This resort has been around in Malaysia for quite a number of years. Probably as far back as 2010 and was once recognized as one of the best resort not only in Port Dickson but in Malaysia. This resort is not to be mistaken as another resort of similar name, Avillion Admiral Cove Port Dickson which is located nearby and is managed by the same company. Avillion is also Malaysia's very first water chalet resort. Today it is rated as the Top 3 / 4 resort in Port Dickson by Tripadvisor due to increasing competition from newer water chalet resorts like Grand Lexis and the recently opened The Hibiscus.
Avillion PD
Over the years, the resort may look a bit tired and in need of more refurbishment works but I will have to say it still retained its own charm which its competitors may be lack of. I have been to Grand Lexis twice but I still think Avillion is still my preferred choice very much due to its all natural village like environment which just feels more authentic than the other competitors.
I brought my family to Avillion over a long weekend holiday in May 2015. I booked 2 premium water chalets which comes with free daily buffet breakfast as well as complimentary access to Avi Lounge for afternoon tea and evening cocktail. Each room cost me about RM900++/night but I think its still a good value if you spent enough time in the resort.
If you review the comments in Tripadvisor, you may find a couple of complaints on their car park, customer service at lobby, long que during breakfast and etc. Unfortunately, it is all true especially during peak periods but if you plan your time well enough, you can still have wonderful time just like I did. Watch a video of my trip below.
The Lobby
Source: Expatadventure
In the past, many have complained about the lack of service attendants to assist with the luggage and I kind of agree with that as well. Nevertheless, it is fortunate that things has improved now. Check in time is 3pm and during peak season do expect the que to check in is usually long and sometimes your room may not be ready yet. To avoid this problem, my family and I checked in slightly after 3pm to avoid the que and since the room is not ready yet, we headed straight for afternoon tea at the Avi Lounge.
Avi Lounge
This place is really a nice place to hang out with family, friends or loved ones to basically chill out and chit chat. If you are alone, well its still a good place to spent your time reading a book or something. Avi Louge is located in some sort of a glass house which offers a fantastic panoramic view of the ocean or to be more exact ....The Straits of Melaka. The Avi Spa is also located in the same building.
If you are staying in the premium water chalets, your access to Avi Lounge is complimentary for afternoon tea and evening cocktail. It is not a big place so I advise people to be there early or you may be disappointed if you can't find yourself a seat. A mini buffet spread of sandwiches, tarts and cakes will be served during each session. You will have a choice of coffee, tea, variety of juices and soft drinks for the afternoon tea. Alcoholic beverages and cocktails are added to the menu during evening cocktails. I usually go for only 1 session each day as the gap between afternoon tea and evening cocktail is not really that far apart. I prefer to go for the afternoon tea as it is just right time to catch a snack since I usually skip lunch after a heavy buffet breakfast. The food and drinks quality is not bad though I have to say the overall ambiance is the main attraction here.
The Premium Water Chalets
To me, its really a wonderful experience. So wonderful that I actually visited this place twice in a year. First was with Wifey and for the second time, I brought along my mum and dad as well. On both occasions, my objective was the same which is to find a place that allow me to have a break from my hectic city life and have some alone time with my loved ones. Most city folks feel that there is nothing much to do in Port Dickson but that is exactly the point!! You are not supposed to do anything in PD except to chill, relax and unwind.
View From Our Balcony. Sometimes you can see people fishing right from their own balcony
So whats so wonderful about Avillion? The answer is the Premium Water Chalets which are the chalets that are located furthest out to the sea and comes with an unobstructed sea view. I always enjoy watching the change from low tide to high tide as I listen to the the waves lapping beneath our chalet.
The chalets may not be as big or luxurious looking as the ones in Grand Lexis but it is comfortable enough. The chalet is fully equipped with a king sized poster bed and a pangkin bed which is located right beside the window. During the day, I really enjoy myself doing some reading at the backdrop of a wonderful seaview outside the window. At night, sometimes I just doze off on the pangkin bed while watching and listening to the ocean waves. Fantastic...wish that my daily life is like that :).
I did have some issues with the air conditioning which was not cold enough especially during the day. Nevertheless, it did not bother me too much. As for the free wifi system, it was a total let down as it barely works most of the time.
Evening view from our balcony.
Wifey reading on pangkin bed...
The bathroom on the other hand is quite big and luxuriously equipped with an open air shower, a bathtub and separate basins. The toiletries provided unfortunately were unable to deliver the premium feel which I am usually accustomed to when I am at other higher end holiday resorts.
The usual toiletries provided @ Avillion
The packaging looks too plain for a RM900+ room...
Petting Zoo
Located not far away from the main building is the petting zoo. It is one of the main attraction of the resort. There, you will find different breed of animals from cute bunnies to colourful peacocks living together harmoniously. Each morning around 10am, its feeding time at the petting zoo and guests are allowed to go into the usually confined area to feed the animals. Every time my family and I past by the petting zoo, we never failed to spent a couple of minutes observing what the animals are up to.
The Beach
I will really recommend a stroll on the beach during low tide which is usually early in the morning or late afternoon. I go there not only to catch some sea breeze and have some exercise, I also find it interesting to observe the abundance of little snails and crabs in their natural habitat. You can easily spot them along the beach during low tide. I was wondering where are the adult ones.. then can catch them and have them for dinner..lol.
The resort used to have two private beaches but one has been cordoned off to the public. Still, I find the fact that the resort has its own private beach is an added advantage. To be honest, I do like the water chalets offered by Grand Lexis but they do not have a private beach and I felt that this is a real downside.
That's me in the middle.
Little crabs and snails found along the beach.
Restaurant / Food Review
On our first night, we decided to have dinner at Crow's Nest located in the resort. It was pretty quiet on that day with only two tables filled with patrons. My family ordered local food (fried noodles), steak and lamb rack. I can only remember that the meal was quite pricy and I can agree that there are better options outside the hotel. Nevertheless, if you want to spent more time in the resort or if you want a more exclusive, comfortable and quiet place to have your dinner then this place is a pretty good option. Overall, food quality was just satisfactory and I felt that much can be improved. The teh tarik (which comes with chocholate chip cookies) was pretty good though.
Interior of Crow's Nest
Steak
Lamb rack
Teh Tarik & cookies
Buffet breakfast is usually served at Village Court which is located just beside the swimming pool. Breakfast is usually only included for the package for Premium Water Chalets. So if you have booked the normal water chalets, breakfast is usually not included and you will have to pay for it separately. Again, the buffet spread was just okay similar to those you normally find in a 4 star hotel. In terms of food quality, Grand Lexis wins with a better buffet spread. Although buffet breakfast is normally not included in the price for the normal chalets, the restaurant can get pretty packed during peak season. So if you want to dine comfortably and skip the que you may want to start your breakfast before 8am in the morning.
Facilities
The resort has two swimming pools. I liked the idea of having an adult only pool so that one can enjoy a peaceful session without the need to tolerate noisy kids.
Adult only Cochin Pool
Village Pool which is open for all hotel guests.
There is also a gym which was pretty small and equipped with basic equipment only. I recalled the treadmill was pretty old but was usable. As an added advantage, the resort also provides steam bath and sauna facilities.
Ratings
Overall, I feel that this resort is excellent especially for those who is looking for a relaxing break from the hectic city life. Like most holiday destination, you will tend to get more value if avoid peak period like school holidays or long weekends. Signing off with more pictures of the resort below.
Finally... our first meal in Hokkaido. After driving for about an hour we reached our very first destination in Hokkaido to have our lunch. It was already about 2pm and my tummy was growling for some authentic Hokkaido cuisine :). We had our lunch at a restaurant called Kani Goten which literary means Crab Palace in English located along the Muroran Highway. I chose this place for lunch since its location is pretty strategic as it is located en route to my hotel in Hokkaido. We will be staying at Dai-ichi Takimotokan Hotel for the night which is just 20 minutes away. It is not easy to miss this place as there is a big crab sign board right outside the restaurant and a giant bear statue on the roof of the restaurant. To be exact, this place is not only a restaurant but also a small seafood market where a variety of seafood produce are sold.
Kani Goten Family Restaurant
Bear Statue on the roof of the restaurant
To get here, exit Hokkaido Expressway at Exit 8 (Shiraoi) and head towards Noboribetsu. After a short 15-20 minutes drive, you should find the restaurant on your left. Despite the restaurant known for crabs, we did not order any as I felt that I would have much of it over the next few days. With the intention of going simple and nice, we ordered a Donburi (a bowl of rice with mixed seafood ie tuna, shrimp, salmon roe and sea urchin) and Stuffed Squid with Black Ink Sauce.
Donburi
As a person who don't prefer to eat raw seafood, I still find the Donburi to be really delicious. Funny... The rice was sweet and had a nice flavour to it. If I am not wrong, vinegar is added when the rice is cooked. The seafood was fresh and there was no fishy or foul smell at all. Really nice.
Stuffed Squid With Black Ink
Source: kanigoten.co.jp
Can't say the same for the squid stuffed with rice though. It tasted too bland for my liking. After lunch, Wifey and I walked around the area selling seafood located next to the restaurant. You can find all sorts of seafood here including different types of crabs, scallop, sea urchin, oyster and etc kept mostly alive in aquariums. I guess it caters more to local Japanese tourist who can make purchase here and get the seafood delivered to their homes anywhere in Japan.
After lunch we continued our journey to Noboribetsu. If you are driving to Noboribetsu from Chitose, I would suggest you take this route ie via Muroran Highway instead of all the way using the Hokkaido expressway. Firstly, there are a few seafood restaurants along the way that you can try and secondly you get to catch the view of Hokkaido Coastline. Not that it is really a magnificent sight but I guess it is more interesting especially if you are a foreign tourist.
First Japanese Car Parking Experience
After about 20 minutes driving, we finally reached our hotel for the night, Daiichi Takimotokan Hotel. We were directed by a hotel staff to go to the basement level for parking. As soon as we there, another based at the parking directed me to park a an empty lot right in front of the entrance. I thought to myself how lucky can I be right? Wrong!!!
As I was preparing to alight from the car, it started to turn 90 degrees to the left and soon I found myself facing this.
Yikes... I was totally not prepared for this. The staff manning the parking asked me to retract my rear mirrors and I didn't really know which button to press since I just got the car. So I decided to go trial and error and luckily I managed to find the right button. Once the car was parked inside the space provided, Wifey and I quickly grabbed all our belongings and ensure nothing is left behind. Once outside the car, I tried to lock my car with the remote but somehow the car lock did not work. ??? After several tries, I decided to give up and just leave the car as it is since it was going to be in a cage anyway and.. of course we were in Japan, one of the countries in the world with low crime rate :). The morale of the story is to get to know your rented car well enough including some of the controls or otherwise you may end up like me. I later found out that the reason why I wasn't able to lock my car with the remote was because my car engine was not switched off. Luckily, the car system knows how to auto shut down after the car was left idle for a while.
Daiichi Takimotokan Hotel, Noboribetsu A great hotel although I find it to be a bit touristy. Will write more on a separate page. :)
A walk in the evening After checking into the hotel, we decided to take a short walk outside the hotel before our much anticipated buffet dinner. The good thing about Daiichi hotel is that it is nearby to the main tourist attraction area like Hell Valley, Sengen Geyser and the main shopping street.
Main shopping street (a bit quiet since it is late evening already)
Some of the statues you find along the road...
The smog in front is actually hot steam from Sengen Geyser
Sengen Geyser (Note that it sprouts every 3 hours only)
Getting to Haneda Airport Woke up early on that morning to ensure we don't miss the morning flight to Hokkaido and of course, I was also looking forward to the buffet breakfast at Sunroute Hotel. We are suppose to catch a flight from Haneda Airport (Tokyo) to Chitose Airport in Hokkaido at 11am. Taking into consideration that we should arrive at the airport circa 2 hours earlier means we should already be there by 9am.
After the wholesome breakfast, we make our way to the bus stop located at the west exit of Shinjuku Station which is just 10 minutes walk away from our hotel. We already bought the bus tickets a day before which cost us 1,230yen/person. For further info on airport bus please click here.
Airport Bus @ West Exit Shinjuku Station
Source: Google Maps
There are basically two common ways to commute to Haneda Airport ie by monorail or by airport bus. I find the latter the more convenient way to travel since the bus stop is nearby my hotel and I am not required to switch train along the way. If I take the monorail, I will need to take the subway from Shinjuku Station and transit somewhere to get to the monorail, which may be quite troublesome. Travelling time by bus will just take about an hour.
Haneda Airport Haneda airport used to be the main international airport of Tokyo before it was moved to Narita. Nevertheless, Haneda was subsequently refurbished to accommodate the increasing passenger traffic in Tokyo. We took All Nippon Airways (ANA) to Hokkaido which would depart from Haneda's Domestic Terminal.
Though not as big as compared to the airport's international terminal, the place is still pretty cozy and not overly packed with people. The lay out is well planned with a small shopping area at one end of the terminal. At the upper floor, you will find some cafes and restaurants. Since we were not hungry after the heavy breakfast, we loitered around the shopping area before heading to the security check point leading to the departure hall. Security check was a breeze likely due to the fact that this is a domestic terminal and hence security check may be less intense.
Haneda Airport
ANA Flight
Our flight NH061 to Hokkaido cost us 10,000yen or RM326/pax which comes with free 20kg luggage allowance. In order to keep our cost down, we did not pay for seat selection and consequently wifey and I had to seat separately. This was fine since the flight took only 90 minutes. Just enough time for me to enjoy a cup of coffee while my wifey doze off as usual.
ANA NH061 To Chitose
Chitose Airport We touched down at Chitose Airport on time at around 12.35pm. Sorry for the lack of pictures as I recall at that time my mind was overly focused on how to collect my rented car. Immediately after arrival, we head directly towards the Toyota Rent A Car counter to wait for our transport to a satellite building nearby the airport to collect our car.
Toyota Rent A Car Satellite Building
Toyota Rent A Car Sapporo (Click here to official website)
We rented a 1,500cc Toyota Prius C (Hybrid) model for 3 full days for 38,232 yen or RM1,179 which works out to about RM393/night. We will be using this car to travel to Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Otaru and Sapporo. Since this is a hybrid car, no refueling was required until we finally reached Sapporo where we are required to return the car with a full tank. The car is equipped with a GPS with Japanese interface although the verbal directions can be in English. Searching out locations are pretty easy by using the telephone number of the place you are heading. Just make sure you get it right or you will end up in somewhere really wrong. As the interface is in Japanese, it may be helpful if you can read basic Japanese / Chinese. As a form of assurance, I always double check where I am heading using google maps on my mobile to ensure I am going to the right direction. Yeah, google maps works here too. To sum it up, use local gps for navigation or directions and use google maps for bearing.
The car was pleasant to drive though I took some time to get familiar with it due to the fact that it is a hybrid car and the handling is really different from the old car I drive back home. Firstly, there is very minimal vibration and sound hence it is confusing to me to even know whether the engine is switched on or not. Secondly, I also have to get familiar with the new technology ie keyless entry, automatic wiper and headlamps which you normally don't find in old cars. Luckily for me, I had earlier downloaded a copy of the car instruction manual and had briefly read through it before the trip. This was also my first time driving outside of my country.
GPS With Japanese Interface Included
Driving in Hokkaido
Our Driving Route In Hokkaido covering about 270km (Chitose, Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Otaru and Sapporo)
Driving in Hokkaido is actually quite fun with its scenic views and is not that hard to drive at all due to the relatively low traffic and straight road. The only thing is to familiarize with is the local traffic rules which may turn out to be quite confusing. To me, the first one to be aware of are the traffic lights. Even if it is green, look out for oncoming vehicles in front (as well as people crossing the road). For reasons I don't understand yet and luckily I am back safe and sound, you may not necessary have the right of way even if it is green on your side. I almost learned this the hard way. Do take note on this. Second is the speed limit. It is quite common that speed limit on trunk road is around 40-60km/hour only. Initially, I tried to comply with it but soon I realised that everybody actually drives 10-20km/hour faster. This is weird especially in Japan where the society is known to comply with rules and regulations strictly.
