OK here we go with my
Hong Kong post series! This rowdy bunch touched down at noon last Friday, ready to begin our four days of fun. Let me first do a quick intro of the
Singapore Blog Award 2010 winners who came for the trip hosted by the
Hong Kong Tourism Board. From left to right -
Violet, Geck Geck, Gin, Pete, Darren, me, Lawrence, Sze Ping and Jerome. Elaine joined us the second day. Photo taken by Alvin of omy.sg, I think? I borrowed it from our
HK Travellers Facebook page.
We did not come in this, of course.
We had a nice and very smooth flight on Cathay Pacific. Had to be bright and early at the airport - none of us got much sleep the night before, and some were still on Facebook excitedly saying, "see you in a few hours!"
But tired as I was, I could not sleep on the plane. Watched "How to Train Your Dragon" plus an episode of Scrubs or so.
Breakfast omelette that was not too bad. The alternative was congee, and I just had a hunch this would be better.
We soon arrived at
The Mira (118 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui), ranked among "Coolest New Hotels in the World" by Conde Nast Traveller. Love the vintage London cab parked out front with the licence plate "The Mira" - I hear it actually runs!
The hotel is named after a giant red star in the Cetus constellation. Mira also means "foresight" in Spanish and "perfect, peaceful and prosperous" in Latin. And by chance, my World of Warcraft main character is called Miraviel, and gamers there would always call me Mira.
Anticipation was high as most of us had seen its
website which shows a really posh, stylish and modern hotel. Would the photos match what we would see?
Oh yes! Pretty much. The dark glass doors belie a spacious entrance with wavy designer accents. Everything here looks new - it was renovated last year and reopened in Sept 2009.
They ushered us to a secluded lounge area to process our check-in papers, and served us little cones of flavoured whipped cream, along with cold hand towels to help us freshen up.
The rooms are the epitome of contemporary chic, complete with original Arne Jacobsen egg chairs. Yes!
The hotel prides itself on being high tech - so at your work desk you have an array of gadgets including an all-in-one infotainment centre, and Bose speakers with iPod dock (it charges my iPhone too).
This is the all-in-one Sony Entertainment Centre, Blu-ray DVD player, and personal computer. You can surf, email, go on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, anything online using the huge screen TV as your monitor. Best of all - with the wireless keyboard, you can do all this from comfort of the luxurious bed.
They even give you a Nokia mobile phone that's cloned to your room phone - you can take it anywhere with you, and people can reach you by calling your room! That is freaking amazing. This feature is so new, most of us didn't realise it until the second day when Violet demonstrated it to us at lunch.
But wait, the geek in me in getting ahead of one of the most welcoming features.
A boatload of fresh, juicy sweet lychees, strawberries and trio of desserts greeted us in the room. We all felt so pampered! Surprise and delight the customer? Check!
I really liked the macarons (lemon and green tea respectively) too. Sweet but not sickeningly so, as some macarons tend to be.
Full set of cutlery and plates, some minibar snacks and drinks all loaded in the drawer in front of the TV.
The room is really spacious by Hong Kong standards. The glass partitions between bedroom and bathroom adds an air of openness in more ways than one.
But of course, you can also have the silver shutters down for privacy if you wish. There are even controls for mood lighting, and a TV (I haven't quite figured out where it is, but I'm not one to find TV useful in a bath).
Rainbath! Nuff said!
The pampering continues via Salvatore Ferragamo "Tuscan Soul" bath goodies. These smell so divine!
Gorgeous mirrored vanity area - I learned too late that the top where the supplies are actually slides to cover the sink! So you and your partner can share the grooming space if need be. Nice touch!
Loved the bathrobes - silky soft on the outside, and absorbent terry cotton on the inside. Wear them inside out if you prefer!
Oh yes, forgot to mention the award-winning
MiraSpa, an 18,000 square feet haven with indoor infinity-edge pool and fitness centre.
And in the early evenings, they give you a chocolate truffle as part of the turn-down service. The first night we had a black truffle (as in Périgord) flavoured chocolate truffle. I'd been wondering when someone would make something like that. Mushrooms and chocolate? It's a little odd, and not everyone likes it, but I do think it works. The second night we had chili truffles and the third night, vanilla (very white chocolate-like) ones.
Look who snuck along for the ride? Hubby insisted Yoda come along for company. Well, I did leave for Hong Kong on his birthday, and it was just too bad he couldn't come along and ENJOY THIS STUNNING SETUP!
Oh well. OK, food posts will start after this. After my
CNNgo deadlines (tomorrow!).
Can I just show you the luscious lychees again? These became my lunch. We were all describing how they spurt with juice each time you bite into them! It's
unforgiveable unthinkable to leave these untouched!
It's the month for science again! I'm a big supporter of science education, so I always go to the science fests. This year the biggest annual science event is called the Singapore Science Festival 2010. You may have known it in previous years as the National Science Month (2001-2009, titled Science.01 to Science.09).
