Whenever I hear Shangri- La I’d think about luxury, men and women in business attire, romantic couples and travellers- not so much a child-friendly hotel. So when I saw some stories of Patricia K’s recent staycation in Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur, I was amazed at how child-friendly the hotel actually is and decided to check it out myself.

It’s true what people say, once you have kids, your priorities change and decisions such as where to eat, where to stay or where to go on holiday are made with your child in mind first. You’ll be asking yourself questions like, is it child-friendly? Is it baby-friendly? Will the kids have activities to do there? Where are the kids going to sleep?

My husband and I are island lovers. We used to go snorkelling 3 times a year, but when my two boys came along, everything changed! Holidays are now closer to home and they must be child-friendly.

In short, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur changed my perception towards it entirely. From the kid’s buffet spread in Horizon Club, to the daily activities to keep the little ones busy, right down to the little details they’ve prepared inside our room, Shangri- La is indeed a child-friendly hotel, one that we will surely go back to.

So let me break it down for you as to why I would say so.

Child-Friendly Rooms and Amenities

We were booked in the Premier Selection Suite that comes with a kid’s tent (limited numbers available) that I’m sure all kids would love- my son included. There’s something about tents and kids that gets them excited- probably gives them the feeling of having their own little nook.

In our Premier Selection Suite they also have little touches for the little ones such as kids’ toiletries and stool, which I think are thoughtful touches that made our stay all the more better. You can also request for a baby cot if you need one.

Horizon Club Lounge

Depending on the type of room you’re staying in, guests at Shangri-La will also have access to the Horizon Club. This privilege begins with a personalized check-in at the Horizon Club Lounge, with the option of late check-out until 4pm, which means more quality time to be spent with the family!

During the weekends, Shangri-La has a special family area in the Horizon Club Lounge for a more inclusive family bonding time. It includes a mini playroom and a child-friendly mini buffet spread during breakfast, afternoon tea & cocktail hours catering for children under the age of 12. After our activities, (which I’ll talk about next) we always found ourselves going back to the Horizon Club Lounge as we find it to be a comfy place to hang out and have refreshments, which are available throughout the day. Plus, the staffs there are really friendly and accommodating too!

Kids Activities at Shangri-La

Once you’ve done your booking, you’ll receive an email from Shangri-La closer to the date of your stay that will tell you about the exciting activities that they have lined up throughout the weekend. Activities include- fish feeding, movie nights, family yoga or Zumba and even a kitchen tour. All you have to do is key-in your details in the form they provided in their email and book a spot for the activities that you’re interested in.

Once you have checked in, your child will receive an Activities Passport that can be used to collect stamps from the activities that you’ve registered them in. You’ll also be able to redeem a gift at the end of your stay!

Our favourite activity during our stay has to be Movie Night, where we could cuddle up as a family and watch a movie while eating warm popcorn and marshmallows! If you have a toddler or a pre-schooler like myself, you’ll probably be worried about making noise and getting them to sit still, but you really don’t have to worry as the room is pretty laid-back and filled with some books and toys to keep them entertained as well.

For older kids (4-12 year olds), I would say that the Kitchen Tour is a great activity! Not only do the kids get a tour from the chefs in Shangri-La’s Lemon Garden Restaurant, they also have the chance to create a dish of their own- and this time it was sushi. My boy is 3-years-old, so he wasn’t in the mood to join in, but there were other younger kids joining in as well. As long as an adult is there to accompany, they do accept kids below the age of 4 as well.

Free Shuttle Service

If you hate driving around KL City Centre, you’ll be glad to know that Shangri-La also provides free shuttle service to a number of places of interest around Kuala Lumpur. It saves you the hassle of driving and looking for parking, plus the kids love bus rides anyway – it’s adventurous!

Overall

Overall, we loved our short staycation at Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur. Besides the child-friendly amenities and activities, we also enjoyed the delicious food from Lemon Garden, Zipangu and Shang Palace. Lemon Garden is one of my favourite places to have a buffet and I absolutely recommend it!

Would I go back to Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur? Absolutely! I think the perks and complimentary service at the Horizon Club makes it worthwhile. So if you’d like to know more about what Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur has to offer, head on to http://www.shangri-la.com/

LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort is a family holiday destination that brings together a LEGOLAND Theme Park, Water Park and Hotel in one LEGO themed location. With more than 70 hands-on rides, slides, shows and attractions, and designed for families with children aged 2-12, LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort has a new baby in town- SEA LIFE Malaysia!

SEA LIFE Malaysia is the first SEA LIFE to open in Malaysia and is located at the heart of Iskandar Puteri, right next to LEGOLAND Theme Park. I got a first-hand experience to look into the brand new 2,123 square-metre indoor aquarium and what an experience it has been!

Entrance is through the ground floor where you will already be greeted with some marine life and LEGO figures, but the real adventure starts on the first floor, where you’ll find yourself in a 360° view of hundreds of yellow tail fusilier swimming around you in their Shoaling Ring. Continue reading

I was in Sunway Pyramid recently and found out about this amazing back-to-back blockbuster movie line-up on FOX Movies! FOX Movies’s Nights of Incredible is having chart-topping premieres and must-see films for 61 nights starting 21st December 2018.

Hit first-run films premiering on FOX Movies during Nights of Incredible include Marvel’s mega-colossal superhero showdown Avengers: Infinity War as well as the brand-new Black Panther; heartwarming family film Wonder; and surprise box-office smash-hit musical The Greatest Showman.

I personally can’t wait for A Bad Moms Christmas and Black Panther coz i haven’t had the chance to watch it yet!!

For its big finale, Nights of Incredible ends with an action-packed Marvel Marathon starting from midnight on 1 January 2019. Tune in to see Marvel Universe movies back-to-back, featuring the world’s most famous superheroes battling it out – there’s Avengers: Infinity War, Thor Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, The Amazing Spiderman 2, Captain America and more!

With a hit movie every single night for 61 nights, Nights of Incredible has something for everyone.

Tune in to Nights of Incredible every night until 31 December at 10:00pm on FOX Movies, available on unifi TV in HD on Ch 401.

You can alsso check out the January 2019 highlights below:

Continue reading

If you live in the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur, you’d understand how precious time with our loved ones can be. Minus the time you’re at work, the hours you’re stuck in the traffic jam, and then prepping for dinner; what are you left with? An hour of quality time with your babies before you say goodnight to them? Not a lot of time when we’re constantly working five days a week and sometimes even on the weekends.

Alila’s Sky Lobby

This is why I find going on a little getaway every once in a while such a necessity. It doesn’t necessarily need to be out of town, in fact you’ll find a number of places that are perfect for a staycation right here in the city. Staycations are a great way to take you out of your routine and give you quality bonding time with your little family(especially if you’re living with your in-laws or extended family).

My boys and I recently stayed at the newly opened Alila Bangsar. Located right in the heart of Bangsar, the hotel occupies the topmost floors of a mixed-used development known as The Establishment. We were greeted at the hotel’s sky-level lobby on the 41^st floor and was instantly amazed by the beautiful view from its wide and fully glassed windows. Filled with natural light and fresh greenery, I could tell that the hotel was an environmentally conscious one- and I was right. Continue reading

Let’s face it, going on holiday with an almost 2 year old is hard! Besides all the baby stuff that you have to bring on your trip, it’s also the energy, the tantrums and headaches that makes it even harder and at times stressful.

So here’s the thing, my husband and I decided to celebrate our anniversary on an island off the coast of Terengganu- Redang to be exact. It was our second time there because we loved it the first time we were there. And of course, since there’s three of us now, it’s only natural to bring our boy along so we can spend time with him as well.

Island holidays in Malaysia is cheap in my opinion. We paid RM479 per adult for a full-board package for 3 days and 2 nights- which means all meals are included, plus 3 snorkeling trips as well. For kids below 4 years of age- it’s absolutely FREE!  Here’s a breakdown of what’s included and what’s excluded:

Package Inclusive Of :-

• 2 ways ferry transfer (Syahbandar jetty – Island – Syahbandar jetty)
• 2 nights accommodation (with air-cond + hot shower + safety box 2B, 2L, 1D, 1BBQD and 2Tea Breaks
• 2 snorkeling trip +  1 Marine Park (Excluded equipment & life jacket) 
• marine park ticket  (charged in bill)

Package Excluded:

Snorkelling equipment fees: (rent in island, rental for whole trip)

Life Jacket – RM15 per person

Normal Mask & snorkel: RM15 per person

Power Mask & snorkel: RM 25 per person

We stayed at the Redang Beach Resort this time, which was much more comfortable, compared to Redang Bay Resort- the hotel we stayed previously. Redang Beach cost RM60 more than Redang Bay per person, but it’s much much more worth it (especially if you have kids) because:

• Rooms are clean and bright
• Toilet is wayyy better!
• Beds are bigger
• The buffet for each meal was delicious and the “canteen” as I call it is much bigger, cleaner and more organised.
• Their swimming pool is much cleaner
• Staff are friendly

Only downfall I would say is the beachfront. The area right in front of the hotel is quite rocky, which makes it quite hard to enter the sea and can be a little dangerous too. So you’ll have to walk a little further to the left or right of the hotel to a safe swim zone- no big deal, but it would have been great if we didn’t have to walk so far all the time. (far for me is probably not the same for you coz i have a back problem..)

So Why Wasn’t It A Good Idea?

Maybe it was the scheduled timing of meals and snorkeling trips. Nap time was being compromised- there was little nap time due to all the activities- so he probably didn’t have enough rest which made him grumpy.

The other thing was that, my boy didn’t really want to eat anything else besides his biscuits. Not sure why, but he usually doesn’t have any problem eating rice, or noodles. But this time- he refused all of it!

To top it all off, he was also afraid of the waves and the sounds it made. He was okay once we’re in the water.. but as we walk towards the sea.. it’s constant horror screams!!

Lessons Learnt

I guess the first lesson i learnt was NOT to go on a scheduled holiday. I should have just gone for something free and easy to fit my boy’s nap and meal times.

Secondly, i shouldn’t have compared or expected it to be the same as when my husband and i went just the two of us. Sure we wanted to go snorkeling and experience all the fun we had the last time, but it’s different now and we shouldn’t have expected things to much.

Thirdly, is to bring some of your kid’s familar things- his favourite toy, stuffed animal, book, anything at all to make the hotel room a bit more homey and familiar.

If you guys have tips or experiences to share with this new mummy, please do share it with me in the comment section below. I also need some advice for our next holiday, so if you have any, i’d be more than happy!

I finally understand the working mum guilt! The guilt you feel of not spending enough time with your baby that is! So when the weekend comes around, I try my best to entertain him and take him out instead of being all cooped up at home all the time. Eidrix’s favourite word at the moment is ‘bird’ and he loves watching birds from our balcony, so i thought he might be interested to see them up close and personal!  Last weekend, i decided to bring Eidrix to Farm In the City. I’ve been seeing a few pictures on my timeline and thought we’d check it out. I just love the idea of exposing him to all the different animals- and to be able to touch them too, that’s just awesome right!

It’s actually been awhile since i’ve wanted to go to Farm In The City, but based on a few reviews i read and the pricing, i wasn’t sure if we should go- but in the end- what the heck? Belum cube belum tahu right? So when we arrived, it was a Sunday afternoon and there weren’t many people there which was great! The entrance is through their gift shop and it’ll bring you to an open area where already you can see birds and chickens just hanging out around the area waiting to be fed! There’s even an area where you can see ostriches, goats and other animals before even heading to the ticket counter.

Ticket prices are as below:

And kids below 90cm enter for free! Yeayy! Continue reading