If you are heading to North Bali and need somewhere to stay we recently discovered The Lovina Bali and would not think twice about recommending it. Booked on a Trip a Deal (available to book until June 2024) this was an amazing special and incentive to try a new part of Bali for us.  Here are eight reason why you should consider The Lovina Bali Resort in North Bali.
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1. An Authentic Bali Experience
North Bali is an authentic Bali experience.  There are no night clubs in Lovina, no fancy beach clubs or day spas - this is relaxed and back to basics. There are a few restaurants we discovered, but mostly Warungs and bean bags on the beach where you can enjoy a large bintang for AUD$4 or a fresh coconut for AUD$2.  It is a simple, slow paced environment in the north and it is definitely somewhere you can go to relax.  Most of the tourists were European - we bumped into a few fellow Australian travellers - but Lovina is certainly not an Aussie Bogan destination. A 2.5 hour drive from Denpasar airport (on a good traffic day) you have to be prepared to travel to get there - but we thought it was well worth it. 
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2. Beach Side Location
The Lovina Bali is a beachside resort so if you like evening strolls on the sand, cocktails whilst watching the sunset over the water and a place to swim or kayak - The Lovina has it! The beaches in North Bali are calm and relatively clean, they offer good snorkelling and calm waters for SUPs and kayaks.  And The Lovina provides all the equipment you need at no extra cost - including snorkel gear.
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3. Morning Yoga
If you like to start your day with a stretch and some meditation, The Lovina provides daily 8am yoga classes included in your stay. A great way to start the day - and to meet fellow travellers. The resort did also have a small gym room with a few weights and a treadmill if that's how you like to start your day - and there were also bicycles available to use free of charge. 
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4. Breakfast Buffet
If you want to start your morning with a hearty meal, the breakfast buffet at The Lovina had something for everyone.  Eggs made to order, fresh juices, asian and western dishes - there was no complaints from us here. And there were two options for dining - beach side or overlooking the rice fields - we alternated and enjoyed the varying views. The coffee was basic black American style - no almond half strength barista made coffees here to rival an Australian Cafe start to the day - but the surrounds and the staff certainly made up for that. 
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5. Free Shuttle
The free shuttle service was invaluable for getting around in Lovina.  At any time (up to 11pm at night) guests can walk into reception and request a shuttle service to local amenities.  A trip to the supermarket, the money exchange or drop off at a restaurant.  And once you are out you could simply WhatsApp the hotel and the shuttle would come and collect you if you had not pre arranged it.  They were so attentive and responsive on one occasion we were planning a walk back but got caught in the rain, we messaged them and they were there in 5 minutes! The next time we went out for a walk we took our provided umbrellas - but of course it didn't rain.

6. Large Clean Rooms
We stayed in a beachside one bedroom suite with the pool just steps from our door and loved it.  The rooms are large and well maintained, they included a kitchen area with a full size fridge which was great for storing our supermarket Bintang purchases and the room included bottled water daily - essential for brushing your teeth!  The king sized bed was comfy and the room had both air-conditioning and ceiling fans. 
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7. Onsite Spa
When travelling to Bali I always indulge in massages and spa treatments and the onsite spa (Body Tonic) was excellent.  The trip a deal accommodation package we booked included 2 x 60 minute Balinese Massages and the facility and service was professional, clean and relaxing. The prices in the spa were higher than massages in the street, however if you booked a day in advance a 20% discount was applied - although there was a 21% service charge. 
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8. See the Dolphins
One of the attractions Lovina is known for is the dolphins that enjoy the waters off their coast.  Each morning small boats head out to the deeper waters taking tourists out to the hot spots to view the dolphins in the wild at sunrise.  As part of our package we had an included early morning tour to see the dolphins for ourselves.  A 5:45am wake up followed a short walk along the beach to join one of the many small boats that head out each morning.

Whilst it was great to see the dolphins (guests who went out the day before us also saw a whale) it is quite a touristy experience with in excess of 80 boats moving in packs in what felt close to chasing the dolphins. For European tourists that come from landlocked homes this would have been a highlight, for an Australian tourist I am not sure I would repeat the experience and rather leave the dolphins to enjoy their ocean. 
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Penny
Itchy Feet Family
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If you like a bit of luxury when you travel, and you are headed to Adelaide in South Australia, there are three great hotels I can recommend that are all in the Adelaide CBD - so offer a great location - and will provide that little bit extra to make your stay comfortable with a few unique touches.  

​They are the Mayfair Hotel, Adelaide Oval Hotel and EOS - here is a bit about each.
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The Mayfair Hotel is an excellent choice if you don't have a car on your visit. There is no parking garage on location to this very central city hotel - but it is located in the best location to walk the city and utilise the pubic transport. Located on the corner of King William Road and Hindley Street you are also on the intersection to the start of Rundle Mall - a pedestrian shopping mall in the city centre.

The main reason I rate this hotel in my top three luxury hotels in Adelaide is because the beds are amazing!  They are the most comfortable bed I have every slept on and the linens are second to none. If you are after a great night's sleep you will get it at the Mayfair.

At the moment they also have an inclusive mini bar which sweetens the stay.  Stocked with a few drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, along with some snacks and sweets this is a nice touch to enhance your stay.

​The hotel opened it's doors in Adelaide in 2015 so is modern, clean and still relatively new.

The Oval Hotel Adelaide not only is a luxury hotel but it is also a unique place to stay.  The hotel forms part of the Adelaide Oval complex so for a sporting fan wanting to be close to the hallowed grounds of many sporting greats - this is the place to stay.

The bar at reception that offers a welcome drink upon arrival is a great touch to start your visit as you sip champagne whilst overlooking the grounds surrounding the oval and the beautiful Adelaide Cathedral. 

The room is luxurious and welcoming and offers all the touches you would expect.  The special part of this stay is a visit to the Bespoke Wine Bar and Kitchen for sundowners overlooking the stadium, the heritage score board and the hallowed turf. 

The hotel opened in September 2020 in the height of the pandemic.

The newest of the three listed, EOS by Skycity opened it's doors in 2021 with 120 rooms of luxury as well as a rooftop bar and restaurant.

When you walk into a room and you are greeted with a majestic tub you know you are in for a good stay.  There is something about a bathroom with a free standing tub, soft robes and fluffy slippers that says luxury. 

Added to this the complimentary glass bottled water and locally sourced complimentary snacks in the mini bar there is no need to leave your room.

However if you do venture out you are within the Sky City casino complex and will find excellent dining options including ITL and SOL rooftop restaurant and bar. 

Have you ever stayed at any of these hotels? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

Penny
​Itchy Feet Family 
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Yes you read it right, there is a pineapple themed hotel!  Why, I really could not answer, but we have stayed there! In fact there are a chain of StayPineapple Hotels across the USA with the newest addition opening in New York’s Midtown Manhattan. 

From the moment you first step foot in the lobby there is no mistaken the obsession here with pineapples. In the afternoon the lobby features signature pineapple cupcakes and pineapple infused water to greet arriving guests and the walls are adorned with pineapple themed artwork.

From the subtle print of the pineapple on your room key, through to the pineapple sticker on the toilet paper roll to the more obvious pineapple embroidery on the pillows and slippers, there is a lot of yellow going on in this hotel. 

And if you like to travel with your pooch, these boutique hotels are dog obsessed and your canine companion is always welcome.  For more details, visit the StayPineapple website. 

When our son was young we took a trip to Orlando, Florida and ended up staying in the Nickelodeon Suites.  We booked the hotel as it had a great rate and it provided apartment type accommodation - but the added bonus was the Nickelodeon theme. 

The centre of the resort homed a massive water splash park and every afternoon the splash bucket would be filled with the trademark Nickelodeon green slime for a good old slime splash session!  What more could you ask for than being dumped with green slime - right!

The rooms featured pictures of Nickelodeon stars on the walls and there was a themed breakfast in the restaurant where you could dine with Spongebob and Dora. Unfortunately our son was terrified of the giant characters walking around - but many kids loved getting up close and personal with Diego. 

This resort is no longer operating as Nickelodeon Suites, it is now a Holiday Inn, but the fantastic waterpark still remains.

We seem to have a bit of an affinity for the Hard Rock Hotel.  Before children we would always seek out Hard Rock Cafe’s in every city we visited, we even have a quirky collection of Hard Rock Hotel hurricane glasses from across the globe!  

Since having the kids we tend not to buy the glass but instead have taken to staying in the themed resorts.  So far we have tried the Hard Rock Hotels of Bali, Penang and probably our favourite the all inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 

If you like your music memorabilia, these hotels certainly cater for that obsession.  From a Jimmy Hendrix guitar to a Michael Jackson glove, the corridors are filled with framed bits and pieces from iconic popular culture.

The resorts offer a few signature extras such as the option to have a guitar in your room to use during your stay and in Bali the hotel featured a sound booth to record your own album. 

Visit the Hard Rock Hotel Website for Details.

Now the name of this hotel really does not give any indication of the theme, which is why we were a bit surprised upon arrival - but this hotel is duck obsessed. 

This charming southern hotel is home to some very pampered ducks who entertain international visitors every day with the Daily Duck March. At 11am and 5pm the Peabody Duck Master escorts five ducks as they ride down the elevator from their rooftop sleeping quarters to the lobby of the hotel where red carpet is laid out for them to parade their way to the atrium fountain. 

Visitors line the red carpet and forward book tables in the restaurant for an up close and personal viewing of the internationally renowned spectacular.

The duck obsession is not contained to the lobby - the hotel room carries the theme through with duck embroidered linens and towels, duck shaped soap, ducks printed on the stationery and duck shaped pillow chocolates at your turn down service.  In nearly every corner of your room you will find a duck weaved into the design.

Interesting fact that duck is strictly prohibited from being served in any of the hotels restaurants! Find more fun facts at the Peabody hotel’s website.

Have you ever stayed in a quirky themed hotel - let us know in the comments.

Penny - Itchy Feet Family

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• Aussies on a British Cruise Ship
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• Why all mums need a weekend at sea
• 24 hours in Sydney with kids
• Snorkel the wrecks at Moreton Island

We love a sunny resort holiday and Mexico has always delivered.  We have travelled to Puerto Vallarta and stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and also visited the Costa Maya as part of a cruise out of Florida.  Just a few hours flight from the US, Mexico offers plenty of options for a resort holiday to relax and enjoy some local culture - or simply hang out in a full service hotel relaxing and soaking up the sunshine. 

This trip we visited the Cabo area with a stay at the Royal Solaris in San Jose Cabo.

The Royal Solaris is actually a time share, so although we simply booked through a normal hotel booking website, we were still exposed to the timeshare sell.  Upon arrival at the hotel we received an individual “Concierge” to explain the hotel features to us.  However after declining quite sternly for the third time to attend the VIP breakfast, (to find out about the amazing opportunities for time share at the hotel) our Concierge had very little further information to give us!   Not a great start to the stay - but thankfully it did not really dampen the experience and we were not bothered about timeshare any further.

Other Blogs You May Enjoy:

• Juan More Taco Tour - San Jose
• Aussies on a British Cruise Ship
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• San Diego with families
• Sydney with kids

If you are looking for accommodation in Sydney there is a myriad of choices.  A range of hotels to suit your budget, apartments, AirBNB, camping and more.  We have stayed at a number of hotels across the city, last year we took the kids and stayed at the Funky QT hotel. This year on a weekend trip without the kids we decided to up the star rating and checked in to the Four Seasons  Hotel Sydney.

Here are six reasons you may want to check in to this hotel that you may not see listed on their website.
Location

So you may see this listed on the website - but it has to be said. As far as locations go, you are not going to get much better than this in Sydney.  Right in Circular Quay, at the bottom of The Rocks the hotel is really centrally located.  

The airport train stops some 500m from the hotel, you can catch a ferry from Circular Quay to a myriad of destinations around Sydney and you can see the Opera House and the Bridge from your room! (dependant on room location - we had a partial view of the Opera House from our room as pictured).

You can walk to The Rocks and enjoy the restaurants and bars, stroll down to the Museum of Contemporary Art and enjoy breakfast there with the Opera House over your shoulder,  a 10 minute walk will have you in the Shopping malls, a 15 minute walk will have you in Darling Harbour and a 10 minute walk will have you in the Botanical Gardens.

As far as locations go in Sydney for accomodation, this one ticks many boxes.

Charismatic Chef  - Francesco Mannelli

This one you may also see on their website, but that may not translate into how charming and passionate the head chef Francesco is.  Apart from the amazing premium spirit cocktails with unique mixes of fresh ingredients that are on offer, Francesco has introduced a stylish and simple menu at Mode Kitchen and Bar that focuses on fresh, quality, Australian produce.

We were fortunate enough to meet Francesco on our visit where he enthusiastically spoke about his joy for cooking at Mode, creating a new menu and sourcing quality ingredients.  He proudly displayed the restaurants signature menu item, a 1kg grain fed T-bone sourced from the Coorong. As South Australians we were impressed that much of his produce comes from our State. I was a combination of impressed yet disturbed by the size of the cut of meat on offer  - surely no-one would eat that on their own! Would they?

And restaurant manager, Simone Cordedda also ensured we were welcomed and taken care of.  When we passed him in the lobby after our initial meeting he made sure to say hello. 

Of course there are plenty of other reasons listed on the hotel’s website - the rooftop pool is also a key highlight - but the above were our personal takeaways.

Have you stayed at the Four Seasons Sydney?  What non-brochured perks have you found at hotels around the world?

Penny - Itchy Feet Family

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Other blogs you may enjoy:
 - P&O Britannia - Aussies on a British Cruise Ship
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 - Christmas Cruising - Pros and Cons
 - Cycle Berlin
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December 2016 we had a two-night stay in Sydney before joining a cruise.  Finding a hotel in Sydney this trip had a few challenges.  A) The price of accommodation in December is always at a premium and B) Finding a hotel room in Sydney with a room occupancy for four people also limited our choices.  

The Itchy Feet Family consists of two adults and two children, Master 10 and Miss 7, and we prefer to only have one room. Many hotels in Sydney require families to purchase two rooms due to maximum occupancy rates of three.  

However, we stumbled across a flash sale with priority rewards chain and discovered the QT Hotel.  Located in Market Street, this boutique hotel is situated in the centre of the CBD right in the thick of the shopping district and almost directly underneath the Sydney Tower.

The hotel had a tiny in-house gym with a few pieces of equipment, however another great addition to a stay at the QT hotel is access to the Virgin Active Club located just a few minutes walk from the hotel.  We were staying on Boxing Day, so it was closed, however from what we saw on the internet anyone that takes their fitness seriously would appreciate the value of this additional extra. 

Although located in the thick of the CBD, another great advantage of this hotel was just how quiet the room was.  We were only staying on Level 4 and yet not a sound of the outside world could be heard from the comfort of our room. Another rarity for a hotel room anywhere in the world, let alone Sydney. 

From the hotel you are in walking distance of China Town, Circular Quay and Darling Harbour and on your doorstep you can just walk across the street to be in the Westfield Shopping district with a myriad of choices for shopping and dining.

I did overhear a guest unhappy that her room had not been serviced in the afternoon and when we went out in the evening at 5pm we also had to request a room refresh as it had not been done.  However given it was a public holiday I imagined they may have been low on staff. To their credit the reception staff were very apologetic and when we returned later that evening the room had been cleaned. 

If you are after something a little bit different from your typical chain hotel, the QT Hotel in Sydney certainly delivers. 

​Check Availability Today.

Penny - Itchy Feet Family

Other blogs you may be interested in:
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As well as food, there was also plenty of entertainment at the resort.  I can imagine at certain times of the year the resort would be quite a loud party place.  We were fortunate that there was not so much of that going on whilst we were there.  Whilst we enjoyed our afternoon cocktails and nightly sundowners we don’t exact fit into the frat party category or party people.

The resort had amazing facilities for the kids club unlike any I have seen before. However our kids preferred to wonder in and out of the unsupervised games room where they could play pool, video games and get a soda and popcorn rather than sign in to be supervised.  There was too much going on poolside with a water slide, beach soccer tournaments and poolside bingo with the entertainment staff.

The location of the resort did not allow for a stroll out the front gates to the “real” Mexico, so we needed to make a conscious effort to get out and about and not just be lured by the cocktail server and poolside lounges. 

We were given resort credit that could be used on tours so we used that as a prompt to get out and about booking day trips for zip lining and quad biking and simply took taxis to get into town and explore.

So next time you are booking a cheap return flight to LA, consider a side trip to Mexico and you won’t be disappointed by a stay at the Hard Rock Hotel Puerto Vallarta. 

You can book your stay with Agoda who have great rates.

Penny - ITCHY FEET FAMILY

ITCHY FEET FAMILY has also stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel Bali - read our review

Having been to Bali a couple of times, I had always vowed that I would NEVER stay in Kuta……. but as you learn in life you should NEVER say NEVER!

Our last trip to Bali we got an amazing deal at the Hard Rock Hotel, right in the heart of Kuta.  I was sceptical - but I have to say, I would actually stay there again. Here are my top four reasons why.

1. The Pool

The pool area at the Hard Rock Hotel Bali is amazing. The largest free-form swimming pool in Bali, with an amazing sand bar, this pool is off the hook! 

Not only does it have slides for the kids and the mandatory swim up bar for the big kids, but it also has a great vibe.  

During the day it is easy to find a chill out space to read and soak up the sun, and for those that like a bit more going on the crew do a great job to keep people entertained.  The kids loved the foam disco party, the beach volleyball and the biggest splash competition.

2. The Location

I know this hotel is right in the heart of Kuta and for a family Kuta is probably not the location that comes first of mind, however it really worked.

In the morning, after breakfast together as a family, the kids would head to kids club and we could take a five minute stroll and be in the thick of shopping and massages.  

My children hate shopping and whilst they actually like to get massages in Asia and wanted to come with us, it was nice to be able to go on our own occasionally.  There was no need for a taxi or any commute, we just walked out of the hotel and into a spa.

An hour (or maybe two) later, we could be back at the hotel - again no taxi required - to collect the kids for lunch.

In the evenings we had plenty of options for dining at our doorstep and we were also within walking distance of Waterbom Park.. 

3. Rock Royalty Lounge

I have to admit, having access to the Rock Royalty Lounge certainly put a shine on our stay here. 

This is Hard Rock’s equivalent to a “Club” area and it really was a nice extra to include.

Instead of eating breakfast in the large buffet restaurant (which was in itself great), Rock Royalty allows a much quieter experience with personal table service in a more intimate, yet very funky, dining area. 

In the afternoon snacks and soft drinks were available followed by early evening canapé’s and cocktails.

Admittedly Rock Royalty felt a bit indulgent - but we certainly loved it! The kids relished in the independence of being able to order mocktails and enjoyed happy hour as much as we did! 

If you can get it included as part of a package for a reasonable price, I would say go for it.  I would not pay top dollar for it as you want to get out and explore and not spend your whole time at the hotel trying to get the value from it.

4. Kids Club

There are two things we always require in a sun holiday, a swim-up bar and a great kids club!  Hard Rock Hotel has two big ticks on this one.

The kids club had two quite large indoor spaces but the daily program quite often took them out of those rooms and into other areas of the resort to explore.

The kids would go rock climbing, out to the garden for a picnic, to the sandbar for soccer and much more.  The daily program was entertaining and the staff were as you would expect - enthusiastic and nurturing. 

The kids club, like the hotel, had a very funky vibe to it and the kids enjoyed playing with others and being entertained.  They even performed on stage poolside one evening after spending a day in rehearsal.

Have you stayed at Hard Rock Hotel Bali?  What did you think?

Penny  - ITCHY FEET FAMILY