On September 7, after attending our best friends Joel & Alicia's wedding lunch, we checked ourselves into Marriott Hotel for our first staycation with baby Rynus.Staycation at local hotel has became our yearly family event, and we usually do it twice a year, because it's simply easier than flying overseas with the 2 boys. Talking about that, I just remembered that baby Rynus does not have his own passport! Lazy mummy better work on that before our next overseas trip! Some might think it's a waste of money to bring young kids for hotel stays, but to me, I believe it's an eye opener and great exposure for them. Renzo knows some hotels require room card to access the lift, which I am pretty sure many adults are not aware of.
With our Marriott Vacation Club Membership, we are privileged to enjoy hotel stays at 7 club resorts, 28 club connection hotels, or even more than 2000 timeshare resorts in 75 countries around the world. We celebrated Renzo's first birthday at Marriott Mai Khao beach club in Phuket, we stayed at Ritz Carlton Shanghai for his 2nd birthday, and we went to Ritz Carlton Singapore for his 3rd birthday as Mummy was pregnant with baby Rynus by then. In fact, when we attended our friends' wedding in Bali this April, we also stayed in Courtyard Marriott so in another word, our recently hotel stays were either Marriott, or Ritz Carlton, that's the way to fully utilize our club membership points since it doesn't come cheap anyway, LOL..
I knew long ago that Marriott has smaller hotel rooms, as compared to Ritz Carlton, so I wasn't expecting much and I just thought their superb location will compensate. Well to certain extend, it's true because we could afford to take a stroll around Orchard area for a couple of hours before the shops close at late night. But in all honesty, their hotel rooms are really dull with outdated interiors, and almost zero scenic views as we were given a room on the 5th floor. I thought I made a wise choice to upgrade the room to a premier suite with a living room area and a massage bathtub. Or else I really couldn't imagine how much the kids would enjoy most of their time inside the room.
We did not opt to add in the breakfast at a discounted price of SGD80 for 2 before tax, usual price is SGD90 for 2 before tax and I've heard lots of great reviews about their wide spread and quality food. I have no doubt in that after trying out their 12 bucks chocolate cake (almost as big as a standard log cake) Renzo insisted to get at their cafe. I am never a chocolate cake fan but I found it pretty impressive.
Rynus was curious about the new environment throughout the stay. It's pretty fun to see him climbing up and down, and hanging on the bed for dear life most of the time. Renzo is not a rookie anymore, he even commented that he prefers his own new house, and Ritz Carlton hotel is his favorite. The best gain of this stay, was the 2 videos we took while the boys splashing water like crazy in the massage bathtub, which I am secretly planning to include in their wedding montage one day. But for now, let's look forward to Rynus' first staycation at Ritz Carlton Singapore in one month time, well yes I've made booking for that and it will be Renzo's 3rd stay there!!
