I think I have mentioned earlier, probably more than once, that on the first three nights of our holiday in the peninsula, we stayed at the airport hotel that I like very much as it is affordable, comfortable enough with everything I would need, prompt efficient service and breakfast is provided starting at 5.30 a.m. and actually, if you go sometime after 5, there would be things to eat already unlike at other hotels where you would need to starve till 6.30 or at some, 7 even.
The buffet spread was pretty much the same as on the previous occasions when I stayed here though – I went on the first morning we were there and I had their nasi lemak…
…along with a few other things. It was a bit early so there was no sign of the hard-boiled eggs and I had to make do with the not-that-nicely-done scrambled ones…and of course, the rice did not come anywhere near what we have at the kampung stall here in Sibu.
For my second helping, I had the waffles, one egg – sunny side up and some papayas…
My missus got up a bit later and went on her own as Melissa would rather go on sleeping till it was time to get up and get ready to go for the briefing and rehearsal for her convocation at Putrajaya. The second morning, none of us went as we had to be up early to get ready to go for the big event that day…and on the third day, my missus and Melissa went while I decided to give it a miss as I was “busy” online…and besides, if you may recall from my earlier posts, we had a lot of nice things to eat in the room.
There is a nice swimming pool too at this hotel. Of course, I did not go – not in the horrendously scorching hot weather that they were experiencing over there at the time but somebody did and had a whole lot of fun. Too bad they did not have a pool at the hotel where we moved to…
…on the 4th day there, adjoining the mega mall in the city. Checking in was a breeze…
…as I had made my reservations and paid for everything online – it only took a few seconds before we were on the way to our room…with the eager-beaver, ever-ready-to-help bellhop tagging along with our luggage.
We stayed here a few times before when Melissa was smaller/younger and the rooms were very small then but it was all right in those days as all three of us could sleep in a queen-size bed without any problem…but this time around, I opted for a deluxe room…
…and I had an extra bed put in so we would be more comfortable throughout the rest of our stay…
Not only was the room big but the bathroom was very spacious too…
…and there was a big flat screen tv and a mini-bar which thankfully was empty so I could keep all my perishable edibles in it till it was time to fly back home, bringing all that stuff with us.
This was the view from the room…
I had read in some travel website that we should request for a room facing the city so we would get this view instead…
…(which was what we would get to see from the lift lobby) but I did not bother as I would not be spending my time sitting by the window all day gazing out at the scenery anyway.
Service was excellent. Within minutes upon checking in, somebody came sending the extra bed (and a pillow and an extra towel) that I had requested for. I asked for an extra pillow and the guy told me that there were two in the closet but I said that I would want one more. I had just closed the door after he had gone out when there was a knock…and there he was – with the pillow! Boy, I sure was impressed.
My missus and Melissa loved this hotel as they could go out browsing around the shops and supermarkets and departmental stores all day but usually, I would very much prefer to laze around in the room…and maybe go online. Thus, whenever we went out for breakfast – the room rate was not inclusive of breakfast at this hotel, I would come back first and nothing would please me more than a room that had been nicely cleaned, everything spick and span.
The first morning I was there, I put in a request at the reception counter as it seems to me that at most hotels, they would clean the rooms where the guests have checked out so that they could allocate those to the new guests checking in that day…and they would do all the other rooms later. When I came back to the room that first morning when we were there, I found that they did not waste time to see to what I had wanted…and I found this note on the writing table…
If I remember correctly, they did this too at their sister hotel in Penang and I certainly was impressed by her good English. There was just a little slip in the use of the present perfect. I saw her outside later – an old lady…or let’s say, she certainly wasn’t young, kind of matronly and very polite and friendly…and I gave her a few ringgit for a cuppa.
The next morning, when I came back from breakfast, she was cleaning a room a few doors away and when she saw me, she quickly came to apologise as she had not done my room yet. I said it was perfectly all right and I went out again for a while and minutes later, when I returned, the room was already done.
Since that morning, for the rest of our stay, our room would definitely be nice and clean everytime after my breakfast…and everytime I saw her when I was going out or coming back, she would be full of smiles and not fail to greet me and carry on a bit of small talk. The day before we left, I found another note in the room…
The error with the present perfect was still there and the past tense was used when it wasn’t needed and I guess she would need some help with her punctuation as well…and there should be a gerund after “looking forward to” but that would come as no surprise as many students simply could not master that…and in fact, I’ve heard some deejays on the radio making that error as well sometimes. Still, I would categorise her command of the language as excellent (and she can spell “tomorrow” correctly, pat on the back!)…compared to the kids we have in our schools and institutions of higher learning these days , I’m afraid to say.
We checked out after 5 nights at this hotel and all I had to do was to inform the girl at the desk at the time and leave – all she needed was just a split second for her to check on her computer and then tell me ever so pleasantly that everything had been settled, thank you very much and goodbye. With that kind of very friendly and efficient service, I certainly would not think twice about staying here again…should I ever get the chance.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I stayed at the Gardens too! But it had a pool when I was there back in 2012…..did they close it? I was a brat when I made my reservations, I included a note for the following – “Please leave drawing of dinosaur on desk. Thank you! :)” but in response I received this from their Reservations Manager – “Reference to your special request, allow us to clarify further on your request. Please be informed that hotel does not provide drawing of dinosaur.” LOL They think I am crazy I suppose 🙂 I request the same thing each time at different hotels around the world, and some would comply and make my day 🙂
This was Cititel. This one and Boulevard are in the same place with Gardens, Gardens being the most expensive. Wah!!!! Kaya raya hor!!! Got class one! Hehehehehe!!!! I did not confirm but the previous times I stayed at Cititel, I remember they did not have a swimming pool. Hmmmm…poor PR. Wouldn’t cost much to buy a little toy dinosaur…or at least print out a picture of a nice one online in living colour.
Alamak! I figured I saw 3 hotels and I just picked one LOL! I was lazy and didn’t check up on the prices…aduh…..Takde kaya raya…just lazy 🙂 A hotel in Singapore complied and even drew me fun pictures every day just because they could!
Ya, that’s the way it should be. The customer is always right! Hotels here must seem extremely cheap to you, after converting to U$$. Not the Singapore ones though – all sooooo expensive, even the small miserable out-of-the-way ones.
I think that played into why I wasn’t too concerned with the price tag for when I was in KL, but in Singapore, we had to fork out about S$2000 for 7 days!
SIN or US? If SIN, I must say that was cheap. It was a classy hotel – the one where the freak storm blew all the chairs into the swimming pool, right? I checked online – even those shophouse kind of hotel would be some SIN$300 a night > RM750!!!! I paid around RM2000 too for 8 nights at the two hotels.
You are right! It was US$2000 LOL….oh man, now I feel broke
Easy come, easy go…. Plenty more where it came from. Hehehehehe!!!!
Great view from the room! And ya, thank goodness you weren’t staying here this past week instead, otherwise those beautifully clear scenery shots would be shrouded in a gray haze. And oooo, the breakfast food looks good! I’d wake up 30 minutes early to grab a couple of plates of that, for sure 😀
Would probably feel like Genting, all surrounded by clouds. LOL!!! 😀
Breakfast at that hotel is always pretty good, no complaints…but you get pretty much the same at all similar hotels. Nothing special, smells the same, tastes the same – nothing much to look forward to after having had such hotel breakfasts frequently enough. Their coffee’s good though – freshly ground and brewed! I’d usually have two cups!
Y U WOKE SO EARLY =.=
the room at cititel is nice!
i love hotel’s bed.. so fluffy and so nice to sleep on one! hehe
Old man. I usually sleep early – 9 or 10…but even if I sleep late, I would wake up early. But I need a nap after lunch though – 10-15 minutes. Ya, the bed was very comfortable.
Breakfast looks good. What caught my attention was the 2 heart warming notes. Never in my life do I come across anything like this. It certainly makes your day & stay more pleasant & comfortable. Nice view from the room.
Ya, that impressed me the most. Just shows that a little gesture can really go a long way! Wish we could have more of this every day in our lives.
Yap! I agreed with Irene Tan about the 2 heart warming notes. This is “Blue Ocean Strategy”. It makes you feel like coming back to stay in that hotel.
It certainly does…and instead of having a questionnaire in the room like most other hotels (and nobody ever bothers about it), they sent a personal email of thanks…and a questionnaire for your ratings on this and that. Nice!
Looks like you had a very pleasant stay and I am impressed that the maid left very courteous notes too. Great personalised service and any guest would be very happy with that.
I most certainly was. Very happy! The 5-star one where I stayed once at Sultan Ismail would come nowhere near this one.
Nice hotel and the room is spacious as well.
Very nice…and very convenient too – everything you want is there, no need to venture out into the horrible KL jam and get stuck for hours.
I stayed in Cititel before too..but the room was quite small… nothing as big as your deluxe.. anyway, it is very convenient staying there.. can shop till drop.. hahaha.. so, did you leave some tips for the cleaner lady? 🙂
I gave her the first morning after the first note…and some more before I left. I also gave her special mention in the review that I wrote in reply to the email I got from the hotel. Yes, they had very small rooms before…slightly bigger than a queen-size bed…no closet, just a rail to hang your clothes…and a plank along the window – that was your writing cum dressing table. I don’t see that in the hotel website anymore – maybe they’ve renovated and upgraded the rooms – even the cheaper ones (less than RM200 a night).
I must agree that this hotel is very convenient if you want to roam around Midvalley. But getting to KL oso not a big problem, because the Komuter Station is there. The pricing is quite okay too. Ya..the standard room is kinda small. I’ve stayed before at Boulevard and Gardens Hotel too…Gardens Hotel has the nicest room. But of cos rate oso higher lor…. :-p
BTW…that is such a lovely note.
Not sure if the standard is the same as the one I used to know – looks a lot bigger and nicer in the photos.
I used to stay in BB and take a cab here – RM10 only… May be more now but I stopped coming as the jam used to be horrible. Had to come early before the shops opened…and had to get out before the late evening crowd came in. Not very convenient to drop by.
Love that personal touch of the note. Lovely!
Indeed! Little things mean a lot…
Yup yup yup nice nice pool
Next time I stay there, can go swimming again…
Fuiyo got love letter from the maid ah…now hotels getting more “personalise” to attract guests.
Only this one…so far.
I agree, the room and bathroom are spacious! Neat also!
Very big room…and very big bathroom. Nice and clean, loved it!
Wah! STP is so detailed about the grammar mistake.
Occupational hazard. Once an English teacher, always an English teacher. Old habits die hard.
STP, did you write and praise the cleaner to the management in the survey form.
If you do, she gets extra points that will help her with her bonus. 🙂
Of course I did! I do hope she gets something – she deserves it. I also wrote a good review on the hotel on tripadvisor.
what a nice touch on the notes! doesn’t matter on the grammar to me but the fact that she wrote this is extremely sweet. Its little touches like this that really makes a stay so welcoming… I will definitely keep this hotel in mind too! 🙂
Ya, just a few slips…and for someone like her, a chambermaid/housekeeping, I am sure she did not have much schooling but her command of the language is amazing – compared to the people today after so many years of studying the language in school. She really puts all of them to shame! Ya, it is a good place to stay, that’s for sure.
aiyo, such a nice gesture from the hotel, handwritten notes for the Sibu Food Mayor.. why the English Teacher is complaining about her English?? maybe you should suggest the hotel manager about you giving English tuition to the staff, then you can stay in KL and earn money~~ 😀
They do that in one hotel in Miri, a retired college lecturer teaching English to the staff members. This hotel, I don’t think they need any coaching – all of them speak very good English even the guys at the concierge desk. The ones at the airport hotel may not be as fluent but they all can converse well enough. I think I only encountered one, housekeeping staff, who had a problem communicating – a foreigner, if I’m not mistaken.
And excuse me! I’m not complaining about her English. In fact, I’m praising her to the skies. You should see some of the students’ work these days after it has been marked by the teacher – all full of blood like someone shot with a machine gun! Many are not even comprehensible, I tell you – in an examiner’s technical terms, “meaning cannot be deciphered”. It’s THAT serious!
First time seeing a note from the housekeeping staff. So impressed!
I was too. VERY impressed. That’s why I took photographs and went through the trouble of blogging about it.
the maid, the lost ring, … hmm…
What? What? Don’t let your imagination run wild now… Tsk! Tsk! 😀
handwritten note?? That’s very sweet of the management.
Brilliant! Such gestures will definitely not go unappreciated.
I have stayed in so many hotels but nobody wrote a note for me before….sob sob.
I do agree that English is a hard-to-master language. Personally, I don’t think I’m good at grammar and I do appreciate someone looking at what I’ve written and comment on it. 🙂
Perfect, no error – 100%. And you used “good at”… Excellent! Most people will say “good in” – Malaysian English. Bravo! Bravo!
Wow….didn’t know they provide such good service at Cititel Hotel. My mum stay there once few years ago, i went and visit her, the room was so small! Maybe they have just upgrade the room? Hmmm…this morning one of my close friend just told me, she is joining this hotel next month, i told her, my friend just blog about this hotel with the superb good service! Next time i must check with her, is the housekeeping staffs do this to all their guests or just you get the special treatment. kekekeke.
The standard room where I used to stay was very very small – ok if travelling alone. Oh? So your friend is going to work there. Can get special VIP treatment, room upgrades? Hehehehehe!!!!! Dunno if the other guests got the notes too or not…
The little note is so lovely!!! Like it!!! =]
Yes, real sweet. Nice touch!
well, the foods was very appetizing, most especially that waffle!
hmm you have a great view there, I kinda like that first view than the other
the room looks simple yet cozy huh
My sentiments exactly. I thought the first view with the river and the greenery looked a lot better than the city view – a concrete jungle. 😦 The room’s very nice – I would say it was nothing really grand but it was definitely more than simple or basic unlike some of the small ones where I have stayed before.
You’re lucky that you aren’t here in KL now; there’s such a terrible haze that I’m not sure if you’ll be able to look at the scenery from the hotel room. Ooh, that’s such a great service provided by the hotel. Now, was the hotel rate expensive?
I agree with you; some of the kids nowadays can’t write in proper English. =/
The sun shines wherever I go…like on my trip to NZ. Beautiful weather when I was there – thank goodness it was not hazy then. The room rate was all right for a hotel of this standard and location.
Aargh. I have to agree on the level of English taught in schools these days. Some students have told me that they don’t understand the story they read, and also did not understand the questions. When I asked one of them why he did not ask me for help, he replied, “Err…. tak tau, lah Cikgu…” O find that the students who do speak English well either attend private school or have a parent who is not Malaysian!
There’s the environment to consider – nobody uses the language around them…and then of course, they’re not motivated to learn as at this stage in life, they do not see the significance. Even here, when I was teaching, there were students who were against learning English and would refuse to use it in conversation – they would tell you, “We are Chinese!” These days, it is very much worse as everyone speaks Mandarin everywhere here plus they study only to excel in exams, nothing else…so you can imagine the general standard of English now.
Jacky, the student might have read lots of English literature classics or novels, too. =)
Those would come from English-friendly home environment. They are exposed to the language all their lives right from small. Not many of them here, I’m afraid.
This might be true also. Regardless, it’s not due to their government funded education!
It is an old and wise Chinese saying that says that you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. I pity the teachers trying so hard but it is like flogging a dead horse or some of the teachers, at least. That’s why I gave up a VERY lucrative income teaching English after I retired – I was getting more than what I used to get for my monthly salary as a government employed teacher. It became a real chore, absolutely boring and most unrewarding (other than monetarily, that is). I used to enjoy teaching so much…some years back but times have changed. The students are not the same anymore.
Beautiful city view from your hotel room. The breakfast looks wholesome!
Ya, nice views all round. The breakfast was all right at the other hotel – standard buffet spread that you would find at most hotels of this standard, nothing really special.
Btw, you’re new here too, I see. Thanks for dropping by…and do come again. Always welcome.
Hi, very nice and comfortable hotel, so heart warming with handwritten note. The waffles look delicious. Thanks for sharing the very well taken pictures.
Ya, the waffles were pretty good. I enjoyed my stay there throughout, very nice. You’re most welcome.
I absolutely adore hotels with management that bother to put in a personal touch! I remember being pleasantly delighted when I checked into a hotel in KLIA a few years back where the manager left a letter addressed to me on the coffee table. That alone made me feel that they are worthy of the 5 stars. Sometimes it’s the tiny touches that count.
Couldn’t agree more. The sister hotel to this one in Penang, when I checked in the 2nd time, there was a plate of apples on the coffee table, complimentary from the management. Little things do mean a lot…
P.S.
Hey, how are you, my friend? Where are you now? Your ex-teacher just PM-ed me yesterday as she found out that you no longer have an account there…and of course, I was unaware of it. Hope you’re doing well, do get in touch…sometimes. My number’s still the same. 😉
Cititel Midv! my favourite hotel. easy to book and pay and even checkout. Wah they left a note these days? niceeeee… hope Robiah gets the Employee of the Month award. Good job!
I certainly hope so. Liked it a lot, very nice.