The Everly Hotel, Putrajaya, Malaysia

The Everly Hotel sits in Putrajaya, the government capital of Malaysia. Our purpose was for a brief family get-together and we stayed for one night. We wanted to stay somewhere other than KL. (One of the reasons I justified to myself was that it would give me something else new to blog about!) Putrajaya is 30-40 minutes drive away and presents something different. And we were pleased with our choice!

The Everly Hotel is one of those hotels that have a modern look, clean and tidy public areas and comfortable rooms, for a very reasonable price that won't hurt your wallet.

Front Desk at the lobby, The Everly Hotel, Putrajaya

The lobby area at The Everly Hotel, Putrajaya. We stayed there the night after MH370 went missing, so a lot of the families were there too. Cameramen and media crews were swarming the hotel, camping out in the lobby.

Our room at The Everly Hotel, Putrajaya

Wash basin area of the bathroom

The view from our room at The Everly Hotel, Putrajaya

Elevator lobby at The Everly Hotel, Putrajaya

We had buffet dinner here in the hotel restaurant, which cost RM30/person. And though the food selection was rather small, it did taste good and we enjoyed a good meal.

Dinner with family at The Everly Hotel, Putrajaya

Tour of MS Garden Hotel, Kuantan

I was taken on a tour of the MS Garden Hotel here in Kuantan this afternoon after lunch with some of the management of the hotel.

This arrangement was set up by a new friend, John Kars, who lives in Australia with his wife Beverley. They are here in Kuantan on holiday and stumbled upon my blog recently. Impressed with my blog's content, John commented and we met last week. 

Today we enjoyed lunch and a chat with Azam-Executive Assistant Manager, Kathy-Director of Sales, and Christina-Senior Sales Manager. We were also accompanied by John and Beverley. The staff were very friendly and we enjoyed a chit-chat over lunch. Christina took Lauren for a little walk around the hotel while waiting for the food to arrive.

After lunch, John and Beverley took Fidelia and the children up to their room while I was shown around the MS Garden Hotel by Kathy and Christina, who have both been with MS Garden Hotel for 14 years, since its beginnings. They are pioneers there!

A typical Executive Room. I was amazed by how spacious they are. My type of room!

The accompanying bathroom. There is a shower out of the picture to the right.

And here is a Premier Room, where VIPs stay:

Here is a panorama of the bedroom with attached balcony and bathroom. This was taken from the sliding doors which separate it from the rest of the unit.

Here is the panoramic view of the living room area. That's Kathy at the sliding doors, unaware she was in the picture!

Here are two views of the master bathroom, and I wouldn't mind bathing in there!

I personally loved it...

MS Garden also boasts a fully equipped surau, or Muslim prayer room on the Mezzanine floor

The Fitness Centre is open to hotel guests only and is inclusive of the stay there. So you could spend all day in the jacuzzi . . .

. . . or work out for as long as you like in the gym:

Restaurant Seri Suria on the Lower Ground Floor specialising in Malay Cuisine

Just outside the restaurant is the swimming pool featuring the famous waterfall over a cluster of large rocks.

And a panoramic view of the pool:

Kathy and Christina then showed me the Heritage Room, which was very interesting as the history of Pahang was displayed in photos as early as the 1920's onwards.

Wall Street, Kuantan, 1928 . . .

and in 2011 . . . 

Angelo's cafe at the lobby, a great recent addition to MS Garden Hotel

The milkshakes looked and tasted great!

We snapped this picture of us 4 hours later at the end of our meeting. L-R: Christina, Beverley, Lauren, John, Duncan, Fidelia, Leah and Kathy