Airbnb stay: Our Forbeswood Parklane BGC staycation

Before this gets buried too deep in my drafts, here's an account of our latest AirBnb stay! We spent 2 nights at this cozy one-bedroom unit in BGC Forbeswood Parklane in celebration of our second wedding anniversary, and I'm here about to spam ya'll with pictures. But first, here's the link to the property: CozyPad in ❤️ of BGC near St.Luke High Speed WiFi

Looking for a well-decorated BGC unit is easy, but when you factor in parking provision, you're not left with much. Luckily we spotted this unit that ticked off all our Airbnb checklist: Nice interiors, free parking, self check-in, and Superhost!

It's newly renovated, which probably explains the smell. It can be a bit stuffy, but nothing opening the windows can fix. My favorite space would be the living room because it's so spacious and I just love how natural light pours into the wide windows. I liked the open living and dining layout, and also the semi-enclosed kitchen.

The bedroom is just right, there's not much space to walk around but since there's a king sized bed in it, can't complain! Bathroom is small though!

I really admire how the place was decorated. The colors are warm and earthy, there's a lot of light, the decor is lovely, and they didn't scrimp on storage space.

So love the palette in this unit!

Thoughtful touches that we appreciated: Big bottles of water, umbrellas we can borrow if it's raining, and slippers!

The unit is centrally located and is walking distance to High Street, Mind Museum, and Forbes Town. There's also a 7-Eleven at the ground floor of the building. Not much in terms of view, unless you enjoy being surrounded by tall buildings, but it's definitely not gloomy, you still get a lot of sunshine coming in, and you can even watch the sunset being reflected by the tall glass building in front haha.

That's it! We definitely enjoyed our stay!

That's my husband looking dapper in the living ❤️

Airbnb stay: Tagaytay condo overlooking Taal

I spent my birthday weekend with my family at this unit in Citiland Tagaytay Prime Residences. It's our second time staying at the same condo building and we're always delighted with our bookings! I was supposed to book a place at Serin West but none of the bnb's I like are available on my birthday.

Of course, I was taken by the photos on the Airbnb page, I'm a sucker for great interiors and high floors with nice views, and while this unit isn't the best in terms of furnishings, it's incredibly bright and looks immaculately clean. And so we're in.

And indeed!

The view is amazing. The unit has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. In total there are 3 balconies. The master's is facing Taal lake and the rest is facing the city. It's a corner unit too so there are a lot of windows. I love it!

The unit is big, spacious, and very well lit. The living and dining could be updated but because the place is so spacious, it doesn't look too bad.

They have a TV but it's not equipped with cable and the unit doesn't have wifi (it does have TV Plus but it's crappy). For that reason I brought my laptop, HDMI cable, hard disk with movies, and my Globe at Home Prepaid Wifi unit (in case Globe signal is strong -- it wasn't).

The kitchen is small but it's stocked alright with everything we need - mugs, plates, utensils, electric kettle, microwave. The ref is big too! My parents had to bring a rice cooker though because hahaha we're a family who likes to bring baon and prep food during outings lol.

Now we go to the bedrooms!

The master's is big enough and the view is really stunning. I guess I'll never get tired of a lush scenery. The wind is fresh and the nights are very cold!

The other bedroom is smaller with 2 single beds, but man it has windows all around.

We're a family of 5 and I could say the unit is only good for 4 people. My sister had to sleep on the couch but it's very comfy naman so I guess it's okay for 5 na rin haha.

Citiland Tagaytay Prime Residences is also very centrally located. There's a McDonald's right across the building, a 7-Eleven on the ground floor, and it's only a few meters away from Tagaytay Rotunda where you'll never get hungry. There's Fora Filinvest and Ayala Serin Mall close by. Urgh, best place to be, unless you're craving for a more nature-filled retreat hehe. I'm always afraid of exploring places outside the highway. I feel like I'm gonna plunge too deep into the town and that the car wouldn't be able to bear the uphill trek back to the city center. Yun talaga issue ko hahahaha.

There you go! I left a nice feedback for this unit so if you're looking for a 2 bedroom in Tagaytay with a great view, you may want to consider this place. The hosts are so nice they even allowed us to check-in early. They also provide 1 reserved parking slot and if there's a need for another you could use the condo's guest parking. The unit is worth ₱3,000/night but the rates depend on the season. :)

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Still not on Airbnb? Man, you're missing out on tons of beautiful and affordable accommodation! If you want to sign up, please do so using my referal link so we'll both get free travel credits! Yeyy!

Airbnb stay: Megatower Residences at Baguio

When we decided on a whim to go to Baguio, the first thing I wanted to settle before arriving is accommodation. Of course. Something clean and simple, affordable, and near SM Baguio. Being near SM is comforting because I know they've got it all for me lol. Since we're arriving the next day, there weren't much options that fit our budget, but thank God I found one at Megatower Residences. The room is spacious enough, clean, no hideous furniture, and it's walking distance to SM Baguio. Just right.

When we touched down at Baguio, I was in constant communication with the host. But when we arrived at the condo building, things started to get worrisome. I couldn't contact her. She wouldn't respond to my messages. Her phone cannot be reached. We didn't travel six hours and paid 4k just to get scammed. I double checked her Airbnb profile, and was alarmed to realize that the unit had zero reviews. Why the heck didn't I check that?! We inquired at the lobby guards, saying we were booked at Unit 1B-51. They said that they didn't receive any key for turnover. They asked for a name. I can only give the first name of the host. Finally, they decided to accompany us to the basement to check the room if someone's there. Maybe the signal is poor. Maybe the host is busy. Maybe. When we were about to board the elevator, a miracle happened. THE HOST RESPONDED AND SHE'S ABOUT TO GO UP NA DAW. 

JUSKO! And that ends our stress. Poor signal is the culprit. Next time I'm not booking a basement unit anymore.

Anyway. Here's our room. 

Spacious enough for two. Bed mattress isn't that thick though and doesn't seem sturdy. To be honest, the room looked underwhelming compared to the Airbnb photos. But it's clean enough so it's okay.

Ref, kitchen, dining, check!

TV is very small and they forgot to provide us with the remote control. Too bad, sayang cable! There's wifi but it's not fast. Keri lang. We tried downloading a universal remote control app, but apparently none of our phones are IR equipped. Whatever happened to that feature?! 

Kitchen counter is small. There's barely enough room for cooking, but kebs, we weren't gonna cook anyway. I love the deep sink and the pull-out spray kitchen faucet! 

The CR is nice and clean as well. Glass-enclosed shower, yehey! 

The room kinda feels stuffy, understandably so because it's at the basement. Yun nga lang, will take note not to book basement units anymore haha. It's too dark in the morning, I'm not used to it! LOL I need my sunshine haha.

We got the room for around ~2,000/night, after applying my Airbnb credits. Not bad for us. :) Will probably book at Megatowers again, but definitely not at the basement next time hehe. :D We really liked the place, it's near SM baguio, bus terminal (to Manila), and the ground floor of the condo has a convenience store, pharmacy, eatery, and bakery. Perfect! Pluuuuus, there's Victory Church on the next block so we didn't miss out on service that weekend. :)

Still not on Airbnb? Man, you're missing out on tons of beautiful and affordable accommodation! If you want to sign up, please do so using my referal link so we'll both get free travel credits! Yeyy!

Airbnb stay: The Infinity at BGC

My parents had an event at BGC last week and it was scheduled right smack in the middle of rush hour. Since we're coming as a family, I figured it's a chance to book for a short staycation. Good call too 'cos I drove us that day and it frkn took us 3 hours to reach BGC huhu. Imagine if we didn't book, I'd be stressing along the way and all our makeup would've melted and our getups super gusot gusot na.

Congratulations to my mom and dad for getting their service awards that night! They've been with Philamlife for 25 and 30 years respectively, wow. I didn't even realize they've been in the financial business for so long. :D

Anyway, I already have a BGC/Taguig Wishlist at Airbnb but I had to find a place which has free parking and is close to Ascott Hotel where the event is going to be.

My requirements: Cheap, has free parking, close to Ascott, nice interiors, and a lap pool.

And so I'm happy we found Miguel's place at The Infinity. The unit we rented sits on the 44th floor, has 2 bedrooms, and is fully equipped, as in it's livable long-term. And we only got it for ₱2,750 for that day. Subtracting the discount I got for registering with Nuffnang and thank you Lord for the savings!

The best part of our stay is really the view from the master's bedroom because it has panoramic windows huhu I love iiiit. When I saw the photos on Airbnb, I had high expectations with the view. Thankfully I was not disappointed.

It overlooks a large green patch of land that is actually a cemetery. Since we figured that's as much greenery as you can get in BGC, we just shrugged it off, either way it provides a really great view. During the night it looks like a black hole sucking in all the lights from the city lelz.

Parking was a bitch at first 'cos the guards weren't clear with their parking instructions. Do we park first of sign up at reception? It's our first time there, and we didn't know their parking rules. In the end they gave us specific slots to choose from 'cos we couldn't navigate ourselves in the lot. We even had a hard time looking for our slot cos we didn't know where to look. There were labels on the floor and on the walls. It was so confusing. When we finally found where to park, we realized it would be super hassle cos the slots are in front of each other, as in if we go in, we have to call the car owner behind us to move out saglit. Kainis diba. So I did this stupid thing of parking between the two slots para wala na maka-park sa likod. Haha. Well, the guard called us out for it and I had to adjust the car. Bummer. Buti na lang walang ibang nagpark sa likod namin. :P

So yeah, back to the unit.

Interiors? I'm not really a fan of their interiors but it does look clean and the linens are all fresh and comfy. At least there were no unsightly furniture. And in fairness to most of their wood furnishings, they're all quality timber.

Kitchen? Fully stocked and loaded with everything you need to prepare a meal except for a rice cooker haha. They have an electric stove with oven, refrigerator, hot and cold water dispenser, pots and pans, tons of glasses and mugs, plates, cutlery, and even a strainer! I mean we were planning to cook pasta so it was a pleasant surprise to see a big strainer haha.

Living? Cabled TV, Wifi, phone - check check check. In the future I want to make sure the TV is either Samsung or Sony (arte!) so that I wouldn't have to bring my laptop and HDMI cable. You know how some TVs don't play mkv or mp4 or doesn't read subtitles? Yeah.

There's also a separate phone for when you want to call the guard or something. Sosyal no, very hotel like.

Amenities? There's a gym and lap pool so I was happy but I wasn't able to try it cos my monthly visitor came huhu.

Bedrooms? I told you, the master's view is to die for. The smaller room is okay too. Each of them has their own aircon. The common areas has a split type aircon. I just realized how gastos it seems to maintain this kind of life. Daming aircon lol.

Bonus! Laundry room -- which could pass as a third bedroom or maid's quarter 'cos it has its own bathroom. But still, I was amazed at this room. All the cleaning stuff are there: mops and brooms, washer and dryer atop each other, ironing board and a portable sampayan, etc.

Looking at fully furnished condos like this is really a treat for me 'cos I'm already dreaming of my own home too in the future. <3

Yam lol

Thanks for warm welcome!

Isn't it nice to condo hop. haha I've been wondering for a long time why travelling doesn't appeal much to me, then I realized I'm more of a city hopper than a nature tripper.

Related: Our first Airbnb experience: Citiland Tagaytay Prime Residences

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If you're new to Airbnb, sign up using the link below to get free travel credits from me. Sign up here www.airbnb.com/c/ybirog and get ₱850 off when you take your first trip worth ₱3,500 or more! :)

Our first Airbnb experience: Citiland Tagaytay Prime Residences

In celebration of my parents' 28th wedding anniversary, I booked us a place at Tagaytay via Airbnb. For the unaware, Airbnb is "an online marketplace that enables people to list, find, and rent vacation homes for a processing fee" (from wiki). Pretty much like an online hotel booking system, except you're not booking from hotels, but from locals. I highly recommend it because it's a cheaper lodging alternative, and if you get to rent a nice condo with complete amenities, and a trustworthy host with good reviews, I swear it's better than staying at a hotel.

Looking for the best place to stay at Tagaytay wouldn't be so hard if I weren't so maarte with the interiors. Most of the listings I saw are filled with surplus couches and horrible draperies, so I skipped those. Char. In fairness to Tagaytay, there are tons of places to choose from if you're not as maarte as I am nga. But anyway, it didn't take me long to find the perfect place, I enjoyed gawking over at Airbnb naman and filling my wishlist in the process hehe.

We stayed at Norman and Joanna's unit overlooking Taal (Citiland Tagaytay Prime Residences) and boy was it worth it! The photos are nice, the reviews are good, the view is amazing, and the room is complete with everything we needed and more, even bath towels are provided. Also, the price point for a Sunday is really affordable at ₱2,000/night (varies depending on the day and season) so that's really sulit for the four of us. :D

Orayt, pic spam!

Cabled TV, wifi, and landline phone: check. That wall was actually a major selling point for me, and I wasn't even disappointed when I learned it was just wallpaper.

Another angle with the bedroom divider in view. The unit is some 30sqm big, spacious enough for four adults. My parents slept in the bedroom, and my sister and I stayed at the sofa bed. My goodness, that sofa bed easily became my favorite part of the stay because you know what? It extends to queen size without having to push the sandalan! Soooo perfect, you know those sofa beds that are a pain against the wall 'cos they can't be flattened against it, and when you want it turned to a bed you have to push it forward to give space for the sandalan to be reclined? Gaaaahd, not for me.

This sofa bed, which I learned is actually an IKEA Karlstad 3-seat sofa bed, is my dreeeeaaam bed. Unfortunately, the model is already discontinued and only the sofa version is in stock at their warehouses. I became so obsessed with it because look how functional it is:

It starts off as a big boring couch

But when you pull out the underside,

It reveals a slatted bed base that also doubles as a storage compartment for bed linens

And when you fold out the seat cushions, you get yer bed!

Now just lay out the sheets and throw in some pillows and you're ready for a movie marathon. I love this sofa bed huhu. Any ideas where I can buy one or have one customized?

Okay, back to the room tour.

Here's the bedroom. My parents loved it.

Kitchen: check! Ref, microwave, electric kettle, single top induction cooker...

Pots and pans, rice cooker, cooking utensils, 16oz imported looking Starbucks mugs (char)... check, check, check! I mean they're not really in my checklist but you get my excitement? haha

The kitchen may be small and I wish we had more countertop space, but it's good enough for us. My mom was able to cook nilagang baka for dinner, and I was able to prepare tapsi for breakfast (na pinag-puyatan ko 'cos I had to tenderize the beef and cook it in boiling water to make it soft). We're that family who likes to bring baon and buy fresh food from the market whenever we go out of town. For this trip, dinner and breakfast is courtesy of Mahogany market yey.

Another angle

Aaaand the bathroom! I love how the toilet and shower areas are separate but are essentially in a single room divided by a half wall.

Clean and cute, and with heated shower yey.

And now, the view.

From the balcony

From my selfie stick, struggling to get a wider view of the living room. Don't you love that fake brick wall? 

At the viewing deck, 24th floor. You can also jog here or simply chill out watching the sun rise or set. I was busy preparing breakfast so I wasn't able to watch the sunrise but my parents did and it was sooooo foggy. Sige romantic na rin daw. :P

I came to the deck after breakfast and was glad that the fog has cleared out already and the lake is visible na. So pretty.

Here's the view from back side of the condo, facing Tagaytay Executive Village. Still a pretty sight if you ask me specially if you're on the higher floors, and units are significantly cheaper than the lake facing ones. In case you're interested in getting a condo unit haha.

As for amenities, there's not much aside from the viewing deck, only a decent sized 4ft deep pool that's good enough for a light swim. That's all. Not complaining though 'cos even if they had more areas to play with, we wouldn't have the time to try them all. On our next visit, we're probably gonna try SMDC Wind 'cos they have bigger pools and lots of courts haha. Yep, will check-in longer too!

Overall we enjoyed our stay, it's even bitin cos we checked in at 2pm and next thing we know, we have to check out already at 11am. The only downside is the TV wouldn't recognize my hard drive or any of our USBs. I'm figuring it's a format issue but oh well.

Now, if you haven't tried Airbnb, go ahead and sign up so we'll both get incentives hehe! Sign up using my link: www.airbnb.com/c/ybirog and get ₱850 off when you take your first trip worth ₱3,500 or more! :)

Tip: you need to have a credit card to pay for your accommodations. But if you don't have one (like me), and is only travelling locally, you can ask the host if they accept offline payments. Mine did, so I paid via bank deposit and they blocked the date for me. Downside is, the trip will not appear on your profile. :)

Lately, Airbnb has become my new Pinterest for interior design pegs. Will probably share my wishlists soon! :D

Have you tried Airbnb? How was it for you? :D