Hilton Garden Inn Puchong

It must had been more than a decade since I stayed in any Hilton hotel until recently I had a meeting at Hilton Garden Inn Puchong. The hotel location is a bit odd and surrounded by housing area and a small commercial area just a stone's throw away.

The lobby is located on the 6th floor which is spacious and have a wide window view of Puchong. 

The room here is one of the most comfortable room I ever stayed in my many years of travelling in Malaysia. The air condition temperature can be effectively controlled. The bed and pillow firmness are just right for me. Complimentary wifi speed is not as good as expected.

Access to room floor is by scanning room card at the elevator reader. Since there are only 3 elevators at the hotel, the wait can be annoying during peak hour or when 1 unit of the elevator breaks down.

Bedroom view is either the lake or Puchong township view. Not much of a stunning view but still a good view of Puchong.

There is only one restaurant here on the 6th floor and the breakfast choices here are one of the best I ever had in recent years.

As I was having meeting here for 3 days, the chef had prepared special menu for both lunch and dinner for us with different theme everyday.

The hotel is also equipped with gym and swimming pool on the 6th floor. They ain't big or fantastic but they are well maintained.

Function rooms are located on the 7th floor with modern amenities and equipment. 

The hotel is connected with a shopping mall, M-Square which is pretty much shuttered down right now due to the effect of the pandemic. With some short walk, there is an LRT station (Puchong Perdana) which can provide affordable public transportation access to KL and its surrounding area.

Sunny Hill Ice Cream

I have heard a lot about this famous ice cream shop in Kuching but never had the opportunity to try what it is famous for. The opportunity presented itself one day as I was staying at Roxy Hotel, which is just beside the shop.

This is the plan view of the shop taken from the Cha Cha Restaurant at Roxy Hotel. It appears to have a connecting walkway to the adjacent Sunny Hill School.

It has an old school canteen sitting arrangement. Not many places to be seated if the places is fully crowded.

The ice cream choices here come in cone, sundae, cup, float, sandwich, banana split and special. 

I opted for the medium cup (RM 5.50) in vanilla flavor (there was only vanilla and corn flavor on the day). I find the ice cream somewhat comforting with its milky, soft and smooth texture. It is a simple and honest ice cream which I will come back for again. 

Roxy Hotel Kuching

Roxy Hotel Kuching located at the 3rd mile is where the once popular Roxy cinema was stood. The old Roxy cinema had been demolished and the new hotel which replaced the previous structure still retains its legacy.

Wood and timber are used mainly as the theme for its interior decoration. The lobby area is kind of dark during late evening and night as the lights are not usually fully turned on.

The superior queen room (RM 126) is clean and spacious for 1 guest. The pillows are a bit high for my liking and the shower drainage need to be maintained as water does not cleared away fast enough while taking shower and create water retention.

Complimentary breakfast is served at Cha Cha restaurant on 7th floor. Breakfast starts at 6.30am and ended somewhat earlier at 9am. The choices of food is rather limited but the taste is  still acceptable.

There is nothing much to shout out in term of view from the hotel except the busy road and the flyover. The roads here are very congested during peak hour.

The famous Sunny Hill Ice Cream shop is just beside the hotel. There are some eateries and convenient shop nearby the hotel.

Castle Townstay, Kapit

Castle Townstay is another accommodation I tried in my last experience in Kapit. As the inn I intended to stay had fully booked, I had no choice but to try other accommodation that was available. My first impression of the hotel is like any other shop houses accommodation in Kapit.

This place do not have any check in counter or anyone manning the accommodation. One will have to walk to Andy Emporium Company (beside Famous Bakery) to pay for the room and get the keys. One benefit of staying at this place is that they do not collect any deposit beforehand.

The labelling of the rooms here are one of its kind. Instead of each room given a number, it is given alphabet and each room is given a name of a person.

Depending on the room, the rate ranges from RM 50-120. I opted for Room B which comes with a rate of RM 75 per day. The room is small but should not be an issue if staying alone. The room and bathroom is reasonable clean. It isn't noisy outside after late evening and at night.

Water dispenser machine is readily available at the pantry at the common area. This is something I didn't expect from such accommodation.

When it comes to accommodation in Kapit, one should not have high expectation of the options which are available here. Castle Townstay still able to offer a decent place to bunk in and I have no problem coming back here again in the future.