A Day In

We had to spend the Raya day quite literally recovering. We started the day off visiting one of our friend for a second breakfast. They happened to be in Sungai Petani at the time, and more importantly, they had food ....

We then went to my Aunts where my Mum stayed, had some more food before heading to the mosque for prayers. We then got stuck with nothing to do and after the ordeal driving up yesterday, we could do with just a day chilling in the hotel room.

And that was just what we did.

We didn't even bother to go to the pools, we ordered some afternoon snacks to the room before going to one of the hotel restaurant for early dinner before turning in early. And the dinner turned out to be a delight. The Japanese restaurant at the ground floor of the hotel was a great find ...

Everybody was happy and full by the time we were done, and I was asleep soon after ....

Balik Kampung

It was a good opportunity. The boys just started school. It turned out that Monday would be off for them as well as announced after the great showing at the SEA Games. So, we left KL on the Merdeka Day for a three nights relaxing stay back North.

We didn't stay at the island this time as my Mum came along as well. The journey up however turned out to be a long one.

The long queue after IpohWe set off at 9 am after beakfast. Reached the toll at Jalan Duta without much hustle, but the moment we hit Sungai Buloh, the crawl started. It was slow moving all the way to Ipoh. But the big delay was just after. I was stuck before entering Terowong Menora for a good couple of hours. Apparently there was an accident before Sungai Perak stop and the lanes were blocked.

By the time we passed through, everything was already back to normal although there were plenty of JPJ vehicles still at the vicinity. It was smooth sailing after that, however I supposed the damage had already been done. It was almost sundown when we finally reached Sungai Petani and since my Mum was fasting, she ate in the car.

Enjoying a drink after checking into the hotelWe had a quick dinner at my Aunts while dropping my Mum. Next was the hotel about 10 minutes away. I was glad that the hotel was still as nice - if not better - than what it used to be. I slept like a baby and missed breakfast the next morning ....

In Sungai Petani

We went straight to my Aunt's place, just in time for lunch. While there, we received a call from the hotel, informing us that the room for our maid would be on a different floor to ours. Nothing major, just a bit annoying. That did not stop the lunch though.

We scrapped the plan to hit Penang tonight since Idlan looked tired. Dinner would again be at my Aunt's. In fact, Anita and I had already listed what we wanted ...... Some proper Thai food and laksa. That would be smashing. So, Penang would have to wait ....

We just checked into our hotel room, and we decided that we all should take a nap. I had my 15 minutes power nap and now am wide awake. Idlan was still up. Obviously the cough mixture did not do the trick ......

Park Avenue, Sg Petani

Yes, the name itself conjoured an image that one is in New York. Alas, the hotel was in Sungai Petani, and it was no where near as posh. That was the hotel we stayed in during our four nights stay at for our balik kampung.

Initially Puan Anita wanted to stay in Batu Feringghi on the island itself but since my Mum was staying at my sister’s in Sungai Petani, we decided otherwise. It turned out to be a blessing since the Penang Bridge was closed for a couple of hours due to an electrical fire, causing a huge tailback on the day we arrived up North. Traffic to Sungai Petani was smooth instead.

The hotel itself was strategically located, right next to the Sungai Petani (South) exit o the PLUS highway. Apart from the queue to settle the toll at the exit, getting in was a breeze. Thank God for Smart Tag! The hotel was previously own by the late mogul Tan Sri Eric Chia. According to one of my Uncle, the Tan Sri actually passed away here during his long illness. While he was around, the hotel used to be the premier in Sungai Petani. Since then, things has as they said …… been different.

The room that we ordered was one of the Senior Suite. It was very nicely laid out, comfortable furnitures, nice lightings, sensible decors. The room have a separate study by the entrance - where I wrote the draft for this entry. There as a couple of toilets, a living area and bedroom. The main bath have a separate shower and bath, and a huge area for changing and Puan Anita putting her make-up - a very important requirement.

The room has free wifi! A big bonus! Did I mention free? Hotels were stingy when it comes to wifi, but not Park Avenue. The speed was in access of 20Kb/sec. O it was not lightning fast, but more than adequate. Parking was straight forward as well at the basement. The only problem was the lift did not go to the basement. Had to take the stairs down there instead, but still not a major problem. The room included free breakfast and newspaper. Both Idlan and Irfan really enjoyed the room. We initially planned to stay for three nights, but extended as my sister arrived from Melaka, and we wanted to spend an extra day for the kids.

The hotel also had a nice pool on the third floor with generous space for deck chairs. There was a separate waddling pool for the kids. Apparently there was also gym and spa, but I couldn’t be bothered to check them out. The hotel also had a huge lobby, and three separate food joints - main bistro where breakfast and dinner were served. There was also a bar and a Japanese restaurant - yes, you heard it right!

The main lobbyNice wood paneling on the floor lobby leading to our roomThose were the plusses - and considering you are now 500 words in on the review, there were a quite a few of them! The negatives were plenty as well I am afraid. Even thought the room was nice, maintenance was a bit lacking. There were only a single TV in the suite with limited Astro channels. We had to go to my auntie’s house to watch United drew with Everton on the first night. There was no children channel, we were served with terrestrial, Discovery and a few news channels. There was Movie Max. There were no DVD player provided in the rooms as well. There was a fridge but it was connected to the mains rather than a dedicated outlet. So, when you leave the room, the power were cut off and the ice melted! There was no iron provided. We had to call for one, with an ironing board missing a leg. 10 minutes later, we got a call with housekeeping coming back to pick the iron away since they did not have enough of them.

The breakfast area packed in the morning

The main entranceAnd now for the food. Allegedly there was room service to order, a separate menu until 10pm and a simple microwave list after that. The food took a solid hour to arrive at our room when we ordered upon checking in. The second night when we ordered for a late meal, apparently nothing was left. We were talking about a simple microwave pizza here, not a full meal of steak and the likes. The funny thing was, the order went through, and five minutes later, the phone rang to say that they were out of even noodles! Funny! Oh, did I mention that the kettle was dirty? 

All in all, it was a mixed bag. With a good manager, the hotel definitely will come good as the rooms were very nice. Would I recommend it to everyone? Yes. Make sure you ask for government servant rate if you are one. The rate for the master suite that we stayed in was around RM300 per night which I think was reasonable. If only the support service was much better. WIll we come here again? Maybe, I will try other hotels here before I make our mind up to answer that one!

The hotel website is linked here.E-1 Jalan Indah Dua, Taman Sejati Indah, 08000 Sungai Petani, Kedah. Tel : 04-431 7777 Fax : 04-431 8777