Raffles Pool & Spa with Layla

Saturday 19th March 2016

During this unseasonably mild month, I have taken Kingsley out every single day. Today was no exception. We met with friends Camilla and three year old Layla at Wafi City’s Raffles Hotel for a buy-one-get-one-free spa and pool day. It almost never happened, mind, because once we arrived at the spa/pool reception, Camilla realized she forgot her wallet, and when I gallantly stepped in to pay for us, mortification descended upon us all when my card was declined. Disaster was round the corner: two hungry bored toddlers have zero tolerance for such an adult-generated incursion to their play dates. I had to act fast. I rang the bank and pleaded stupidity.

We managed to pay finally (daft me overlooked the critical step of setting a PIN for my new debit card the day I received it). Apologies to the attendant were smiled way and he welcomed us to step though the coveted glass doors beyond which our daybeds beckoned us.

Deep adult pools, walk-in children’s splash zones, spas, jacuzzi, swim-up bars, warm outdoor showers, botanic gardens and even a children’s play area in the sun made our day full. I discovered the Spa’s delightful interiors when Kingsley needed a feed and a sleep. So I settled into some overstuffed cushions for the hour, iPad in hand, eating complimentary energy balls and bananas while the boy napped. Camilla and Layla in the meantime ordered chicken skewers for lunch out in the sun.

Highlights of the day: crashing the (very lavish/obviously expensive) four year old party set up; the larceny of week-old cucumbers and mushrooms which were display items at the outdoor BBQ, then watching the kids eat them while swimming in highly chlorinated water; procuring stabbing stomach pains from scoffing far too many rich date-and-coconut energy balls I pilfered from the hotel’s gym; kidlets playing remarkably well together, sharing food/toys nary a winge or cry to be heard from either; and finally, that brilliant feeling of spending a day of luxury for a fraction of the price with one of your bestest girlfriends.

At Raffles Hotel, Wafi City

At Raffles Hotel, Wafi City