our new home – the beverly hills tower! a bit of a cheesy name, i admit but the place is where we are going to hang our hats for awhile. the building is 29 stories located in the heart of west bay aka the construction zone! the location has both its advantages and disadvantages – advantages being that we are within walking distance to the corniche and the city centre mall; disadvantages being that there is 24 hour construction (except for on fridays) which is a constant dull background noise more noticeable in the mornings. however, things could be worse…like the traffic and sirens back in London!!
the building and its amenities are amazing! no joke, it is like staying in a hotel. there is 24 security in the lobby with a concierge service (the trolley ad their services came in extremely handy numerous times over the move weekend). the 2nd floor is the communal floor which houses the gym, the outdoor pool, a spa (opening tbc), games room and a new york deli café (even though i thought we were living in ‘beverly hills’!!). it also has a small business centre – that is where i sent this email from. i will post pictures tomorrow, i promise!
our unit itself is duplex across 2 floors – lucky 13 and 14. it is huge! mike and I get lost in the place compared to the ‘shoebox’ places we’ve lived in previously in london. the living room area itself is the size of our entire flat back in borough! it has 2 separate seating areas (not quite sure why) with an 8 person dining table – we can finally have dinner parties (once i learn how to cook, hehe). a 2 piece washroom is on the main floor as well. the kitchen is a disappointment – both mike and I hate it! unlike most newer north american homes, open concept kitchens do not exist here. culturally, it is common to have a live in maid who is responsible for cleaning, cooking and childcare if applicable. therefore, the kitchens are often tucked away close to the maid’s quarters. our place has a corridor off of the main living space which leads to the kitchen and the maid’s room. the maid’s room is just small enough to fit a single bed and bedside table. of course there is a small bathroom off of the sleeping quarters as well. mike and I have decided that it will be a fantastic storage room!
a big staircase leads you to the 2nd level. although there are entrances on both the 13th and 14th floors from outside, we are going to get a workout constantly going up and down these stairs let me tell ya! once upstairs, there is a small laundry room with a stacking washer/dryer…full size! can’t tell you how happy we were to see this as back in London flats are usually equipped with very small 2 in 1 washer/dryer combo that takes 3 hours (no joke) to do one load of laundry! while we are on the subject of full sizes – the kitchen also has a proper full size fridge – paradise! again, back in London we always had a fridge just slightly bigger than a bar fridge, you know the ones you used to have in university? anyhow, it doesn’t take much to make mike and i happy. beside the laundry room is the master bedroom. it is a good size. there is also a balcony off the bedroom that overlooks a series of towers (under construction) and a bit of the water…for now. you can also see the pool area below, really far down below! the balcony is big enough to fit a couple of chairs or a bbq as mike says! there is also an ensuite bathroom and a large closet (which is still not big enough for both mike and I’s stuff!!). moving further down the hall there are 2 more bedrooms with ensuites furnished with 2 single beds in each. we are planning on making one into an office and the other will be a guest room.
the place came semi furnished as most places do here. only the bulk of the furniture is supplied which means we are responsible for the rest – bedding, towels, small appliances (they provided a flat screen tv), dishes, pots and pans, etc. unfortunately, we left most of that stuff back in London so we had to buy it all again! we have managed to buy most of the necessities, but still need to buy the little things to personalize it. it has been quite a struggle though finding everything we require in our particular taste. you should have seen mike and I shopping for pots and pans on sat….hilarious, it was the blind leading the blind!! and why is it so hard to find a decent shower curtain!?!
the furniture supplied isn’t too bad. at least it is quite neutral (finally there is no orange couch)! the quality is poor and as a result there are a lot of damaged pieces which we hope to have replaced after our walk through. my only complaint is the hard mattress which has given me sleepless nights. my goal is to find a pillow top to make it a bit softer.
other than the move, nothing else is happening here. mike is extremely busy and stressed at work which made the move terrible timing. he is working long hours while I keep myself busy unpacking and organizing…one of my fav things to do.
AND the most exciting thing is starting the countdown to portugal!!! in 7 sleeps we will be with my family in faro, portugal…
the building and its amenities are amazing! no joke, it is like staying in a hotel. there is 24 security in the lobby with a concierge service (the trolley ad their services came in extremely handy numerous times over the move weekend). the 2nd floor is the communal floor which houses the gym, the outdoor pool, a spa (opening tbc), games room and a new york deli café (even though i thought we were living in ‘beverly hills’!!). it also has a small business centre – that is where i sent this email from. i will post pictures tomorrow, i promise!
our unit itself is duplex across 2 floors – lucky 13 and 14. it is huge! mike and I get lost in the place compared to the ‘shoebox’ places we’ve lived in previously in london. the living room area itself is the size of our entire flat back in borough! it has 2 separate seating areas (not quite sure why) with an 8 person dining table – we can finally have dinner parties (once i learn how to cook, hehe). a 2 piece washroom is on the main floor as well. the kitchen is a disappointment – both mike and I hate it! unlike most newer north american homes, open concept kitchens do not exist here. culturally, it is common to have a live in maid who is responsible for cleaning, cooking and childcare if applicable. therefore, the kitchens are often tucked away close to the maid’s quarters. our place has a corridor off of the main living space which leads to the kitchen and the maid’s room. the maid’s room is just small enough to fit a single bed and bedside table. of course there is a small bathroom off of the sleeping quarters as well. mike and I have decided that it will be a fantastic storage room!
a big staircase leads you to the 2nd level. although there are entrances on both the 13th and 14th floors from outside, we are going to get a workout constantly going up and down these stairs let me tell ya! once upstairs, there is a small laundry room with a stacking washer/dryer…full size! can’t tell you how happy we were to see this as back in London flats are usually equipped with very small 2 in 1 washer/dryer combo that takes 3 hours (no joke) to do one load of laundry! while we are on the subject of full sizes – the kitchen also has a proper full size fridge – paradise! again, back in London we always had a fridge just slightly bigger than a bar fridge, you know the ones you used to have in university? anyhow, it doesn’t take much to make mike and i happy. beside the laundry room is the master bedroom. it is a good size. there is also a balcony off the bedroom that overlooks a series of towers (under construction) and a bit of the water…for now. you can also see the pool area below, really far down below! the balcony is big enough to fit a couple of chairs or a bbq as mike says! there is also an ensuite bathroom and a large closet (which is still not big enough for both mike and I’s stuff!!). moving further down the hall there are 2 more bedrooms with ensuites furnished with 2 single beds in each. we are planning on making one into an office and the other will be a guest room.
the place came semi furnished as most places do here. only the bulk of the furniture is supplied which means we are responsible for the rest – bedding, towels, small appliances (they provided a flat screen tv), dishes, pots and pans, etc. unfortunately, we left most of that stuff back in London so we had to buy it all again! we have managed to buy most of the necessities, but still need to buy the little things to personalize it. it has been quite a struggle though finding everything we require in our particular taste. you should have seen mike and I shopping for pots and pans on sat….hilarious, it was the blind leading the blind!! and why is it so hard to find a decent shower curtain!?!
the furniture supplied isn’t too bad. at least it is quite neutral (finally there is no orange couch)! the quality is poor and as a result there are a lot of damaged pieces which we hope to have replaced after our walk through. my only complaint is the hard mattress which has given me sleepless nights. my goal is to find a pillow top to make it a bit softer.
other than the move, nothing else is happening here. mike is extremely busy and stressed at work which made the move terrible timing. he is working long hours while I keep myself busy unpacking and organizing…one of my fav things to do.
AND the most exciting thing is starting the countdown to portugal!!! in 7 sleeps we will be with my family in faro, portugal…
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