Bino

Sofitel Singapore City Centre to Open in October 2017 as 800th Accor Hotel in Asia-Pacific and 13th in Singapore

September 7, 2017 by Bino 1 Comment

The Sofitel Singapore City Centre will open its doors in October 2017 as the 800th Accor hotel in Asia Pacific and 13th Accor hotel in Singapore. Located at the upper floors of Singapore’s tallest building (Guoco Tower), the 223-room luxury hotel will be located just steps away from Tanjong Pagar MRT station.

The lobby will be dominated by the shimmering Singapour Je T’aime, a stunning nine-metre chandelier designed by Lasvit. This is complemented by an outstanding collection of custom-made furniture and artworks including designer uniforms accentuated with floral prints, evoking the strong botanic theme that runs throughout the hotel. The hotel’s interiors elegantly juxtapose vibrant rose gold accents with striking design features and botanical motifs, inspired by the sublime geometry of a traditional jardin à la française and the rich green spaces of Singapore, also known as the Garden City.

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Review: The Bird Southern Table & Bar – Famous Chicken & Waffles at Marina Bay Sands

September 4, 2017 by Bino 1 Comment

Marina Bay Sands has collaborated with 50 Eggs in order to bring the first international location of the award-winning Yardbird Southern Table & Bar to Singapore, operating under the name The Bird Southern Table & Bar. An ode to Southern sensibilities and farm-fresh ingredients, The Bird offers signature dishes such as Chicken & Waffles to a new audience. Recently, I was invited over for a tasting which runs through some of the house specialties and I must say I was impressed.

The venue itself is akin to a more spruced up version of what you might find in the deep south of the United States. Rustic wooden motifs are polished, accentuated with golden hanging lamps and faux bricks for a more sophisticated audience.

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Citi MaxiGain Savings Account – Is It Worth Signing Up For?

August 31, 2017 by Bino Leave a Comment

Citibank Singapore is offering a savings account with higher interest that differs from your other “higher interest” savings / current accounts like the OCBC 360 or the UOB Account. You don’t have to credit your salary or spend a certain sum in your credit card in order to earn a higher interest.

The catch? Well, your balance in the account should keep increasing or stay the same from the previous month. It sounds like a tall order but the concept is simple.

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The Perfect 3-Day Itinerary For Hong Kong

August 22, 2017 by Bino 2 Comments

For someone looking to get out of the city rush, Hong Kong might come last in one’s travel list. This rings true among first time visitors to Asia’s World City. There is often a mistaken belief that Hong Kong is a highly urbanised territory with less to see apart from theme parks and shopping malls.

However, Hong Kong has so much to offer more beyond its reputation for being a cosmopolitan district. In fact beyond its famed skyscrapers, you may rediscover Hong Kong with new eyes as a place of natural wonder and a repository of memorable experiences.

Witness Hong Kong With New Eyes

There is a long list of things to do and places to visit in Hong Kong. The lineup spans from Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories, alongside the other outlying islands including Lantau Island. Assuming that you prefer quality time with nature before hitting the Hong Kong metropolis, let’s start our 3-day Hong Kong itinerary at Lantau Island.

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Hotel Review: Park Hyatt Tokyo – Nothing Got “Lost in Translation” Here

August 12, 2017 by Bino 2 Comments

When the Park Hyatt Tokyo opened its doors in 1994 in Shinjuku, it marked the very first luxury hotel of an international chain in the city. More than twenty years later, Tokyo now has plenty of big name hotels to choose from. Tourism has also grown exponentially with international arrivals growing 5 to 6x since that period. Twenty-three years is a very long time and with the deliberate stance not to renovate, one would initially think that the hotel would have fallen out of favor with all the competition in Tokyo’s hospitality scene. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Today, the Park Hyatt Tokyo is generally recognized as one of the city’s (if not one of Asia’s) legendary hotels. The film “Lost in Translation” of course, played no small role in cementing this status. I must admit, scenes of Bill Murray walking along the halls of this calm city oasis came to my mind as I first entered this Hyatt category 7 property.

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Guide to Visiting Shirakawa-go (How to Get There, Travel Guide With Printable Map, Where to Eat)

August 6, 2017 by Bino 10 Comments

A few years back, I chanced upon a photo shared in Facebook of a village with thatched houses covered with snow. The fairy-tale scene piqued my interest and after a little research, I found out that it was in a place called Shirakawa-go, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which I never heard of until I came across that photo. Sometimes, all it takes is one photo to inspire me to visit a place. Such was the case with Hallstatt in Austria, Perast in Montenegro as well as the Italian Dolomites.

Fortunately, the village of Shirakawa-go is much nearer than any of those European towns I enumerated. The former’s also a lot easier to get to although non-Japanese folks may initially get intimidated with Japan’s transportation system. In this post, I shall explain how to visit Shirakawa-go as well as elucidate how you can do this picturesque visit as a day trip on the journey from Kanazawa to Takayama (or vice versa) if you so wish.

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Hotel Review: Marriott Manila (West Wing Executive Room) – One Of the Largest Hotel Executive Lounges in Manila

August 5, 2017 by Bino Leave a Comment

Marriott Manila opened the West Wing in December 2016 – an annex of the hotel located in a newly constructed building adjacent to both the main building and the Marriott grand ballroom. When I first stayed in Marriott Manila’s main wing back in 2015, I found its Executive Lounge notable for offering themed nights and its landscaped pool akin to a resort. During a recent trip to Manila, I managed to check out the West Wing of the Marriott Manila for the very first time.

lobby of marriott manila west wing

I entered the hotel via its main wing and checked in through the main hotel reception, unaware that the West Wing has its own lobby. The associate at the front desk checked me in and escorted me down a pathway leading to the new wing. The West Wing of the Marriott Manila has a modest lobby but this is accentuated by an attractive bar – Still – as well as the Chinese restaurant, Man Ho, down the hall.

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Star Alliance Lounge at Nagoya Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO)

August 5, 2017 by Bino Leave a Comment

Star Alliance branded airport lounges remain to be a rarity, with outlets only in selected airports such as Los Angeles (LAX), Paris (CDG) and Sao Paulo (GRU). I was pleasantly surprised when I was browsing through the Priority Pass website to search for a decent-looking lounge with a shower at Nagoya’s Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO). While I did not manage to find a partner lounge that had a shower, photos of the Star Alliance Lounge there caught my eye (in contrast, the other Priority Pass option – the KAL Lounge – looked horrible) and it ended up becoming my place of refuge as I was waiting for my flight out of Nagoya.

elevator leading to the lounge

To get to the Star Alliance Lounge in Nagoya, you need to take the lift. From the transit area in the 3rd floor, the lounge is one level down. The elevator immediately opens up to the entrance where chirpy staff members greet passengers for registration. The reception counter itself is quite nice to look at – with warm shades and leading lines that are reminiscent of newer lounges.

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