area

The first reaction we had when we entered the hotel room was "Is this it?!  It's so tiny!!"  It was the smallest hotel room I've ever stayed in.  I know hotels in Japan are known to be tiny, but somehow I didn't expect it to be that small.  But aside from the size of the hotel room, we have no complaints.  We have free wifi, the room is clean, the toiletries are complete, and the bathroom even has a heated toilet seat complete with push button bidet!  How can you go wrong with that?  4.5 out of 5 stars!

Best Western Hotel Fino Osaka Shinsaibashi is at 1-2-19 Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 542-0083, Japan 

Rodizio

While I may be a stranger to Kapampangan food, in Rodizio, I am not.  My in-laws frequent Clark for the duty free shopping, and thus, I've gotten to try Rodizio sometime around a year ago.  I remembered having a pleasant and very filling dinner there, so it would be a welcome thought to dine there again.  And as luck would have it, the overnight stay comes with complimentary dinner in Rodizio!  Yay!

The selection:

Bread section

Salad Station

Cold Appetizers

The Mains

Barbeque

The Sauces

Dessert

So how did it turn out the second time around?  I distinctly remember having more choices for the appetizers.  Save for the barbecue section, there's really not much other things that stood out.  But that's ok, because their barbecue is oh  so yummy!  Tender flavorful meats served straight from the skewer, at your table.  My advise?  Skip the others and go all out on the barbecue!  4 out of 5 stars! 

Rodizio is at 7th Level, Holiday Inn Manila Garden, Mimosa Drive, Mimosa Leisure Estate, Clark, Pampanga