Holiday Villa Hotels & Resorts

Holiday Villa at PATA Travel Mart, Macau

2010-09-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Macau after attending the PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Travel Mart in Macau where international Buyers and Sellers in the Travel Industry gathered for three full days to discuss on business opportunities.

The Venetian Hotel where I stayed is a huge complex with 3000 rooms, casino and 270 over shops and restaurants. So you dont really need to leave the hotel building. The rooms are very spacious and tastefully designed. Hotel staff are very alert and attentive. I left one of my luggage in the hotel's airport transfer bus when I arrived at the hotel without even realizing it and the hotel staff managed to trace that it was my bag even though the bag didn't have my name on it .

The opening night was held at the Fisherman's Wharf with an excellent buffet set-up. The closing dinner was at the Grand Hyatt hosted by Tourism India since India will be the next venue for PATA 2011.

My highlight during my stay in Macau was watching the World Premier - The House of Dancing Water at the City of Dreams. This show is the world's newest extravaganza created and directed by Franco Dragone, the world's most spectacular show maker whose productions have been seen by over 65 million spectators worldwide. This is really a world class performance.

- Kenneth

Indoor food court located at Venetian Hotel Macau

My room at the Venetian Hotel

Bathroom / Shower / Washroom

Opening ceremony at the Fishermen’s Wharf (Myself with Carrie, Devi and Alex from Gullivers)

At the opening dinner with Dennis and Alex

At the opening dinner with Danny, Simon and Melvin

Carrie and Dennis

Buyers from Italy, Mariagrazia from Weltstudio and Diego Ferenze from Malaysia World

Melissa Tiling from the UK together with Carrie and Devi

One of the PATA Lunchen together with Thomas Tang from Flight Centre, Hong Kong

Final dinner hosted by India Tourism at the Grand Hyatt Macau

Stunning table setting at the closing dinner

Carrie and Devi sharing a private joke on me

Devi with her new found friends

The top 4 finalist, Thomas, Devi, Carrie and myself

Buyers from Siberia

Buyers from Malta and Vietnam

The two ladies stuffing themselves up after starving for the whole day.

And the winners is ...

Exterior view of the Venetian Hotel Macau

Mannequin in the making

French desserts and pastries

2010-08-18T01:31:00.000-07:00

Treat yourself with the French delicacies. If you fond of French desserts and pastries, here are some common French desserts and pastries:

- Crème Brûlée: custard base topped with a contrasting layer of hard caramel.

- Choux à la Crème : cream puffs

- Crêpes Suzette: French pancakes in a sauce of jam and orange sauce, flamed with liqueurs.

- Tartes aux fruits : fruit tarts.

- Éclairs: choux dough filled with a cream and topped with icing.

- Gâteaux: cake.

- île flottante: “floating island dessert“, poached meringues on custard.

- Mousse au chocolat: chocolate mousse.

- Mille-feuilles: cake of a thousand leaves.

- Religieuse: chocolate éclair shaped to resemble a nun.

- Macaron: a variety of light, baked confections, small cakes or meringue-like cookies.

- Madeleine: a small cake-like cookie.

- Tarte Tatin: caramelized apple tart.

- Profiteroles: baked puff pastries (choux) filled with cream or ice cream.

If you have tried one of the above desserts and pastries or if you have some other French desserts and pastries, please do not hesitate to post them in our blog and share them with all of us.

French Savory Dishes

2010-08-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

We would like to share some of the “tasty” suggestions to all of those visitors to Paris, you will find here below some of the common French dishes:

- Blanquette de veau: blanquette of veal.

- Coq au vin: rooster in red wine.

- Croque-monsieur: toasted ham and cheese sandwiches on white bread.

- Bouillabaisse: rich fish soup served over toasted bread with garlic and pepper sauce.

- Boudin blanc: delicate flavored sausage similar to bockwurst.

- Canard à l’orange: braised duck served with an orange and lemon sauce.

- Escargot à la bourguignonne: snails cooked in their shells with garlic, butter and parsley.

- Foie de veau: calf's liver.

- Andouillette: chitterling sausage.

- Foie gras: fatty duck or goose liver.

- Gigot d’agneau: roast lamb “larded” with slivers of garlic.

- Poulet frites: chicken and fries.

- Pot au feu: beef stew with mixed vegetables.

- Magret de canard: filleted duck breasts.

- Quiche Loraine: ham and custard pie.

- Steak frites: steak and fries.

- Soupe à l’oignon: French onion soup made with chicken broth, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and browned in the oven.

If you have tried one of the above savory dishes or if you have some other French savory dishes, please do not hesitate to post them in our blog and share them with us.

So You Think You Can Win?

2010-08-17T04:53:00.000-07:00

"My Moments Of Magic" @ Holiday Villa Hotels & Resorts

Contest starts from 1 September till 30 November 2010

Cultural and sightseeing in Paris

2010-07-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

Holiday Villa Lafayette Paris is very close to metro “Cadet” (line 7), only 2 minutes walk from the metro station. Our strategic location will also allow you to visit the historical, cultural and other sites.

You will fall in love with this romantic city all over again… the longer you stay to explore its sights, the longer you will take in the French culture with you. Paris simply has a something special that you cannot quite put your finger on, but whatever it is, it makes you want to linger in Paris for as long as possible.

For all first time visitors to Paris, a bus tour hop-on and hop-off bus tour would be one of the best options. You can follow set routes with stops at leading museums and tourist attractions... Do it your first day to get oriented to the city and to decide which things you would like to go back and see on subsequent vacation days. For further info, please visit l’Open Tour: www.parislopentour.com or Les Cars Rouges: www.carsrouges.com and of course there are some other companies...

Of course, you can take metro or bus, while you are in Paris. For further information, please visit www.ratp.fr

Historical and cultural spots in Paris:

The Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, Louvre Museum, Les Invalides (Napoleon's Tomb), Concorde Square, Notre Dame Cathedral, Opéra Garnier, Vendome Square, Montmartre (Sacred Heart) and its Place du Tertre, Madeleine Church and many more… for further information, please visit www.monuments-nationaux.fr or http://en.parisinfo.com

If you have your favorites pictures, please do not hesitate to email them to mis@holidayvilla.com.my and we will post them on this blog.

Holiday Villa Hotels & Resorts Gives Away A Car

2010-07-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

We picked the winners for Holiday Villa's 22nd Anniversary competition on 13th July 2010 at Holiday Villa Subang Hotels & Resorts.

The Grand Price winner was Ms Wong Khar Hwa (Lady in blue dress) who won a Toyota Vios 1.5 which was fully sponsored by Holiday Villa Hotels & Resorts. Other winners won a 4 days / 3 nights stay in a suite room at selected holiday villa hotels & resorts.

You can be a lucky winner too, look out for our next contest which will be launched in 2 months time.

Tuanchau Island Holiday Villa Halong Bay

2010-07-13T00:40:00.000-07:00

I was at Tuanchau Holiday Villa last week and stayed at the beautiful Beachfront Villa with spectacular views.

I enjoyed the dolphin show and also the water laser which is on everyday.

The 10 minutes to Halong City for shopping in the evening was quite faciniting. You can pick up alot of local handicrafts and local designs at very reasonable price.

If you choose to stay in the Pinehill Villa, you will enjoy the lush tropical gardens also with spectacular views.

Getting to Halong Bay from Hanoi takes only 3 hours by car. You can actually pick up a taxi from the Hanoi International Airport or if you're already staying in Hanoi, you can always ask your hotel reception to arrange a taxi for you. This would cost around 1,100,000 Vietnamese Dong a taxi (Approx USD55).

This hotel hosted the Miss universe pagent in 2008 and next month they will be hosting the Miss Vietnam 2010 contest.

A visit to halong bay is not complete if you do not visit the Caves which is a world-heritage site. It is simply Amazing.

The hotel's restaurant offers a daily buffet breakfast and a comprehensive ala carte menu with a wide selection of International, Vietnamese and other Asian cuisine.

- Kenneth