Saturday & Sunday 19^th & 20^th September 2020

“Does my family deserve a special treat?” said Daddy Steve on Friday when we got home from school at 3pm.

Intrigued where Steve is going with that, he continued: “I have had a very stressful week, so let’s relax together as a family.  Taking advantage of the amazing offers without any tourists I have booked a staycation at the Taj Samudra Hotel for the weekend.” 

Wow, what a treat.  One of Colombo’s 5-star hotels of which we have enjoyed their restaurants on several occasions, but never stayed overnight. How exciting!

Packing is easy now for a one-night stay; we bring all our clothes to daddy Steve and he packs it efficiently in one suitcase while we get the apartment ready to leave!

Our taxi came at 10am on Saturday and took as on the 10 minute journey to our destination.  On checking in, we were given a very spacious room on their executive floor called a Taj Club room, with two double beds (perfect for an adult and a child in each), a lounge area with a couch, a table, two armchairs and a study area with desk & chair. 

We relaxed with gadgets for an hour or so and them went for lunch.  The three of us had the best fillet steak we have had in Colombo so far, and Emi ordered the biggest hamburger I have ever seen!  All delicious and it was worth the wait. We had a lively family conversation talking about everything by the lunch table, just us; no gadgets competing for our attention.  After his stressful week, Steve fell asleep after lunch and his two Lion Stouts courtesy of Happy Hour; 8.8% each.  I went to the gym after enjoying a coffee and a Czech YouTube movie.

Dinner was in the form of a buffet and nice variety of choice. Grilled meat and seafood was our favorite and a red bottle of wine was shared between three of us as our dear friend Pavel joined us so he was not a lonely boy. The kids went upstairs to bed at about 10pm and we talked in the bar, boys drinking whiskey and a gin & tonic to finish the evening off.

Sunday morning was with a gentle awakening at 9am and going downstairs for breakfast. “I am not at all hungry” says Steve!  Misa and me had poached eggs on toast with some salad, fruit and croissants, Steve had his usual – a spicy omelette, and Emi some toast and fruit with croissants. We had our friend’s daughter to babysit for 4 hours as her daddy had to go to work and mummy was in isolation after arriving from the UK, so it felt like having “triplets”. They played on gadgets, we went swimming – the only guests by the pool – Steve went to the gym, the kids had a pool side lunch (M chocolate brownies and ice cream – excellent choice of healthy lunch, and Emi had fish and chips).  Gadget time when back in the room to relax, I went to gym (they have my favorite gym equipment – a rowing machine) and daddy Steve had an hour-long nap.

We had a late check out 8pm, so we packed our one suitcase, had a Skype chat with grandad and grandma, checked out about 7pm and ordered a taxi to take us home. We had a really good deal and got a 25% discount on extras for food and beverage.  As a leaving present I was given a dark wood 10cm tall elephant by the duty manager– what a sweet gesture.

Coming home from anywhere is always a shock with piles of washing and back to reality and routine – semolina for kid’s dinner, shower, and bed. I managed to wash two washing machine loads and it was dry by the next morning ready for ironing.

We all love going away to do something special and have quality family time.  Thank you Daddy Steve for going to work and treating us to a special stay at a lovely hotel. We feel lucky and privileged; we remind ourselves of that every single day.

Rennie