[A Raving Review] Staycation at The Peninsula Manila

I think we just had one of our best hotel staycations ever. 

Booked two nights at The Peninsula Manila hotel (or Manila Pen) to celebrate my husband's 30th birthday. Originally we just wanted to try out their Beef Wellington, then we decided to indulge with two nights because... I don't really know hehe guess we just wanted to enjoy the place more.

Watch: [Room Tour] The Peninsula Manila - Deluxe King, Amenities, The Lobby's Beef Wellington

The Lobby

It's not my first time to stay at Manila Pen, I remember having a girls night out here with my cousins three years ago. The hotel didn't have much impact to me then, despite their gorgeous lobby, cos for the most part we were nine girls nervously waiting for our rooms. We only booked two rooms and we can't get caught "overbooking" lol. Is there actually a rule about this? XD

Now that we got to really check the place out, I must say, it's really one of the best hotels in the metro. And what set them apart for me is not the grand lobby, nor the impeccably clean and spacious rooms, not even the delicious food at The Lobby. You know what placed them a notch higher than other 5-star hotels we've tried? It's the level of hospitality. 

They don't just listen to you, they relate. I asked if they allow pets at the lobby, and besides the answer no haha, I also learned the person I'm talking to has a pet. The F&B coordinator who came to check on us while having dinner seemed very pleased that we're enjoying our food, actively engaging with us about the menu. And the security who led me to front desk when we got locked out on our second night, even accompanied us back to our room to make sure that the locks are fine and not just low in battery. Even checking out was a delightful experience cos nakakahawa yung energy nung nasa front desk? hahaha

It's the small things that really make a difference. You get tired of the niceties after a while but knowing that they'll go the extra mile to cater to you is something you don't get to see that often within their range of hotels.

Deluxe King Room

We got a Deluxe King room which has a nice view of Ayala Triangle Gardens. I could even see our new office building from the window, which isn't a very good sight hahaha. I didn't expect to like this room that much. The walls are all white, something I'm not used to in hotels. Usually they're beige and warm and textured so this was different. It's got a modern Filipino touch to it, mostly white, with dark wooden furniture, and streaks of blue. Interesting!

We loved the bathroom. The bathtub is bigger that it seems, the water pressure is perfect and the hot water is scalding... which is a good thing haha of course you have to temper it but I love how we're able to easily setup a relaxing hot bath.

The highlight of our stay is really the Beef Wellington at The Lobby. We ordered this at least two days in advance, and it was very well worth our penny. It came with Red Wine Jus for the sauce and Potato Gratin on the side. It's our first time to experience steak and potatoes this way and my goodness we're definitely ordering this again. Looks at bit meager on the plate but the weight on the tummy is gravid. Took a while to realize that it's indeed a very dense meal, with steak that thick and a pastry shell covering its entirely, it's one you definitely can't take lightly.

And that's pretty much it! I have no complaints. We didn't get breakfast cos it's too early for us. Booked through Agoda for around ₱9k/night. The Beef Wellington costs around ₱4.8k which serves 2-3 people. Check out my Youtube video for a hotel tour. 

Hope to be back! ♥

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

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! :)

[Once in a lifetime promo] We stayed 24hrs at Victoria Court's Princess Jasmine themed room. Is it worth it?

Lol I'm learning to make titles like a socmed manager haha. But don't worry this isn't clickbait hehe.

So. My husband and I claimed our Once in a lifetime voucher from Victoria Court last week and here's a quick look of the thematic room we chose: Princess Jasmine!

This is the second themed room we tried with VC and as usual, it was a visual feast! Our first one was the Venice themed room which we tried earlier this year, check it out here!

Back to the Once in a lifetime promo, the voucher entitled us to a 24 hour stay at any room we want so of course we went for a thematic room haha.

Princess Jasmine room features:

• King size bed
• Magic carpet
• Big smart TV (yeyy for Netflix and Amazon!)
• Karaoke (1 microphone)
• Twin jacuzzi
• Couples massage area
• Sauna room
• Separate urinal
• Shower room
• Room service w/ limited menu

We really enjoyed this room. It's smaller than the Venice room but it has more amenities. Interior design wise though I still prefer the Venice room. I was actually expecting the Princess Jasmine room to be more violet and gold themed ala Aladdin but it's actually very warm and Moroccan, even Indian, inspired. It's still beautiful though but I guess I'm just looking for more texture and ornaments like the Venice room. Oh well, we still have a lot of rooms to explore with Victoria Court hahaha!

We bought a bubble bath specifically for this staycation because we wanted to enjoy the jacuzzi. And yes we did! We bought Marks & Spencer's lavender bath essence and my goodness it smells heavenly! I have now added it to my official bath favorites, on par with Neutrogena's light sesame body oil. They smell so frkn amazing. First time namin mag-bubble bath sa jacuzzi so mejo napadami yung buhos ng bula hahahaha nakaka-panic kasi bigla na lang nag-umapaw yung bubbles hahaha.

Because it's quarantine, restaurant room service is only until 10pm and with a limited menu. Massage service is not available as well. I'm not sure about housekeeping but they don't seem to be up 24/7. And unlike before where you can walk-in whenever you like, now you have to book a reservation and check in at 2pm. But because we're staying 24 hours, we requested to be allowed in as early 6am, good thing they agreed.

24 hours, are you crazy?

Yeah, the voucher can't be split into multiple stays so there's that. So is it worth staying 24 hours naman? To be honest, no. Victoria Court is not a hotel per se so therefore it doesn't offer hotel like accommodation. Here's what I didn't like about our stay...

• The blanket is very thin, hindi sya pang overnight. Pang cuddle lang yung nipis nya para mag-yakapan talaga kayo ng partner mo pero di sya cozy!
• And when it got too cold I found that I can't control the aircon kasi walang remote haha. I had to call maintenance to turn off 1 a/c for me hahaha. May switch naman pala yung isang aircon di ko lang napansin kasi...
• It's too dark. Alam mo yung the lights are sexy-time dim, not cozy dim. So di ko maaninag yung mga buttons sa aircon...
• There's no good place to lounge by the TV, we had to move the chairs by the dining area just to get proper seats kasi nag-marathon kami sa Amazon.
• The magic carpet looks fun but it's creaky and uncomfortable and the carpet looks very old. It's really just a decorative feature. Same with Venice's gondola. And I bet all of their thematic rooms have that one big beautiful prop that's only good for eye candy and maybe a quickie hehe.
• Extra towels cost extra hehe. 20 each sya. We had to request because they only provided 2 bath towels and we didn't have floor rugs so ang kalat when we're moving from the jacuzzi to the shower.
• I had a hard time sleeping because it's so noisy outside. We slept during the day by the way, so it worked that it's very dark, but then I can hear the traffic outside. Di ako makatulog, plus yun nga nilamig ako ng bongga haha.
• And when I did get some sleep and finally woke up, lutang ako sa paligid. With no windows and no natural light coming in I have lost all sense of time and it's kindof disorienting. I don't like the feeling!

Bat ka naman kasi nag-staycation sa motel?! Hahaha

Don't be mistaken though because I'm not taking it against Victoria Court. I'm well aware their thematic rooms aren't meant for overnight stays. I guess the magic just wears off over time. After 5 hours you start experiencing things like what I mentioned above. Then you start noticing some details like may mga maduming corners pala tapos mapapansin mo mejo hindi na pala maintained yung interior hahaha. Tapos yung karaoke songbook kalat kalat yung pages?! It didn't really matter to me kasi pag may karaoke I always check the brand tapos download ako ng app nila so I can search for songs numbers on my phone instead. That's a life hack! Hahaha

Anyway we had so much fun, of course, *wink*. We also came here for the food because Victoria Bites offers a really delicious menu, and they did not disappoint kahit na naka pang-takeaway ang packaging at plastic ang utensils haha! And even though they reduced the options this time, the important thing is may Legendary Crispy Pata parin! Yung sinigang na baboy nila ang sarap din!!!

Okay that's all! Til next time!

Tagaytay Staycation: Taal Vista Hotel Premiere King Room

We booked a weekend staycation at Taal Vista Hotel last month to celebrate my birthday. We've been meaning to go to Tagaytay ever since it opened to tourists on September, but the rules kept changing so we held off. Eventually we were able to push through with the trip, lucky enough to have come during a period when requirements weren't that strict. No need for travel pass, health certificate, and the hotel also didn't require a negative COVID test. The only requirement is that you fill out a health declaration form when you arrive, and wear your face mask and face shield at all times. They also don't allow Monday check-ins at this time so do note that when you're planning to go to Tagaytay. LGU has ordered establishments to shut down on Mondays for disinfection.

Here's a video of the room tour! Please watch, like, and subscribe! :)

On to the blabber...

I really like the room that we got. It's a Premiere King Room with a lake view and it's stunning!

• Super comfy king sized bed
• Big windows with roller blinds
• Large cabled TV
• Amazing Taal view
• Basement and open parking available
• Room service
• Swimming pool (not sure if heated)
• Fitness gym
• Viewing deck
• Restaurants
• There's Casino Filipino and McDonald's across the hotel

There's also a water pitcher by the desk that you can refill from the water station by the hallway.

Yup! There are water stations placed along the hallway for your drinking water needs. It dispenses hot and cold water and it's just so convenient. I actually love this feature because we didn't need to buy our own water or keep asking for water bottles from housekeeping.

The TV is big but the smart feature is disabled, meaning you can't watch Netflix or Youtube or whatever. Good thing we brought our Xiaomi Mi TV stick with us so we were able to binge watch Parks and Recreation during our stay!

They also have a hygeine kit like this, containing face masks, alcohol, and wipes.

These are the bathroom essentials...

Body wash, shampoo, and conditioner are fixed on the wall

Breakfast buffet is served from 6am to 10:30am (IIRC) at the Veranda restaurant...

When we stayed over the weekend, I was actually concerned that we have a neighbor. I thought hotel occupancy is limited and guests should be at least one room apart from each other.

It gets noisy when someone hangs out at the balcony. You can literally hear them and it's very easy to peek over at their side as well. You can see through the balcony windows and people can look up to you when they're down at the open area. It's a bummer that we weren't able to enjoy the balcony that way. It's noisy and not that private. :(

Hallways can get pretty noisy with footsteps as well. The room we got has a connecting door too, so that's less sound barrier for us. Privacy tip: Try to get a corner room and make sure you don't get a connecting room hehe!

We had a chance to walk around the hotel and found how expansive it is! The Lake View rooms are separate from the Mountain and Ridge view rooms. 

That's where the other guest rooms are. It's a long walk from the Lake View area, and tbh the building looks old. I'm sure the rooms are upgraded though! Hehe the facade reminds me of a dorm though. The pool and gym area are near this side so if you're up for the pool, this area is cool! Maybe it's quieter here? Hmm...

Yeah I guess that's about it. Despite the noise and lack of privacy at the balcony, we had a very enjoyable stay. We ordered twice from their room service and in fairness, ang sarap and the price is reasonable too. The staff are very courteous and nice and I would love to stay here again in the future.

We got the Premiere King Room for ₱6,500/night (promo).

Taal Vista Hotel
Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City
https://www.taalvistahotel.com/
+63 (7917) 8225 | +63 (46) 413 1000

[Room Tour] Victoria Court Venice themed room

I can't believe I haven't posted about this? How come? I only realized now that I'm about to post our second VC room tour hahaha. So yeah, here it is. Plugging the Youtube video here and recalling everything (not everything ofc *wink*) that happened that day.

So, it was our first time to a motel. We didn't know what to expect, we were just curious. So one night we decided to drive to their Pasig branch. This was before quarantine started, around March this year so everything was still normal okay hehe.

So yun. We wazed it, and found it funny that the road that's lined up with motels is called Christian road on the map hahaha. We turned to where the VC logo is pointed and got to this street where there are tons of VC compounds . What's happening? Why is the place so big? Where do we go? What's a taxi? What's a garage? As of writing I still don't know.

I remember we entered the Escarpment compound. It was dark, there was no guard so we just waited. Eventually someone came up to us and asked for a reservation. We told them we didn't have any but we'd like to try one of the themed rooms. He pointed us to a different compound.

We drove to the next area, Suites ata yun, and there they gave us the available rooms. I think that time there's Princess Jasmine, Venice, and Cinderella. We went for Venice.

They led us to a car port where there's a narrow flight of stairs that leads to the anteroom, then to the main room. This setup is really cool. You have your own private parking space and upstairs is your unit! So here you go, a bunch of pics to show how beautiful and ornate the Venice room is...

Features

• There's a king-sized bed
• Big jacuzzi
• A freaking gondola
• KARAOKE with 2 microphones
• Mini ref
• Separate urinal
• Complimentary condom and bottled water
• Hygiene kit

They also have room service - VC Bites - and it's amazing. Whatever shameless notoriety they earned for being in the business of indirectly advocating extramarital affairs (sorry for the stereotype), they make up for offering an incredible gastronomic experience. Does it really make up for it though? Anyway.

Case in point, we loved their menu, specially their Legendary Crispy Pata! 

Another thing I enjoyed very much with this room is the karaoke. Man they've got a really good sound system and two microphones as well!

I guess that's about it. The jacuzzi was kinda hard to navigate but it's a delight to watch the water pour out from the jars. The bathroom smelled funky, and I also noticed this with their other room - Princess Jasmine. I wish they had a bigger TV though! Overall we enjoyed our stay, it was a whole new experience for us and we promised we'll be back.

Rates then? We paid ₱2,750 for three hours. Pretty steep for a short time! Haha

Victoria Court Pasig
(02) 8671-9782