Singapore Archives - Kids 'R' Simple

Orchard Rendezvous Hotel Family Suite Review – Great for Big Families

Our favourite family-friendly hotel chain Far East Hospitality has once again wowed us, and this time, with their super huge Family Suite! For most hotels, a big hotel room can cater for a family of 4 comfortably. But what if you have 3 growing kids like us? The choices are not many if you wish to book only one hotel room. So far, we have been pretty creative in moving furniture around to fit the 5 of us because we wish to save the cost of a second hotel room and also we prefer to have all 5 of us together. I must say Orchard Rendezvous Hotel’s Family Suite solved our problems. Not only does it accommodate all 3 kids to a bed each, but the kids could also do a few cartwheels in the room too! Can you imagine the size of the room??!!

20181201_140423 — Orchard Rendezvous Hotel – I took this photo when our car passed the entrance with the tree right in the middle!

Where is Orchard Rendezvous Hotel???

If you are wondering where is Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, it is formerly known as Orchard Parade Hotel beside Forum Shopping Mall, located in the heart of Orchard Road. It is just a 5-minute short walk from the Orchard MRT station and Singapore Botanic Gardens. Since 19 September 2018, it has been refurbished and started its new journey as the second Rendezvous property in Singapore. Retaining its heritage, Orchard Rendezvous Hotel incorporates pepper plant motifs throughout the hotel interior. Drawing inspirations from the neighbouring Singapore Botanic Gardens, the hotel offers guests the chance to connect with nature and discover the Romance of the city, the culture and life.

20181201_145008 — Pepper plant motifs as part of interior decoration

One very special thing about Orchard Rendezvous Hotel is that it has a commissioned orchid on Level 6 at the Outdoor Swimming Pool area. Named Vanda Orchard Rendezvous, the orchid is a two-toned cross-hybrid of Vanda Pieces of Eight and Vanda Rasri Gold. Vanda Orchard Rendezvous is also the first orchid commissioned for a hotel in Singapore by OSSEA.

Now, let’s take a look at the hotel charm that blends heritage and nature!

Luxurious Bathroom with 2 wash basins – the hotel totally has big families in mind! No more fights over the wash basins!

This table doubles up as a vanity table with a slide out of the mirror piece. — This table doubles up as a vanity table with a slide out mirror piece.

Vanda Orchard Rendezvous and care kit with compliments from Orchard Rendezvous Hotel.

This is a smart TV with gaming remote control, the kids simply love it over the usual TV channels!

In most of our staycations, the kids would spend more time at the pool than the room, but not this time round! The luxurious and spacious suite had kept everyone in the room simply enjoying the comfy beds, smart TV, doing cartwheels, running around, enjoying bathtub, watching the Orchard Road passersby and admiring Christmas lightings from the balcony.

Let’s take a tour around the hotel facilities now!

Hotel Gym – not for kids though, we were allowed entry only for photo-taking opportunity. Obviously, the kids treated it as a playground!

Where for Breakfast?

You will be surprised that the hotel ties up with the famous and trusted household name restaurant, Modestos, for breakfast!

Just the night before, we had a really good dinner at Modestos. The food was really superb! Even the kids exclaimed that they have never tasted such good mushroom soup, delicious Carbonara, strawberry milkshake, pizza and desserts! I have a soft spot for strawberry milkshake, and I can tell you that I will certainly return frequently even if it is just for milkshake takeaways! And you may wonder what’s the big hoo ha about Carbonara. Well, you must really try it once to believe that Carbonara can be this good!

If you have young children, Orchard Rendezvous Hotel Family rooms will be a good option because they have bunk beds available as one of the bed configurations. And if you have 3 growing kids like us or travelling with grandparents and wish to stay in one room, Orchard Rendezvous Hotel Family Suite will be the one to book for your staycation or travel. During our stay, we were told that all the 30+ family rooms were full! It looks like Orchard Rendezvous Hotel family rooms are indeed popular! Perhaps the industry is really lacking in large family rooms and we are glad and honoured to be able to stay in one and share our experience with all of you!

As I am writing this, there is an on-going promotion for Orchard Rendezvous Hotel rooms. Check out this link to find out more!

More information:

Our hotel room type: Family Suite King and 2 Single Beds. We have a rolled away bed as our 3rd single bed.
Good to know: You can ask for a bunk bed configuration prior to stay.
Price: Family Rooms start from SGD217 per night for 2019 super sale rates, not valid at other travel websites.
Facilities and Room Amenities for Family Suite:
– Spacious interior with separate dining area
– One king-sized bed and two single beds – perfect for larger families
– Accessible balcony (subject to availability)
– Complimentary use of Handy Phone, with mobile Internet access and complimentary calls to 6 destinations
– Unlimited Wi-Fi access
– Air conditioning with remote control
– Cable TV
– Coffee/tea-making facilities
– In-room electronic safe
– Hair dryer
– Iron and ironing board
– International Direct Dial (IDD) telephone with voicemail facilities
– Electric Kettle
– Bath, Shampoo, Conditioner and Soap
For more information and bookings, visit https://www.rendezvoushotels.com.sg/en/hotels/orchard-rendezvous-hotel

Hotel Address:
1 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247905
Enquiry: info.orh@fareast.com.sg
Phone: +65 6737 1133 / Reservations: +65 6881 8888
Facebook: www.facebook.com/StayRendezvous
Instagram: www.instagram.com/StayRendezvous

Village Hotel Katong Staycation + Kim Choo Peranakan Experience

I like Village Hotels by Far East Hospitality. Why? Because they package in family bonding activities with each family stay. Last year, we stayed in Village Hotel Changi and had a blast of a family bonding time cycling around Changi Village, Bowling, checking out 3 playgrounds, Swimming at the beach and walked back to our hotel room for a shower and then more swimming in the hotel’s 2 swimming pools. The Play and Stay was the package for Village Hotel Changi. So, what do they have this time at Village Hotel Katong staycation? We took up the Cultural Tour and Stay package. Beside the Peranakan theme you can spot everywhere in the hotel, they invite families who book with them to an interesting cultural experience in Kim Choo Kueh Chang to learn how to wrap Bak Chang (rice dumpling). You must read on to find out what is so interesting about this Peranakan shop!

I realize that the Village Hotels are located in places with great food choices! The entire stretch of East Coast Road has an uncountable number of restaurants and shops! Yes, “uncountable” is the right word for it. The shops lined both sides of the road and you will definitely not go hungry staying in this hotel. Just beside it, is the 112 Katong Shopping Mall and connecting to Village Hotel Katong is the Katong V Mall with Fairprice Finest supermarket. With supermarkets and 2 malls within the vicinity, there is no need to worry if you forget to bring a thing or two.

It was a little confusing to find the entrance of this hotel. We took some time to realize that the hotel entrance is right behind the Katong V Mall.

The check-in was a breeze and I love the Peranakan themed decorations everywhere we go.

We had a family room which could accomodate the 5 of us, but the kids were a little disappointed that there was no bath tub. I will certainly keep that in mind the next time I book a staycation. Bath tubs are the kids’ favourite and serve as an alternative when the swimming pool is icy cold on rainy days. There was some slight rain and it stopped when we arrived. The kids did not hesitate to jump into the swimming pool even though it was a very cool weather. Swimming Pools are a MUST-HAVE when you are bringing kids to a staycation, for this, I will not forget!

If we were to compare Village Hotel Katong (VHK) and Village Hotel Changi (VHC), I would say that VHK needs a bit of refurbishment. We can tell from the exterior and interior of the hotel that the hotel had seen better days and it would be good to do some renovations just like the VHC did a few years back.

Rooms
The family room was supposed to have 1 king bed + 1 queen bed. However, we requested for a baby cot and due to space constraint, they changed to 2 queen beds instead to accommodate the cot. My 4yo toddler can still fit into the baby cot. So, Missy 11 shared the bed with me and Master 9 with the hub. The room has a balcony attached overlooking the pool.

20161217_150432_002 — Jumping onto the bed is a customary thing to do!

Amenities
Village Hotel Katong has a gymnasium, outdoor swimming pool, and a Peranakan Club Lounge for Club members. The in-room amenities include:
Hair Dryer
In-room safe box
Iron and Ironing board
Electric Kettle
46″ LED TV
Cable TV Channels
Wireless Broadband Access
Handy Phone
Bar Fridge
Mineral water
Tea and coffee bags
Bath, Shampoo and Conditioner and Lotion
Standing Rain Shower

This is the first time I see a handy phone in a hotel room. It has 4G service and allows guests to bring it out when they go sight-seeing in Singapore to check out google maps, food, places to go, make international and local internet calls, enjoy discounts, etc just like your own handphone but totally Free-of-charge! Isn’t this so thoughtful and cool?

The Peranakan Lounge (for club members)

The Peranakan Lounge, located on Level 6, is only accessible for guests staying in the Club Room, Peranakan Club Room, Junior Suite and Suite. We were given complimentary access to the Club Lounge too but it was limited to adults and my kids were not allowed in. Since we could not leave the kids behind to enjoy the complimentary cocktail and light snacks, we only took some complimentary can drinks from the lounge bar to fill up our bar fridge as suggested by the reception lady.

Swimming Pool

The Swimming Pool is located on Level 4 and we need to pass by the Katong Kitchen, the restaurant for breakfast and meals, to reach the pool. The pool has one side of 1m depth and the other side of 1.8m depth. Even though there was nothing too fanciful about the pool, my kids had a great time as usual. They hardly needed any other features and they could frolic in the pool all day just with their goggles and water guns. Nevermind that the pool was cold, they moved about a great deal enough to keep themselves warm.

Kim Choo Kueh Chang

After checking out the amenities, and had an hour of swim, we head out to Kim Choo Kueh Chang which is just opposite the Katong V Mall (at the back of the hotel).

Kim Choo Kueh Chang shop was easy to find. It occupies 2 shop units and is accessible to their hidden gems on the second storey. They sell assorted Peranakan kuehs and bak changs at the front of the shop. We walked further in and behind a glass partition was Mr Edmond waiting for us to start a food cultural introduction on everything Peranakan.

All of us were served a tray of goodies: Otah, Nyonya Dumpling, Nine-layered Kueh and a pot of Butterfly Pea Flower tea or Blue Tea.

The friendly Mr Edmond gave us a brief introduction on each of the goodies on the tray. It was interesting to know that eating Nine-layer Kueh by peeling one layer by layer signifies living life as it is. He went on to explain how there are salty and sweet version of the dumpling and where Otah came from.

After we savored the delicious goodies, we were taught the correct way of wrapping bak chang. My Missy 11 was taught previously by her grandma and hence was pretty good in picking up the tips of wrapping a dumpling. My toddler helped but made a mess of the green beans which were used instead of the real meat and rice. Thank goodness it was only spilling of green beans.

Once we were done with it, we were invited to the second storey and it revealed a Peranakan Museum! Mr Edmond went on with his very interesting talk on the Peranakan culture on Kebayas and language. We were very impressed that the shop created a Peranakan inspired shawl for Michelle Obama! Mr Edmond shared that the Peranakan culture reached as far as to The Queen of England who had a Peranakan brooch designed in Singapore too, although it was not made in their shop! Now, we are really proud to be Singaporeans and happy that we have so many talents in this tiny island.

Antique sewing machine. My mum and MIL still have this in their houses!

Isn't this the antique love letters clamp? — Isn’t this the antique love letters clamp?

This was the storage cabinet in the earlier days when there was no fridge.

The next side of the second storey is where the customers can walk in for a tailor-made Kebaya. It probably has the widest selection of kebayas you can find. They are so pretty! It has been my wish from young to wear a Kebaya set. I told Missy 11 that I would custom-made a set of Kebaya to wear on her wedding day 🙂

After the Kim Choo Peranakan Experience, we walked along the long stretch of East Coast Road to eat Hokkien Mee for dinner and strolled back to the hotel. It was a rest and relax evening. Instead of heading out for shopping or squeezing through Orchard Road for lights viewing, we decided to have a game of cards and snuggle on the bed for movies and tidbits. After all, we were here to enjoy the hotel!

Buffet Breakfast at Katong Kitchen

The next morning, we had breakfast at Katong Kitchen at Level 4. The buffet breakfast is included in the staycation package. The breakfast is on Asian and Western cuisine. I would say the spread is decent and good for us. They have the usual buffet fanfare like Otah, Ham, waffle, hashbrown, Mee Tai Mak and Chinese dishes, Dim Sum, Salad, Cereals, Drinks, Fruits, Yogurt, Bread and Pastries, Cooking station for mee soup and scramble eggs and more. But if you are looking for a wide range of buffet spread, then it may not be for you.

20161218_092758 — Char Siew Bao and Glutinous Rice The kids love the glutinous rice!

20161218_093259 — They provide children’s cutlery set

After breakfast, we hop into the swimming pool again! We simply could not check out till we had spent another 2 hours in the pool playing with water guns and kicking the water.

The Cultural Tour and Stay Experience Package consists of:

Peranakan Couple Experience
For just S$195, enjoy:
• One night’s accommodation in Deluxe Room
• Unlimited WiFi access
• Buffet breakfast for two at Katong Kitchen
• FREE 2-hour Peranakan experience at Kim Choo
• Late check-out at 3pm (subject to availability)

Peranakan Family Experience
For just S$285, enjoy:
• One night’s accommodation in Family Room
• Unlimited WiFi access
• Buffet breakfast for 2 adults, 2 children at Katong Kitchen
• FREE 2-hour Peranakan experience at Kim Choo
• Late check-out at 3pm (subject to availability)

Book period : Now till 31 December 2017
Stay period: Now till 31 December 2017

Rates are exclusive of 10% Service Charge & 7% GST

Check here for more information and current promotions!!

Disclaimer: We were invited for a staycation during the December holidays. This is the 2nd time we stay in Far East Hospitality’s hotels and we really find both the ‘Play and Stay’ and ‘Cultural Tour and Stay’ packages very suitable for families 🙂 Do check out their website for more options!

Chek Jawa Guided Tour in Pulau Ubin – a living classroom

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Chek Jawa Guided Tour is a tour that you must exercise kiasu-ism when you do booking. When I did my booking for June guided tour, I put a reminder on my calendar as early as January to remind myself to book on 1 March, the date when booking for June opens! It is very popular especially on dates that suited us in June holidays. Mind you, there are limited dates for these tours, so you really have to plan well. If you wish to check out booking and guided tour dates, click here.

On the day of the tour, we met my BFF family at 7am at Changi Jetty. It was rare for our kids to wake up so early and we were rewarded with sighting this beautiful sunrise!

We took the boat from Changi Jetty that sits maximum 12 pax, with each paying $3 for the ride to Pulau Ubin.

The ride was about 10 minutes and when we had reached the Pulau Ubin Jetty, we took a van to Chek Jawa. We have to pre-book the van prior to our trip (Scroll to the end for all the details and cost for the tour). The van could accommodate all 15 of us, 8 adults and 7 kids. The van ride took about 10 minutes to Chek Jawa and we had to get down and walk a 100m stretch of road to the information kiosk, the meeting point where we met our tour guide from Nparks.

There were a few more tour groups, each with its own tour guide. The tour guides are volunteers and I thought they are really doing a good thing to volunteer their time to educate us on the ecosystem of Chek Jawa. We were very lucky to have our tour guide who was very patient to answer the kids’ questions and very knowledgeable on Chek Jawa. His instructions and explanation were very clear and shared lots of analogies in simple terms to help us understand the flora and fauna.

Before we started the tour, our tour guide prep us with a few instructions:

Go to toilet before we start as there will not be a washroom until we return to the information kiosk 2 hours later.
Apply mosquito repellent before we start the tour
Do not shout or scream when you see the little creatures like crabs, mudskippers, etc, as they are shy and might go into hiding, leaving the groups behind to see less of them.

Continue reading “Chek Jawa Guided Tour in Pulau Ubin – a living classroom”

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum – Learning Science and History

LKCNHM

This is a place which I had been wanting to go to since its first opening last year. You have to book through Sistic ticketing for entry to the museum. This is to ensure a pleasant visit. You wouldn’t want to risk shoving or being shoved off at every exhibit. And that reminds me of the time when I visited The Palace Museum (Forbidden City) in Beijing during Summer holidays. It was a pain just to catch a glimpse of the Emperor’s throne when I was pushed and elbowed by grandmas and kids. Thankfully this museum is nothing like that.

LKCNHM Wall

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) is built for public education and research in biodiversity. It is a museum that maintains and grows a natural heritage knowledge base that focuses on its huge collection of historical and research specimens (Source: LKCNHM website).

Let’s take a look at some of the exhibits that we like. Continue reading “Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum – Learning Science and History”

Village Hotel Changi Staycation – Play and Stay Fun

Our first Staycation probably starts with our wedding night at Ritz Carlton hotel 11 years ago. From then on, we went back to the same hotel almost every year as we love its hospitality and the luxurious room and also the place is a reminisce of our special Big day. In between, we did check out Marriott Hotel, Royal Plaza on Scotts Hotel, Marina Bay Sands, and Festive Hotel. On most times, we chose staycation as an alternative to travelling out of Singapore and did mostly impromptu arrangements. I hardly blog about staycation unless it is family friendly. So as you can guess, how this post came about. We were invited by Far East Hospitality to try out the “Play and Stay” package at Village Hotel Changi and upon hearing what the package had in store for us, I knew we would be having a fun time as a family of 5.

What does the “Play and Stay” Package include?

2 days 1 night stay in Village Hotel Changi
Buffet breakfast
Complimentary bowling or
Complimentary 1 hour cycling
Complimentary Koi Feeding
Complimentary Hop-on Hop-Off City Tour
2 hotel pools to have a dip in – Infinity pool and the Creek pool
Free wireless

Price? My last check on the website shows SGD170 for a Superior Room 2 Single Bed and SGD190 for a Deluxe Room King Bed! Pretty good deal for all the fun we had!

The STAY

The Rooms

We had 2 adjoining rooms with a door in between. Continue reading “Village Hotel Changi Staycation – Play and Stay Fun”