Revisiting Hanoi - The Sheraton Hanoi @ Westlake

My family and I were in Hanoi last weekend for our last holiday before I deliver our newest family member. I must say that this is a highly anticipated holiday because I love the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and besides, I’ve long wanted to show my family what surprises Hanoi has to offer.

Our flight arrived at Hanoi at 8:50am, long after the denizens of Hanoi has woken up and had their first bowl of hot steaming pho. After about 40 minutes by car, we arrived at our hotel, the Sheraton Hanoi. Amidst the hustle and bustle and the endless honking of cars, Sheraton Hanoi stood out like a welcomed oasis by the West Lake. Being in this location has its advantages and I think it is a perfect getaway after being in the city with its endless honking.

I had earlier emailed Ms. Kim Lien from Customer Service that my husband and I will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary and had gotten a confirmation right away that they will surprise us. What a surprise it turned out to be! We had a room with a view of the beautiful West Lake and our bed is decorated with rose petals and a lovely cake as well as a congratulatory letter from the hotel. There were candles on the night stand as well as rose petals in the bath. Truly romantic! Like all Starwood properties, The Sheraton has the requisite amenities to keep guests comfortable. It has a very welcoming pool with a pagoda and a very unique dragon shower. Take a little walk to the other side and you’ll be greeted with a moongate and a tranquil courtyard and lush gardens. I would have been perfectly happy here just sipping a cup of strong Vietnamese coffee. There’s also a gym and tennis court in the hotel grounds. What makes the Sheraton Hanoi truly stand out is its staff. They were all genuinely warm and friendly and were more than happy to accommodate us (me especially with my endless enquiries and requests). We’ve stayed at many hotels in many countries and I must say, the staff at Sheraton Hanoi is top-notch. This is exactly what 5-star service should be.

Beautiful moments with Rara

Say hello to Rara, Sheraton Krabi Resort’s resident baby elephant. Rara comes out to play with guests daily at 10:00am and 3:00pm for an hour each time. And boy, does she play! She frolics in the sea with the guests ……
Kisses them with her trunk …… Walks with the guests by holding their hands with her trunk … Lets them give her a bath …. Raises them on her trunk ….. And takes them on rides to the beach …. We literally waited out at the beach everyday for Rara to make her grand appearance at the beach. She’s incredibly tame and cute. The little children loved her, as well as the adults!

The mahouts obviously adore their cute charge. They feed her with bananas, cajole her to kiss the guests, mockingly chide her for stealing bananas from the bag. It is such a joy to see Rara and her mahouts interacting so perfectly. My daughter loved spending time with Rara so much that when we checked out of the resort, she cried all the way to the airport which was a 30 minute drive away. Big tears for a baby elephant that she missed so much! We’ve assured her that Rara is well-taken cared of, and promised her that we’ll return one day to visit. I certainly can’t wait to go back myself to see Rara. A visit with Rara is almost magical and we’re fortunate to have had so many sweet memories with her.

Fun in the sun at Sheraton Krabi Resort

We celebrated our daughter’s 7th birthday recently in Krabi. We booked the Sheraton Krabi Resort as we thought it would be an interesting experience for our daughter to celebrate her birthday with Sheraton’s resident baby elephant.

The drive from Krabi airport to Sheraton took about 30 minutes through quaint little villages framed by limestone cliffs.

Sheraton Krabi is situated on the exclusive Klong Muang Beach. The lobby was wide and airy and affords guests a view of the beautiful sparkling blue sea. We were welcomed with glasses of chilled lemongrass tea and cool towels folded into the shape of a flower.

Our room is located on the E block which is just a short walk from the lobby but we were ushered into a buggy to be taken to our room nevertheless.

The room came with a king-sized bed and a daybed as well as views of the garden and sea and came with all the amenities which I’ve come to associate with Sheraton.

There are two infinity pools at the resort with deck chairs for guests to lounge in. We were there during low season so there were not many guests at the resort which was great for us! I thought the shower stations at the poolside were cute coz the shower head came in the shape of a crab! I especially loved the hammocks at the beach. It’s wonderful to just lie on the hammock and let the sea breeze lull me to sleep!

The beach was very clean and the sand, white and powdery. The waters were clean and clear too. There’s a Mandara Spa in the resort for those who likes a relaxing massage during the holidays. As Sheraton is also located in the middle of a mangrove forest we had an interesting time looking for crabs, bats, fireflies and fishes!

We even found a puffer fish which was washed up during high-tide! As always, the Kids Club at Starwood Resorts don’t disappoint. Our daughter had her hair braided by the Kids Club Shift leader, Ms. Panda Areechon who was very friendly and professional. I’ve emailed the hotel ahead that Ashley will be celebrating her birthday there, so they arranged for a nice chocolate cake and presents for her. She was surprised with all the attention and absolutely thrilled! It was her best birthday celebration ever and we have Sheraton to thank for it. I am really glad we chose the Sheraton Krabi Resort for our holiday. It’s one of the best we’ve had!