Review of Aqua Pacific Monarch

During our first week in Hawaii we stayed at Waikiki, on the island of Oahu. Originally we had booked an apartment that could accommodate my whole family, but six days before we were about to leave I get an email from the owner saying she had double booked us for a few days and couldn't check in until 3 nights later. The only compensation she was offering was to remove the cleaning fee and of course not charge us for the days we weren't going to be staying. This completely annoyed me, and I refuse to give her our business any longer and asked for a refund of what we had paid to date. So that left us scrambling for some place to stay that could accommodate our large party. Eventually we decided on Aqua Pacific Monarch based on hotel's location, consistent positive reviews and was within everyone's budget. However we were separated into tree different rooms, but I think that was actually a good thing.

Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the room we stay in before we messed it up. I was a zombie by the time we checked in and I like to take photos of the accommodation we stay at when I first walk/check in. If I'm doing a review I like to give readers a view of what I see when I first see a room. But there are photos of the rooms available on their website and on Trip Advisor and that's where I got the photos you can see below. 

Ok so the pro's and con's of Aqua Pacific Monarch.

Positives:

• Rooms had a kitchenette which comprised of a electric stove, microwave, fridge and basic utensils for when you can make your own meals. 
• Spacious room for the boys to play around in, and plenty of storage space for our things. 
• The hotel is two short blocks away from the beach. The hotel is close to the nicer side of Waikiki beach where there's more sand real estate, and there was barricades to filter waves, so  it was a very child friendly spot to swim. 
• Some great food joints within hotel's door step, (I strongly recommend that Korean BBQ place across the road) as well as various convenient stores for essentials. 
• Staff were always friendly.
• Guest collect beach towels and beach chairs for free from the front desk. 
• We all stayed in studio style room apartment where there was a kitchenette and living room space. The price was reasonable, we paid roughly $130 AUS a night per room. 

Negatives:

• Although you can tell the room has elements of modern fixtures it's still quite outdated. The hotel is probably really old so it could do with a complete renovation - but that's just my opinion.
• Weak air conditioning. None of the rooms have ducted or built in air conditioners, so there was a unit in one corner of the room that supplied all the cool air. If you're not in the room during the day it's fine, but we kept our thick curtains closed at all times to keep the heat out and cool air in. 
• Small bathroom with poor ventilation so would steam up quickly when taking hot showers.
• Poor lighting in the room.
• In our room house keeping was terrible. They would either not come so we'd have to call them to come in and do it, or arrive at 9am when we're still in the room. This happened everyday during our stay. 
• Although hotel was close to the beach it was a little bit of a hike to the retailers and popular food joints. I don't mind walking however with young children four blocks to get anywhere can be challenging if a child is not in the mood for walking. 
• There was a free shuttle bus that takes guests to Ala Moana Mall but it was always full from collecting other guests from other hotels. Plus it only came around every 30 minutes. It was easier and quicker to catch a bus from across the road, buses that included Ala Moana Mall in it's route came every 5 minutes.

Would I stay at Aqua Pacific Monarch again? No. There's are so many more other accommodation options available in Hawaii. Given we were forced to find an alternative so soon to our departure date, this was what we could find that met everyone's requirements.  

Have you stayed at a hotel around Waikiki before? Where did you stay? Would you stay there again why or what not?

Linking up with Jess

Tips For Traveling With Kids

We did it again. We travelled overseas with two kids under 5. This time we took an even longer flight, a 9 -10 hour flight each way.

Belated Happy 2nd Birthday Post

This post should've been published on the day of my son's 2nd birthday, but it wasn't finished and I don't like publishing posts I'm not 100% with.

Our recent holiday didn't give me a lot of free time to be in front of the laptop, (like as if I would rather be anyways) so now that I have finished it, I can now post it.

Happiest 2nd Birthday Kai. My baby boy, King Kai, Kai Kakes, Keks ... I have so many pet names for you. You're so adorable in my eyes that one name (or nick names) isn't enough to identify you. You need more, as you have so many layers, personalities to you.

I'm going to start by saying you've grown so fast. For me it feels like one day you're a baby and the next moment you're two years old. I wish I can slow your growth down, so I can appreciate and enjoy you at this stage of your life more. I feel guilty at times cause I know the kind of attention, care and priority you receive isn't equal.

You're quiet but communicate loudly in your way. You get hurt a lot, but you're hardly ever phased, or you stand up for yourself. You're demanding, always wanting it your way, but you're so sweet, so loving, and loyal.

You're defensive and don't back down from a fight. You love to laugh and make others laugh too. Right now you trains, The Wiggles and are drawn to animals. You're not afraid of them, you'll chase a dirty cockroach if you see one. You're much bigger than your older brother at his stage, so you're wearing (and out growing) so much of his hand me down's already. You pull the funniest faces, like your "beautiful eyes" and "gigil face" - they crack everyone up. You're a baby version of your dad. You look just like him in every way, even the long hair ... this is probably why I just want to squish you whenever I hold you. 

We love you so much Kai, you're so unpredictable and difficult at times, but we wouldn't want you to be any other way. You make our parenting life ... interesting, but you'll always be my baby boy. 

May you continue to thrive, be alway in perfect health, and be watched over. Happy birthday son. 

Linking up with Jess (it's been awhile)

Post Holiday Blues

We arrived back from Hawaii on Thursday evening. Arrived back to the cold and wet weather of Sydney, so of course I was missing Hawaii instantly. I remember just complaining about how cold it was the whole car ride home. I really despise the cold. 

What I love about holiday's is obviously spending time away my family, but for a blogger it's the content possibilities! I can't wait to recommend places we saw, things we did and share our experience with traveling overseas with two kids under five - I'll get to publishing those posts in due time. 

3am

I dunno I can't sleep. I was asleep, but one of the boys woke up and woke me up. Ian put him back to sleep, but now my body alarm has been awaken. It has been for the past hour and half now, and instead of surfing, I thought why not get ahead of work, why not blog. I miss you blog. 

To be honest, nothing has really inspired me to blog on here. My business has taken over a lot of my free time, so my head space is always thinking about ideas for other people's businesses, or ideas to grow my business, that unfortunately it consumes all my mind. I'm not complaining, it's a good thing - but I don't want to do another work post.

But something more interesting to read about than my business is the fact that in a few days we're off to Hawaii! I'm so excited! My whole family is going, it will be our first family holiday overseas with the extended members i.e partners and kids. We've all been before, several times actually. So we've seen a fair amount of the island, but the good thing about going back somewhere you've been before is checking out new places, or returning back someplace you enjoyed before. 

When travelling I usually like to plan detailed itinerary' so I have an idea of what I'll be doing when I get to a destination. I don't like to waste my time, so I like to research and know what I could potentially do in advance. However I guess because we've been to Hawaii before, and partly cause I've been distracted with the business, I haven't planned anything - I haven't even created a spreadsheet! 

So since I'm awake at 3am, I might as well start putting together a list of things I want to do while we're in Hawaii. 

1. Hike up to Diamond Head

Diamond Head is a look out point of Honolulu. You hike up a dormant volcano cone to see views of the city. Last time I was at Hawaii I was 28 weeks pregnant, and Ian refused to let me hike up for safety reasons. So this time I'm coming for you Diamond Head! Just Googled directions from where we're staying and its only 2miles (3.3km) away by car. I've already decided to make the trip as one of my morning runs. 

2. See more of the North Shore area

Last time we went we only drove up for the day. The North Shore has some of the picturesque beaches of Ohau in my opinion. Plus the drive up with the various stop options makes it one of my recommended things to do in Hawaii. I definitely want to allocate more time traveling to and seeing this area. 

3. Paddle Board

Again because I was pregnant, someone dictated what activities I was and wasn't aloud to do. This time I'm taking full advantage of all the sports and water activities and paddle boarding is on the top of my list, along with snorkelling and learning how to surf.  

4. Ko Olina Lagoons

I've heard Ko Olina are the most child friendly beaches because they're lagoons, so the water is usually flat. Here you can do an array of water activities or just relax by the water. 

5. Giovanni's Shrimp Truck

I know there's heavy debate on which shrimp truck is the best in Honolulu. I have to admit I haven't tried the competitors, but Giovanni's makes amazing bbq garlic shrimp (prawns for us Aussies). I can't wait to go back and have more, this time I'm not sharing!

Have you been to Hawaii before? What do you recommend I try or do?

7 Things I've Out Grown

I know as we get older as our life situations changes, so does our interests. I find as I age what I use to enjoy or spend my spare time doing, I no longer seem to find as ... interesting. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, it's all part of our individual journey. There's still so much of living to do but, but here are a list of things I've noticed I've out grown.

Life Lately

I know the blog has been quiet lately. Of course it's mostly due to running a new business. It's been a month since I've gone live, but like any business owner knows the hard work happens after you actually launch.