Posts Tagged ‘hotels’

Iconic 132-Year-Old Raffles Hotel Restored in Singapore

Sunday, August 4th, 2019

First opened in 1887 and declared a National Monument by the government on its centennial, the grand old dame has reopened on 1 August after an extensive 2-year restoration that began in 2017.

* This story first appeared in The Travel Memoir.

 

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Had a chance to walk through the charming grand dame of 1887 vintage on the Sunday prior to its reopening before the hordes descended.

The hotel now offers 115 suites in nine categories, including the Grand Hotel Suites and Presidential Suites.

The Long Bar – where the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented – has also been refreshed.

 

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At 132 years old, the newly reopened Raffles Hotel has certainly seen a large part of Singapore’s 200-year old history after founder Sir Stamford Raffles colonised the island. This statue of Raffles sits in the Raffles Arcade and will observe the progress of the nation going forward into the next 200 years.

A night at the hotel ranges from slightly less than S$1,000 for its cheapest suite, to almost S$12,000 for one night in a two-bed President Suite.

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From Singapore to Lisbon, Portugal in 24 hours for IFA GPC 2017

Thursday, April 20th, 2017

IFA GPC 2017 commences from 20-23 April so we spent most of today in the air, flying 8 hours from Singapore to Dubai in UAE; and another 8 hours onwards to Lisbon, Portugal; with a 6-hour transit in the Dubai International Airport.

* This article was first published on The Travel Memoir.

So the entire journey took around 24 hours, if you include the 2 hours earlier you got to turn up at the airport to check in.

I flew Emirates Airlines and the check-in and transit was smooth.

The first leg from Singapore to Dubai was in an Airbus A380-800 and the seats in coach were relatively spacious and comfortable.

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Posted in Events, events, Exhibition, Huawei, Phones, Portugal 2017, Samsung, Seminars, smartphones, Travel, travel | No Comments »

Travel: G Hotel Kelawai in Penang, Malaysia is now open

Saturday, May 30th, 2015

The school holidays have just begun in Singapore. So if you happen to be heading out to Penang in Malaysia for a getaway, check out this newly opened hotel.

There are two Premier Suites (82 sqm) in G Hotel Kelawai in Penang, Malaysia.

There are two Premier Suites (82 sqm) in G Hotel Kelawai in Penang, Malaysia.

G Hotel Kelawai has 208 rooms, three F& B outlets, and is well located next to upscale shopping malls and renowned hawker eateries, with UNESCO world heritage sites and beaches nearby.

G Hotel Kelawai in Penang, Malaysia

G Hotel Kelawai in Penang, Malaysia

The hotel is within walking distance from its sibling G Hotel Gurney and allows cross usage of facilities between the two hotels.

G Hotel Kelawai offers complimentary Internet broadband and Wi-Fi to guests, as well as an infinity edge pool, mountain bikes and fitness center.

The 24-floor hotel has 208 rooms comprising 143 Deluxe rooms (35 sqm), 20 Executive rooms (35 sqm), 43 Executive Premier rooms (45 sqm) and 2 Premier Suites (82 sqm).

Every room comes with eco-friendly Appelles toiletries, Serta bed; 300 thread count linens, Herman Miller designer working chair, docking station, alarm clock, ironing facilities, 55-inch smart LED TV, free non-alcoholic minibar, coffee machine and free high speed Wi-Fi.

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POTD: Villa Trapp in Austria – where The Sound of Music began

Sunday, August 3rd, 2014

Photo of the Day: Our first two nights in Austria were at the Villa Trapp, the original mansion of the Von Trapp family, in the suburbs of Salzburg.

The entrance to the Villa Trapp - where the real von Trapp family lived and played.

The entrance to the Villa Trapp – where the real von Trapp family lived and played.

* All the photos in this article were taken with a Sony A7 full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, with Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS full-frame E-mount zoom lens. Photo credit: John Tan.

The back of Villa Trapp with the lawn and facing the mountains. We picnic-ed for lunch here upon arrival on the first day.

The back of Villa Trapp with the lawn and facing the mountains. We picnic-ed for lunch here upon arrival on the first day.

I first watched the movie, “The Sound of Music” as a child and loved it – so did my entire family.

Fountain on the wall of one of the sheds on the grounds of Villa Trapp.

Fountain on the wall of one of the sheds on the grounds of Villa Trapp.

So when we decided to visit Austria, we jumped at the idea of staying in Villa Trapp, where the real Von Trapp family actually lived from 1923 to 1938, when they migrated to the US.

This house was not the one seen in the movie, which used two other grander houses for exterior shots and a studio set in Hollywood for the interior scenes.

The stately three-storey building was built in 1863 and has 22 rooms.

Georg Von Trapp had bought and moved to the house in 1923 with his seven children when his wife died of Scarlet fever.

Maria Augusta Kutschera came to the von Trapp family in 1926 to take care of one of the children – also named Maria.

Wedding photo of Georg and Maria von Trapp, on a mantelpiece in the lounge of Villa Trapp.

Wedding photo of Georg and Maria von Trapp, on a mantelpiece in the lounge of Villa Trapp.

Although she was to stay for only 10 months, she began looking after the other children as well and married Georg in 1927.

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Posted in A7, Austria 2014, Cameras, Holiday, MIL, Photography, Photos, POTD, POTD, Sony, Travel | 6 Comments »