Rather Obvious, Innit?

 

Nice try, but can be improved. 

Welcome to Your Hyatt House

 

A Home, Not a Hotel
The name already suggests it: this is not a hotel. Accommodating various travel styles, Hyatt has continuously expanded on its offerings. The Hyatt House is the first of this kind in South East Asia and as a locale for an extended stay its offering has been tailored accordingly. When entering the lobby, the homely feeling is apparent and the vibe is that of a home-coming. As one would expect, the facilities and amenities are trimmed to accommodate those that are going to put up here for a longer period of time. Even during the current times, some clients have stayed for up to a year.

Location….
Situated in Mont Kiara, the Hyatt House is poised to be a business destination. A short distance away is MITEC, Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre, the latest addition to the MICE facilities found in Kuala Lumpur, offering modern exhibitions and conferencing. Mont Kiara is also centrally located to quickly get you into the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the busy districts of Petaling Jaya or to the highway leading to the surrounding business hubs like Port Klang or Ampang.

Roomy!
Rooms are enjoyable as they are very spacious. Kept neutral in décor, the rooms immediately make for a home once the guests have placed their belongings. Practicality has been built into the rooms, of which there are 298. The Two Bedroom Suite can easily take on a family without feeling cramped. In-room utilities include a washing machine and dishwasher, both of which will make even a shorter stay a comfortable one. Recommended is the Two Bedroom Suite with Sky Terrace as it allows to catch some fresh air, something that will be appreciated when winding down after a long day on the road. It might be worthwhile pointing out that the corridors are wide and tiled. The latter aspect might be something that frequent travellers applaud as dragging luggage through thick-carpeted corridors can be a dreadful task.

Every property has a highlight, something that stands out. In this case it is the games room. A pool table, PlayStation and Soccer await for championships amongst residence, families or just to escape for a while.

Fun House
It is not all just work, but also a lot of play at the Hyatt House. The facilities include a sky bar, something that is a must-have when your residence is put up against the Kuala Lumpur skyline. Overlooking Mont Kiara, it is a perfect spot to unwind and to entertain clients in a less hectic environment than a public space. Also located on the top floor is a well-sized seawater swimming pool offers relaxation as well as training. Alongside these is a gym, which features all the equipment needed to keep in shape. The location of the property, the fact that these facilities are all located on the top-most floor and the layout of the building have created a secluded ambience, away from watchful eyes of all too interested neighbours. This may not be an obvious feature, but when at home, most of us enjoy a certain level of privacy, which Hyatt House certain replicates.

Staycationing
Intended for long-term stays, the Hyatt House also offers a lot to those that need a break from their hectic lives while living nearby. One can easily see how a family would want to base itself in the Hyatt House for a weekend to go on extended shopping trips or just to relax. Currently, a mini-vacation is what many are craving for and they may find it here, in their Hyatt House.

Burger Time!

 

For our anniversary, we went back to the scene of the crime: The Four Seasons KL As usual, we were pampered! Outstanding service as always. Really enjoyed the pool. Maybe it is a pandemic thing, but there weren't that many people. Could as well have been the hot sun right after noon. Evidentially, I got a nice burn. 

The highlight of our stay could have well being the room service. You can judge by the length of this paragraph just how satisfying a meal this was! Considering that one has to log on, wear masks etc when going out, we wanted to keep it simple. We like food, don't like hassle. So, we used the app on the I-pad provided in the room, placed the order and set the time for delivery to our room. Having a go at the Buffalo Burger, I can only recommend it. If you like it spicy that is! Having been in Asia for over 2 decades I oftentimes find myself thinking that the advertised spiciness is totally missing. Not so in this case. I would rank this burger as one of the best I have had! Missus was extremely happy with an interpretation of a local dish too. Should one ever want to try the in-room dining experience: do it in the Four Seasons. 

How to Rock your Profits

 

Due to something happening, water supply has been disrupted. Shell has them fancy coffee machines in their stations and this particular fella cannot dispense as there is no water piped into it. 

Just thinking: there are these 5 Litre tubs of filtered water that cost RM 7.5. That is a lot of coffee that one can then sell for RM 8 each. Unless something has fundamentally changed since I learned the ropes of the F&B business, coffee would still be the beverage with the highest profit margin. I would totally slim that a bit by using bottled water. 

The aweseomness factor: this place would have coffee, others may not as they have no water.. 

Rejoice: Only 19 More Vaccinations against Deadly Diseases to go before Life goes Back to Normal.

 

They keep popping up everywhere. Signs, notes and press releases that we "Can only enter / use a service if fully vaccinated."

We still have a long way to go! The WHO states that "We now have vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases,"

It might help to add "against Covid-19". Or maybe that is just me, taking things too literally, what with the being "fully" vaccinated. 

Travel journos watch out: EVERY airline now announcing that they only accept fully vaccinated passengers. There is going to be a lot to be reported about this. Maybe a bit repetitive and expected?

Oh well, at the moment, you can't even get to the plane if you are not "fully vaccinated" as you can't enter the building.

3 for 1

 

Yes, that is right: for one night out on town, we each need 3 pairs of shoes. You should see the packing list for a week away!

Iconic Trucks - Finally Printed and Shipped Out

 

A bit like a champagne bottle this one. Production has taken a long time, and for good reasons: to make it the best it can be and to put together something special. The "Iconic Trucks" book took some 14 months to conceptualise, write, layout and print. Each week, the progress was a little and eventually, a bit of shaking and PLOPP the cork popped out. It felt like the last bit went very fast while waiting in anticipation to see the completed work for the first time. 

At the moment, a good chunk of the print run has already been snapped up by our fans of Asian Trucker. Some are posting about the book on Facebook or in LinkedIn. I am happy to see that they are satisfied with their purchase and that this unique book is bringing them joy and maybe some insights.

What was supposed to be 160 pages ended up being 388 pages thick. A lot of local pictures (230) went into this. Pictures that I have taken over the past years while working around trucks. Adding "Published Author" to my credentials is something special too. I am glad that I did this project and I too, have learned a lot from it. More impressions on www.iconictrucks.asia