Poolsides of Acasia & Bellevue

Almost at the last lap of summer holiday here at P.I., in spite of occurrence of  daily short drizzles, it's still majorly crazy hot around here. My girls ( about to go back to school in a week from now ) haven't noticed it yet, ( thankyou:) but this is one summer that we haven't gone to the beach. The no-beach-summer is actually intentional. Adding to the fact that everything's quite costly cos it's peak season, I also have to conquer the following : crowded beaches, fully booked hotels & resorts and massive traffics or worst_ local budget airlines issues. .all those just to spend a day to three in a beach. wtf!

So I went for the best next thing (for me) _ nearby hotels with pool that we could chill-in just the same, sans the tedious flight/drive, suffocating crowds and quite lighter in the wallet too.

If you're a condo resident, for sure you can't appreciate another pool in another building. Go, conquer the beach!.. but if you're like me who is landed in a village w/o swimming pool, this would be just right during the hottest season of the year.
Actually, I had it covered months ago, back to the travel expo I visited in Feb. this year. I was able to book early and paid like 50%++ off the published rate. That's one of the perks of planning ahead :D
I was glad that we didn't have to go far. Practically within the neighborhood, in Alabang there were two 5stars hotels that I had my eyes on :



1). Acasia Hotel Manila. The newest hotel in this side of Manila, was so nice that facilities still smelled brand new.

Nestling on the third floor of the hotel, the pool was far from grand, if anything_ actually was small. Nevertheless, I liked it that everything was spic & span. New = uncrowded. It was like we rented the place privately. loveth! Service was also efficient and warm. Complimentary drinks were served bottomless. So generous! I also loved the quality brand new bath towels. We really had fun.

* see the rest of the hotel  here and here and a bit of it also here *



2). The Bellevue Manila. Relatively old, I don't know how old. Maybe a hundred years old, if I have to base it to the smell of their bath towels, haha. Seriously, not that long. The hotel has actually a new tower wing but we stayed at the main wing only because I didn't get it that it has new building as option to stay. Thu' given that the new tower wing rooms are few peso more costly, had I known it, I would still opt to stay in a newer room.

Also on the 3rd floor of the hotel (why always on the 3rd?), the pool of the main wing of Bellevue was a bit bigger compared to Acasia's pool. It was also busy and more crowded than the latter. We wanted to swim the first day but the pool was crowded. There were also lots of guests dining/drinking in the area. The following morning was not that crowded. .



. . yet my girls thought the water was too cold, might be cos the prev night rain so they decided not to take a dip. They just camwhore the whole time in the lounging chairs around the pool.



That left just me and husband in the water. But not for long. In a short while guests flooded in the pool which we were not happy about and cut our swim.
* see the rest of Bellevue Hotel here*

Mount Sea Grand Resort

Mount Sea Grand Resort is a perfect weekend getaway if you are currently enslave by the following conditions : 1. kids are priority 2. proximity is the only way 3. coming from a stressful week.




With those all of the above 3 conditions on our shoulders, we ran to Mount Sea Resort in Tanza, Cavite.




The room is neat and really smelled sooo good! We love the beddings because they were so fresh to both senses-sight and smell. The rest of the facilities in the room were of an upscale hotel.








The bathroom was nice and neat too.


















We went down to the resto for late (or was it midnight already?) dinner in our jammies. We were so hungry we didn't bother to dress-up since we guessed the place would be empty at that time.








And we were so right..we were the only people in this zen-inspired restaurant. The menu was a fusion of local and international dishes. There was also a bar.
We ended-up taking our left overs in the room since we usually don't bother about time when we are in vacation. Snacking is 24/7 when we are in a hotel.
The lobby was adorned with art works and the walk way to our room was beautifully lighted.




The next morning the kids woke us so early because they were so excited to swim. We let them had a taste of the pool last night for a night swim but only for a short hour. It was so cold because of the wind blowing from the sea. The resort is actually located in a sea front.




Complimentary breakfast was already serving so we went to the buffet and enjoyed it at the cabana in the beach.








While at it, we saw the obstacle facilities in the beach and had fun playing with the kids. Great work-out in the morning.




We went around the resort. The kids loved the mountain-zafari theme of the place.












There were giant crocs, monkeys and turtles (not real, ofcourse!), scattered around the resort.

Then we fancied to go up to the huge mountain and took the challenge to reach the top.



On the first level, there was a covered pool, in case you're anti-sun.













On each level, a slide mouth would invite you for a ride to take you down to the grand pool hundred (or was it a thousand?) feet below.




And when we reached the top_ the view was fantastico!




A giant eagle sits on top most  and you could enjoy his eye view of the whole resort and beyond.


















We went down back to the grand pool to enjoy the water.









Ready to face the world again!!

Microtel, Batangas

There was this day that we came from a company outing, with no sleep from the previous night, our driver ( husband) was too tired to continue his task. The only choice left was to get a place to recharge his needed energy. We were already at Sto. Tomas, Batangas and we went to check-in at Microtel Suites.



The lobby is humble but with very courteous and accommodating front office staff.









We were housed at a third floor room. The floor lobby was very typical ,lining up were quiet close doors.




Nothing grand about the room but we liked it right away because it smelled so good. It was neat and simple and the beds were great_two kings.




Cutting all the fuss, I immediately hit the bed. It was dinner when I woke -up, still groggy.




 cable tv, a mini dresser and a mini ref.












A little consolation for the size of the room, we got a little green view to freshen our eyes.




The pool is clear and quiet, with Mt. Makiling (oh, I'm not sure, but it looked like her) as backdraft.








A pool addict, my younger daughter made her way to sample a splash. There was no life guard around, so I stood as one.

The following morning, we woke up recharged and energized. We headed to the breakfast hall.








I was surprised when I opened the buffet pots. Aside from the eggs, bacon, ham, breads, fried rice, there were around four viands that were good enough for lunch. There was also a breakfast nook with cerials and  desserts.








We enjoyed our stay here, more because of the very accommodating staff. We will try their other chains next time.