Putrajaya Sept 2018 - A limited visit and review.

My wife had a conference in Putrajaya (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) recently, and would have been gone for a few days.

When she had a similar conference last year (in another city), I took on the task of single parenting my daughter (two and a half years old) for a few days.

She was fine the morning my wife left.

She was fine that evening.

But when it was dark and she was supposed to go to bed, she started to tear, and said that she missed her mommy and finally sobbed herself to sleep.

I got my wife to video call us while she was there, so my daughter could see her. And it was clear she really liked being able to see and talk to mommy.

I got my wife to send video messages via WhatsApp and that was precious to my daughter.

But bed time was still sad times. And lonely times. And times she missed her mommy acutely.

So it was to be more of the same this year (or maybe being a year older, my daughter would be more... together) or we could head to Putrajaya as well.

The airfare was affordable (less than S$400 for my daughter and me), and hotels in Putrajaya were very reasonable.

My brother recommended the Meridien, Putrajaya as it was conveniently located next to the IOI mall (that's "ioi" not "101").

But my sole consideration was which hotel the conference participants would be accommodated.

It was the Everly, Putrajaya, a 4-star hotel.

Okay, so it was not the Meridien (a 5- star hotel), and not within walking distance to IOI City Mall. But there was a mall (Alamanda Mall) next to it which is pretty decent in terms of what it offers. There is Cold Storage, and another supermarket (Aeon Big).

We also found the "Mr D.I.Y." store fascinating (and by "fascinating", we mean REALLY REALLY low prices!) We only had a morning to shop there (we finally decided to check it out on the last morning), and we spent RM80+ on knick-knacks that we never realised we need (we don't, but the prices were too low to resist).

Within Alamanda Mall, there is a Komonoya. EVERYTHING in the shop is priced at RM5.57. That's less than S$2. Which makes it cheaper than Daiso (Singapore)! But it was not a humongous shop, so the selection is not as extensive as Daiso, Singapore.

And there are restaurants and eateries. And a TGI Fridays just outside the Mall (or part of it, I can't be sure). It was opposite "Mr D.I.Y.".

The Hotel

My wife thought that the staff could be a little more helpful and a little more specific. When she asked where the breakfast would be served, the answer was a casual "over there" (which could be misinterpreted). She found out herself by reading the in-room information.

I had a similar experience when I asked about breakfast. More on this later.

(But then again, it might be a Singaporean's nature to be precise and specific, whereas it may be sufficient and the norm for a Malaysian to provide information in a more general way. IOW, may be cultural differences.)

One morning, my daughter had to use the room a little longer, and we were preparing to head to the pool for a swim. Housekeeping came by, so I asked for a little more time while we prepared. Housekeeping left.

We suited up for the swim in the hotel pool, and left the room. We spent almost two hours in the pool, then headed up.

The room was not made up.

It might just be a miscommunication, I tried calling housekeeping on the phone, but the extension was busy!

Anyway, we were going out, so I spoke to the reception on the way out to let them know that housekeeping could clean the room (and they did). Then we left for our day at IOI city Mall.

Hotel Pool

The pool was an "infinity pool". At least it was designed as one. But the water looked less than fresh to me. And I eventually realised that the water was not being circulated or filtered. An "infinity pool" has one edge of the pool made of acrylic or some clear material, and the water would constantly overflow this edge, thus providing the illusion of an infinite flow of water.

The water was well below the level of the of acrylic edge (about 3 inches below), and there were other signs that the water level was below the optimum or recommended level. And the water was not being circulated.

There was a sign that indicated that the pool was being "chlorine treated" during the night, but I have no way of knowing if that is actually done. Nor do I know if that is an adequate alternative to running the pump and filtration system to ensure that the water would meet hygiene standards.

But it was a pool and it was sufficient for my daughter. And apparently for other users.

But it was a small pool, and the main pool was only 1m to 1.2m deep. And with the lower water levels, the actual depth was probably shallower. Not that it matters.

Breakfast

Breakfast was the best part of this hotel!

The hotel provided a sumptuous breakfast with an extensive selection and choices - if you got the option that included breakfast. There were bread and rolls and pastries. Then there was rice and noodles, and porridge. The live station had a chef making omelettes to order. There was cereal, and fruit and beverages (strangely no orange juice, but a range of other juices including pink guava, mango, apple and pineapple - from what I recall).

There was also hard and soft boiled eggs, and roti canai (or "prata" to Singaporeans).

If you have a craving for a traditional Japanese breakfast, you would be heartbroken. But most people would be pampered by the selection, and spoiled for choice.

Unfortunately (for me), I was on a diet. So I resisted indulging.

Too much.


The Room

When my wife's accommodation was confirmed, I immediately tried to book at room at the Everly via Agoda.com.

The best offer was for their standard "Deluxe" room which was offered to me at about $53 after various Agoda member discounts. The "regular" rate was over $100. And the best rate from Agoda (without extra discounts) was about $70 or a little less.

This room was about 30 sqm (large by Singapore and Japanese standards), and for a few dollars more (per day), I could get the option of breakfast.

But it looked kinda dim to me (the window seemed rather small), and there was no bath tub. I liked the option of a bath, and my daughter used to enjoy bathing in a tub (less so now), but I still like to have that option.

So I chose the Executive Suite instead. The rate offered to me was about $80+ a night with breakfast, and access to the Executive Lounge. There was a tub, and a kitchenette in the 45 sqm room as well. And the rate was VERY ATTRACTIVE.

I paid about S$260 for 3 nights.  Which works out to less than $90 a night. The standard board rate was S$280+ per night. Agoda's rate would have been about $150. But I got it at the last minute discount rate so I was rather pleased with myself.

Oh, and the Malaysian govt has imposed a RM10 a day per room tax. Which is collected at check-in. This is in force at my check-in and will probably remain so for some time. So don't be surprised at this tax.

I too asked about the breakfast venue and was told I could have it at the Executive Lounge, or at the restaurant on the ground floor. The instructions were a little vague, but I was not too concerned. I could spot a breakfast venue with my eyes closed.

I use my nose.

The actual room I got was at the end of the corridor, and the windows were HUGE! The space seems little larger than 45 sqm, maybe because it was at the end and it was a little odd shaped. But I like odd shaped rooms. They have character.

The view of the lake was... meh! But the room was really bright with lots of natural light.

And it was a suite (my first!).

And there was a Nescafe Dulce Gusto machine! With 6 capsules!

I tried 3 the first night.

And hoped that they would be refilled the next day.

Nope.

Disappointment.

But I was not there to drink coffee or other Nescafe beverages.

And they did top up the 4 bottles of drinking water in my suite every day. So that was good. I am suspicious of the water. At one supermarket, I saw huge bottles (about 5 gallons?) of drinking water. I suspect that if the natives were buying bottled drinking water, the tap water is not drinkable. Not like in Singapore.

The Everly was supposed to be part of a "green" programme and would only replace our bath towels if we signalled that we needed new towels by leaving the towels on the floor.

We hung up the towels to air-dry and to re-use.

They gave us new towels everyday anyway.

But they did not replenish the toilet paper. We ran out of one roll on the third day. There was a second roll. My wife brought a roll from her room for "back up".  (She was bunking with us.)

Later that day, we ran out of kleenex tissue. But it was the last day. We struggled through. I am sure if we called the service line (and eventually got through), they would replenish it.

Just as I am sure, I could get more Nescafe Dulce Gusto capsules, if I would just ask.

What can I say? I don't like to impose. :-)

And the boast of a kitchenette was... underwhelming. There was a microwave. And a electric kettle.

No cutlery. No kitchen utensils. Not even a fruit knife, so I couldn't buy fruits from the supermarket and enjoy it in my suite.

So unless you have a portable kitchen utensils set, interpret "kitchenette" to mean "in-room microwave". Which is not nothing, but temper your expectations. Especially if you are Australian or a New Zealander (I've stayed in hotels/apartments with kitchenettes and those were EXTREMELY well equipped. So this is NOT to Australian or New Zealand standards.)

Anyway, I was also not there to cook. And with food so readily available and affordable (cheap even!), there really is no need to cook in your hotel room.

What was good was the USB charging ports built into the power outlets. The outlets were universal and could accept any (or almost any) plugs, so no worries if you forgot to bring your travel adaptor. I think all hotel rooms should have this!

And also USB charging ports. No charging cables though, so Japanese hotels are still one up.

Wifi was easy to connect (so better than Singapore hotels - at least those I have experienced). Once you connected, you automatically connected again for that device. Hotels in SG makes it so irritating, when you need to reconnect everyday. Not sure if it is ALL hotels in SG or I just end up in the lousy ones.

I also had access to the Executive Lounge, but I had no time to use it. I hear they have fruits during "happy hour" which is from 5:30 pm to 7:00 or so.

And I had the option of having American Breakfast from 6:30 to about 10:30 there if I prefer a nice, quiet breakfast away from the riffraff in the main restaurant (which would include my wife). But the selection at Fuze (Fuzion?) is way more interesting. So I mixed with the riffraff.

I was tempted to try their fruit platter during happy hour, but we were seldom in at that time. So we never did.

Check out was at noon. Check in was at 3 pm.


Getting around

On the morning of the second day, we went to IOI City Mall.

There was a taxi waiting at the hotel's driveway. It was available, so we got in. It was metered, so there was no need to haggle. The flag down fare was RM3. The meter read RM10 at the end of the ride and I paid that.

Getting back to the hotel was somewhat similar. I approach the taxi stand at IOI City Mall's East Wing Entrance. There was a congregation of taxi drivers and they informed me which taxi driver was next in line. I got in and the flag down fare was RM6. The meter read RM23 when we arrived at the hotel.

The next day, we again went to IOI City Mall. This time there was no waiting cab at the driveway. I asked the reception to call a cab for me.

He got me a Grab Car (this region's version of Uber). At the end of the ride, he asked for RM10.

I had arranged with my wife that we would have dinner at IOI City Mall. She also Grabbed to the mall. RM 11.

After dinner, we again used Grab. We got an actual taxi this time, but the Grab fare was RM12. The meter read RM10 and change. We paid the driver RM12.

The fact is, even at the most expensive, the RM23 fare for a 10 - 12 minute ride was less than S$8. Which is very cheap by SG's standard. RM10 was about S$3.40.

But the point is without Grab, the discrepancy in taxi fares (from RM 10+ to RM23) makes visitors suspicious and wary.

On the last day, we Grabbed to the airport. The Grab Fare was RM45. I gave the driver RM50.


On a related note, the departure terminal on my Malaysian Airline confirmation note at KLIA was "Terminal M". It was completely irrelevant! Or we never discovered what "Terminal M" referred to. The check-in was at Row C. The nearest doors were 1, 2, and 3. Nothing about "M".

And if the taxi driver asks, you should tell him KLIA Terminal 1. KLIA 2 is for budget or low cost carriers. We told him "terminal M" but that made no sense to him. So we told him we were departing on Malaysian Airlines, flying back to Singapore, so he brought us (correctly) to KLIA 1. So hence the "tip".


IOI City Mall

If you Google "Things to do in Putrajaya" you will get a list that will include Putrajaya Mosque and other architectural "attractions". Which I do not find attractive at all.

I was entertaining my 3 year old daughter while my wife was in the conference, so I was limited to Dreamworld Indoor playground (2nd floor, which is the 4th level, more later). Which was a treat for my daughter because she got the run of the place all to herself on the first day for the first two hours!

It was RM45 plus RM6 for socks unless you have your own. Unlimited playtime. My daughter loved the trampoline and the giant building blocks.

There was also a Molly Fantasy playground on the 1st floor. Which I found on the last evening before we left so we didn't get a chance to try it out.

We also headed to the District 21 amusement park - my daughter wanted to ride the train and there was a train + carousel package for RM8. However, because she was only 3, she needed an adult to ride with her in the train, and that was RM5 for me. I didn't have to pay to accompany her on the carousel.

IOI City Mall has 4 levels. The lowest level is the Lower Ground floor which has a West Wing Entrance, which is next to the two office towers (I assume). At this level you will find Canton-I, what we believe to be the only Chinese restaurant (non-Halal) in IOI City Mall. We had dinner there on our last evening there. You can also find McDonalds and several fast food and casual eateries at this level.

The next level is the Ground Floor. At the South Wing Entrance you will find the Magnum Chocolate Ice Cream Bar. You can have the plated deserts (like "Death by Chocolate") or other menu items in the sit-down dining area, or you can customise your own Magnum Ice Cream Bar for just RM9.90 (S$3.30, the price of Magnum Ice cream bar in SG, is $3.90.).

The level above that is the First Floor. Toys R Us is here. As as the ice skating rink, and the District 21 extreme sport adventure park. If you are like physical thrills, you may find something to challenge yourself.

Me? I was with my 3 year old daughter so I'm using her as an excuse for not trying these extreme sports out.

Call me disappointed. Or call me "chicken".

I don't care.

She calls me "daddy". :-)

The fourth level or the Second Floor is the highest floor and there are many electronic gadgets to be found here as well as various electronic brands. There's Acer, Huawei, Nokia just to name a few I could remember.

There's also a Tesco hypermarket on the Lower Ground.

Uniqlo is on the Ground floor.

And between the East Wing Entrance and the South Entrance, facing the outside are a whole row of restaurants and eateries, which I was not able to try, cos, diet.

Sigh.