Category: Negeri Sembilan

Resort Review: Thistle Port Dickson

This is one of the resorts that holds great memories for our family. We’ve been to Thistle Port Dickson twice this year, and the high level of satisfactory feels just like the first time.

And that first time was way back when we had family gathering on Shafa’s side of family, soon after our marriage, and especially soon after Shafa’s late dad was diagnosed with Leukemia. That was way back in early January 2015. It feels bittersweet to come back, but it always hold special place in our hearts.

This is one of our many favourite things about Thistle Port Dickson. They have kids pools and adult pools, with different depths. Also they have another infinity pool – our favourite since the first time we visited this resort about four years ago!

Always our favourite infinity pool! Each time we’re at Thistle Port Dickson, we would always come by the infinity pool for some pictures, especially during sunset. It looks magical.

Back when we were just a travel couple, this was our favourite spot to swim because it’s far from the main swimming pools of the resort. It’s quite peaceful to swim here, especially since it has a nice view. Now? Practical is more important than romantic. Most of the time we’ll be at the kids swimming pool.

Such a beautiful family room here at Thistle Port Dickson!

There is one double bed & one bunk bed, enough to accommodate two adults and two children. We personally love the decorations around the bunk bed – so cute!

We never appreciate petting zoos until we became a parent.

Kids LOVE animals, especially if they can pet them. Thistle Port Dickson offers bunny petting time between 10am – 11am & 4.30pm – 5.30pm. Our toddler definitely was excited to see the rabbits and birds!

And… Our favourite spot to snap pictures! It’s been years, but this swing is still here at the beach of Thistle Port Dickson.

Somebody seems to be enjoying the game! If your boys are not up for holiday at Thistle Port Dickson, you now know where to take them.

What’s your thoughts on the resort? We would love to hear from you!

D’Wharf Hotel & Serviced Residence: For Food And Attraction Hoppers

D’Wharf Hotel & Serviced Residence is strategically located in the heart of Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.

The Hotel is accessible via the North-South Expressway and is about an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. It has 303 fully-furnished rooms including luxury rooms with sea views over the Straits of Malacca. It also has superb meeting rooms, making the hotel a main destination for business with the incredible sea views and town views. D’ Wharf Hotel & Serviced Residence is the perfect choice for both business and leisure, which provides the best service in hospitality.

We got to book a stay with them and we were greeted with a nice queen bed set up. A small living space is located just behind the bed.

There is also a small dining area with just enough space to eat if you will bring some food in your room or if you want to prepare something instant in the mini kitchen. Their mini kitchen has the basic equipment for a coffee and enough to warm some take outs.

There is also a main bedroom with a full window where you can enjoy the view of the beach and PD waterfront (which is basically the best place to be if you are looking for many food options)! The hotel is located just across PD Waterfront.

The main reason we booked a stay here was their Ramadan Buffet. More details on the food and set up in our Ramadan Buffet post.

You can also check the view of the pool from above! It looks so inviting especially that my toddler loves the water.

But one nice thing about this hotel is that you can add an additional bedroom with a king-sized bed with their very strategic architecture. An additional room with bathroom is available via a connecting door! Watch the above video to see it!

There is a common bathroom, though, if you will opt out of an additional room. The bathroom has enough space for a shower and a mirror. Basic toiletries are also provided.

One of the experiences here is to be able to witness a beautiful sunset view with Genting Dream Cruise in the background. You can even have the same background if you take a picture by the pool! Talk about a very awesome view!

There are also convenient vending machines and games for kids at the hotel. Perfect if you are traveling with kids, like us, so they won’t get bored and have additional activities aside from swimming. The vending machine is a favorite for us, especially when we crave for late night easy snacks!

We had dinner (which we already talked about in previous post) and took a beautiful picture in front of the hotel during the night. We can just crossed the street and walk a bit to experienced PD Waterfont’s food truck event, but we opted to drive for the convenience of Shafa’s 69-year-old mom.

Watch below videos, recorded live on Facebook, to have some idea on The Food Truck Carnival!

We had some rain in the morning but that didn’t stop us from exploring more of the hotel. We passed through the beautiful swimming pool (which had a viewing deck nearby) to be able to reach the breakfast place. What a lovely stroll in the morning!

They have varieties of food offered during the breakfast buffet. Watch below live video, recorded on Facebook, to know more about their breakfast buffet!

Because of too much food and dining experiences in the area, it was very refreshing to be able to see their gym and playground located just beside the pool area. It made the guilt from all the eating less! The area is well put up specially for kids’ safety.

Upon checking out, we waited in their nicely decorated area, leaving a smile on our faces even if we were already leaving.

It was a great experience from beginning to end, indeed. Highly recommended!

Klana Beach Resort – For Romantic Stay And Astronomy Lovers

We stayed at the Klana Beach Resort for the weekend and the experience was awesome! This is personally one of our favorite resorts.

As we entered our room, we were already greeted by romantic decorations just perfect for a couple’s getaway.

But of course our son was with us so this was now an awesome family room!

The view from our room was wonderful. You get to see the relaxing waters and the observatory which we also visited. I’ll tell more about that later. Watch the above live video recorded on Facebook to have a feel of how the room looks like, and the view from our room!

Speaking of dining, located not far from the resort was PD Famous Cendol Coconut Shake Power RM2!

This is the perfect place to go to if you are looking for some icy desserts that would really be nice in a hot summer weather.

You can marvel at the beautiful sunset view if you happen to chill out near the pool and the observation tower. This is the perfect spot to just sit and have some quiet time while enjoying the treats of nature.

I should mention that Klana Beach Resort is an astronomy themed resort. This is very interesting not just to the adults inclined to stars but also to little kids (like my son) who is very intrigued in astronomy. The star studded ceiling with a real telescope nearby really puts you in a mood for some stargazing. This decoration will greet you as soon as you enter the lobby of the resort. What a pleasant surprise right?

The resort arranged a candle light dinner for us and the ambiance was just romantic.

We got a rose as a welcome and rose petals everywhere on the path to our table.

Nothing better than a romantic dinner with the two gentlemen in my life.

We had Seafood Salad for appetizer and that’s just the start!

We also had Mushroom Soup for our second appetizer 😂

The main course was very good that we filled our tummies well. We had Grilled Lamb Rack & Tenderloin Steak.

Watch the below live video recorded on Facebook for a feel of the romantic ambience!

During our visit at the resort, we went up to the observation tower to see what’s inside (since we’ve never been to one!).

We managed to get a glimpse of Mars through the telescope.

Our toddler was able to be an astronaut… Well at least for a photo ha-ha!

The next day, we walked along the pools of the resort.

There was a crowd because of the weekend but the pools are divided to open to all, women only and kids.

Our son enjoyed the kid’s pool along with other kids.

Just beside the kid’s pool is the women’s only pool with a wall that would preserve the privacy of the women’s pool. All of the pools were overlooking the beach which really emphasizes the vacation feels. Watch the below live video recorded on Facebook to get a feel of the pool environment.

At dinner time, we had a chance to have our dinner during Pasma Night, which is a charity dinner that collects donations for the needy.

You get to eat and proceeds from the dinner bill will be very beneficial for the less fortunate.

The setup of the dinner area are by booths where you can pick your food and beverage.

There is a board named “Food for Needy” where the vouchers go as a mark of the guests donations. Watch the below live video to have a good idea of the Pasma Night. We even managed to get some staffs to talk in the video!

On our final day at the resort, we had our breakfast again with a view of the beach. Alternatively, you can have your breakfast inside if the outdoors is too warm for you. They serve a lot of traditional foods for breakfast at the buffet. We were too full after eating which means the food here was really good. Watch below live video to see the view, as well as what they have for breakfast buffet!

We would highly recommend this place if you are looking for a quick getaway. It was very convenient and the rooms are wonderful. It was really worth the time!

Glory Beach Resort – For Sunset And Turtle Lovers!

Our last mini-vacation was well spent at the Glory Beach Resort. This may not be a new place for you since they are known for participating in some festivals and events that support animal and nature. But in this blog post, I would like to highlight their accommodation and the amazing experience our family had.

Our apartment had a very spacious living room. Our toddler really loved the space that he kept running around! There was just enough space to set up the dining area and living room.

Then our master bedroom has a comfy interior and has its own bathroom and an awesome view of the waters. The bathroom was somewhat small but it was nice and neat.

There was also a second and third bedroom, just perfect for extra family members or friends if you want to travel in groups. There’s a common bathroom too!

The apartment’s kitchen was also a little small but it was equipped with a fridge and most of the basic things you’ll need in a kitchen.

Well enough of the apartment, let’s get to the more vacation-y details of this stay! Just looking from the balcony of our apartment, you get to see the huge swimming pools, the beach, and the Grand Lexis Resort.

Our toddler enjoyed watching the sunset from the balcony. It was very beautiful and very calming but it also meant that it’s now time for dinner.

For dinner we ordered the Family Set at Coffee House. We would like to share some photos of our meal but we will talk more about this awesome dinner on another blog post.

When we got back to our apartment, the balcony view was very serene and romantic. There were also fireworks because it was the eve of Lunar New Year.

During the day, the view from our balcony was just way more awesome than the sunset. It was so gorgeous that our toddler got too excited and wanted to go out immediately! So we went out for a stroll at the beach.

Our toddler was too excited and brave that he didn’t even want us to hold him. He really just wanted to enjoy this at his own pace!

After having lunch, we decided to watch a movie at their auditorium. Our toddler was already tired from all the walking so he just slept. That was a good thing though because the movie was scary ha-ha! But it was a good movie.

Then we continued this tour to the Mini Petting Zoo. And yes it was inside the resort! Our child got to see birds. Too bad the rabbits were taking some rest so we didn’t get to play with them. There was also some educational story about The Rabbit & The Tortoise which was nice to remind the kids of this moral story. There were also some tortoise in the Mini Petting Zoo.

We were walking back just in time for that perfect family picture with the sunset!

We had barbeque for dinner on our second night and don’t worry, We’ll give you more details on this on another blog post.

Fortunately, we were brought on tour by the GM to the Wave Café. Usually when they have huge crowds, he would invite some guests here for breakfast. This was also the place where they held private events. Just beside the entrance was a chill out place if you want to spend some time just sitting or resting for a bit.

The layout of the place was just long with an overlooking view of the beach that it really gave the feeling that you were dining right alongside the shore. There was even a birthday decoration ready for a celebration!

And of course it was awesome that they had a playground! Mommies like me would get the joy in this because that means that parents can celebrate with ease. We love the unique seats and the photo booth!

Continuing this experience, of course we need to see some turtles! There was a little education about green turtles and the Hawksbill Turtle. The talk was made interesting because it was given by the very bubbly & friendly staff, Yatie the “Mama Turtle”. This was very nice that they get to educate kids and guests about the importance of keeping our environment clean. And the way they laid out the talk just kept the kids eager to learn more!

After learning about the environment and turtles, it was time for us to check out already. Thank you Glory Beach Resort for arranging the #GloriousStay ! We will definitely recommend this experience to friends.