Before I start blogging, Baby & I feel we are able to use 1 word to sum up our 4d3n Phuket Holiday;
PHUKET = O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D!!
We were seriously disappointed with almost 85% of the trip.
Well, read on to find out why...
We booked our flight last dec, during Jetstar's 1-1 promo (yes, kiasu..but we got a good deal). Taxes all in for only S$223 for 2 pax. Furthermore, Baby is able to claim his portion from his ex-co. & YAYYY, we only paid S$111.50 for our tickets in the end.
Got our money exchanged at Raffles Place - The Arcade. We changed a total of S$800 (S$400 each) but still left with S$100 after our holiday. So we only spent around S$350 per pax for this trip.
People's Corner
11 Collyer Quay, #02-07 The Arcade, (S)049317
Tel: 6223 3040
**********
JOY is when one head to Changi Airport departure hall; even if the flight is super early in the morning!!!
Woke up 4am for our 8:20am morning flight.
Despite the few hours of slp, we are still looking good, don't we?? :D Cos we are going on a holidayyyy mahs; a much awaited beach (relaxing) holiday.
Woooo Hoooo~!!!
Our unplanned white/denim outfit <3
I LOVE MY SHORT HAIR!! <3 <3
The rainbow luggage belt, which makes us recognize our luggage from far easily!
& becos I need gummies when on board plane due to the pressure (i dislike taking plane ><), Baby got me a pack.
♥♥♥
Fell aslp shortly after this pic. Too tired as I barely catch a glimpse the night before.
TOO EXCITED goin' on holiday :P
we woke up to this sight!!!
Awwwww, I LOVE those fluffy cotton candy clouds :')
Flight is approximately 1 hr 50 mins & violaaaa, we reached Phuket International Airport.
Spot this booth within the airport to get your FREE SIM Card to make international calls back. Purchasing a separate SIM card will be so much CHEAPER than using auto roam.
Top up can be done on the spot as well.
Airport transfer from the hotel.
Just when I though it was a normal Limousine.....
I was pretty impressed with the interior.
hotel driver is friendly, & we were served with 2 chilled mineral water & towel.
However, the jasmine scent towel makes mi feel giddy :SSSSS
Almost an hr of journey, we finally reach our hotel.
So looking forward cos our hotel is Ranked #1 of 238 hotels in Patong
Also, Travellers' Choice® 2013 Winner.
BYD Lofts Boutique Hotel & Serviced Apartments
5/28 Haad Patong Rd
Patong Beach, Phuket
Thailand 83150
But.....this is where we encounter our first #overrated
Lobby, which is NOT air-conditioned!!
WTH -.-"
WTH -.-"
Welcome orange drink, with the ah-neh (ooops, no offence) towel
However, NO early check-in (we reached the hotel around 10+am) or upgrade of the rooms (ok, this is understandable as the hotel is not obligated to provide that.)
Off we went to Jungceylon for lunch.
some compulsory tourists shots
Baby is actually melting under the scorching sun!!
HAHAHAHA
Guess where?
They have so many available dips to choose from!!!
PORK BURGER FINALLY!!!
Ohhh..the fries are damn good too, even when it is not hot, they taste nice.
Unlike SG ones ><
The water here is much clearer than Patong Beach lohs ._.
The array of fruits.
So colourful!!
these steamboat ingredients look too cute to be eaten, don't they??
my ALL TIME FAVOURITE drink from Thailand!!!
Bought 2 bottles & they last us throughout the 4 days.
Strolled back to our hotel for check-in & along the way, we saw crepes!!!!
Never too full for dessert.
Nutella Mango is oh-so-delicious!!!!!!
The price of BYD loft is definitely at the higher range as compared to other hotels in Patong area. We paid approx. S$630 for 3 nights for their smallest room (65 sqm 1 bedroom apartment) available, and naturally was expecting something fantastic. Unfortunately, 'Average' was the word to describe the hotel. However, one thing which is good is their free Wi-Fi which is available in the lobby & rooms. So you get live updates from FB, instagram, email anytime within the hotel area.
However, NO early check-in (we reached the hotel around 10+am) or upgrade of the rooms (ok, this is understandable as the hotel is not obligated to provide that.)
Off we went to Jungceylon for lunch.
HAHAHAHA
They have so many available dips to choose from!!!
Ohhh..the fries are damn good too, even when it is not hot, they taste nice.
Unlike SG ones ><
So colourful!!
Bought 2 bottles & they last us throughout the 4 days.
Strolled back to our hotel for check-in & along the way, we saw crepes!!!!
Nutella Mango is oh-so-delicious!!!!!!
Checked-in time~
We booked their Deluxe Apartment.The price of BYD loft is definitely at the higher range as compared to other hotels in Patong area. We paid approx. S$630 for 3 nights for their smallest room (65 sqm 1 bedroom apartment) available, and naturally was expecting something fantastic. Unfortunately, 'Average' was the word to describe the hotel. However, one thing which is good is their free Wi-Fi which is available in the lobby & rooms. So you get live updates from FB, instagram, email anytime within the hotel area.
Living area with 42" plasma TV, surround sound system, DVD & i-pod docking station (which you can charge your iphone)
Feels like HOME right???
Baby drew the curtain to see the balcony and to our horror, this is the worst view ever in our entire hotel experiences. The view was really bad, back facing and surrounded by some old raggard-looking buildings that are so near that one could imagine people climbing over to the balcony. It was literally stone-throw away. The balcony was as good as nothing I swear. For the rest of the 3 nights, we left the curtain closed at all times :<Yeah..we can be quite anal on these nitty gritty details :/
fully equipped kitchen
Nespresso, oven, bread toaster, water boiler, fridge loaded with drinks (they are chargeable though), cutlery & even condom??
Excellent room service ahh..
What "impress" me is that they have bolster!!!!!
I love bolster. Hehehehee :P
Comes with 4 pillows too.
The green towel is the beach towel that can be brought to the beaches/swimming pool.
Safe, bathrobe, iron, iron board, umbrella, torchlight checked!
Okay, so now why overrated??
1) Balcony view sucks
2) We expect the room to be much more spacious than what we got!
3) There was a slight odor in the air-con if the temperature was turned up.
4) We were informed by the front desk staff that our room does not include breakfast. Baby even had to dig out his email conversations with the reservation manager and forward it to the front desk to proof that breakfast is included -.-
Relax, nua & laze around in our room before we left for Patong Beach to look for Island Hopping packages.
All our beach photos look so gloomy :( It really dampens our mood.
"Did we go to the right beach???"
It just looks like our ECP beach lohs :/
Not as beautiful as we thought. In fact the beach & sea water are rather dirty :SSS
OKAY, some shots before walking along the beach to look for some Island Hopping packages.
Walked & walked for a good 15mins...& NOBODY approached us to sell any Island Hopping packages!!! How can that be???
Baby: Issit becos it is a weekday?
Me: 不可能啦!!
Decided to walk along the road to see if anyone is selling...again NOBODY!! Only have jet ski deals.
!@#$%^&*^@#$%
So we decided to head back to our hotel to ask.
Me: (thinking in my heart) CRAPPPPPP!! :\
Everybody was saying Island Hopping packagescan be easily bought from Patong Beach de, in the end nobody approach us? >:(
Luckily on our way back, Baby spot this.
Grrrrrrr -.-
Back to our room again to wash up abit before heading to Central Festival for dinner at Fuji Japanese Restaurant!!! My another FAVOURITE :p
It is so nice you can eat it alone, i swear...
50 baht for a bowl, which is around S$2.
NGOMZ..NGOMZZZ...NGOMMZZZZ
Suddenly....
........
BOMMM!! BLACK OUT!!!!!!
Baby trying to on his torch-light app, while I ask him to quickly take a snapshot of me.
HAHAHAHHAHA
It seems like a norm for the people there. There are no back-up plans or whatever, just purely wait for the electricity to resume back, & left their customers eating in the dark O.o
Luckily, we are almost done with our food.
Oh, did I mention is the whole Central Festival that is encountering black out. Not only Fuji. Apparently the electric black out on your stay had hit 14 province in the south of Thailand and was all over the news. But within a few hours, Patong was the first place that get the electricity back, in some provinces it took until late at night.
Due to the power failure, there is nothing much left for us to shop after our dinner since most shops decided to close early (no lights, cash register might not work etc ...). Grrrrr...wasted trip >:( In my opinion, Central Festival should be much better than Jungceylon. You can find Aldo, Miss Selfride, Body Shop, Zara etc here.
Back to our hotel to end our Day 1.
#yetanotherdramathinghappen
It was only our first night and we were already experiencing power failure. We were about to sleep when the power failure hit. After 15 mins or so, the electricity did not regain and it was so stuffy in the room that we could not sleep. We then decided to approach the lobby front desk to ask for some assistance. To our dismay, the only response from them was that they could do nothing as the power failure did not only hit BYD (Alright, we know.. but seeing 2 distressed guests seeking assistance, the staff should probably at least offered us to take a sit in the restaurant and offer some drinks). But no, we were stranded around 15 mins at the hotel lobby waiting for the electricity updates from them and the staff did nothing including the restaurant manager. This has affected our sleep and mood, and our island hopping schedule in the following early morning. We went back to our room with the only source of light (hotel's torch light) and waited unknowingly hoping for the electricity to regain. It took 1 hour for the electricity to come back. It was such a disappointing start to our staycation :((
Day 2 to be contd'.........
And I thought that blackout was common only in India!
ReplyDeleteLuckily my recent trip to bangkok I did not experience any blackouts =P