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2016 Hokkaido Winter Holiday - Otaru Kourakuen

Thursday, August 31, 2017
By Iva
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Otaru is quieter and slower in pace compare to Sapporo. Most shops in Otaru close after 6pm or earlier, which means the whole town shuts down after 6pm. If you are coming here for day trip, make it early in the morning. Since there is nothing much to do at night here, the best entertainment would be spending a night in a ryokan here, enjoy their delicious kaiseki dinner then soak in an outdoor private in room onsen. So shiok.

Location

I found this ryokan, Otaru Kourakuen in tripadvisor.com when I was planning my visit to Otaru. We board the bus bound for Asarigawa Onsen from JR Otaru station Chuo bus terminal platform number 2 (bus number 13) and get off at Kourakuen-mae. Bus journey took about 23 mins with bus fare 210 yen. Bus stop is just in front of Kourakuen.

Kourakuen provides free shuttle bus service to Otaru station, Kitaichi glass Otaru at 10am and 11am.

Room

I booked a Japanese style room with open air bath and floor area is about 50 - 60m2. I paid 58,664 JPY for the 2 of us, breakfast and dinner were included in the room rate.

The room was spacious, clean and neat. Television, fridge, kettle were provided.

Tatami mattress is actually very comfortable.

Our room comes with private in room outdoor onsen, that allowed us to enjoy onsen anytime. I used it after dinner and after breakfast the next day. Shiok!

Meal

Kaiseki style dinner was served in our room. It was a traditional multi course Japanese dinner. There were appetizer, entree, dessert and some other dishes.

Breakfast was served in the main dining hall.

Overall

Other than the location, it's a nice ryokan which worth to spend a night in Otaru. Kourakuen reopened in May 2016 after 1 and half year of renovation due to fire accident in December 2015. We were lucky that we could spend a night here. I booked the room directly from Kourakuen website so I can choose type of room I want.

Here is my Hokkaido trip video

Interested to visit Hokkaido? Check out my itinerary and click here to read day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9 trip report. Top 10 food must not miss in Hokkaido.

Accommodation

Catch the aurora AGAIN - Comfort Hotel Xpress Central Station

Thursday, June 23, 2016
By Iva
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Most hotels in Oslo city center are quite expensive but I happened to find this hotel at an affordable rate.

Location

Perfect place in the middle of city, conveniently located right opposite Oslo central train station. Karl Johans gate, shopping malls and restaurants are just a few steps away.

I paid NOK749 (SGD133) for a standard twin room (17m2) 1 night. I booked it from booking.com website. Here is the hotel website.

View from my room. Oslo train station is just a stone's throw away.

Facility

Check in and check out is all self service but it was easy. Breakfast is not included in the room rate nor is provided as an option. Don't worry, cafe and convenience stores can be found at the Oslo station. Breakfast bag, sandwich, fruit juice and beverage are also available for sale in front of reception desk. Reception is open 24 hours. Wifi connection is stable and good.

Check in and check out self service kiosk.

Lobby

Room

For the amount I paid, room size 17m2 is considered pretty good. The room furnishing is modern, spacious and comfortable. It's quiet though it's sitting right beside the station. No safe, no mini bar, no fridge, no mug, no kettle, no wardrobe but there is a place to hang your jacket, and a few hangers are provided. There is a sofa beside the bed.

TV has some English channels, not bad and I did enjoy watching some English reality show.

The bed itself is not very comfortable.

Heated floor in the bathroom is my favorite, so it won't be that cold after showering. Towel and bed liners are provided. Room is not cleaned everyday.

Overall

The location is unbeatable and the room rate price is pretty affordable too. Highly recommended for those who are looking for budget hotel in Oslo city center. Opt for twin room instead of double room, twin room (17m2) is bigger than double room (11m2).

Here is our Norway trip video.

Interested to visit Norway? Check out my itinerary and click here to read day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 6, day 7, day 9 & 10 trip report

Accommodation

Journey to the last Shangrila, Bhutan - Gangtey Palace Hotel

Saturday, May 23, 2015
By Iva
1 Comments

Location

It's beautifully located on Paro valley, overlooking Paro city and Paro Dzong.

The view is unbeatable, it's even better than the view from Uma Paro hotel. It offers the best view I have seen in Bhutan. You may see it from google street view here.

Room

Gangtey Palace Hotel is converted from an old palace so everything is pretty old. Only 1 radiator heater was provided, the changing area and the toilet was very cold. Cold air could flow in trough door gap from outside, I had to use extra blanket to block cold air from coming in at the room door entrance.

Kettle is provided but no cup no tea sachet provided.

Our room is at the first floor, just few steps away from reception. It's not noisy but no view since it's on the ground floor.

Facility

Since this is a former palace hotel, don't expect swimming pool and gym room. Wifi is available but it didn't work during our 2 nights stay there and no TV in the room too. They know wifi is not working since 1 week before we came and their respond was like nothing they can do as they need to rewire the whole cable network. It's a terrible stay.

There is a temple at the top floor of central building, photography is allowed. Probably this is the only temple you can take picture in Bhutan.

Traditional Bhutanese exterior design

The bar. We did not visit the bar.

Restaurant

Food was ok and just like other 3-star hotel in Bhutan, dinner and breakfast (American breakfast) were served in buffet style with 4 - 5 dishes variety.

Service

Generally the hotel staff are friendly. There was once we asked for power adapter but it is not available and we could not charge our mobile phone and camera battery. I don't blame the staff but I would blame the hotel instead. We did not have any problem finding a suitable power socket or power adapter in other 3-star hotel but why would we have problem in Gangtey Palace Hotel?

Conclusion

If you want a unique experience in an former royal residence, you can try Gangtey Palace Hotel. But don't expect much. This hotel has potential if hotel management can do something to refurbish the hotel.

Interested to visit Bhutan? Read my post here - How to plan your Bhutan trip? Click here to read day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6 report

Accommodation

Journey to the last Shangrila, Bhutan - Hotel Lobesa Punakha

Saturday, May 23, 2015
By Iva
2 Comments

Accommodation

Journey to the last Shangrila, Bhutan - Uma by COMO Paro

Thursday, May 21, 2015
By Iva
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This is the hotel where Hong Kong celebrity couple Tony Leung and Carina Lau held their wedding in Bhutan. I think this hotel got a lot of exposure and attention after this pair visited them. At least most Chinese in this world know they got married in Bhutan.

Location

It is only 10 minutes drive from airport. I could see plane flying into Paro airport from my room but I didn't hear any noise from airport. This hotel can be a good base if you need to catch early morning flight.

It is located on a hill above Paro valley and the view from valley view room is great. But there are a lot of hotels in Bhutan can also offer the same stunning panoramic view.

Room

It's a valley view room and the room itself is comfortable, the bed, the heater, the bathroom and everything else are as good as a 4 star hotel by western standard.

There is no hand held shower head in the bathroom, only wall mount type. This is common in most Bhutan hotels but I don't expect this problem happened in a 5 star hotel.

English channels such as HBO, CNN and Fox Movies are available. Wifi connection is very strong too.

Paro valley night view from our room. Stray dogs bark at night and can be noisy. I also heard people playing music and singing from somewhere very far until late night. I asked my tour guide the next day and he told me it's probably monks preparing for Paro festival.

2-bedroom COMO villa which Tony Leung and Carina Lau stayed during their wedding. I would want to spend a night in this villa too and sleep on the SAME bed which Tony Leung had slept before. Ya, if I have the budget (USD1650 peak season and USD1250 non peak season per night before 20% surcharge).

Facility

There is no elevator in the hotel and the building is 3-storey high, it could be a pain for one with big luggage. But don't worry, it's a 5 star hotel, you can always ask someone to help you and I asked my macho partner to help. Haha.

Hotel lobby

It's a super big size dog. I think his weight is at least 20kg. He can open the door himself from courtyard into lobby. Super clever dog. I think Uma Paro owns him. No worry, he's friendly.

Courtyard

Sitting area beside lobby

Courtyard view from 3rd floor

Gym

Service

The staffs were friendly, polite and service was exceptional. They attended our every request with patience and efficiency. In the morning before I checked out, I was alone to explore their villas (just walked pass outside) and the garden, one of their staff saw me and he came to escort me. I think he actually wanted to protect villa guests' privacy but in fact this was a very good initiative.

Dinner

Dinner is included in the room rate and it's served in Bukhari restaurant. This restaurant has an extensive menu, the food was great and the romantic ambient.

Traditional Bhutanese set with green veggie, chili cheese, red rice and beef curry.

Western dinner set with wagyu steak, pan fried scallop and mashed potato. Since this is a 5-star hotel which I paid a lot for a night, I expect a lot from this hotel. I think my steak taste better than this.

It was the nicest breakfast I had in Bhutan. Croissant, ham, yogurt with nuts, berries and honey.

Conclusion

This is a 5 star hotel, the price is also 5 star. I don't find this valley view room worth the price, I paid US$690 including 10% service charge and 10% tax (rates inclusive of breakfast and dinner). This room appeared to be very standard to me, you can find this kind less than USD300 in other countries. Other than the overpriced issue, everything else is fantastic. But still, it doesn't worth this price.

Overall we had an excellent stay here. This hotel can be a good place to stay after all day hike to Tiger Nest.

Interested to visit Bhutan? Read my post here - How to plan your Bhutan trip? Click here to read day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6 report

2016 Hokkaido Winter Holiday - Otaru Kourakuen

Catch the aurora AGAIN - Comfort Hotel Xpress Central Station

Journey to the last Shangrila, Bhutan - Gangtey Palace Hotel

Journey to the last Shangrila, Bhutan - Hotel Lobesa Punakha

Journey to the last Shangrila, Bhutan - Uma by COMO Paro

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