A very personal blog

[Review] New normal staycation at Shangri-La hotel at the Fort

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Heya! We recently stayed at Shangri-La hotel at the Fort, BGC and here’s what I think of it! I also uploaded a tour on YouTube so feel free to check it out.


Rapid Antigen Test

Protocol says we are to present a negative COVID test before we’re allowed to check in so that’s what we did. Shangri-la has an onsite testing facility that offers RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen tests. 

My husband and I took the Rapid Antigen test for ₱1,800 each and waited 10 minutes for the results. It’s our first swab test, thankfully it wasn’t painful!

We both came out negative, thank God! The results are emailed to us and a copy is also sent to the front desk.

I have to say, this is the most posh place we’ve stayed in. Everything looks so elegant and high-end. The location is perfect as well. They’re facing high street, there are tons of food options around, malls here and there. It’s an urban paradise, if you dig that kind of scene.

 

Deluxe King Room

Here’s our room, a Deluxe King Room at the 26th floor.

I thought it was gonna be small because it’s their cheapest accommodation. But at 45sqm, it’s really spacious! Heck it’s bigger than our entire home haha.

I love everything in this room. The 49 inch TV, king sized bed, the desk and sofa, and most specially the wide windows with the sheer drapes and blackout curtains.

Hotel rooms are pretty much my dream master layout. There’s storage everywhere, and switches and outlets are positioned conveniently. Oh to live in a room like this.

There’s a care kit for guests too, containing alcohol, wet wipes, and surgical masks. Surprisingly there’s no branding here. I thought Shang would be conscious about that. When we transferred to a different room the tissue is from Sanicare and the alcohol is Watsons hehe. No biggie.

Oh right. We requested to be moved to a different room because our toilet didn’t have a bidet. I actually just learned about it now. Meron naman palang rooms na may bidet. Ask ka lang. Unfortunately, it’s the type that’s attached to the toilet seat, not the handheld one. I wouldn’t have bothered you know but I have my period and I’m wearing a cup and a handheld bidet is just more convenient to work it. Anyway, since that didn’t work out I just used empty water bottles as my tabo hehe.

Oh yeah, knowing it’s my husband’s birthday, they welcomed us with fruits and cake!

If I had to pick one feature of this room to magically appear in our house, that would be the shower system. Oh my goodness, the pressure, the heat, the spotless Grohe chrome fixtures, aaargh. I could spend a whole day in the bathroom.

Breakfast at Samba

Breakfast was good. Complimentary set breakfasts are served at Samba restaurant daily. No buffet. For day one I got the Filipino plate. Not a fan of their coffee hehe. The fruits and pastries are good though!

Samba actually reminds us of Balesin Islander restaurant at The Alpha Suites Makati. Especially the outdoor area with the pool view. Maybe it’s because of the Filipino theme!

The next day I got a traditional breakfast and I super loved it even though the crust of the rye bread was so tough hehe. I could look forward to this everyday hehe. Sausage, bacon, eggs, potatoes, fresh fruits, hot cafe latte, aaaahhh.

Jeckie got avocado toast one morning, it’s the healthy option. It’s our first time tasting this, after all the hype! haha Masarap naman pero ang healthy haha. Their greek yogurt is delicious!!

Kerry Sports Manila

Finally, Kerry Sports Manila.

We took a look around. It’s super spacious and has a looooot of exercise equipment. It has a ton of space for you to do drills. I especially liked this buddy over here. Such a unique punching bag. Every part is numbered so you can make your own sets. Looks so fun! Unfortunately I got too lazy to hit the gym during our stay.

Kerry Sports has a lot of amenities. There’s a basketball court (indoor and outdoor), tennis court, swimming pool, squash courts, and dance studio. The place is 2 floors big and all the equipment are spaced far enough for you not to worry about social distancing. I mean there aren’t a lot of people in anyway. You can watch our tour of Kerry Sports Manila here.

Finally

We really enjoyed our stay at Shangri-La hotel at the Fort. The customer service is superb. The amenities are great. The room is super clean, spacious, and functional. A couple of notes:

  • Yup they accept leisure bookings now
  • We stayed during quarantine season so expect the rules/prices to change
  • Deluxe King Room costs  ₱6,950/night that time, not including taxes and service fees
  • Negative Rapid Antigen Test is required before check in and it costs ₱1,800/person
  • The contact tracing app they use is Stay Safe PH so make sure to download beforehand
  • No buffet breakfast. Set breakfast is served at Samba every morning.
  • Use of pool and gym is by reservation only. You can book via QR or at the front desk.
  • To limit contact you can download the Shangri-la app to manage your bookings there. You can check-in and check-out from the app itself. Just collect your key cards at the front desk.

That’s it! Hope to be back! 🙂