Island Nook Boutique Hotel in Boracay

Since we always travel on a budget trip, it is but natural for me to scout for the cheapest (but nice) place to stay. I booked late (2 weeks before our trip) good thing I was  able to still get one that is very affordable and is nice.

here we are waiting for our room and obviously excited to go to the beach!

Island Nook Boutique Hotel- is  a small boutique hotel right in the center of Boracay, which was the very reason I booked it, just in front of a  convenience store,  very near the famous D-mall and few minutes away from the beach. I was kinda scared to book one that is quite far from the busy station because we are first timers maybe next time.

took this photo outside the convenience store (ministop)

I booked through Agoda because they got the cheapest price. We paid Php 2,160.00 for 2 nights meaning 1,080.00 per night including breakfast for two. Not bad di ba?

Here are  photos of the room. Just basic necessities, bed, tv and a chair but it's ok with us, after all we went there not for the room but for the sea, sun and sand!

this is the entrance room, find it weird that the lavatory is there :)

 And here is the bathroom, with hot and cold shower, working flush, and a strong water. This is a plus factor for them because I read from reviews that there are budget rooms in Boracay but comfort rooms are not that good)

and a plate of their breakfast. Choices are the usual, tapa, bangus, longganisa, coffee or juice and some sandwhiches.

Over all, we had  a very pleasant stay in Island Nook, if you are in  a budget trip and want to be in the center of the busy street of Boracay. This one's for you.

24H Apartment/hotel

A week after my father's funeral, my husband and I stayed here for just one night. We badly needed a rest because of the incident and so we went here. This was not our first time though, when my brother in law got married we stayed here also for a night. This is quite cheap compared to other small hotels/hostels in town.

But even if it is cheap, service is good and the rooms are clean, the restaurant ambiance is nice (newly renovated) and what we love most is that there is no standard check in and check out time here. if you check in at 7:00 PM, you can check out also at 7:00 PM the next day. Guaranteed 24 hours stay. Speak for it's name di ba?

Elevator entrance

One bedroom accomodation has it's own small kitchen, with fridge/oven/ sink

LCD TV/ Aircon

Our view of the city from our bedroom window

even if I smiled, you can still see the sadness in my face there. :( But of course that was a week after my dad's funeral so I am still very much mourning at that time.

But this post was not about me mourning...so let's go back to this apartment hotel (note that I was not paid nor given any remuneration for this post) but thinking this might help those who are looking for a nice but not expensive place to stay while in Manila or Makati hence this post. It's been sitting actually in my draft section  since May of this year but I only had the time to do it now.

For reservations: I did it over the phone and asked for the cheapest price. You can also book online thru different sites like Agoda. You can also visit their own website at http://www.hotel24h-makati.com.

Address : 1406 Vito Cruz Extension Corner (Pablo Ocampo Sr. Extension) Balagtas St. Barangay La Paz, Makati City
Contact Number : +63(2) 899-2174

Alejandra Hotel in Makati

Alejandra hotel is a small (with only 27 guestroom) but new hotel along Zobel Roxas St. in Palanan,Makati City. As we were searching for nearby wedding venues, we were led to inquire with them and tonight we had the chance to see for ourselves what this hotel can offer.

 ROOMS &  RATES

 We checked the rooms and here's what it is; The studio room is P1,800.00 per night, plated breakfast included for two person It's small but I think it's very much okay for that price. But I'm sorry I have no picture of the studio room.

Anyways, here's the Suite room which is 25 square meters and with bath tub for 3,500.00 per night, breakfast also included. 2 double bed and king size bed available for you to choose from.

only the suite room has bathtub

the king size bed

But what we were there to see the skyline rooftop actually for a December wedding, the guy said this can accommodate 150 guests but i doubt it, I think it is too crowded for 150 guests.

 That's me and the bride to be (thinking if this is it!)

they also has a conference room and a resto/bar. I did not inquire for the rates though. But you may contact them here :

Telephone Number :(632) 836-1455 to 57
Email Add : admin@alejandrahotel.com
Website : http://www.alejandrahotel.com

Europa Mansionette Inn, Cebu City

We stayed in Europa Mansionette in Cebu on our last night,we booked 2 rooms and this was because of the metrodeal voucher bought by my friend for only 745 per room, good for 2 paersons with breakfast, not bad di ba? And of course, like what I always do, i take pictures and blog, because pictures taken by someone who stayed in someplace is always better (in terms of reality) than what you can see from their website.

I was satisfied with the room because of the discounted price, it's old but it's clean. Below is our room

queen size bed

in our room the aircon is working well but not in my friend's room so they have to transfer them in the middle of the night due to broken aircondition

the CR- I find it a bit small but again with the price it's a OK 

this is where you can have your breakfast but we opted to have it in our room  instead

going to veranda which I think is nice except that it is not being  maintained, seats are not clean, and there are  scattered whatevers around :(  it will also be nice if they add more outdoor chaise lounge chairs here

the ceiling (I loved the design)

looks like a queen's crown turned upside down :) it's a chandelier in the dining area

the reception area

One thing I didn't like about them though is this incident,

we were trying to get one more room in their regular price because another couple is with us that night, of course I was trying to get the cheapest one (1,200) because we will only sleep and leave for the airport the next morning, one lady said, yes and that they will just ready the room but another lady came and said there was no available room in that category and said that the only available room is the de luxe which is 1,800.00 to my dismay :( anyways, we didn't get the room and have the  couple shared the room with us which for the reason I do not know they did not allow at first,  even if we reiterated that we will pay the additional fee for each person which is by the way 300.00, they said the room is too small for 4 persons and guess what? they  said that the 2 persons can stay with us provided the other one will have to be in another room (really I did not get the logic there) so they set up  two separate extra beds in both rooms even if we insisted that they don't need to set up another one in the other room because the two will only stay in one room.

to cut the story short, when they learned that the aircon in the other room is not working, they transferred them into the same room that the lady said earlier is being ready  for us but later wasn't available na. and of course the couple stayed with us in our room and we paid 600.00 additional (they should have given that room to us and paid them 1,200 pesos which I think is more beneficial to them di ba?)

oh well, our sleepover is pretty much good and the breakfast is okay and again due to the discounted price, I can still say it's still a good deal  for us.

But if you're getting it at the regular price, think twice first and check the location because it is quite far from the city proper. Exact location is at M.L. Quezon St., Cabancalan, Cebu City and the hotel is not in the main road.

Did I have a taste of Europe? I can't say that because I've never been to Europe :)

Hongkong Disneyland

I'm actually dreaming of going here.

We've been to Hongkong last year but we did not visit the Disneyland, first because we have not enough funds, second our visit was a ministry visit and we only have few hours free for leisure.

But this year, I've already booked for us a one way ticket to Hongkong on September. An airfare ticket from Cebu Pacific that is almost free. P72.00 for both of us. The thing is we don't have ticket going back to Manila yet. At least I'm one step closer to that dream.

I've also looked into Disney World hotels and that's another big dream for us. You see, an overnight stay in the Hong Kong Disneyland hotel will cost us P14,700.00 and that's super expensive for us. But who knows? I might get a cheaper rate or someone out there with a good heart might gift us with that right? September is still 4 months to go and a lot can still happen.

Anywyas, for those planning to go there, here is the arte I got from their website :

Room Rates (January 2010 - March 2011)

Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
Find the dates and accommodations that fit your family's needs as you experience the Disney heritage in this magical hotel.

Room Type	Value	Regular	Peak
Garden View	HK$1,800	HK$2,100	HK$2,400
Sea View	HK$1,900	HK$2,200	HK$2,600
Sea View with Balcony	HK$2,100	HK$2,400	HK$2,900
Fantasia Room	HK$2,400	HK$2,700	HK$3,200
Kingdom Club Room	HK$2,900	HK$3,200	HK$3,800
Kingdom Suite	HK$6,000	HK$6,000	HK$6,500
Dream on Raquel..after all..dreaming is free!

MC Mountain, Tagaytay

We checked in at around 6pm of Nov 27, we paid 7,500 for two rooms for the first night and one room for the second night. That includes breakfast for 7 people for the first morning and for 4 people on the second.

Choices for breakfast were longganisa, hotdog, tocino, and corned beef, all with rice, egg, drinks (pineapple, iced tea, orange, coffee) and a fruit (banana or pineapple)

Breakfast

The published rate according to the site and brochure is 2,500 for the room but good for two adults only. The owner was easy to talk to and she gave us discount.

lobby

We opted for MC Mountain because it’s the nearest apartelle in Sonya’s garden, And me being the coordinator needs to be there early in the morning during preparation since we don’t have the van yet we took the tricycle early that morning and paid 24.00. It’s like less than 5 minutes away.the mini kitchen

in front of our room

Our room is just basic but spacious enough for all of us. There’s hot water in the bathroom and in the sink. You can also ask for hot water for your coffee or noodles. The staff was all courteous and nice.

For the price we paid, it’s sulit na plus you have internet outside your room (lobby).

It would have been better though if they have a 24 hour store, they can sell snacks, coffee, toiletries or some stuff for remembrance like a Personalized Jewelry there. Guests would surely love it. We were hungry when midnight came and we're too lazy to go out so I guess it would better if they have convenience store in the area.

Microtel- A new hotel in Cabanatuan

This morning while searching for a hotel in Davao, I saw that Microtel Inn and suites is now also in Cabanatuan and was surprised that an overnight stay will only cost you like less than 2,000 pesos including tax. In case you do not know, I am from Cabanatuan City, I used to work there and had my wedding there too. During my wedding preparation, I searched all through out Cabanatuan for a cheap but nice hotel where my guests can stay but to no avail. So seeing this from the internet is something for me. That’s what I was looking for noong wedding ko, one that I can do booking online. Now, this excites me to go home and try probably on Christmas. They have outdoor swimming pool and looking at the pictures from the website I think their indoor lighting is awesome too.

In our search of wedding venue

for our very good friend Andrew and Carmel..

I came across this "hotel"..I was browsing through yellow pages and called their number..and a giggly and super friendly girl entertained me..

and gave me the cheapest of all the rates we have in our hands..well that's for 3 star hotels..so I informed Carmel about it..she was quite happy and asked her fiance to do the ocular that night..and so when we reach the place after several tanongs from here and there..:) we're all not good in following directions..hehe!

eto na..

we entered and I was surprised to see an old lady sa reception desk..:) di ba the usual..mga young and beautiful ang nasa front desk????

and then I inquired and then she called someone to show us the function room..

hala..it was creepy..when we got inside pa..sumakit talaga ulo ko..no one is around..no people..
and then we looked around..the place looks so old...and smells bad..amoy luma talaga...

and then..the boy that showed us around..told us it was one of the oldest "hotel" in Manila.. ok lang sana if it is well kept..may mga guests and alive..but it was not.. howell, sabi na nga ba pagbasa ko ng quote from them "it's too good to be true"

Can I mention the name of that "hotel" here???