Being that most of our budget was already eaten up by our fare, I had to cut back on how much we were going to spend for accommodation. With such short notice, all I could manage was a stay at Ibis Bencoolen. It is an economy (no frills) hotel, still part of the Accor group but unlike our stay at Grand Mercure Roxy wherein we got the room at promo rate, we definitely paid full-price this time around (Our bill for a 4-day stay at Ibis Bencoolen turned out to be more expensive than our 5-day stay at Grand Mercure Roxy ).

Read the rest of this entry…

Snapshots taken last week over a period of 4 days. Wasn’t really able to take as much as I’d like being that my focus was more on business. Still, was able to squeeze a few in and will be writing about them in detail in the posts to come. In the meantime, enjoy the pics!

Read the rest of this entry…

Let me show you another Batangas resort we went to 2 years ago also care of my previous company. It was for a company outing so unlike our team building at Blue Coral Beach Resort, the place had to be big enough to accommodate a couple of hundred of people. We ended up at Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas.

The place was fantastic! I couldn’t say anything bad about it, really. Clean and fresh-smelling rooms, better than average buffet, I was definitely glad at that time that I decided to join the company outing despite the fact that my then-bf-now-husband has just left the company and I might end up all alone the whole time during the outing.
Read the rest of this entry…

It’s Holy Week once again and I’m sure a lot of Manilenyos right now are migrating to the beaches, nearby Tagaytay, or going to their respective provinces. But if you’re going to Laiya, Batangas, let me just tell you, no let me show you my experience with one of the resorts there 2 years ago.

Blue Coral Beach Resort is one of the resorts dotting the beaches along Laiya, Batangas. It was a company team building. We got there around 11 in the morning and we had to wait some time to be checked in. I thought they were preparing the rooms but you can only imagine my surprise (and disgust) when I checked the bathroom to our room and found this:
Read the rest of this entry…

Remember I purchased the Accor Advantage plus with a free night? Well, I haven’t gotten around to claiming that free night yet and was planning on using it any weekend this March but found out earlier that there are no more Saturdays available for the complimentary night at Sofitel Manila! What’s more, I checked April, May, and June, looking for an available Saturday at the Sofitel Manila and was able to reserve for the 2nd Saturday of July! Whoa!!! That’s a long way off! Reminder to self to book early should we decide to continue membership for next year. So this is the loophole. Oh well, I should have known it was too good to be true (still not a bad deal if you ask me. I just have to be smarter when using it). So if I were you, better book now!