Staycation. I never felt relatable to this word until RK made it my birthday present in 2016 when I was going through chemotherapy. That year, we checked in to a “studio apartment” at Oasia Suites KL right after going to the hospital to remove my chemotherapy drug and needle. I was sleeping most of the time (like how I usually do after chemo) and RK was working a lot because of work crisis. Staycation was definitely the perfect holiday for both of us that time!
This first experience definitely got us hooked that when we didn’t have any plan during the long Christmas holiday that year, we decided to do another staycation in KL. This time at the newly refurbished Oakwood Hotel & Residences KL. We did a lot more walking this round in the city for food and as I was done with all cancer treatments by then, we could eat a lot more. We discovered our favourite steak place then!
We travelled a lot in 2017 so there was no staycation.
When the suggestion to do a staycation popped up recently for our 4th anniversary, you bet I took it up. This staycation was our shortest (2D1N) but I felt we got the most buck out of it because we used a lot of the facilities, like how staycations should be. This 3rd experience also made me feel strongly about why KL-ites should do staycation in KL too.
You Don’t Feel “Rugi” If You Don’t Tour
We’re young. We’re energetic. I love to play tourists and tend to want to visit a lot of places when we go somewhere new or faraway. KL is a place very accessible for us so when we do a staycation in KL, I don’t feel obligated to visit places. I feel OK to just stay in the hotel and chill. This is the point of staycation anyway so I can’t have the FOMO feeling of “but we drove hours to Ipoh / Malacca / Penang / etc we should visit / eat / etc”. We only left the hotel for food.
It’s also a bonus when I can just go to the deck outside sky gym in my pajamas for unobstructed KL Tower view.
You Get to Feel “Atas” for 2D1N
The joy of ringing someone to come change the light bulb when you head out for a swim. The joy of messing up the room knowing someone will tidy it up later. Not forgetting the bath tub, rain shower, city view balcony, bath robes, hotel slippers, sky gym, infinity pool, sauna room, steam room, jacuzzi, etc. You get the point.
It’s So Convenient!
Being in KL means easy accessibility. We didn’t have to worry about places to eat. We just wiped out our phones when we wanted food recommendations near us. We could Grab a ride, which we did because it’s so cheap especially with the promo codes. We could walk around, which we also did because walking for 20 minutes seems OK when you’re on vacation. Also because Grab was not available. LOL. Did I just say ironic things about Grab in the same paragraph? 😂
It’s Cheaper Than…A lot Other Anniversary activity
We typically spend about RM250 for accommodation during our staycations. This round at Fraser Residences, RM250 got us gym in the sky with KL Tower view, infinity swimming pool with ang moh view 😂, hot and cold jacuzzi (like Katy Perry’s song), steam room that I didn’t know how to use, sauna room that I knew how to use, buffet breakfast where I realized the hotel had a lot of guests and a night stay in a studio apartment that we didn’t have time to use its bathtub. That’s a long list of items to do between 3pm and 11am the following day. 👍🏻
You Don’t Need A Vacation After A Vacation
Raise your hand if you often feel tired after a vacation because you played too much, walked too much, ate too much, etc. No such problem with staycation…except if you play at the gym too much. Haha. My muscles complained the day after from all the random workouts. I could totally call it a fit-cation instead but that was voluntary so yeah. You don’t need a vacation after a staycation if you do it right.
There you have it! 5 reasons for KL-ites to do staycation in KL or anywhere you are. I’ve never tried out-of-grid staycation i.e. at Sekeping Serendah or glamping before because they’re more expensive than staying in 4-star hotel without the facilities. 😅 Anyone wanna sponsor me a stay so that I can write about it? Or maybe recommend me somewhere within my budget.