Comfy lodging and delicious Swiss food @ Hotel Bellevue, Murren (Switzerland)

I am still going through my photos from our trip to Europe last year, and I do hope to get through them all by the end of 2019! It had always been a dream of mine to visit the Swiss Alps, and last year we actually stayed on the Swiss Alps for two days! Choices on where to base ourselves on the Alps were plenty, and many online have raved about how scenic Murren is, so I booked us in to stay at the highly rated Hotel Bellevue in Murren. Service was excellent from the moment of my email enquiry, right up until we checked out and departed. It's a fact that Murren is car-free, so the complimentary pick-up and drop-off service between the station and the hotel was greatly appreciated, especially with our large group of three adults and three children, and the sizeable number of luggage that accompanied us. The rooms were well equipped and we slept comfortably and cozily each night. Our family stayed in a suite and my mum enjoyed her solitude in a single room. The suite had a back door directly out onto the snow, which delighted the kids. Breakfast was included in our rate, which is super convenient when travelling with three kids. The breakfast fare was lovely, and I loved the hot freshly made coffee each morning. We enjoyed one dinner at the hotel, and it was delicious.

The single room:

The living area in the suite:

The bedroom in the suite:

The breakfast room:

The view from the breakfast room:

Bread basket:

Fruit and bread corner:

Muesli, yogurts, cheese and cold cuts. There's even a pot of boiled eggs!

Swiss muesli with various cheeses:

The restaurant dining area:

Hubby's first taste of Ramseier Suure Moscht (Swiss apple cider), and the kids' first taste of apfelschorle:

Snow-covered scenery to be enjoyed from the dining room window:

Special order of sausage and chips for the boy to share with his sisters:

Mum's choice of deer fillet, smoked and pan-fried with a creamy mushroom sauce, glazed chestnuts, red cabbage, poached pears with cranberries, served with homemade spätzle:

:

Hubby could not resist finishing the meal with something sweet. This mixed berries tart was delish:

If you're looking to stay on the Swiss Alps, I can highly recommend the alpine village of Murren, and Hotel Bellevue is a superb choice for accommodation.

Hotel Bellevue
CH-3825 Mürren
Switzerland
Tel. +41 33 855 14 01
Email: bellevue@muerren.ch

Essence Palace Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam

I don't usually do hotel reviews on my blog; usually my accommodation reviews are reserved for bed and breakfast types where accommodation and service are provided on a much more personal level. However the hotel hospitality and service at Essence Palace Hotel in Hanoi is one of the best we have experienced in our many years of travel around the world, that I feel it warrants some praise from a humble traveller. I chose this hotel because of its high rating and good reviews on tripadvisor, and the fact that I could book two connecting rooms (under Family Room plan) at a very affordableThe hotel itself was pleasant, but what stood out the most was the staff. Weeks before our arrival, Mike would promptly reply to my emails and requests, and I value good email communication very highly after years of travelling and expatriate living, because international phone calls are costly and impractical when different timezones are involved. The welcome drink (mango smoothie) offered to us upon our arrival to the hotel was delicious and a lovely refreshment after the long drive from the airport. We arrived at 12pm, and though check-in wasn't until 3pm, staff were kind enough to allow us to check in early since a set of connecting rooms were cleaned and ready for us, which we were grateful for because the toddler was overdue for her nap. I'd requested a quiet room, and traffic noise was not an issue as there were no windows facing outside the hotel. Our connecting rooms were located close to the lift, so noise from outside the door can be an issue from guests checking out early or coming in late from a night out (not the hotel's fault). The hubby and kids slept through the noise fine, but I am an unusually light sleeper so I noticed the noise. The rooms were clean, and the beds were comfortable.

The main room with a double bed:

The door that connects to the second room:

The adjoining room which is a twin bed room, with a crib:

Clean spacious bathroom:

Mike proved to also be a wealth of information on good street food to eat around the Old Quarter, like egg coffee, banh mi and pho. We enjoyed many different types of food I'd never even heard about, and all of Mike's recommendations were good! Food in the highly rated Gia Ngu Restaurant downstairs from the lobby was delicious, and the included breakfast everyday had a good variety of Vietnamese and western dishes. We could also each order a plate of eggs (any style), french toast or pancakes freshly cooked to order, or a bowl of beef or chicken pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) brought to the table. We ate lunch at the restaurant to try out the menu and really enjoyed our meal (review to be posted later). The restaurant staff were always so friendly and loved chatting to our kids.

Part of the spread provided at the free breakfast:

The variety and quality were good for a free breakfast:

Made to order pancake:

A bowl of chicken pho:

We had also booked an overnight cruise to Halong Bay through the hotel. However it rained everyday during our trip, and on the morning of our booked cruise, Jennifer (another lovely front desk staff) greeted us while we were having breakfast in the restaurant downstairs, and informed us that most cruises that day would be cancelled. She helped us cancel our cruise, arranged for full refund of our deposit, and then arranged for our accommodation for that night. She had gone above and beyond her duty, which saved us a lot of hassle. The doormen and hotel porters were all very friendly and polite, always offering an umbrella whenever we went out, and running down the stairs to greet us and take the umbrella from us when we came back to the hotel. Just little things like that made our stay more special. On our final night in Hanoi, hubby made use of the spa service offered at the nearby sister hotel, the Essence Hanoi Hotel and Spa. After carrying our 13kg toddler in the carrier on our outings for four days (the crowded pavements and terrible traffic and rainy conditions made it very challenging to use the stroller), his sore shoulders and back thoroughly enjoyed the massage.

If you are ever in Hanoi, I highly recommend staying at the Essence Palace Hotel. What a bargain to experience such top service at such affordable price! It really rates as one of the best hotels we have experienced

Essence Palace Hotel
27 - 29 Gia Ngu Street
Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem District
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel. +84 4 3926 2135

Please note that I was not paid to write this review. Just a very happy customer sharing the love.

Levanto: Agriturismo La Collina Verde (B&B), and the beach!

The main destination of our trip to Italy last summer was the five villages that makes up the Cinque Terre (translates to "The Five Lands"). I remember being told about this scenic location a couple of years ago by hubby's aunt and uncle who are long-time Hong Kong residents, and it says a lot for a (very) well-travelled couple like them to recommend any place. I decided to have our base in the town of Levanto, located just north of the northernmost Cinque Terre village, and part of its territory is included in the Cinque Terre National Park. It seemed sensible to avoid the summer tourist crowds that swamp each of the five villages each day, and I'd also heard that accommodation in the towns were expensive due to scarcity, and that they were not as well-equipped as outside towns due to difficult accessibility. Levanto was a lovely town in its own right, with delicious food, easy accessibility to the Cinque Terre, and a gorgeous agriturismo B&B run by a cute couple. The word 'agriturismo' is the combined term of 'agriculture' and 'tourism', something like a farm house resort, or a farm stay. Agriturismo La Collina Verde is a quaint little house set in the hills about a 20-minute walk from the town centre and 10 from the train station. Surrounded by vineyards, olive groves and orchards, we could enjoy a peaceful and quiet rest every night after a busy day. This agriturismo is run by Rudy and Delia, a young couple whose passion for this agriturismo is evident when they talk about it.

Breakfast in the beautiful sunshine and gorgeous scenery:

Breakfast was delicious, and we loved the variety of homemade jams and marmalades. Rudy would present about five or six types of jams and marmalades at each breakfast, and they were different on each of the four days we stayed there. Rudy makes a very good cup of hot chocolate - very thick like a milkshake, but hot - and we also enjoyed the cappuccinos. In addition to the cornetto (aka croissant to our boy), focaccia and jams on our table outside on the patio, we helped ourselves to the food and drinks in the pantry inside the kitchen. The highlights were the variety of homembaked pizza-like focaccia with various toppings. The breakfast spread was relatively simple but nutritious, and it fueled us well for our busy activities ahead.

Five jams and marmalades, on day 1 of our stay:

The breakfast pantry by the kitchen, with cool drinks, eggs, bread, cheese, some Italian-style cold cuts, cakes and fresh fruits:

Every evening we would return to our room to a different type of digestif on the table, which was a nice touch. Our room at the back of the property was very quiet, but the Wifi signal wasn't good there. However everything else was good, the bed was comfortable, the room was clean, and we slept well every night we were there. Highly recommended as a base to see Cinque Terre, Portovenere and Portofino!

Agriturismo La Collina Verde
Località Sant'Anna, 6
19015 Levanto
La Spezia, Italy
Tel. +39 393 636 7653

We spent our first afternoon in Levanto exploring the town and hanging out at the beach. There were many beachgoers enjoying the sun, sand and water, and I must have stood out as the only Asian there, with a round 5-months pregnant belly to boot. The beach was nice, but nowhere as beautiful as the beaches back home in Perth and basically all along the coastline in Western Australia. It's funny how we could only fully appreciate Perth beaches after living and travelling extensively overseas.

Levanto, where the green hills meets the sea, literally:

The boy having fun with the gritty coarse sand (nothing like the fine sandy beaches in Perth, but the boy knew no better and gleefully played with the sand):

A flower that I've never seen before:

A panorama of the beach at Levanto (click image for larger view):

B&B Carla, Pisa (Italy)

We usually stay at hotels when we travel, but we had such good experiences with bed & breakfast-style accommodations in Italy previously, that I wanted to do the same for our latest trip to Italy last summer. We were in Pisa for only one night, and we stayed at B&B Carla which I'd chosen based on the raving online reviews on both tripadvisor and hostelworld. And what a great choice it was! Carla and Mario were absolutely charming, super-friendly and very hospitable! They picked us up at the airport where we'd arrived from Paris, welcomed us into their gorgeous home and passionately explained their city. Mario even drove us to the main part of Pisa and picked us up again after dinner! The chauffeur service was unexpected and very much appreciated since I was 5 months pregnant travelling with a young child.

Spacious bed for hubby, myself and my expanding belly:

The boy had his own single bed (just visible to the right of the photo). On the table in front of the glass door were packaged breads, water bottles, glasses and teacups:

Lovely fan:

The beautiful Tuscan house is located in the suburbs, and the rooms were fabulously spacious. We were welcomed with biscuits and cakes in the room, and it was convenient having tea and coffee-making facilities in the room. There are four rooms available, but incidentally, we were the only guests in the house because Carla and Mario were closing their B&B services for the summer the next day. I was glad to have just made it in! We had a very comfortable sleep, and ate very well at breakfast the following morning. Though we were only 2 adults and 1 child eating breakfast, Carla provided a large spread for us including several kinds of cakes and biscuits, fresh fruits, salami and cheese. The highlight of breakfast was definitely the cakes and pastries and other baked goods that were sourced freshly made. Carla was also helpful in pointing out safe and unsafe foods for our allergic son. There was a lot of food, and Carla told me to pack some for the train ride to Cinque Terre.

The usual breakfast suspects, including cereals, yogurt, bread and spreads:

Biscuits, tarts, muffins and croissants:

It was truly a pleasure to stay in Carla's and Mario's beautiful home, and B&B Carla is the epitome of what a B&B should be!

B&B Carla
Via Agostino Bertani, 6
Sant'Ermete
56121 Pisa
Italy
Tel. +39 338 368 7405

Fantastic dinner @ Aahh Bali Bed & Breakfast (Jimbaran), Bali

I'm on my final post on our trip to Bali! We were there for a few short days to attend a friend's wedding, and we had a pretty good time! Bali wasn't on our want-to-travel-to list, and I'd expected to dislike how touristy it is, but it is such a family-friendly destination, that even a pregnant mum in her 8th month of pregnancy could not help but enjoy the time with the hubby and 5-year-old kid. Part of what made the trip so memorable was the accommodation we stayed at. I've previously wrote about Aahh Bali B&B, what a great place it is owned by a fantastic couple, and how much we enjoyed the food. The food! Lydia used to be a chef at the Grand Hyatt in Singapore, and the promise of delicious cooking was what sealed the deal for us on deciding to stay here. And ate well, we did. We enjoyed a delicious spread for breakfast every morning, and Lydia's freshly-made pastries were amazing! The B&B's guests could also enjoy Lydia's cooking for dinner, and we had to give them advance notice so that Lydia could go to the market for the food (though you ought to do put in your request earlier, as dinner is pending on Bob and Lydia's schedule, and there are other guests to compete with). We chose our dishes using their online food menu, and sat down to a delicious meal after a full day out. The food was reasonably priced, with starters, soups, salads and desserts at US$4 each, and main courses at US$8 to $15. Each dish was prepared with care using top quality ingredients, and we thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them.

Appetisers

For the boy: Spring Rolls with Lime Chili Sauce - fresh out of the fryer and into our mouths. Crispy but not greasy, and a delicious way to sneak some veges into kids:

Hubby chose the Clam Chowder - deliciously creamy and full of umami goodness:

Mine was the Orange, Avocado and Tomato Salad in Honey Mustard Dressing. What a delicious combination of ingredients:

Mains

The kid enjoyed the Fish Cakes with Pineapple Salsa. Perfectly crispy with no greasiness, offset nicely by the sweet-sour fruity salsa:

Hubby really liked the look of Salmon en Croute Stuffed with Mushroom. And he was not disappointed:

The browned pastry kept the salmon and mushrooms in a nice parcel. It was a little dry, but I can't see how to improve that aspect without making everything soggy (and we all know how unappealing soggy floppy pastry is):

My choice of main course was Seafood Curry with White Rice. This curry was reminiscent of Thai-style tom yum, but not as strongly sour and spicy. It was delicious, with a slight acidic edge from the tamarind, and not too heavy because it wasn't coconut milk-based:

Dessert

A simple Vanilla Ice Cream for the boy, with his choice of sprinkles and topping. We actually didn't order dessert for the boy because he could share ours, but Lydia kindly offered to give him ice cream, and the boy said "Yes please!":

Hubby chose the Chocolate Brownie on Caramel Sauce. Served warm, the brownie was decadent, rich and moist, and the caramel sauce was not too sweet:

When I saw the Banana Fritters with Vanilla Ice Cream on the menu, I knew I had to order it. I have fond memories of eating pisang goreng as a child growing up in Malaysia. This was obviously a more sophisticated version, and the ice cream was a great accompaniment to this beloved street food item:

This dinner was a delicious way to cap off our final night in Bali. We had a great stay and have no hesitations to recommend Aahh Bali B&B as an accommodation. (Bob mentioned that there are plans in the works to open another B&B, also in Bali, and I don't know the fate of this current one, but I'm certain that these guys will maintain a high level of service, wherever they are.)

Aahh Bali Bed & Breakfast
Jl. Uluwatu II
Gg. Tanjung Mekar #9
Jimbaran-Kuta, Bali
Indonesia 80361
Tel. +62-878618-7312
(See their website for more ways to contact them.)

Aahh Bali Bed & Breakfast (Jimbaran), Bali

We are back from our mini-vacation in Bali, and I can now understand why Bali is favoured by so many tourists, especially Aussies. The people are friendly, everything is cheaper than home (though I've been told that Bali is getting more and more expensive with time), and it's very foreigner-friendly. My friend's wedding was to be held at the gorgeous Ayana, and we would have loved to stay there, but having spent most of our annual travel budget on our recent trip to France and Italy, we needed to be money-sensible. I looked around the area for nearby accommodations, and found Aahh Bali Bed & Breakfast, which looked like the perfect place for our family to stay for four nights. The house is run by a lovely couple - an American expat, Bob, and his gorgeous petite partner, Lydia - and they really did try their hardest to make sure that we were as comfortable as can be. They were kind enough to lend hubby a suit for the wedding, and our almost-5-years-old boy could fit into one of Lydia's black jacket (she's really quite petite!). It's no Ayana, but our room was large and spacious (our boy had his own bed in a separate area), the breakfasts were fantastic, and four nights at this B&B cost about the same as one night at the Ayana! Location-wise, the B&B is an easy taxi ride to the Jimbaran Bay area, and Bob was happy to organise transport to wherever we wanted to go that day. Using taxis and getting driven around is not how we usually travel, but I was quite happy to be relaxing on a trip for once, as it is not easy travelling when 7 months pregnant.

Our breakfast table, right outside our room door:

This B&B even has a small pool!

What really sealed the deal on this place for me is the fact that Lydia used to be a chef at the Grand Hyatt in Singapore. There are only great reviews of her food on tripadvisor. We also got to enjoy her cooking for dinner one night, and I will write about that soon. For now, here are photos of the various food items we enjoyed for breakfast over the four days that we were there. Lydia wakes up at 4am everyday to prepare fresh pastries for breakfast, and we enjoyed different types each day.

Freshly baked doughnuts with luscious chocolate icing and sprinkles:

Freshly baked muffins on another day:

Apple bread that was more cake-like than bread-like, and so delicious with the crumble topping:

There was also a flaky chocolate pastry on one of the mornings, but I wasn't feeling well that day and failed to take photos of breakfast (hubby and the kid loved it). In addition to the pastries, we were served fresh fruits, juice or coffee/tea, and we could choose from a menu various items that are cooked to order. Delicious!

Omelette with the lot:

Scrambled eggs with toast:

French toast with maple syrup:

Quiche with the lot (this one needs to be ordered the day before) - I really liked the pastry crust on this quiche:

Crepes with cinnamon (and maple syrup on the side, not pictured):

Waffle (with maple syrup on the side, not pictured):

I realised that I took a lot of photos of the food, but none of our room! There are lots of photos on their website if you're keen to take a look. We stayed in Room A (deluxe) which was perfect for our family. We know where we're staying when we come back to Bali in the future!

Aahh Bali Bed & Breakfast
Jl. Uluwatu II
Gg. Tanjung Mekar #9
Jimbaran-Kuta, Bali
Indonesia 80361
Tel. +62-878618-7312
(See their website for more ways to contact them.)