{"id":264,"date":"2008-09-05T18:12:26","date_gmt":"2008-09-05T10:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/?p=264"},"modified":"2008-09-05T18:12:26","modified_gmt":"2008-09-05T10:12:26","slug":"the-vines-apartment-swan-valley-perth-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/the-vines-apartment-swan-valley-perth-australia.html","title":{"rendered":"The Vines Apartment, Swan Valley, Perth."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Vines Apartment in Swan Valley was truly a great accommodation. Only problem was that it was located quite far away from Perth city, Australia. It takes about 50 minutes of driving from Perth. You may wonder why we ended in such an isolated accommodation. Well, sometime ago we joined Sara Worldwide Vacation Club which was affiliated with Interval International and decided to use up the points or it will go to waste. It seemed like a good idea at that time to join up, but like most timeshares, there were many restrictions and limitations. Though the apartment accommodation provide was superb, and the number of affiliated hotels, resorts and accommodation worldwide listed looked a lot but the actual number of available hotels and resorts for each specific region and timing were actually rather limited. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/imgs\/wp\/perth_the_vines_apartment_swan_valley500x256.jpg\" alt=\"The Vines Apartment, Swan Valley, Perth Australia.\"><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"><!--\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-5685769204706262\";\ngoogle_alternate_color = \"eeeecc\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 336;\ngoogle_ad_height = 280;\ngoogle_ad_format = \"336x280_as\";\ngoogle_ad_type = \"text\";\n\/\/2007-08-06: JanLeow.com Blogs\ngoogle_ad_channel = \"5832813811\";\ngoogle_color_border = \"FFFFFF\";\ngoogle_color_bg = \"FFFFFF\";\ngoogle_color_link = \"CC0000\";\ngoogle_color_text = \"000000\";\ngoogle_color_url = \"808080\";\ngoogle_ui_features = \"rc:0\";\n\/\/--><\/script><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\n  src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/center><br clear=\"all\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/imgs\/wp\/perth_the_vines_apartment_swan_valley_2_300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The bedroom of The Vines Apartment, Swan Valley, Australia\" style=\"float: right; padding: 2px; margin:2px;\">Vacation club in my personal opinion was more suited for westerners and people who preferred to just sit back and relax in the resort itself. Unlike most Asians like us, whenever we go visit a country, we prefer to move around and go for sight-seeing. Of course, most travel agent tour itinerary would include museums and prominent landmarks but that was not to everyone\u2019s liking. Enough of stuffy old museum with antiquities and ancient civilization. We are here for the present, though some stories of the past would spice things up.<\/p>\n<p>The Vines Apartment that we got was two rooms and was able to accommodate 4 person. Since there was 5 of us, 3 of us shared the master bedroom which has a Queen size bed. There were two separate well equipped bathrooms. The living room was spacious with a medium size LCD TV with a JVC Hi-Fi set capable of playing DVDs , a desk, two sofas and a dining table. Wall mounted LCD TV was also provided in the master bedroom so we did not have to get stuck watching the same TV programmes. The kitchen was build along the corridor complete with microwave oven, kettle, toaster, stove, and with various utensils. A washing machine with drier was provided as well. With the laundry unit meant that we could reduce the amount of clothing we had to bring as we could wash our clothes. Still it was a wonder how we ended up bringing so much luggage. On closer inspection, we brought a tad too many warm clothing. Well it serves to be prepared. Though it was not as cold as I thought it would be for an end of Winter season.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/imgs\/wp\/perth_the_vines_apartment_swan_valley_3_300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The living and dining room of The Vines Apartment, Swan Valley, Australia\" style=\"float: left; padding: 2px; margin:2px;\">One thing caught us by surprise was that housekeeping was only done once for the whole duration of our one week stay. If we needed housekeeping, it would cost us A$70 each time! Oh, well, we could live without that luxury. How dirty could we get? Actually the seniors did get the bathroom somewhat messy since they were not experienced travelers. Could also be the bathroom design since the water splashed out to the main bathroom floor when they were having a shower.<\/p>\n<p>The grounds of the Vines Apartment were simple but beautiful. Located next to a golf course, we could see the greens. Being so far away from the city, inevitably wildlife did pop in once in awhile. The first morning there was a trio of kangaroos around our yard. Should have taken a snapshot but at that time I just woke up feeling a little groggy and not thinking quite straight. Though they didn\u2019t return for the rest of our stay, a pair of ducks did drop by twice for some breakfast.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/imgs\/wp\/perth_the_vines_apartment_swan_valley_1_300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The corridor where the kitchen and laundry unit was located in The Vines Apartment, Swan Valley, Australia\" style=\"float: right; padding: 2px; margin:2px;\">Getting there for the first time, we were a little apprehensive. Since we drove there at night and we weren\u2019t very familiar with the roads. It took us a little longer to reach The Vines Apartment traveling at a slower speed. We made one wrong turn at the Tonkin \/ Reid Highway and had to double back to right on track. Earlier Catherine gave us a set of directions which she obtain from the internet. One look at it I decided to give it up in favour of the directions given by Interval International. It was simpler and easier to navigate using the main roads rather than criss-crossing via the small roads.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to get there:<\/p>\n<p>From Perth go north using the Mitchell Freeway. Go east on Reid Highway (along the way watch out for Tonkin Highway and don\u2019t mistakenly drive straight into it because Reid Highway will turn a sharp left at the traffic lights). Turn North on Great Northern Highway. Turn left on West Swan Road (after the bridge). Turn right onto Millhouse Road (can see a big signboard to the Vines). Turn right on Chateau Place. Turn right on Verdelho Drive. The Vines reception is at the end of the road.<\/p>\n<p>Related pages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/perth-western-australia.html\">Perth Western Australia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/perth-western-australian-vacation-guide.html\">Our Perth vacation itinerary guide<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/driving-around-perth-australia.html\">Driving around Perth Australia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/the-vines-apartment-swan-valley-perth-australia.html\">Our accommodation at The Vines Apartment in Swan Valley Perth Australia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/fremantle-western-australia.html\">Frementle port town, Western Australia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/swan-valley-food-and-wine-trail.html\">Swan Valley food and wine trail guide<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/swan-valley-australia-oggies-ice-cream.html\">Swan Valley: Oggies Ice-Cream<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/swan-valley-black-swan-winery-and-cafe.html\">Swan Valley: Black Swan Winery and Cafe<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/caversham-wildlife-park-swan-valley-australia.html\">Swan Valley: Caversham Wildlife Park<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Vines Apartment in Swan Valley was truly a great accommodation. Only problem was that it was located quite far away from Perth city, Australia. It takes about 50 minutes of driving from Perth. You may wonder why we ended in such an isolated accommodation. Well, sometime ago we joined Sara Worldwide Vacation Club which &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/the-vines-apartment-swan-valley-perth-australia.html\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Vines Apartment, Swan Valley, Perth.<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[19],"tags":[79,81,151],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1bS5F-4g","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":251,"url":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/perth-western-australian-vacation-guide.html","url_meta":{"origin":264,"position":0},"title":"Our Perth Vacation Itinerary","author":"Jan","date":"4 September 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanks to Catherine who did most of the legwork of compiling brochures and putting up the vacation itinerary. I did try to look up some info online, but it was very difficult to plan the Perth Vacation itinerary myself sue to my unfamiliarity. Before the trip, I went to MPH\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel Destinations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel Destinations","link":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/category\/travel-destinations"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":245,"url":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/perth-western-australia.html","url_meta":{"origin":264,"position":1},"title":"Perth, Western Australia","author":"Jan","date":"4 September 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"We had a great time in Perth, Western Australia for vacation! The climate weather was good with clear blue skies. With eight days seven nights worth of holiday vacation, it was a relaxing getaway from all the hustle and bustle of daily grind. Perth is located on the south-western area\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel Destinations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel Destinations","link":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/category\/travel-destinations"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":335,"url":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/swan-valley-food-and-wine-trail.html","url_meta":{"origin":264,"position":2},"title":"Swan Valley Food and Wine trail","author":"Jan","date":"8 September 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Swan Valley is located to the north-east of Perth, Australia and takes an approximate 30 minutes drive from Perth according to the guidebook. However we were already smack right in the middle of Swan Valley with our accommodation in the Vines Apartment so no need to worry about the distance.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel Destinations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel Destinations","link":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/category\/travel-destinations"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":273,"url":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/fremantle-western-australia.html","url_meta":{"origin":264,"position":3},"title":"Fremantle, Western Australia","author":"Jan","date":"5 September 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Fremantle is located about 30 minutes drive from the South-West of Perth, Australia. Fremantle was named after Sir Charles Howe Fremantle, a 28 year old captain of HMS Challenger who took over this area in 1829. Later on settlers from Britain came over and colonized the place and it became\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel Destinations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel Destinations","link":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/category\/travel-destinations"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":364,"url":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/caversham-wildlife-park-swan-valley-australia.html","url_meta":{"origin":264,"position":4},"title":"Caversham Wildlife Park","author":"Jan","date":"10 September 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"What\u2019s a visit to Australia without at least visiting one of the animal parks? So we made a detour along the way of our Swan Valley Food and Wine Trail and headed to Caversham Wildlfe Park. The road was off the main route and it was rather quiet. It was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel Destinations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel Destinations","link":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/category\/travel-destinations"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":358,"url":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/swan-valley-black-swan-winery-and-cafe.html","url_meta":{"origin":264,"position":5},"title":"Black Swan Winery and Cafe","author":"Jan","date":"10 September 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Arriving at Black Swan, we were still quite early. Just a little before noon time. Feeling not that hungry, but we were still planning to have our lunch meal here as the next stop would be the Caversham Wildlife Park. We decided we would order less. The Black Swan was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel Destinations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel Destinations","link":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/category\/travel-destinations"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.janleow.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}