Staycation at Crown

E and I walked next door for a night of luxury at Crown Towers; only the two of us because JL and C think this is a step too far in the direction of a waste of money. In spite of this C gave me a Crown gift voucher for Christmas which helped to defray the cost.

There were big Chinese New Year celebrations going on, with beautiful red decorations in the foyer nearest to the Casino. The Coronavirus has turned us all into racists so we tried to keep clear of Chinese people in the public places, though this was hard when we were squashed into a lift carrying a full load of 12 passengers. The swimming pools were also very crowded when we went there straight after check-in at 3.00 pm. Fingers crossed that no-one is holidaying here from Wuhan.

This year, we were given a front-facing room with a river and city view. It was on the 6th floor, which is actually the same level as our apartment, but Crown’s location is nearer the water. The view was mesmerising as we watched the sun go down, the moon come up and all the city lights come on.

After a long swim, we adjourned to the poolside bar for a mango slushy (E) and an aperol spritz (me). At 6.00 pm, JL walked over to join us for dinner in our room: takeaway sushi and marinated octopus purchased earlier from Kailis. Afterwards, we strolled around the two hotels, watched a Nigella at My Table before an early night. E tossed and turned in her sleep all night long. I had hoped for a twin bedded room, but  was told they were all reserved.

Stunning view on arrival!

Slushy drinking.

Early morning swim at 7.00 am.



The breakfast buffet in the Epicurean presented us with too big a choice, with Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Western dishes. E walked around for ages, finally selecting a traditional breakfast to which she added smoked salmon. I had a fruit platter, a pot of muesli, a mushroom omelette with Singapore noodles, waffles and maple syrup and at the end some churros with chocolate. Pig of the week?

Indian buffet.

We took a few photos of the CNY decorations:

E is Year of the Dog. I am too old to even appear on this chart!

We had to have a sit down after that. Shame we had to check out at 11.00 am and return to our normal existence.

E put her phone in the window for half an hour to produce this:

Time lapse video at 9.30 am     JL thought they were flies!