Green Hill Hotel Yangon, Myanmar

I was looking forward very much to stay here when I visited Yangon in early October 2013. This hotel was previously known as Green Hill Inn and I used to stay there many years ago. Of course, the hotel then was very small and converted from a bungalow.

This hotel has been rebuilt and taken over by new owners. It opened about 6 months ago. 

A picture of the lobby.

Photo of the hotel entrance.

A side view of the lobby and entrance to coffee house.

The hotel coffee house.

Another lobby picture

Entrance to room

The rooms are spacious, comfortable and clean.  Service all around the hotel is good. Although free wifi is given, it is very slow due to the country's slow and congested network. 

The breakfast is very good with lots of western, Asian, Japanese and a Myanmar dish. Below are some of the Myanmar breakfast items, oh no kao shuey (noodles in coconut curry), fried rice with beans, nan ji tok (noodles with mung bean paste) and Shan kao shuey (Shan noodles).

Oh no kao shuey

Fried rice with beans

Nan ji tok

Shan Kao Shuey

Overall a good hotel to stay in. As there is a current hotel shortage due to the influx of tourists and businessmen and the opening up of the country, room rates are high in comparison. However, one should not just look at the rates and Myanmar is still a fantastic place to visit. I will have many more postings on this country.

The hotel details are as follows :

No-(12), Pho Sein Road, Tamwe Township, Yangon, Myanmar.
Tel: 95-1-209299, 209300, 209343, 209345 , 209346
Fax: 95-1-209344
Email: greenhill@myanmar.com.mm 
Website: www.greenhillhotelyangon.com 

Until the next time, cheers. 

Swiss Garden Hotel, Kuantan, Malaysia

I brought the family for a short weekend holiday to Kuantan and since I have not stayed at this hotel before, we decided to try it. Reviews on the net was not too bad. We booked the sea facing room. it was quite spacious and had a rather nice pool and sea view.

View of the pool from the room

View of the sea from the room

View of the room

Another view of the room

Whilst the rooms are large, it is starting to show its age. However, it must be said that the maintenance and cleanliness is not bad given this fact. With the price they are charging, one could not expect super luxury anyway.

The next block

View of lobby

Another view of the lobby

Lobby view

Nice water feature in front

View going up to the lobby

Another such view

One thing that one should take note is that during long weekends and school holidays, the hotel will be packed and one wlll not get any privacy. Of course with this, service levels will be so stretched and lowered. Having said that, this hotel still provides one of the best value for money provided you are willing to jostle with the crowd.

The daily breakfast battle can be maddening and increases one's blood pressure so early in the morning mostly due to the inconsideration shown by other Malaysians. It is such a shame that the "kiasuness" is now so ingrained. There are however not many choices of hotels in the east coast that is not too far from Kuala Lumpur.

Will I return another day? Well, I will make a decision when required.

Until the next time, cheers.

Radisson Blu in Wiesbaden, Germany

I would normally visit a trade exhibition in Frankfurt every 2 years and it is held in the first half of March. For the last fair, we stayed in Wiesbaden which is the capital of the state and since I like this city, we decided to stay here again.

However, this time round, we are staying at the Radisson Blu, a period hotel in the heart of the city.

A view of the city which is very clean and not crowded

The entrance to the hotel

We booked early for a business room and got a good price as the prices during the fair can be crazy. The hotel reception is very good at selling upgrades. They offered us a suite at Euro 30 extra per night. We decided to take it. 

I think we made the right decision. It was very spacious and confortable.

Working desk

They provided a nespresso machine.

Very confortable bed

Huge bathroom

A Lindberg radio...cool

Some pictures of the hotel which is very interesting.

The hotel's address.

Radisson Blu Hotel Schwarzer Bock Wiesbaden

Kranzplatz 12, Wiesbaden 65183

Germany

Tel : +49 (0) 611-1550

Overall, a good stay and will probably come back again in 2 years time.

Until the next time, cheers.

Barrio de las Letras Apartment by Madrid4Rental

During our visit to Madrid in early March 2013, we rented an apartment in the Barrio de las Letras area. From the various reviews, the location is near to the subway and also contains many restaurants and night spots.

The area is also very near to the Prado Musuem and other touristic spots. It is also pretty quiet in the day time but comes alive in the night. The view of the surrounding area of the apartment.

The road where the apartment is located

The apartment has been recently renovated and if confortable. We have a loft apartment which adds character to the apartment but is rather inconvenient as the space is much more constricted and a standard apartment.

The entrance to the apartment is nice and there is a lift but it is rather small.

There is a small museum nearby which had a very interesting wall.

As we had a kitchen, we managed to cook a meal or two which included this lobster and some stew and leftover iberico ham with rice.

Overall, it was a nice and pleasant place to stay in a nice area.

Until the next time, cheers.