Friday GourMed Brunch at Basilico, The Cove Rotana Resort

It's no secret that brunches are the thing to do on Fridays in Dubai.  With countless hotels and restaurants having their own tempting packages, cuisines and activities, you can practically try a different one each week and still want to see what the others have to offer.

But what if the brunch was in a different emirate?  Would you be willing to drive a long way to get there? And would it be worth it?

Staycation at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek

Back in February, I received an invitation from Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek to their Family Fun Day. It was an event to celebrate their newly renovated rooms, and the day was filled with lots of singing, zumba dancing, delicious food, games, and other fun activities with prizes given out. One of them was a muffin decorating contest where kids of all ages showed their artistic skills.  Our girls eagerly joined and to our surprise, the muffins by Sophie and her partner (the two youngest participants) were the ones that caught Chef Uwe Micheel’s eye and were declared the winners. Throughout the event, people were taking pictures and actively sharing them on their social media accounts. Naturally, I joined the bandwagon, and lo and behold, my photo of the kids having fun on the bed was chosen as the Best Instagram Post. That’s 2 winnings in 1 night! Wow!

What’s New With Radisson Blu’s Fish Market?

If you haven’t heard, Fish Market in Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek re-opened with its revamped look last September 6. And fortunately, Hubby and I were invited to experience its legacy the new way one night last week with Veronica, the hotel’s Senior Sales Manager. I remember we had dinner and Friday brunch there a few times before and as far as I can recall, back then the restaurant had the ambiance of those markets in Thailand where fresh seafood and vegetables are laid out, and the interiors are mostly made from bamboo. Well this time, it hardly looked like anything to what I remembered, because there were three major things that changed with Fish Market:

6 Reasons to Try Al Dawaar Revolving Restaurant & Lounge

When the people at Hyatt Regency Dubai told me a few months ago that their revolving restaurant was undergoing a makeover, naturally I was thrilled.  After all, Al Dawaar is one of my favorite fine dining places so I was excited to see how it would look like.  But of course I just knew it would be amazing. 

Fast forward to last Sunday, my family and I excitedly stepped into the hotel lobby of Deira's iconic hotel after receiving an invitation to try the dinner buffet at their newly renovated restaurant.  As soon as the doors opened on the 25th floor, I immediately saw the huge change.  Practically everything was different!  In a good way, of course.  I was impressed the entire time Ji Eun (Al Dawaar's Assistant Manager) showed us around as she explained the transformation it had gone through.

Weekend Staycation at InterContinental Dubai Marina's Penthouse

"What's your plan for Caila's birthday?" my sister asked me back in January.  I replied that we weren't going to have any big celebration this year.  All my eldest wanted was to give goody bags to her friends and classmates in school and for me to take her to Dubai Mall and buy her a gift, followed by dinner with the rest of the family...just like what we did when she and Sophie each turned 3 years old. 

Well, my sister had other plans.  Remembering how extremely happy her niece was when she surprised her on her 6th birthday, Ate Ning made arrangements for all of us to spend the weekend before my daughter's actual birthday at InterContinental Dubai Marina. 

Sisters in Switzerland: Kempinski Grand Hôtel des Bains

Judging from the title and my previous post about our trip, I’m sure you’d have guessed that my sister and I stayed at the prestigious Kempinski Grand Hôtel des Bains when we were in St. Moritz last year. Unbelievable huh?!  Even I still can’t believe how lucky we were!

The hotel certainly lives up to its name. Everything about it shouted luxury and grandeur.  Very impressive!

Sisters in Switzerland: Crowne Plaza Zurich

As I mentioned in my previous post, Ate Ning and I stayed in Crowne Plaza Zurich during the first half of our trip.

Staff & Service

Despite our tired bodies when we arrived at the hotel on our first day, we couldn’t help feeling energized by the cheerful Guest Relations staff who warmly greeted us as soon as we entered the lobby. When we told them it was our first time ever in Switzerland, they were more than happy to assist us.

Like most hotels, they have contacts with local tour companies; and once we decided what we wanted to do on our second day, they made the arrangements and explained how to reach the pick-up point. We didn’t have to worry about anything else.

A Tour of Hyatt Regency Dubai's Unique Staff Office and Dinner at Miyako

When you think of hotels, more often than not you think of comfort and luxury, where everything is beautiful, clean and organized, and all your needs can be taken cared of just by calling Room Service. When you think of the hotel’s backroom, on the other hand, what comes to mind is usually the complete opposite. The corridors, kitchen, and cafeteria used by the backroom staff are hidden and aren’t places you would really be interested to see, because, well, these aren’t exactly pleasing to the eye, right?

However, when the Sales Manager of Hyatt Regency Dubai invited me and my family to visit their hotel, I couldn’t resist. He promised a tour of their one-of-a-kind staff area, and since I’ve never actually seen the hidden side of a five star hotel, I agreed immediately.

Post-Birthday Weekend Stay at Radisson Blu Resort Sharjah

Unlike the past years, we didn’t have any party or “big” celebration for Sophie’s 3rd birthday this year. I simply took the day off to take her for a date at Dubai Mall; and then in the evening when Hubby got off work, our family had dinner at TGIFriday’s (more about this in a separate post, I promise). However, we were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend the weekend after her birthday at Radisson Blu Resort Sharjah, so this treat was simply perfect timing.

Our stay was for the first 3 days of October, from Thursday to Saturday. Naturally, being the last day of the workweek and the building that caught fire that afternoon, we expected to arrive at the resort pretty late because of the traffic, and yes, we did. However, we did manage to avoid most of the main roads that had really heavy traffic. Caila and Sophie both fell asleep on the way, but as soon as we arrived and I told them we had finally reached the “nice, nice house,” they became all excited and re-energized.

Overnight at Marriott Executive Apartments

As I mentioned in my previous post, Ate Ning booked a 2-bedroom apartment in Marriott Executive Apartments on the night of Caila’s birthday. The birthday girl called it “a wonderful surprise,” and truly it was. Of course the bonus part was that all of us got to enjoy the surprise as well =)

I'm not sure if it's only with MEA or the same with other Marriott hotels, but the way they number their apartments was a bit confusing.  You see, we stayed at No. 1145. Ordinarily, you'd think our room was on the 11th floor, right? But at MEA, the floor number was the second and third digits (14), the fifth was the room number (5), and I don't know what the first digit represented...probably the block or building? Anyway, moving on...

Our Staycation at Radisson Blu Resort, Fujairah (Part 2)

The next morning, Caila woke up before any of us. Maybe she wanted to enjoy the early morning peace or she didn’t want to wake up me or Hubby, I don’t know…but when I woke up, I saw her sitting on one of the balcony chairs looking out and staring at the scene in front of her. She was deep in thought and didn’t notice me until she heard the camera after I took this picture.

Our Staycation at Radisson Blu Resort, Fujairah (Part 1)

Remember how I was on leave for about 3 weeks last year because our nanny had to go to the Philippines? I was stuck at home the entire time except for the occasional errands, trips to the mall, and visits to friends with my family. But when I returned to work and the Corporate Sales Manager from Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek found out that we didn’t even go out of town, she made some arrangements so that we could visit Fujairah and try out their hotel there.

anniversary staycation at crowne plaza, dfc

Since we’ve kind of made it a tradition to celebrate our anniversary at a hotel, Hubby and I decided to take advantage of our certificate from TVI Express and book our family of 4 in a room for 2 nights at Crowne Plaza, Dubai Festival City this year. It was a nice place in the city with easy access to the mall but relatively peaceful just the same.

As soon as we stopped in front of the hotel, the valet immediately opened our doors and took the keys to Pepper, the bellman automatically helped us take out our bags and put them on the trolley, and the guy at the front desk swiftly went through the process of checking us in.

We were booked in a Superior Room which had a view of the airport, and although I didn’t appreciate it at first, I found the view bright and pretty later that night when the lights went on.

As Hubby and I expected, Caila was disappointed when she saw the room. Masyado na talagang mataas ang standards nya ever since we stayed in the suite at St. Regis last year. Eh kasi naman anak, SUITE yun, atsaka libre pa. Standard rooms pa lang ang kayang iafford ng mga magulang mo ngayon. But after we switched the TV to a cartoon channel, she comfortably sat on the bed and forgot her disappointment. Sophie, on the other hand, was practically everywhere. The room was carpeted so we let her crawl around, allowing her to explore the room. Of course we made sure to keep our eyes on her in case she picked up anything or put her hands in her mouth. We had requested for a cot from the hotel, but when we saw that it had steel bars, we decided not to use it because Sophie might hurt herself. We just kept it aside instead to put some of our things in.

We had dinner that night at our friends’ and co-Unit members’ villa because of the MER1 Service Team Meeting that we needed to attend. We didn’t stay until the end of the meeting though; they understood that we were in the midst of enjoying our family celebration.

It was a pretty tight fit with the four of us snuggled together in the king-size bed that night, but very cozy just the same.


the view from our room at night

The next morning, we all woke up at pretty much the same time but were too lazy to get up. Ang sarap kasi matulog sa napakalambot na kama na katabi ang buong pamilya sa malamig na kwarto sa hotel eh. After a while, we finally got up and went down to enjoy the buffet breakfast at Zaytoun. Even though it was already the end of May, the weather was still really cool so we opted to sit at a table outside where we could enjoy the fresh air and view of the creek and Business Bay.

Much to the amusement of our daughters, there were a few birds flying around that would peck on any leftover food when a guest would leave his or her table. Whenever a bird would go near our table, Caila would chase after it. We didn’t go back up to our room right after breakfast; we just lounged around and enjoyed the cool breeze and scenery while our eldest daughter ran around the open area. Sophie was content on looking at the birds and eating whatever food we gave her.

our table



When Sophie began to get sleepy, we headed back to our room so that Hubby and Caila could get ready and swim in the hotel pool.

For lunch, we decided to play safe (translation: nagtitipid kami) and walk to the mall. Since we were still pretty full from the sumptuous breakfast we had earlier, we just ordered some meals from McDonald’s. After lunch, while Hubby and Sophie went back to the hotel, Caila and I went to HyperPanda to buy some snacks for us to munch on during our stay in the hotel. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it already in this blog, but she is soooo talkative! All the way to the supermarket and back to the hotel, Caila would talk and talk and talk about anything and everything she could see or think of. Sometimes she would ask me questions, sometimes she would point out something to me, other times she would just comment or blurt out a statement and then end it with “di ba, Mommy?” Don’t get me wrong; I’m not complaining. I’m really glad she’s developed her communication skills really well. May times lang kasi na nauubusan ako ng isasagot ko sa kanya, and sobrang slang na sya mag-Tagalog minsan. But at least her being talkative gave us an opportunity to bond and made our walk not boring.

A few minutes after we reached our room, the doorbell rang and Hubby opened the door to a nice gift from the hotel.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the bed. We either slept or watched TV or played games on Tisoy and Tisay. Fast forward to that night when we all went to sleep, Caila insisted on sleeping in the hotel cot that we had earlier requested for Sophie. Since there wouldn’t be any harm in that, we just let her do what she wanted while Sophie slept between me and Hubby.

our eldest enjoying a good sleep

We enjoyed breakfast again at Zaytoun the following day. Just like the day before, the weather was perfect and we enjoyed it at the same table outside. This time, we didn’t stay too long because my sister, her son, Mama and Yaya Juliet had arrived just after we had finished eating. After a few minutes, we all headed down to the pool where all of us (except Mama, Juliet and Sophie) went swimming. I think we spent more than 3 hours at the pool area, just lazing around enjoying the water. There was a kind of half of bathtub there that Caila just liked to lie down on

Finally, when we felt that the skin on our hands and feet were all wrinkled up, we decided to head back to our room. We had just enough time to each take a shower, get dressed and pack our stuff before checking out.

It was a very relaxing staycation; a wonderful end to my two-week leave from work and a great way to top off our anniversaries and the girls’ month-birthdays.

posh weekend: st. regis, saadiyat island

One of the prizes we won during the Starchoice Party was an overnight stay for 2 in a St. Regis suite (yup, not just a room, but a SUITE!) at The St. Regis, Saadiyat Island, so last weekend was the best time for us to use it as a post-celebration of our anniversaries. After leaving The Farm, we headed to Mall of the Emirates first to enjoy the cold air conditioning and buy some lunch for Caila since she didn’t eat that much. Then at half past 12, we left for Abu Dhabi. The journey took more than an hour and we arrived at the hotel just before 2pm.

our anniversary at atlantis

We took advantage of the hotel’s summer offer of Dhs895++ per night which is available until the 30th of September 2011. It’s a really great deal, considering that their rack rates are much, much higher...the lowest being Dhs3,100++ per night. We just made the reservation online and had no problems at all.