Staycation: Cebu Parklane International Hotel

Take a look at these two cuties sleeping upstairs while the party downstairs was in full swing:

As soon as the little boys fell asleep, we left them with their nannies while we partied on downstairs:

Apparently, some partied a little too much...

Seth woke up early in the morning (while we were still nursing massive headaches). His nanny opened the drapes and as soon as he saw the view, all he could say was "WOW!"

We headed downstairs for a much needed breakfast.

Their breakfast buffet wasn't very impressive. The highlight was their chicken tocino and that's it. The service was impeccable, however so I'm not complaining.

Here's a peek at the hotel room:

Notice the room does not have a flat screen TV? That's because they're still slowly transitioning from the old ones to new ones.

It's almost time for us to check out, and we still we need to take a bath. Here's our little one checking if the temperature's just right. :D

Finally, we're ready to go. I'd like to thank the A's for letting us stay overnight for free.

See you next time! xx

Staycation: Mandarin Plaza Hotel

A couple weeks ago, we stayed one night at Mandarin Plaza Hotel because they had a pool and their room rates were the most affordable in town. We basically wanted to have a weekend to swim with our toddler because we haven't really introduced it to him yet. This hotel is really new, it's just right across Parklane and just a stone's throw away from Ayala. They're not fully operational yet; according to them, they're still on the "dry run" phase and will have their "soft opening" end of June. So, with that said, here's our experience.

When we got there, we were greeted with a wide lobby. They have enormous chandeliers that look like this:



gorgeous crystals at the lobby


They provided us with complimentary welcome drinks (four seasons juice) here:



leading to the restaurant



Their restaurant however, is not fully operational. They have a few selection in their menu that you can order for room service or eat ala carte at the restaurant, but they don't have a buffet yet. I hope they have an affordable international buffet soon that can rival Parklane's as they have the best budget hotel buffet in the city to date.

To the left, there's a long flight of stairs that leads to the third floor where the swimming pool is located:



Stairs leading to the pool

 They do not have a kiddie pool, and this small one starts at 3 feet and I think the deepest is 5 feet. In the morning, the pool area is really hot; in the afternoon, the sun won't hit anywhere in this area. Although it's sunny, the water is very cold for their pool is not heated. They also have a shower area, a restroom and a sauna here. You can use all of these services for free if you're staying here.

We stayed at the 6th floor, and we only got their standard room, which I think is called a Superior room if I remember correctly. You get two single sized beds; a flat screen TV (cable's not fully operational and they only had a few channels when we were there); free wifi (internet connection was not stable yet and we honestly could not go online while we were there); complimentary coffee (Nature Spring) and water. Their bathroom had a bath tub which was a nice surprise. They also have the usual complimentary toothbrushes and toothpaste.

If there's probably one thing I didn't like about the room, it was the fact that the two lights right above the beds were blinking the entire night after we turned them off and it was very inconvenient. We had a difficult time sleeping. We were too tired to call and have them fixed - besides, our son was already sleeping and we didn't want his sleep disturbed.

The next morning, we had breakfast by the pool, and again as they do not have a fully operational reataurant yet, we had to choose from their menu. They serve American, Filipino, continental, and also a "hearty breakfast" if I remember correctly wherein you get oatmeal. :)

Since they did not have any tables/chairs/lounges at the pool area, they set us up with plastic tables and chairs.

Bacon, corned beef, eggs and rice



testing the water



All in all, it was a pretty ok experience. The staff was very accommodating, friendly and attentive. They totally made up for the services/amenities not available in the hotel yet.
xx