Fraser Suits Apartahotel (East Perth)

Head photo courtesy of Booking.com

Here a wrap up of my experience with this hotel.

GOOD
> The hall is very contemporary and elegant, spacious and breezy in a mix of neutral contemporary elegant colours. I really loved it.
> Spotless clean premises.
> The room's toilet: great shower!, very good quality cotton towels, L'Occitane toiletries (those excited me greatly!), and a lot of storage room behind the mirror. If you are a giant basketballer, no problem, you can see yourself from head to toe, as the mirror reaches the ceiling.
> Nice basic kitchenette with microwave/induction oven, basic cutlery, crockery and glassware, and a mini-bar with a bit of room to put your stuff in.
> Huge mid-hard bed. Very comfortable.
> Humongous flat screen TV.
> Well-located power points and a decent number of them.
> Double wardrobe and plenty of storage for a couple.
> Complimentary robe and slippers. I always love finding those in any hotel.
> Complimentary Internet.
> Complimentary tea and coffee facilities.
> Awesome comfortable desk chair!
> The waitresses at the restaurant.
> The views of the Swan River from some of the rooms.
> Free WI-FI.

SO-SO

> Free Internet worked fine with the smartphone, but was a bit slow in the laptop, and the line dropped at times, requiring to sign in again. Good enough for my stay and for the work I had to do, though. 
> The hotel might please people looking for a quite comfortable spot near the CBD, but it might not please those looking for an vibrant surrounding area full of shops, cafes and restaurants or nice buildings.
> The restaurant Heirloom. See  review here.
> Lighting in the room. Once the daylight vanishes, the lighting in the studio was too dim for work and more conducive to do nothing. Great if you are on holidays and want to sleep.
> The mirror was located in the wrong space... behind the easy chair! Hello Hello! In the professional photos it is located where it should be.
> Overall ambience of the hotel and the room is meh to the square.
> The view from the room.

NO-NOS

I encountered a few issues that I consider unacceptable for a hotel that charges you 200 bucks the night and presents itself as a 4-star hotel:

> Noisy air-con and with no instructions on how to regulate it.
> The safety box didn't work. Not, it wasn't me being clumsy, it did not work.  
> My robe had all the downs stained; it looked like make-up foundation, but it must be burnt marks from ironing or any other occurrence that I don't want to envision.
> Table with the edges peeled/damaged. My eyes hurt.
> The tapware was also peeled, and the upper coat gone in some areas. That is because this is crap tapware. Four stars, who said that?
> One of the lights in the bathroom didn't work, so it was quite dark.
> The phone had a sort of three red flash lights saying new message received and also to recharge it. I consulted with the reception upon arrival. They said not to worry, to leave it like that as there was no message received. Well, being jet-lagged my eyes opened in the night and I felt my room was the new Amsterdam. Tried to order room service in the morning and realised that the phone did not work at all. Back again to reception, it will fixed today, don't worry, have a nice day. Liar liar. Nobody came...
> No booklet with info about the hotel about anything anywhere. One could easily ask by phone, for sure, if the phone worked.
> This is mostly a business hotel. So a deluxe studio should be ready for the client to work. There is no workstation as such in this study. The "desk" is really large but there are two main obstacles, a humongous flat screen TV occupying most of it, and the tray with nibbles and drinks. I had to remove the latter, quite heavy, to put my work material there. Business minded, really?
> The room had the usual old-fashioned beige+maroon mix that feels outdated and dirty. Something important about paintings, please, if you don't have nice ones don't hang those you have, which look like taken from Crazy Clarke's :O. The room, without the filters of the professional photo and the bunch of flowers looked way less appealing.  
> Awesome looking stylish armchair, but very uncomfortable to seat on.
> No sound-proof windows. One of the days was quite windy. The sound was like when I skydived in New Zealand minus the wow effect. Seriously! The wind was battering the window panes hard and very noisily. No, it wasn't a hurricane, the windows are not thick enough or sound-proof.
> No TV channel in another language. Multicultural, where?
> I was told in the restaurant that my first breakfast was included in the price, and they didn't make me sign the usual bill you sign after you finish your meal. Well, it was NOT included and I had to pay for it.
> When checking out, I mentioned this, the guy acted as I was making things up. He would go and check things with the lady at the restaurant, but he didn't, and charged me the price without even asking. I presented my debit card to pay. The signature has faded completely; this is the fault of the card makers. He asked me for an identification. Really, they had my passport on record since day one. Perhaps they didnt think I look like luxury customer. He was nice enough to bring my suitcases to the taxi rack outside and apologised quite a bit, but Reception had lost my respect by then, unfortunately.
> They charge you 1% if you pay with a credit card. Ridiculous for a supposedly luxury hotel. Perhaps luxury for Perth.

GOOD TO KNOW

> Check-in is at 3pm but, if they have room available they will usher in at no extra cost. > You have a convenience store (a really nice guy there) and a Balinese beauty salon next door. The Grand Hyatt is at 5 minutes walking distance, and you might want to visit one of their restaurants or go to the café and another convenience store very close to it as well.
> As East Perth is part of the free ride area in Perth you don't need to pay for anything if you just go to the CBD or within the free ride area in general. The bus stops across the road.

IN SHORT

The hotel is not up to standards in luxury, attention to customer, design, style, service, quality of the service, and courtesy of the staff. To me, this is a nice 3.5 stars at the price of a luxury hotel. The only thing I considered luxurious were the toiletries. Mostly they fail at running the place properly, things don't work and aren't fixed because they don't bother, there is a constant lack of communication between the staff, they treat customers as they were a nuisance, lie at their faces (in this case mine) and the people at Reception are truly unhelpful and act as we had to please them not the other way around. That is typical of Perth hospitality, and unnerves me every time. My advice is to spend your bucks elsewhere if you want to get what you pay for. Otherwise, pay for the most expensive room. I guess you will find luxury there... or not. 

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Heirloom (East Perth)

Heirloom is the in-house restaurant in the Fraser's Suits Hotel. I was dying to try this restaurant, even though I don't particularly like Pete Evans. One has to grant him that he has put together a menu that is both healthy and yummy. The food reminds me a lot of the food that was served at the new-closed Solomon's Cafe in Mount Lawley. 

Their buffet breakfast is not worth the price unless you eat like a bear in the morning. I didn't see anything exciting or out of the ordinary, and way below other buffet breakfasts I have experienced in hotels overseas. I think most people would be better off ordering a la carte.
  
The chia pudding was absolutely yummy. Very fresh and creamy, crunchy flavoursome nuts, sago pudding sort of texture, and the berry compote at the bottom was delicious, and not too sweet. I ordered a soft boiled egg as side. Two were served to me, and when I said I had asked just for one, the explanation was that they serve the eggs in pairs. Nevertheless, the eggs were perfectly cooked. 

The muesli breakfast should be called something else because there wasn't any muesli in my muesli. It was carrot "muesli". To be honest, the breakfast was yummy and it didn't taste of carrot, it has great colour, textures and flavours, so I loved it, but I was expecting a proper muesli. Carrot is not a muesli, pardon me.  I ordered a soft boiled egg on the side. There were only three tables with people, but it took the kitchen an eternity for my breakfast to be served, and the two things came apart despite being ordered at the same time. This time they got the number of eggs right but it wasn't a soft boiled egg, it was a slow-cooked egg that had gotten cold by the time I ate it. 

Thee zucchini lasagne tasted great thanks to a olive-and-tomato pesto that enhanced the flavours of the raw zucchini. However, despite this being a late lunch and the restaurant having three tables with people, and only one to serve (mine), the food took a while to come, and when it came the lasagne was mostly cold, a bit tepid on some parts. I get that the raw zucchini is going to be cold if it is raw but, if the rest of the ingredients were hot, one would not get the whole dish cold. This was a bit of put of, really, because it was not summer when I visited and one expects any lasagne to be hot.

The Moroccan carrots were wonderful in their simplicity with a very soft dressing, mint, crunchy almonds, some sultanas and quandons.

The pork belly was really lovely, regarding textures, quality of the meat, and flavours, however, the puree there was less than a spoonful of pure on my dish, the sauce was like a few drops and the pork belly was quite solid, not juicy or grassy, so once the sauce and puree ended, that is, in a second, the dish turned into a very dry thing to eat.

The kale side was really good. Kale is a fussy vegetable to cook, not easy to get right regarding coction and texture. This was perfect and the sauce added really complemented the Kale.

Heirloom is a hotel restaurant. Although pleasant and comfortable, it lacks character and doesn't feel like a proper restaurant. At night the ambience improves considerably, yet, nothing that would bring me there unless I wasn't staying in the hotel. They use paper napkins in the morning but fabric ones at lunch and dinner, something I really appreciate.  

The waitresses are lovely, but the service at the kitchen is slow, something I found inexcusable because they charge you top buck and there were very few people on any of my visits. Moreover, in one of my visits, a lady who arrived way after I did was served before I did and given the royal treatment, something I always consider unprofessional. The service was mostly slow, the food seemed to take quite forever to come out despite the very few people in the restaurant, they were getting the orders wrong and there was a clear lack of communication between the kitchen and the rest of the staff or vice versa. The same lack of communication existed between the reception desk and the restaurant reception as they didn't communicate much either; I was told that the first breakfast was included in my booking and I didn't sign any receipt, but then I was told at reception that no way and was treated as I was trying to cheat a meal. 

The food is overpriced in most cases because, except for the meat and fish mains courses, the ingredients used are very cheap and the portions quite small. 

OVERALL
Worth a visit! Good healthy food, great if you love Paleo, but also expensive. Lovely stuff but chaotic service. That is always the manager's fault. 

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The Cafe at Hyatt Regency (East Perth)

The Café is located in the central hall of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in East Perth, facing the central fountain and the piano player. I had a High Tea session at The Café recently and a very enjoyable visit but, overall, I felt this was not proper High Tea and more a buffet experience.

The place is very pleasant, but it lack finesse and elegance, and I thought that looked like a hotel café, but not a Hyatt hotel café. Perhaps good enough for Perth, but I don't think it matches the wonderful High Tea experience I had in Rochelle Adonis a few years ago or that in other Hyatts. 

The food on the three-tier tray was  mediocre, and the sandwiches were dry and tasteless. The wrap rolls were very nice, though, especially the green one.

The savoury options were just six and mostly junk food, and nothing that makes any favour to the Hyatt. The dumpling was definitely the best item there, the rest totally average and forgettable.  

The sweet section was way more interesting, varied and I regretted not limiting myself to the sweets. I loved the mini-dessert glasses, and I tried them all! Overall quite nice, but the ones that really stood up for me were the tiramisu, the mango and lychee, and the black forest. Among the others, the strawberry lamington was lovely, as well. There were many different sort of mini-slices snf big slices from a big cake, waffles, fresh fruit and much more. If you have a sweet tooth and a big stomach, you will really enjoy it. I loved the fact that their sweets aren't overly sweet and I would have had liked having a bigger stomach to try then all!

The price is 52 and includes flowing champagne, coffee/and tea before 5pm and they are generous! I barely drink these days, but I think it will make happy most people and they stop by often to ask if one wants a refill.

The staff were here really welcoming, very attentive and friendly, and they made the visit especially pleasant for me.  The sort of people who I really enjoy in hospitality: hospitable, smiley, and genuine.
 
This is not a High Tea, but a good-priced pleasant buffet experience. You won't find anything really remarkable or gourmet, and won't need to dress up for this visit. Of course, sometimes you just want that, fill your belly, eat many things and be merry. So this place is great for that. Having the piano player in front of the café makes the experience especially pleasant if you happen to seat in the tables facing the lounge. If you want a High Tea with finesse, glamour and class, go to Rochelle Adonis in Highgate.

NOTE
There was a table with the 3-tier tray with food on an empty table. Nobody came, the food stood  there for two hours... that is unacceptable for any place, let alone for the Hyatt.

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BlueMail App by BlueMail Inc.

I have had this app in my phone for a few months months now. I got it until my phone's own program crashed, and needed of an alternative until they fixed the problem. I know that Google and Outlook mail apps can handle several accounts at the same time, but I'm a bit annoyed at the over-presence of these two companies in my life .

I have downloaded and tried several mail apps with good ratings in GooglePlay, but they lasted maximum two days in my phone; basically, they didn't give me the reliability, freedom or versatility I needed.

I stumbled upon this, and this is my main Android mail handler at present. The things I like about BlueMail are:
> Handling of several accounts. In my case 5 different accounts at the same time.
> Notifications, synchronisation times, and colours assigned to each account are easy to set and customise in the settings area.
> You can decide whether you have inbox viewed unified, with any email from any account arriving there, or just select one of the accounts as main view.
> Setting each account is easy, as the app automatically does so when you introduce your accounts usernames and passwords.
> The inbox is really really simple but pleasant, and you have a clear view and a high contrast one, which is the one I use, which is great for poor-sighted people.
> In the inbox, you can slide one email to the right and get rid of it, or slide it to the left and you will be shown three options: delete, mark as read and archive.
> There is batch editing of the emails.
> You can give feedback from the app to the developers.
> You can set your signature or brief message in every single of the accounts you have in this email, easy-peasy to do.
> You can personalise the profile picture/name of each of your accounts from the app.
> You can go to settings and decide to lock the app without the need of installing any lock app.
> Many more features than I need.
> The app runs smoothly.
> No failure or mishap so far.
> Reliable and serious app.
> Free
> No adds.
> NO pop ups asking you to rate them every single day.

I would love it if this app had a desktop version. I would pay for it!
I would also love a few more customisation options, even if I had to pay for them.

I am surprised at the low number of reviews for this app! It works great for me.

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Skype for PC by Skype

I have used Skype since it first saw the light, many years ago. I have it installed in my computers and gadgets. I use it all the time. In my PC at least once a month for intercontinental chats of about 1-2 hours of length.
 
Skype for PC is one of my favourite desktop apps and I am mostly happy with it. The quality of the sound is usually very good. Nowadays, I rarely get return and delay sounds and the line rarely drops, something that happened quite often in the past. In the last year, using this app at least once a month, I have had a bad experience, just once. My main problem with the app is for voice+audio chats, as it is a pain in the butt: with frozen images or very slow movement images or very bad quality image. I don't know if it is related to my Internet carrier or not, but it is most annoying. The result is that I don't make video calls any more unless when these lasts for a minute or two. 

Skype's interface for PC is a bit outdated, not clear enough and not customer friendly enough. The home screen should clearly show the options and ask you which one you want to use: voice call, video call, written chat alone, send photo and/or doco, plus the contact list on the side bar. 

My account is totally private, only close friends and family are there, I cannot be found by name or email. Yet, sometimes I get requests of people I don't know, spammers, I guess, so I would like that scam to be out of my house and the portholes that take them there, totally locked.

I like that Skype asks me about the quality of the sound and call/video call when I finish. At least they care! I think that serves to improve the service and is specially important when I have a bad experience. 

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Skype for Android by Skype

I have had Skype in my Android gadgets for a long time, but it is just recently that started to use it for normal phone calls. In a way, Skype for android has more user-friendly interface than the PC version, is very easy to use, very use to add money, and very use to do anything, really.

I went overseas recently and my usual mobile carrier for overseas didn't have roaming. I added a bit of credit in Skype through the app and made my first call using the app. I was surprised at the great quality of the voice call and the ridiculously low money I spent on a 30 minute call. 

Skype for Android has grown on my since then, and now I have it for intercontinental calls over the phone at home. It works great every time. There is a free option in Skype that allows you to associate your home phone number with your Skype account, so when you call somebody from your Skype app, they will see just your home phone number in their screens, which is very convenient and useful for me. Of course proper verification is needed for that. This feature works just in some countries, so check if yours is included in advance.

Skype on the Go is another feature that you can use in the app. It could be great, but it is just an emergency feature for me. The good thing is you can call from your Skype add without the need of having internet but, on the other hand, you need to call an assigned local number to make the call through it. So, it is OK for an emergency, not for my normal calls. This feature works just in some countries, so check if yours is included in advance. 
 
If their fees were cheaper, I would certainly pay for my own Skype number and use the app for phone calls all the time, but I don't think the yearly fears for owning a Skype number are reasonable.

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Dolce Gusto Au (Online Store)

 

Website

Dolce Gusto Australia is the official website for this branch of the Nestle pod coffee family.

The website is very easy to navigate and to shop from. Their basket info is very clear regarding pricing of the products, shipping fees and discount you get from promotional codes or coupons, so no surprise afterwards. 

Why buying from Dolce Gusto directly? Well, they deliver to your door, that is always an incentive.  

Shopping from their website works as usual: you add products to your basket, check out, introduce your payment details, and press send. You will get an email about the order being received and other about the order being shipped. 
  
My parcel took no time to get to my place, a couple of working days, and it was well packed.

Herewith a wrap-up of my shopping experience with Dolce Gusto:

THE GOOD THINGS
+ Free shipping for orders over 75$. Otherwise, a 9$ flat fee applies.
+ The pricing for the pods boxes is the same as those in major supermarkets, but they have all the varieties available in the country, which rarely happens in the supermarkets as they tend to stock those varieties  that sell best in their area. 
+ You can find all the DG machines in the market, from the simplest to the latest release, something that you cannot find in department stores. 
+ They offer great discounts and freebies from time to time.
+ They give a 10$ voucher if you register your machine in their website. 
+ Fast dispatch.
+ Great tracking system. Australia Post directly sends you a tracking link to your posted order as soon as appears in their system, and they send emails when the item is at destination and out for delivery. 
+ Parcels are very packed really well.
+ Customer service is very friendly and diligent, and they will reply to any query you have or solve any problem with the best attitude possible and fast. 

THE SO-SO THINGS
> Some of the accessories sold in their website are pricey.
> The description of some of the accessories is missing. There are photos, but they don't reflect what you get, they are illustrative. This is misleading and a bit lazy, jeez, it doesn't cost a thing to describe a product properly. 
> They variety of coffee and tea flavours is limited if compared to those you find in the European sites. 
> The pricing of the coffee machines is higher than in stores and other other retailers. You can find a difference of 40+ bucks difference in the oldest models. 
> No PayPal payment available. 
> The use too large boxes to send your order. I mean, if you order a whole large box, great, but why sending a large box that is mostly full of... air? 

MIND
You can't order anything unless you spend at least 35 bucks.
 
SOME WISHES
I'd love to have a nicer selection of espresso cups, not the plain cups they sell now. They could easily expand the accessories section with beautiful coffety things.

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Narciso Poudreé EDP by Narciso Rodriguez

Photo courtesy of The Scent Store

Eau Poudrée is the last addition to my perfume collection. I am not usually a fan of Narciso Rodriguez Perfumes, as I find them too strong, masculine and overwhelming on me. However, I found Eau Poudrée recently when looking for a perfume to give my mum as a gift, I was provided with a sample, I tried it on myself, and ended buying a bottle for me as well.

This is a woody floral fragrance, musky, very feminine, delicate and elegant with a great dose of romanticism. The first spray is really noticeable, velvety and enveloping. Once the perfume settles in, it is really a delicate fragrance, less musky and more floral with a drop of sweetness.

The musk, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, orange blossom, and other ingredients are masterly blended and I cannot say that this perfume smells more of any of them. It really smells as if you were applying luxurious perfumed mineral make-up on your face, and the scent came clear to your nose without overwhelming it. Eau Poudrée really transports me to a world of ladies who visited luxury rest rooms in a classic Hollywood movie minus the passé feeling and very much adapted to the 21st century women.

I find this perfume good for all ages, more a day to afternoon perfume than a night or special occasion perfume. Perfect for a day date. This is also more a spring-summer fragrance than a an autumn-winter one, without being specifically for summer.

I find the longevity of the perfume medium, and the sillage also medium on me. This, of course, varies from person to person as every person's skin and skin Ph are different.

The packaging is minimal, square to square, a bit boring, nothing creative but no ostentatious or fancy either.

This is quite an expensive perfume for a mainstream perfume brand. It starts from 88 bucks the 30 ml bottle. Unlike other mainstream perfumes I have spent my money on, I haven't regretted the purchase and I spray generously my clothing and myself for my day outings.

Perfumes are something so very particular to each individual that, what is my ambrosia me might be your nausea. We tend to revolve around families of perfumes because our skins absorb the perfume in specific ways that are individual to each person. Our noses also differ in the way they absorb and process smells and scents. To me powdery feminine woody floral perfumes and lightly oriental perfumes are very much my cup of tea, so if they are yours too, you will love this perfume.

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Narciso Eau de Toilet by Narciso Rodriguez

Photo courtesy of Fragantica

Narciso Eau de Toilet, is a fresh version of Narciso For Her. However, while I find the NfH masculine, "stinky", chemical,  and dry, I find this EDT version toned down and morphed enough to ring all the bells  I want in  a perfume.

The first notes, to my nose, are a mix of very fresh green and young flowers, sweetish without being sweet, a bit acidic, and a bit berry-ish as well. Once this exhilarating coup of  freshness evaporates, you get what is the core of the perfume and what you will smell of the rest of the day - a woody floral scent with some smoky muskiness undertones. 

Narciso EDT is a sophisticated scent, but it is not classic by any means as contains cedar and vetiver, ingredients that have been traditionally used in masculine fragrances. In that regard, the perfume is feminine but not romantic, it is more mysterious than seductive, and it has a light masculine energy that is constantly challenged by the sexiness of the musk and the femininity of the the peony and Bulgarian rose. Unlike Narciso Eau Poudrée, Narciso EDT is not an EDT for everybody, so spray it on you at your nearest store and see how the fragrance evolves on your skin throughout the day. 

Narciso EDT reminds me of the original Bottega Venetta EDP, but it is way more daring  and quirky, and also more complex from first outing to settlement. If you like Bottega you'll probably like Narciso EDT. If you want a dark twist to you Bottega's, this is it!

Despite being an EDT, this fragrance has more longevity and sillage than some EDP scents I have. It lasts on me all day, on a low key, but it is clearly noticeable when I smell my wrists. 
 
I find this perfume perfect for autumn and winter, great for casual afternoon and evening outings if you want to smell good and interesting but are not overdoing your outfit or yourself. This is also a good fragrance for meetings if you apply it half an hour earlier, as you will be wearing a perfume that is feminine, assertive and mysterious at the same time, so it doesn't smell of "make love to me", but of "lets make a deal together". 

The bottle... Another square chunky bottle. Come on Narciso! Yet, in this particular case, it has a good vibe. It reminds me of those old bottles of blank ink my father used to have for his fountain pen when I was a kid. Black Ink would have been a good name for this perfume in a way it is that.  
 
Not cheap, but cheaper than other Narciso's scents, Narciso Eau de Toilet starts at 80 bucks the 30 mls bottle.

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