Out of town: Mangrove Resort Hotel in Subic

We haven't been to a beach (overnight) in a long time. The last time was in Nasugbu and my son had just turned 1. He's turning 4 soon. Yes, it has been years. Now the kid loves the water. We'd bring him to the pool every now and then so he still gets his water fix minus the sand.

Most of the time, we'd look to Batangas for a beach getaway. Seems like everybody else are looking in the same direction. Most resorts are either booked or too expensive for us so I thought of maybe looking the opposite direction - North. Not too far north though, so we settled with Subic, Zambales.

Driving through SCTEX now gets us to Subic in 2 hours. In Subic, you have a lot of choices of resorts, from lower to higher end. We are on a budget and selected a mid-range priced hotel along Baloy beach, Mangrove Resort Hotel.

Aside from the price, we chose Mangrove hotel due to the size of the room, the pictures and most reviews were pretty positive. We are relatively easy to please so I would say the only negative part about this was that very short shoreline. It wasn't the prettiest beach but it was clean enough. We just felt that had we gone on a more busy day, it would have been extremely crowded.

We left the house at around 7 AM on a Sunday. We had a late breakfast stop near Harbor Point Mall inside Subic Freeport at around 9 so we got to the beach past 10 AM. Check in was at 2 PM but we were already allowed to use the facilities and leave our bags in the office beside the reception.

It was a busy weekend so we were not able to check in early. Cleaning of our designated room was prioritized and we were able to settle in at about 1 PM.

Pool deck at the 3rd floor

Left side of the beach towards the freeport

Right side towards the other hotels along Baloy beach

Boats for island hopping

Catching the morning sun

Kiddie pool and adult pool

I like that they have a separate kiddie pool to accommodate the younger kids, though small. It can be too tight with the parents in there as well. The adult pool is about 4 ft deep and was level so that's as deep as in goes which was just right for wading. There were rooms surrounding the pool side. If you are concerned about the noise level, the pool closes at around 6 or 8 PM. If you prefer resting at noon, not too sure if the noise gets to an uncomfortable level. We were on the next floor and we didn't really hear the noise at the pool.

The bar at the second floor

There are rooms at the "beach front" which is really the second level because you had to go down one more flight of stairs to actually get to the beach. There's a restaurant/bar next to the rooms. I am not sure what time it closes and if the noise can be heard from the rooms in the same floor. 

Beach-front rooms at the second level

De luxe room with King-sized bed

This was our room at the fourth level. It was nice and comfortable. The king size bed was just enough for the 3 of us. They provided robes, your usual bath towels and separate beach towels. I like that the beach towels are inside the bayong (you can see a peek in the picture). It makes it easy to lug around the towels (and snacks) up and down the beach, pool and our room. We were on the fourth floor and there is no elevator nor ramps. Needless to say, this isn't a PWD friendly hotel.

I didn't take a picture of the bathroom but it was nice and clean. They also provided usual toiletries except shampoo and conditioner. They also did not provide bedroom slippers. You might want to bring extra because you do not want to get sand all over the bedroom floor.

I had booked through Expedia mobile app. Published rate is Php 4350 net but we got a 10% discount from a BDO promo if you use a BDO debit/credit card. We booked in the middle of summer and this was the cheapest room still available. You can get their budget rooms as low as Php 1942. They also have bigger rooms for bigger families that can fit up to 2 king sized beds. You can check their rates here.

The downside of this rate is that no meals were included. Looking at their website, it does not seem that the packages include meals at all. We decided to eat at the resort's restaurant for dinner and breakfast so that we can maximize our swim time and the kid hardly wants to get out of the water. 

Resort food is a bit expensive but taste was alright. Nothing to jump up and down about but at least it was not bad. If you want to save up, there is a 711 about 5 minutes walk from the resort. If you are feeling lazy, you can wait for a tricycle to drive you there. There are also a few restaurants and carinderia along the main road if you want to dine out of the resort. Harbor Point Mall inside the Subic Freeport is about 15-20 minutes drive.

We had room service for both meals. What's great about it is that there is no room service charge. Especially if you are staying in the upper floors, do not forget to tip the server. The kitchen is on the second floor and is a long way up (and down for that matter) if you are carrying all that food :) If it were just us, I'd rather eat outside looking at the nice view. We didn't want the trouble of a kid crying about swimming again so we just settled for room service.

Here's what we ate for dinner.

Pansit canton Php 275

The pansit canton was good. A little on the salty side but you can just add some calamansi to balance it out. It was also a huge serving that could be enough for 2-3 persons.

Club house sandwich Php 275

 The club house sandwich was also a pretty hefty meal. Nothing special.

Hungarian sausage Php 295

The side salad was a nice combo with the sausage. Also a filling meal for one. It was sausage, salad and rice. Again, nothing special.

Mango shake Php 150

It's almost a sin not to have mango shake when at the beach. It was delicious with a good amount of milk. It can be a bit expensive but shakes in Manila are priced about the same.

We had tapsilog, which is rather expensive at Php 305 for breakfast. Hubby says the tapa was on the sweet side and not to his liking. Unlike our order from the night before, this was the only meal we had that seemed pricey for the amount of serving. 

We also tried pasit bihon mixed (with canton). It was bland this time. I prefer the canton from dinner.

Menu

Menu

Drink menu

Resto bar at the second level beside reception

Beach view from our room balcony

I think overall, it was a great trip without breaking the bank. We had fun. We were comfortable. Most especially, the kid had so much fun. We allowed him to swim and wade in the beach and pool for hours and hours. This will definitely be a memorable trip for all of us.

Mangrove Subic Resort Hotel

Baloy Long Beach Road Olongapo City, Zambales, Philippines

Reception: (047) 222 2724 or (047) 222 2733

Manila: (02) 404.4784

SUN Mobile: +63.922.858.5858

GLOBE Mobile: +63.917.832.8050

SMART Mobile: +63.939.908.0373

Hours: 7am - 11pm Every day*

*except Christmas Day and New Years Day

Out of town: Datu's first trip to the beach

I have been extremely busy with a whole lot of things with work and personal stuff that a month went by and I have yet to finish this supposed summer post. But all's good. Almost done with my tasks so hopefully my rest days can be fully spent with family and not just running errands. We are still in the middle of summer so I am not exactly late yet for this review.

Thing is, we actually took this trip back in January. We had attended a Tagaytay wedding and Mr. S and I decided to take a long weekend, spend one night in Tagaytay and then another in Batangas. We did have that Canyon Cove voucher we bought last year and decided to use it for that weekend.

We were so excited since it was Datu's first out of town vacation and his first ever trip to the beach. I was looking forward for the trip for my son since he loves the water so much and he's never even been to a pool yet at that time. I just know he will be so happy wading in the water.

Nasugbu is about another hour's drive from Tagaytay so around 2.5 to 3 hours drive from Manila. I would say that drive is well worth it. The pool is so picturesque and the beach was nice and clean. But it was cloudy when we got there so we weren't able to enjoy dipping in the water too much as it was too cold. We did enjoy the beautiful view though.

Took this picture with my phone from the balcony of our room. No filters.

The kiddo enjoying the water.

We had to take him out of the water since it was too cold.

As expected, the little boy did enjoy himself even for just a little while. In the afternoon, Mr. S and I attempted to take a dip at the beach. We took the boy with us but we just played in the sand as it was still chilly. I didn't want him catching a cold.

Room with the king size bed and day bed

As far as the accommodations go, do not expect a whole lot. We did just pay Php 2999 for our voucher so pwede na rin. The bed we got was rickety. There was a noisy sound every time someone moves or maybe we were just too fat :p The size of the bed was perfect for us and the boy though. I loved that we were really comfortable. The hotels we've stayed in the past had queen sized beds so it was a bit too cozy sometimes.

The bathroom is...yes, you guessed right--old. There were a lot of rust but most of the stuff work. I did not take a picture anymore. There is an enclosed shower area and a bath tub you wouldn't want to soak in. The shower head in the actual shower area was busted so we had to use the one in the tub. Problem is, there was no shower curtain so we had to take care not to get the area beyond the tub wet.

They did provide towels, tissue paper and soap. That's it. Also, you can only ask for extra towels/pillows if you paid for the additional person who joined you. So if you are smuggling a companion in, do not ask for one so you don't get caught or be ready with an alibi. Extra person is Php 800. The person gets "free" breakfast though. No, the voucher users will not get free breakfast. Although, the newer vouchers they are selling includes breakfast and so one of my officemates say.

Two kids can stay in the day bed or two short adults :) We brought our nanny with us so she slept there. Be careful not to eat on the bed though. She fed the boy with grapes in the afternoon before we went for a swim. When we got back, there were ants in the bed. We were able to get them all out of the room so thankfully no one got bitten.

For the food, as per resort rules, you cannot bring your own inside. We were able to smuggle water, bread and chips. A friend of mine who has been in Canyon Cove at least thrice told me that I can stow the food inside the baby's bag as they don't normally inspect that. And make sure that you hide the food under the baby stuff. 

We went to the town proper for lunch. Found a great local restaurant, Kainan sa Dalampasigan, in Google (will blog about that soon). And ate at the resort's hotel in the evening. They have a tie up with Max's restaurant so there's no guessing in that area. Food was fine.

I will recommend Canyon Cove as long as you have no issues with staying in an accommodation I described above. The beach and the pool are great and seemed well maintained unlike the rooms. When you buy a voucher (bought mine through Metrodeal), try to book your trip as soon as possible as weekend slots get taken too fast. I didn't have that much of a problem booking ours as we went there on an off-peak season and we were there on Sunday.

We are planning another out of town trip very soon. This would be our first family summer getaway. Super excited. Will blog about that maybe in two months! Haha!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Staycation at Richmonde Hotel

We checked in at Richmonde Hotel, Ortigas to celebrate Father’s day this year. I bought a voucher from Ensogo a couple of months back to have a staycation for summer. I was finally going to reserve a room in May but was told that the pool will be out of commission for three months due to renovations so I opted to just wait for Father’s day in June to use it. The voucher was for a superior room for two. We brought the baby with us and the yaya. We just brought a sleeping bag for yaya because I didn’t want to pay Php 1500 for an extra bed.

 The room was small so it was a bit cramped with the sleeping bag on one end. Since there was no pool, we decided to use the sauna/steam room at the health club at the 4^th floor. We decided to have an early dinner before we went for sauna. There are a lot of restaurants near the area. We decided to walk along Pearl drive and chose to eat at Pancake house. When we got back to the hotel it was 7 PM and we got lazy so we decided to just prepare for bed and play with Datu.

The lobby

Add caption

The queen sized bed

No complimentary coffee/tea

Bathroom sink with toiletries

I know I really should practice more on taking better pictures. The bathroom here is rather small but there is a tub. My problem is that if you lifted the mat on the tub (the one placed to prevent slipping), it was grimy and gross. I appreciate the placement of that mat but if you wanted to use the tub for a bubble bath, you can't because of the grime stuck there.

The next day, we were up early, as with most people who have kids. We decided to go to the restaurant to have breakfast. The voucher I got included free buffet breakfast for two. The choices was better than Astoria. Yes, they had bacon! But it was not crispy…so I’m a bit sad but that’s alright, who says no to bacon :)

 

 

I liked the pansit they served. There was tapa, tocino, hasbrown, sauteed beans. There were a few others that they had but I really just concentrated on the bacon :)

Cold drinks

They will serve the hot beverage at the table. There's coffee, tea and hot chocolate to choose from.

Bread station

Omelette/pancake/french toast station

I loved that zuchinni was a selection as an omelette ingredient. I had mine made with everything on it. They used mozzarella cheese. I would have liked to use cheddar but the omelette was really good even without it. It was slightly sweet because of the ham they used. I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected sweet taste. I loved it!

Dessert station

There's puto, ube rolled in shredded coconut and leche flan for dessert. The flan was not smooth so that was a fail.

After breakfast, we went back to our room to prepare for checkout. Overall, I'd rate our stay as average. The service was good, the staff were nice and accommodating. It has a convenient location at the heart of Ortigas center, very near malls and BPO centers. Will I stay at the hotel again though, probably not for a staycation with my family. I'd recommend it if you need a cheaper hotel in the area to stay for balikbayans or even for wedding preps.

Richmonde Hotel, Ortigas
21 San Miguel Avenue,
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel: (632) 638-7777
Fax: (632) 638-8567
Email: rho@richmondehotel.com.ph

A Day at Astoria Plaza

Last May, a few people at work decided to have a get together for summer. Due to logistics and planning challenges, we just decided to stay in the city. We booked a two-bedroom suite at Astoria Plaza in Ortigas for an overnight stay.

I was tasked to book the room. I did it through their website. You will be asked to pre-pay 10% of the room charge to confirm your reservation. Note that this amount is non-refundable and if you decide to cancel, you must do it three days before your arrival date or else you will incur additional charges. The suite is good for four persons with free buffet breakfast.

We were planning to go for a swim with the baby but Mr. S got there late due to car troubles. We just hanged out with the officemates for a few hours and left for the night.

I took a few photos of the place. The rooms were just right for four persons. But if you will use it for a team building activity or other parties (bridal shower, stag party, baby shower, despedida), you could probably fit about 10 people there, of course the others would have to sleep in the couch or bring sleeping bags. Technically, you are not supposed to hold parties but as long as you don't damage anything, you should be good.

Two single beds in the smaller bedroom

Still two single beds in the master's bedroom

The Master's bedroom is a bit more spacious that the other room and has it's own bathroom. I did not get very good pictures of the bathrooms. They were both clean but were a bit small. The bathroom at the bigger room had a bath tub. I can't remember if toiletries apart from soap was provided. The suite we got had single beds in the master's bedroom too. Usually, they'd have a king sized bed. This would work for people who want to maintain their personal space especially if you are using the place for team buildings/parties instead of family use.

Living and dining area

The living/area is spacious too but the actual dining table is a bit small. You can use that desk provided to put your food ala buffet style dining. There is also a kitchen but no pots and pans provided. The last time I stayed here I think was four years back, they provided those too. I am not sure if they will provide it if you requested for it. We did not have plans to cook so we didn't bother asking. There were only four sets of plates, spoon, fork, knives and glasses so if you have a bigger party, you need to prepare to bring these items.

Kitchen area

Apparently, most of our officemates left early the next day since it was mother's day too. Nobody was left to use the free breakfast. We live near by so we went back there to use our breakfast vouchers. There wasn't a lot of selection but for the price we paid for the room (Php 6500), I'm not going to complain. The only thing I'm sad about is that there was no bacon. I liked that they had arrozcaldo though. They also had chicken tocino, tapa and fish. Not a lot of variety but enough choices for everybody.

Choice of cereals

Drinks

Bread station

Fruit/Salad station

 

ASTORIA PLAZA
J. Escriva Drive (formerly Amber Avenue)
Ortigas Business District
Pasig City, 1605 Philippines

Email: sales@astoriaplaza.com

(+63 2) 687-1111; (+63 2) 910-0270