photos of the manila hotel

susie and i booked a superior deluxe room at the manila hotel for our my manila tour last weekend. take a peek at the new hotel lobby, our room, the tap room, and the newly renovated pool area here.

the experience wasn't perfect, but we definitely enjoyed ourselves. there's something exciting about being in a hotel that's seen your country through its ups and downs.

service needs a little work, but the manila hotel is on its way to awesome. hopefully, it'll be in tip-top shape by the time it turns 100 in 2012.

so, come on, view my photos of the manila hotel.

update: uploaded a couple more albums: dinner at the champagne room, the manila hotel's macarthur suite, and the manila hotel's archives.

my manila weekend

still reeling from my busy weekend, because i just went on carlos celdran's my manila tour. reeling because, while the tour was enjoyable, it can also take a lot out of you (but i think that's mainly because of the heat).

this was a special weekend, as the tour was an overnighter and offered a stay in the manila hotel. the hotel is now under new management, and is out to get its former glory back. the rooms have been refurbished, featuring mother of pearl-bordered mirrors, a waterproof television in the bathroom, a huge LCD tv in the bedroom, and senso memory foam mattresses for a good night's sleep. and i'm just enumerating what i can remember.

aside from the overnight stay, we were also privy to a tour of the lavish macarthur suite, cocktails at the historic tap room, and a fancy dinner in the quaint champagne room, where the lobster with vanilla cream sauce was simply unforgettable.

outside the hotel, we were treated to two of carlos's tours--the intramuros tour and the imelda tour--where we learned a lot about philippine history, art, architecture, and politics.

but more details to come when i gather my wits and edit the photos (believe me, i got plenty). it was interesting being the first "experimental" batch of this tour. i'll tell you all about what happened in my manila tour soon, so stay tuned.

carlos celdran's my manila tour

just found out that carlos celdran is collaborating with the manila hotel for the my manila tour. it's a weekend extravaganza that includes two of carlos's tours and an overnight stay at the manila hotel. :)

i'm pretty psyched to go on this tour; i haven't stayed in the manila hotel ever, and i find it strange that i've lived here all my life and have never stayed there. so now's my chance.

the my manila tour is also a great way to experience manila in a different way. the itinerary is pretty relaxed, and seems like a lot of fun:

saturday
1pm: check-in manila hotel
3pm: intramuros deluxe tour (transfer by jeepney)
6pm: tour of macarthur suite and hotel; cocktails at the tap room
8pm: dinner at the champagne room

sunday
7am: breakfast buffet
free morning to enjoy the pool (the pool area's been renovated--looks awesome!),
walk luneta park, bike around manila, go to mass at ermita church
2pm: late checkout
3pm: imelda tour (transfer by jeepney)
5pm: return to hotel for a halo-halo

tour details
my manila tour
dates: may 22-23, june 19-20, july 3-4
rates:
superior deluxe room
single occupancy - Php 10,815.00 net
twin/double occupancy - Php 13,980.00 net


sunset or sunrise suite
single occupancy - Php 24,465.00 net
twin/double occupancy - Php 27,630.00 net

email: celdrantours@hotmail.com
mobile: +63 920 9092021

photo: tap room of the manila hotel, taken from the manila hotel.

staying put

i haven't had any chance to go out lately, that's why there's been silence in this blog.

according to my latest escapade, my last trip out was to the manila seedling back. i would like to report that the parsley i bought from there is alive and well, while the basil is being nursed back to health. since then, i have bought a new basil seedling from SM, and that one seems to be doing better.

i have also been editing the remaining photos of last year's trip to spain, and i'm hoping that i can finally finish uploading them. i can't believe it's been a year.

i do plan to have another daytrip soon, as well as a couple of weekend getaways. how about you? where are you off to?

hotels.com offers half-price rooms!

hotels.com is having a 48-hour sale, offering rooms for half the price! so if you're planning to go to europe from now until june 9, you may want to check hotels.com and grab a great hotel deal. :)

for more details, read hotels.com launches 48-hour sale with half-price rooms, which i stumbled upon at etravel.org.

you can also go to hotels.com's 48-hour sale.

sunday at the manila seedling bank

since susie started planting flowers on our balcony, i felt compelled to have my own little plants as well (playing plants vs. zombies also helped pushed me in that direction). but since i am not inclined to be enamored of flowers, i thought i'd get myself a couple of herb seedlings from the manila seedling bank.

i didn't expect the place to be so huge--i thought it was just a little garden with little plants around, but when i arrived, i found that it had so many tents/stalls/greenhouses. the variety of plants you can take home and care for was just overwhelming.

luckily, i did not give in to temptation and just got what i came for--a little sweet basil plant, which cost me P50, and a parsley plant for the same price, i believe. my sister asked me to get her sweet basil, too, along with rosemary and tarragon. i got all those for a total of P150.

the shopkeepers are also quite friendly. my parsley came from a nice, friendly lady who assured me that the parsley would be quite fine in a balcony. kuya basil, meanwhile, sold me my sweet basil (and my sister's plants). they're all very easy to talk to, and are willing to give advice on how to take care of your new babies.

aside from plants, the manila seedling bank also has stalls that sell kitchenware, toys, tables, and animals. we found a couple of pheasants and big-ass cochin chickens in one of the stalls.

i think i would have enjoyed the experience even if i hadn't bought anything. strolling through the stalls and tents was lovely enough--it was such a nice way to spend a sunday afternoon.

details:
manila seedling bank foundation, inc.
address: quezon avenue extension cor. EDSA, quezon city
MRT station: quezon ave., and just cross quezon avenue to get to the EDSA entrance.
by car: go along EDSA, cross quezon avenue and turn right at the manila seedling bank gate. alternatively, you can also turn right at quezon avenue (if you're coming from the south), turn left at agham road, then u-turn and enter at the agham road gate.
phone number: (02) 924-7001 to 02
email address: qualitytrees@msbfi.com

view more photos of manila seedling bank.

travelife magazine: talking travel with gibo teodoro

i've always wanted to know what gibo teodoro had to say about the tourism industry, and what he plans to do with it.

travelife magazine found out for me in this article: travelife magazine's suitcase tales: talking travel with gilbert teodoro.

every interview i've read with this man makes me see just how sensible and reasonable he is, and how well thought-out his plans are. no mud-slinging in his campaign, and he makes no promises about alleviating poverty in one fell swoop--he wants us to work on it and for it ourselves, as we should.

i believe in gibo teodoro, and i'm supporting his presidential bid in the coming elections.