Tag: hotels

Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast

sonyas garden 1

Our overnight stay at Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast is one of the most unforgettable moments of my life.  Before I share why, let me describe the wonderful accommodations at Sonya’s Garden.  For just Php 3,000 per person (Php 3,400 per person during weekends & holidays), we’ll be able to enjoy the overnight stay plus complimentary breakfast & dinner or lunch.

sonyas garden 11

Check-in time is at 2PM & check-out at 12 noon.  We got one cottage which costs us Php 6,000 in total.  Since we went with the driver, we added Php 1,000 for his accommodations which also includes breakfast and lunch or dinner.  The driver’s room is uber nice too!  See the pictures, they do share one room but look how comfortable it is!

sonyas garden 5

This is their washroom, loved their shower area!

sonyas garden 4

We, on the other hand, were given this room first.  I asked if we could move to another cottage as I wasn’t comfortable with how the washroom was situated.  As you can see in the picture below, the one facing the window is actually the restroom!  I definitely do not want to use the washroom or bathe without blinds or curtains! hahaha!

sonyas garden 3

Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast staff were very nice.  We requested another room, and they graciously agreed to our request and was moved to another cottage which turned out to be a spacious family cottage.  It was a 3-bedroom cottage situated near the dining area.  Oh how I loved the room, we actually tried to stay in all 3 rooms hahaha!

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There was no aircon available in the rooms, only fans but don’t fret as the temperature is bearable especially during night time.  The outside area gets a bit dark after 9PM so you would probably want to stay inside the room and just relax after that time.

With the open windows, the breeze circulating throughout the room, the afternoons are comfortable inside the rooms.  The evenings, you can really feel the coolness of Tagaytay, as the room gets really nice and cozy, and the fresh Tagaytay air greets every breath that you take.  Even without air conditioning, you may still want to use the blankets too.

The room we stayed in was just fantastic.  With an old world feel, it even had a nice little vanity desk for when you get ready, powder your nose, apply face lotion, etc.  Even the divider that you see below gave the room another touch of old world ambiance.  Not to mention they had such a wonderful variety of artwork on their walls.  And on the tables were a few coffee table books and travel books too.

sonyas garden 8

This is my favorite part of the cottage.  Guess what room this is?  It’s the washroom!  And this is why staying at Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast is so unforgettable!  It was in this room where Nick asked me to be his girlfriend 🙂  Maybe it’s the romantic atmosphere, and the wonderful ambiance and decor of the washroom, but it really was a great place to just sit down, talk, and take in the beauty of Sonya’s Garden.  The wonderful gravel floor with the little pebbles, the stone tiles, the fresh flowers, it can truly be romantic, and even memorable.

sonyas garden 9

Sonya’s Garden is really a great place, aside from the beautiful rooms & yummy food, there are also activities that we can do.  One is the art of doing nothing lessons that they offer for free for those checked in at Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast.  Another thing you can do is to have some spa treatments at Sonya’s Garden Spa (for a separate fee).

You can also walk around the area which is really nice.  Look at the walkway as seen below.  Each step that you take, you will want to notice your surroundings.  The variety of flowers, plants, trees, and greenery are endless.  The beauty of the flowers and the surrounding was matched by the fresh air.

sonyas garden 2

The walk from the main entrance to the cottages has two main walkways, and on that corner of that intersection, there is also a nice little resting place, sort of like the mini cottages you find at the beach.  Well, Sonya’s also has one of those, as seen in the picture below.

The walkway is also a great place to just stop during the evenings, even for just a minute or two.  Because on a clear night, like the night we stayed, when you look up, the beauty of the sky just consumes and inspires you.  The stars come out, and in the silence, you can really feel the calmness and even the romance of it all.

sonyas garden private

Now, below, this is the area where they plant herbs & this is also where we had our cooking lessons.  the dalandan basil tea, the tarragon tea, the tomato and mango herb mixture, all the herbs that are used in the cooking at Sonya’s all come from here.  This is where all that magic happens.  The freshness of their food, comes from the fact that their Garden is just magnificent and has the best varieties of herbs and plants.  This is why Sonya’s lunches are so good, like I wrote about, because of this greenhouse.

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Sonya’s Garden is best for taking pictures too!  The picture below is actually a signature area where people take their shots!  hahaha!  If you see this kind of picture, you would know that it’s from Sonya’s Garden.  Couples usually have their pictures taken there.  Actually, there’s just so many places that you are able to take a picture in.  It’s really because the garden itself is really just sooo beautiful.

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My favorite picture of all 🙂  I’ll never ever forget our experience at Sonya’s Garden.  I definitely would want to go back there just to reminisce.  Before you leave though, do not forget to sign the guestbook in the cottage.  Nick actually wrote on their guestbook, a whole two pages!  We’ll have to request to get a copy or see it next time we go back.

We actually read all the earlier entries and you can see that a lot of people do celebrate their special days at Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast just like me & Nick. 🙂

sonyas garden 13

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Sonya’s Bed & Breakfast
Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite 4123, Cavite, Philippines
+639175335140

Circles Event Café

circles event cafe

One of my weaknesses is definitely good food.  I can’t seem to resist any opportunity of eating at a good restaurant & having delicious yummy food.  Explains the reason why I gained 5 kilos (11 pounds) in the past few months.  No regrets whatsoever though.  I do know however that I need to cut down on my pig-out events hehehe.

A few weeks back, Christina & I went to Circles Event Cafe for lunch, which is located at the lobby of Shangrila Hotel Makati.  Christina had a free buffet voucher so we only needed to pay for 1 person (Php 1,424.48).  Boy, the place was packed.  No matter how expensive this is, people still make it a point to go to Circles Event Cafe to dine.  I must agree, that with such good food and a pleasing ambiance, I guess dining once in a while here is well worth it.

circles buffet dining

I really liked how the buffet was done, open theater style.  Different stations specializing on a certain cuisine.  Circles Buffet has a salad bar, Japanese sushi bar, cold dishes, Asian dishes (dimsum, Mongolian, Indian) & western dishes (pizza, roast beef-YUM!).  I love their complete selection of breads too!

circles buffet 1

circles buffet 2

Whenever I go to a pricey buffet like Circle Event Cafe, I make it a point to prioritize the more expensive food items, particularly items like roast beef.  You can see in the picture below, me enjoying a serving of Roast Beef, it’s really good, however I wouldn’t go for a 2nd serving on that one!  I have to watch my cholesterol intake 😛

circles roast beef

Another favorite station of mine was the dessert bar!  My golly!  I just loved it!!!  I especially loved the enormous variety of fruits available for us!  Wow!  I had to go back like 3 times, I couldn’t get enough of it!! 😀

circles buffet fruits

Who would forget the ever-famous chocolate fondue fountain & other desserts available at Circles Buffet.  The Tiramisu cups, creme brulee, cakes & the yummy ice cream w/ awesome sidings.  The experience was truly heaven, you can check the pictures in my online photo album for Circle Event Cafe.

circles buffet desserts

One thing I also noticed was the display of the different smileys at the place as well as the good selection of wines in one corner.  Let me share some information because I did read the posters beside them:

circles buffet extras

  • Emoti Cake – Very cute smiley cakes where you can choose a certain emotion to put in your cake (chocolate or cheese flavored) then provide the message you wanna put in (I miss you, I love you, I’m sorry, congratulations, etc).  Pretty cute, a very nice offering by Circles Event Cafe.  The cakes are offered in 2 sizes, Petite (14cm) & Regular (19cm).  Prices ranging from Php 380 to Php 780.
  • Wine Rendezvous – available from 6-11pm.  Guests can choose & drink unlimited wines from Argentina, Australia, South Africa & France for just Php 795++.  There are a lot of wine drinkers out there, unfortunately, I’m not one of them hehehe 😛

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Circles Event Café
Lobby, Makati Shangri-La, Ayala Ave. cor. Makati Ave., Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 840-0884

Waterfront Airport Hotel & Casino Mactan

waterfront hotel mactan

Waterfront Airport Hotel & Casino Mactan
1 Airport Road, Lapu-Lapu City, 6015 Cebu, Philippines
(02) 340-4888

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We weren’t supposed to stay at Waterfront but due to unforeseen circumstances, we ended up staying at Waterfront Mactan for our last day in Cebu.  We arrived exactly at 2PM just in time for check-in.  The first thing I asked was if there was wifi in the room.  The lady said there was, but we had to pay extra (Php 600 for 24-hours but they do have 12-hour and hourly rates as well).  By the way, you can’t share the connection, the internet is good for only 1 computer.

Waterfront Mactan has a nice location since it’s just 10 minutes away from Cebu’s international & domestic airport.  Very accessible & no need to worry about the traffic as the airport is just right in front of the hotel.  Actually, the next day we arrived at the airport exactly 45 minutes before our flight hahaha!  Talk about last minute..

The lobby of Waterfront Mactan hotel reminds me of some hotels here in Manila.  It looked very traditional but still okay… It felt cozy though.  Best for guests who are on the go, mostly businessmen.

waterfront reception

We chose the superior room ($135).  The room rate is already inclusive of buffet breakfast (I did mention that this was the most memorable breakfast buffet that we had in Cebu right?).  The room was just okay.  A bed, table, television with cable, safety deposit box, mini bar, refrigerator, bathtub & nice view of Cebu when you look out the window.

waterfront room

waterfront room 2

waterfront room 3

waterfront washroom

What I love most about Waterfront Mactan hotel is their food.  Their breakfast buffet is just great and can I say that their room service is the best too?  It was 3AM in the morning and I was really really hungry.  We ended up calling room service to order Arroz Caldo (Php 200), which is a chicken-flavored rice porridge served with eggs, calamansi, onion leeks & patis.  I got the shock of my life when I saw just how big it was!  I thought it was just good for one, but would have easily served 4 people.  I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it, geez it was really good & yummy!  I didn’t think that they would be able to make it that good!  Well, I know I was really hungry but I really believe they cooked it right and the ingredients blended right too!

arroz caldo waterfront

The hallway is nice too and UNO restaurant has to take credit for that coz of its wonderful design.  Made it photography worthy 🙂

Waterfront Hotel is famous for its casinos.  I was a bit disappointed though with their Mactan branch as the casino was small.  I’m also a bit pissed with the security officer at the casino reception, would you believe that the girl really checked every bit of my bag?  Like even the candies in my bag she had to check.  I felt a bit disrespected with the act but I just didn’t let it affect me.  And oh, there’s a Lapu-lapu statue outside the casino too.

waterfront hallway

Lastly, what is a hotel without a swimming pool?

waterfront swimming pool

See the rest of the pictures in my Flickr album.  If you just wanna relax and stay in the hotel room, then I don’t think this is the place for you.  I can say that Waterfront Mactan hotel is best for people who are planning to tour around Cebu, have early flights the next day, or for business people on the go.  The room rate is cheap and the location is good too as it’s very accessible.

Official Website of Rochelle Sy Chua on media, events, travel, food and restaurant experiences in Taipei, Taiwan, Manila, Philippines and Asia.


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