accomodation Archives - Page 2 of 4

February 20, 2018February 19, 2018

2017 Japan Trip – AirBnb in Osaka

When looked for an AirBnb in Osaka, I was not sure where to begin with. Unlike for Kyoto where I already knew I wanted to stay close to Kyoto station for easy access to everywhere. However, in Osaka I didn’t think we’d like to stay in Umeda area closer to Shin-Osaka. The other option would be Namba area which is arguably the liveliest part of Osaka. And finally, we just decided to be close to Dotombori for one and only reason: the street food! And it is in walking distance to Namba station as well, which is within the Osaka Loop line.

The main confusion for me to decide which AirBnb to go with was there are three Namba stations in the map: Nankai Namba, JR Namba, and Namba subway. And being first time visitor, I just could not get my mind around how it works and which would be the most useful one. As it turned out the AirBnb we stayed at was closest to Nippombashi subway station and also in walking distance to both Nankai Namba and JR Namba. So, our AirBnb in Osaka actually turned out to be in a great location.

My first communication with the host was to ask about the pocket WiFi and washing machine availability. The host, Taka, responded promptly and confirmed both are provided in the apartment; even unlimited data on the pocket WiFi. Communication with Taka had been easy and we found no issues with that. He even let us dropped our luggage before check in time (3 pm). He also provided a document with instructions to get to the apartment from various stations. Also in the instructions is how to get the apartment keys from mail box. I printed out the instructions and found it to be very useful as they are detailed with actual photos of buildings/streets.

The apartment building is located very close to Dotombori, but not that close that the noise would bother your sleep. It’s actually very quiet inside considering there are few bars and restaurants close by. Once we got back to the apartment after got lost in Umeda, we found it had been nicely cleaned. Taka even left us a bag of croissant with few packs of instant coffee, it was very kind of him. We found everything we needed in the apartment, there was even facial wash in the sink/vanity area.

The Apartment

The apartment is actually a really good size, with two single beds plus another sofa bed. It is definitely bigger than the AirBnb we stayed at in Kyoto. I find the mattress to be softer than my liking, but fortunately it had not given me backache. We had good night sleeps here and wake up refreshed every morning.

The bathroom is typical Japanese bathroom, a separate room for toilet and bath. We love the bath tub and had a good hot bath every night after all day walk was a bliss. The water pressure and hot water worked fine, we had no issues during our stay.

Generally, the apartment is very clean and in good condition. Under the bed was a little dusty, but it had not bothered us much, can be easily wiped off with the floor wipes provided in the cupboard. That would be the only complain we had if we had to be picky. Apart from that, everything else worked well, all the other amenities provided was more than enough during our stay (soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, washing detergent). Taka even provided shoes/clothes deodorizer as well as umbrellas (which we should have taken with us to USJ). Oh more importantly, the building has a lift! Such a relief we did not need to drag the luggage through stairs 🙂

I would definitely recommend Taka’s apartment if you like to stay close to Dotombori or if you are first time visitor to Osaka. This apartment is in walking distance to many markets and easy access to various stations as well. On top of that, the host had been really easy to deal with and answered to queries promptly. We were grateful for his hospitality during our stay in Osaka.

And here is the link to our AirBnb in Osaka.

If you are new to AirBnb, get AUD50 off your first booking by registering using this link.

January 16, 2018

2017 Japan Trip – AirBnb in Kyoto

Once we planned for the Japan trip, we knew we would be staying at AirBnb in at least 3 towns being Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo. And only after more research we decided to have the two night ryokan stay at Takayama, just because I wanted to see Shirakawago. Besides, old town Takayama looks beautiful anyway 🙂

As the title suggests, this post will be about our AirBnb in Kyoto. It was our first AirBnb experience ever and had been a pleasant one. Booking process was easy, communication with hosts (Tomoko and Chris) was prompt and they have been so helpful. One thing that I overlooked was that I did not realize when made the booking was that it didn’t come with pocket WiFi. Us being newbie to Japan and AirBnb experience, have forgotten to ask the host if there is a pocket WiFi. And only after booking, we became aware that there is only unlimited internet at the apartment and no pocket WiFi provided. But, no big deal, we just ordered one online and picked up at the airport on arrival.

First of all, we need to decide on which area of Kyoto where we wanted to stay at. And this proven to be difficult, we wanted somewhere fairly central, easy access to train/subway stations, and convenience stores nearby. The fact that Kyoto is a big town with widespread point of interests hasn’t been any helpful either. But at the end of the day, we decided to stay somewhere within walking distance to Kyoto station, thinking that it should be major hub to everywhere, right? And that’s how we ended up at Kamo Den Room No.1.

The Apartment

We reached the apartment after check in time, and there it was the key on top of the book shelf. The apartment was really clean and feel welcoming. Yes, it is tiny, but we kind of expected this to be the case with majority apartments in Japan anyway. And it is located on the third floor of the building with no elevator, but we already knew it at booking. It wasn’t a problem for us since we just arrived with mostly empty suitcases. I imagine it will cause a bit of trouble for people with heavy luggage to climb up and down the stairs.

The toilet is in a separate room to the bath room, and there is a bath tub as well. There is also a mini kitchen with a fridge, some basic utensils and crockery provided. Then into the room/living room, there are two tatami mats and futon. I was worried that this might give me back pain, but it didn’t – in fact, we had good sleeps here. There is also a washing machine with detergent provided, and a balcony to hang your clothes dry. A standing fan and low table are inside the wardrobe, and we took out the table during our stay here.

Overall, our AirBnb in Kyoto had been a great place to stay at based on the location and cleanliness and how helpful the hosts have been. I would not hesitate to recommend this place to my friends or families visiting Kyoto. Just be mindful about the stairs and no pocket WiFi provided.

And if you are also new to AirBnb experience, you can use this link to sign up to get AU$50 credit off your first booking 🙂

April 19, 2017April 17, 2017

Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

For the last two nights of our Melbourne trip, we moved from Atlantis Hotel to Sofitel Melbourne on Collins. The choice was not made by us because we booked a mystery hotel from one of the travel website and turned out to be Sofitel. So, it was a happy result of the mystery hotel booking 😀

Located on Collins St towards the end near Parliament House, is great location for the shopaholics. It is so close to shopping strips and restaurants. And being on Collins St, there is a tram stop so close to the hotel, if you don’t feel like walking after shopping 🙂

There is also a small food court below the hotel which are buzzing with office workers during weekday mornings. The hotel itself is beautiful as you would expect of a hotel of that class. The facilities it offers, the beautiful room, comfortable bedding down to nice bathroom amenities all impressive. For us, the best part is that huge comfy bed and pillows – I definitely had the best sleeps here!

Without further ado, here is our room tour:

The other facilities we used while staying here was the gym and of course those massage chairs located inside the gym. The view from the gym room was awesome, there are enough equipment available and had never been full house whenever we visited 🙂 It has been a lovely stay at Sofitel Melbourne, but just one thing about the service. They are friendly but felt a bit distant (it’s a shame considering its league). But then again, we had very minimal contact with any of the staffs anyway.

Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

25 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone: (03) 9653 0000

www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-1902-sofitel-melbourne-on-collins/

March 26, 2017August 30, 2023

Best Western Atlantis Hotel, Melbourne

We just had a short weekend getaway to Melbourne at end of February. And for this trip we stayed at two hotels, the first leg at Best Western Atlantis which location is very close to Southern Cross Station. In fact, on of the reason we chose this was for its location – thinking it would be so convenience to get to train station and still in the CBD.

This time we flew to Avalon Airport and caught the Skybus shuttle back to Southern Cross Station. That was our first time flying to Avalon Airport and it was not bad at all. Yes, it is far from CBD but the shuttle bus helps and was not that expensive either. But if you travelling in group of 4 or 5 people, maybe get a hired car would come cheaper 😛

Anyway, the trip from airport to CBD was fine – as I remembered the only part where we got stuck in traffic was when it got closer to CBD. The drive took about 50 minutes from airport to Southern Cross station. From there it was an easy five minutes walk to the hotel. We got to the hotel around 11.20 am and was surprised that the room was all ready.

We were at room 1528, floor 15th – a City View room. The room is pretty basic but sufficient. There is a window overlooking the street and buildings around back of the hotel towards CBD. A double size bed that has past its prime time, couple of fluffy pillows, a desk and an old looking couch. As for the bathroom, I am happy that it is clean and everything worked fine. Note that they only provided a tube of shampoo, a tube of conditioner and two standard hotel-sized round soaps. Since we brought our own toiletries, I don’t have much to say about those provided ones.

Rooms are cleaned every day before lunch (I think), it has always been done by the time we came back after lunch. Air conditioner worked well. Once it reaches the set temperature, it will turn off itself then on again when it is couple degrees above the set temperature. This might be a problem with light sleepers and it makes little noise when turning on.

The hotel offers paid buffet breakfast that we didn’t try. But appeared fairly busy every morning when we walked past the breakfast are. While we were there, they didn’t have free wifi in the room. However, prepaid wifi is available by contacting the front desk – from memory it costs about $30 per day.

To summarise, this hotel is good value for the price and location being close to Southern Cross station and many tram stops. As for comfort, we’d rate it average – nothing wow, but not too bad either. After all, it costs only around AUD 100 per night, so do adjust your expectation 🙂

(Best Western) Atlantis Hotel

300 Spencer St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone: (03) 9600 2900

atlantishotel.com.au

October 3, 2016August 25, 2023

City Tempo Serviced Apartment, Melbourne

The Wifey’s Corner team went to Melbourne and it had been a really nice trip! All these years we live in Sydney and never been to Melbourne even once. Finally we decided we’d go there for our third year anniversary. It definitely was the right decision, albeit was a short trip, yet a very memorable one! This post is a review of our City Tempo, where we stayed during our short trip – and again is of our own opinion.

We left Sydney at 7.45 am and landed at Turramarine airport approximately 9.20 am. From there, we lined up for the pre-booked Skybus to take us to Southerncross station for another transfer to our hotel. We thought Skybus is convenient and easy airport transfer, however the transfer at Southerncross station puts us off a little. Luckily we booked only one way, and we used Starbus for our hotel-airport transfer, which was even more convenient.

I should also mention that one day prior to our arrival, I received an email from City Tempo confirming my booking and what time I would arrive. Communication via email was easy, they responded promptly and no problems whatsoever.

When we arrived at City Tempo, it was packed with guests checking ins or outs. Check in process was smooth, filled in some forms and that’s it. Unfortunately, the room was not ready but the receptionist offered to store our luggage until it is. They asked our contact number to text us once the room is cleaned, which didn’t happen.

Meanwhile waiting for 2 pm, we walked around and caught the free city tram for some sightseeing and lunch. We returned around 1.30 pm and again the room was still not cleaned but they will let us know as soon as it is ready. Because the guaranteed check in time is 2 pm, we thought we would just sit and wait in the lobby. At 2.20 pm after groups of people finished their check ins, hubby went to ask again and this time they said it is ಠ╭╮ಠ No one texted or told us, all the while we were sitting there waiting!

Located on Queens St, City Tempo is just one block away from the famous Queen Victoria Market on the north and walk toward the south you’ll find tram stop on La Trobe St. And not to mention, a very walkable distance to the famous Hardware St!

Anyhow, I wouldn’t complain since we were given a nice studio unit on level 23! Woohoooo excellent view from up there, especially at night-time 🙂 The unit is bright, compact, good size for two people, and has a functional kitchenette. Bathroom wall is of frosted glass, so it probably be a bit awkward if you are staying with a friend (¬‿¬)

Housekeeping came in the afternoon. On the day we did Yarra Valley winery tour, we came back to a nice clean room; the next day, he came when were getting ready to for pre-dinner stroll. By the way, they also have coined laundry facility on level 1. This is accessible with your room key card and there are laundry detergent sachets in your room.

Overall, we love the unit we were in (no. 2302); the only minor problem was just the mattress. Hubby complains that the queen size mattress is too small, but that was just because we get used to king sized mattress. Apart from that, we only experienced WiFi issue once during our 3 nights stay. When we asked the receptionist the next morning, he said it had affected the whole building the night before (our first night) but is fixed now. We found no other issues for the rest of our stay. In our opinion, this is a great place for short stay in CBD and if you find a deal on Expedia (like we did), it is truly value for your bucks.

The beautiful view at night - overlooking Queen Victoria Market and northern area — The beautiful view at night – overlooking Queen Victoria Market and northern area

City Tempo

353 Queen St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Phone: (03) 8256 7555

https://www.citytempo.com.au/