The Novotel Hotel, Liverpool - a great stay!

I frequently travel around the UK for my work, and a couple of months ago, my travels took me to Liverpool in the West of England. If you’ve never been, Liverpool itself is quite a busy city, which is rich in culture and heritage. It was the birthplace of the Beatles, as well as being famous for many other things.

When I arrived in Liverpool, I had to find a hotel at short notice, as my company had only sent the assignment to me at the last minute, so I didn’t really have the time to search for somewhere before hand. I came across the Novotel, which was quite conveniently placed in the centre of the city, and for the most part, it seemed to have all the facilities I would need, as I anticipated that I would need to stay for at least three days. I was traveling to Liverpool by train, and so another thing that was convenient was the hotel’s close proximity to Liverpool’s Lime Street train station. In fact, it only took me 5 minutes to walk there.

When I walked through the doors, I received a friendly but polite greeting from the first staff member I saw, and the lady who was working on the check-in desk was very helpful and friendly too. Although I had not reservations, the lady was very accommodating, and I was checked in within about 10 minutes of arriving.

I had booked a large ensuite room, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much room I actually had. It was well lit, and the bed was nice and comfy. I had chosen a double bed room, as I hate single beds and I was pleased to find that I actually had a queen sized bed.

I cant fault the facilities in the room. I’m not a tea or coffee drinker, although I did observe that the tea and coffee making facilities were well stocked, and the cups and the kettle were all very clean. I loved that the TV was a flat screen because most of the hotels that I stay in still have the old style CRT TVs which make my eyes go a bit funny. Luckily for me, there was a hairdryer, which I hadn’t been able to pack in my suitcase before I left for Liverpool, and there was an ironing board, although I didn’t use this.

The ensuite had a bath with an integrated shower, which I had not problems with. Sometimes when I visit hotels, I notice that the showers are not hot enough or there is a problem with the pressure, but I found the bathroom at the Novotel to be very clean in general, and the water in the shower was just fine.

I enjoyed the buffet style breakfast that was provided each morning when I woke up. The restaurant at the Novotel is quite modern and clean. The breakfast itself was a full continental breakfast, and I even got pancakes, which I haven’t had before in a hotel.

All in all, this hotel is excellent. The facilities are great, and there is even a pool, which I made full use of during my stay. The staff are friendly and do all they can to make your stay as pleasant as possible and I think that if I am ever in the Liverpool area again, I will certainly book this hotel again.

Zest Airways Philippines: Offers Cheapest Air Fares

Are you looking for Cheap or low budget domestic air flights in the Philippines? I had found one and certainly affordable.

I used to be boarding with Cebu Pacific when it comes to Domestic Flights. However, I needed to find other flight options, which my companions requested to board with the cheapest air flight and I found Zest Air Philippines.

Indeed, the air fare flights are cheap and affordable. At first, a round trip ticket to Puerto Princesa, Palawan costs around Php. 3,500, but the Zest Airways has a Wednesday promo giving a discount when you book online. Surprisingly, we were able to get a round trip ticket for only Php. 2,407.00 + Php. 200.00 terminal fee. That was of course a cheap price compared to the regular fare which is more than Php. 3,500.00 and more than Php. 4,000.00 in Cebu Pacific.

Of course, air fares vary depending on the time and the features. So far, we got the cheapest ever and that was what matters. The drawback with Zest Airways though is the delay flight. Our departure time was supposed to be 7:40 AM, but it was moved to 8:40 AM. The same when we are coming back to Manila from Puerto Princesa, Palawan, which the supposed time was 5:40 PM and was moved to 6:10 PM. 

Other than that is tolerable. I mean, if you have to compare Cebu Pacific to Zest Air, the former is of course better, but if cheap air fare is what you are looking for domestic flights, Zest Air is an option. 

Go for online booking because air fares can still vary. If you are lucky enough to get a promo slot, that is a great deal. You can also choose to book every Wednesday as early as possible which you can also avail a discount fare.

Puerto Princesa, Palawan: A Wonderful Place for Nature Tripping

I always love traveling and see other places. The most recent place in the Philippines which I visited was Puerto Princesa, Palawan. I can definitely say that Palawan is a real Nature Wonder.

Since we arrived few hours earlier, the host of the Convention suggested touring us around the City of Puerto Princesa. Palawan. First stop was at Crocodile Farm. Definitely, you can see crocodiles on that farm and after which is the Nature Park. At the Nature Park, it feels like you are in a forest and far from air pollution as compared in Metro Manila.

Next stop was in Baker’s Hill. I love the place. I don’t specifically know what inspired the owner to build the Hill with two semi-Mansions with astonishing landscape. In that place, you can see a statue of Marilyn Monroe, a Baker, a dwarf, and a lot more. The third stop was at Ranch St. Monica. At that place, I love the breeze of the overlooking scene. I felt like I was in Baguio City or in Tagaytay then. 

Oh what an exhausting day for us because after dinner time, the convention started. When the convention was over on the third day. We had an island hopping the next day. Before reaching Snake Island, you can see several islands and islets on the way. Not much amazed when we reached the Snake Island, probably because I have seen other beautiful beaches in other provinces. 

Saturday, April 2, we had to wake up as early as 3 AM because we needed to leave 4 AM going to the Underground River. It was a long trip from the City proper to the Underground River, almost 3 hours, yet it was worth it because there are many nature scenes on the way. 

Underground River is truly a Nature Wonder. I have not seen anything like that formations which you can come up a story out of those formations. It is a must-see place and definitely I would decide to go there again and again.

Travel Review- Langkawi Island an Exotic Experience

Langkawi Island was one of my most spectacular tours I have ever had. It was a wonderful experience, and I wish I could visit that place once again.

We took this tour 2 years back, and the whole arrangements were made by the tour operator. We stayed there for around one week and had a lot of fun.

Actually Langkawi means “Eagle on the brown rocks”, is the landmark of Langkawi and here you can see a giant eagle on the brown rocks. It is a small picnic spot on the sea shore and most of the people including I and my husband were busy in taking our snaps. I have never seen such a prodigious eagle which was so realistic looking.

Langkawi is an island which consists of around 99 islands; though all of them are in continuation so often we could not demarcate the names of the islands. On the exact first day, we were quite tired after coming from Kuala Lumpur, so that day we decided to roam around the local beaches. It was truly such a refreshing feeling while walking on the cold sand of the beaches; Pantai Cenang is the most popular beach, which is on the west coast side of the turquoise blue Andaman Sea. This is the most developed, and liveliest beach of Langkawi, and you will always see it flooded with the tourists except in the sunny day time.

What a strange thing I had seen there, that most of the restaurants are closed after 2:30 p.m. till 4:00 p.m. in the evening. Once we were so engrossed in enjoying the natural beauty of that island, and we were unable to get any food, as it was already 3:00 p.m. Then we had to binge on the soft drinks that were available in the local shops.

Next day we took a Mangrove tour, which was extremely spectacular. We took a jetty for visiting the Sea, and the Killim River’s passage was truly remarkable. Here, you can see mangrove trees all around; there was one spot called Bat caves in the river which has got thousands of small bats glued on the wall of the caves. Fish and eagle feeding are also one of the enjoyable things.

“Underwater World” was our next target to be hit, and, as the previous day, it was quite hectic, so we planned to relax that day by just seeing the underwater world which was near to our resort. This was quite mindblowing and so maintained, like more than 200 aquatic species were there with their complete and natural ecosystem. Inside that building, we also saw a Zone shopping Paradise, Neptune café and Restaurant. So many penguins were taking a bath while an attendant was throwing water on them with the pipe.

Our next destination was cable car ride to the top of Mount Mat Chinchang, where one can see the breathtaking views of mountains and valleys. There was a spectacular sky bridge also, and this cable car is the longest made cable journey without the support of roads in the jungle. Down you can see, the Oriental Village, which is a, small shopping zone by the side of lake.

We stayed at Asiana Resort in Langkawi, and the ambience of that resort was remarkably gracious, with neat and clean swimming pool and delicious and mouth watering buffet breakfast.

So, during our stay at Langkawi we had a lot of fun and life seemed to be so beautiful that we cherished each and every moment out there. In my opinion, it is a must watch island with richness of natural beauty and least pomp and show.