Microtel Mall of Asia -- Home away from Home
It has been a while since Paul and I had our much-longed-for R&R. Our last was during our 1st wedding anniversary where we stayed a night at Discovery Suites. We were, in fact, really looking forward to our trip to Bacolod which sadly got canceled due to a massive strike conducted by ex-PAL employees.
"Just one night." I always pray to HIM. We've both been so stressed out that I think a mini-break will really do wonders for us. HE heard my prayers so last Saturday I got an email from the Ariel 3D Deep Clean event organizers telling me that they actually booked a room for us at Microtel Mall of Asia. The thing is, this will be from Monday to Tuesday. We've never had a mini-vacation on a work night so this is really something new to us. Still, we tried to be spontaneous and openly accepted the invitation.
So there we were, right after work checking in at Microtel Mall of Asia. There were plenty of parking spots and the attendant were very helpful too. I entered the lobby and loved the bright, clean ambiance where hotel guests would sit on the couch to surf and use the WiFi internet for free.
Checking in was a breeze, all they did was to make me fill up a form, asked for a valid ID, did some verification check and in no time, I was given our room key and was warmly welcomed in Microtel. We headed up to the 7th floor where our room for the night was located.
Microtel is a popular chain of inns and mini hotels abroad, I remember checking their website out as I was planning our US trip. They are known to have a really reasonable room rates while giving you comfortable accommodations without the frills. What I didn't know was that the rooms in Microtel, or at least in this particular location, is HUGE! We entered our room and I was surprised to see two queen sized beds, a daybed overlooking the Manila Bay, a pretty spacious bathroom and a flat screen TV. If this is what you call "minus the frills" then I'd love to stay in Microtel every time I travel abroad.
Let me give you a short tour around our room and the hotel through this slideshow that I lovingly made for each one of you. :)
The beds, as mentioned, were huge. I slept like a baby that evening as the bed as soft and really comfortable. The pillows were fluffy and were the type that wouldn't give you a stiff neck. It felt so nice to snuggle in bed with a thick blanket and comfy pillows. Wish I didn't have to wake up early to prepare for work the next day. :P
The bathroom was well-equipped with all the basic amenities and more! -- hair dryer, rain showerhead, and my favorite, a bidet. Come on hotels, I really hope everyone would consider installing a bidet.
It makes everything so easy and totally mess-free. They also provided us with soaps, shampoo/conditioner, towels and dental kits. Not bad...
My only complain was the very unpredictable heater. A fellow blogger told us that it was hard to control the temperature of the water and we initially thought this could be an isolated case but she was right! The water would go from burning hot to cold within seconds! The only solution was to take a bath really quick or keep it cold the entire time.
Unlike most hotels where they would leave two complimentary bottles of water for the guests, here they have a water dispenser and ice machine in every floor. This reminded me of the hotel where I stayed in while I was on a business trip in the US where they have everything provided for -- microwave oven, vendo machine, etc. This cuts the cost for all those plastic bottles and makes it pretty accessible for hotel guests to get water anytime they need to.
The next day, we woke up early to grab breakfast before checking out and heading to work. Each room gets complimentary buffet breakfast for two at the hotel's coffee shop named Millie's. Choices were pretty limited. It's your typical Filipino breakfast complete with garlic rice, a couple of meat options (ham, corned beef, fish) and omelet. I also tried the hashed brown but found it a bit too cold and dry unlike the ones served in McDonald's.
At the side was a huge bread basket with oven toaster and dispensers filled with two types of fruit juice. The food wasn't so bad but it definitely wasn't the best hotel breakfast that we've had either. Nothing still beats our Swissotel experience during our honeymoon.
After breakfast, seeing that we have a few more minutes to spare, we headed up towards the top-most floor to check out the swimming pool. If only we had more time, Paul and I would probably go swimming to burn those much-needed calories. Aside from that, I simply miss swimming a LOT!
While it may just be a mini-break but as expected, we left Microtel Mall of Asia feeling well-rested, with a happier disposition and a more positive outlook to tackle more challenges thrown our way. Bring it on!!!
For those who wants a short break away from the daily grind, or if you're traveling to Manila; check out Microtel Mall of Asia located at Coral Way Ave. corner Seaside Boulevard, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Philippines.
Visit their website at http://www.microtel-manila.com/ppc/ to view their rooms, rates and other amenities.
"Just one night." I always pray to HIM. We've both been so stressed out that I think a mini-break will really do wonders for us. HE heard my prayers so last Saturday I got an email from the Ariel 3D Deep Clean event organizers telling me that they actually booked a room for us at Microtel Mall of Asia. The thing is, this will be from Monday to Tuesday. We've never had a mini-vacation on a work night so this is really something new to us. Still, we tried to be spontaneous and openly accepted the invitation.
So there we were, right after work checking in at Microtel Mall of Asia. There were plenty of parking spots and the attendant were very helpful too. I entered the lobby and loved the bright, clean ambiance where hotel guests would sit on the couch to surf and use the WiFi internet for free.
Checking in was a breeze, all they did was to make me fill up a form, asked for a valid ID, did some verification check and in no time, I was given our room key and was warmly welcomed in Microtel. We headed up to the 7th floor where our room for the night was located.
 |
| the view from our room |
Microtel is a popular chain of inns and mini hotels abroad, I remember checking their website out as I was planning our US trip. They are known to have a really reasonable room rates while giving you comfortable accommodations without the frills. What I didn't know was that the rooms in Microtel, or at least in this particular location, is HUGE! We entered our room and I was surprised to see two queen sized beds, a daybed overlooking the Manila Bay, a pretty spacious bathroom and a flat screen TV. If this is what you call "minus the frills" then I'd love to stay in Microtel every time I travel abroad.
Let me give you a short tour around our room and the hotel through this slideshow that I lovingly made for each one of you. :)
The beds, as mentioned, were huge. I slept like a baby that evening as the bed as soft and really comfortable. The pillows were fluffy and were the type that wouldn't give you a stiff neck. It felt so nice to snuggle in bed with a thick blanket and comfy pillows. Wish I didn't have to wake up early to prepare for work the next day. :P
The bathroom was well-equipped with all the basic amenities and more! -- hair dryer, rain showerhead, and my favorite, a bidet. Come on hotels, I really hope everyone would consider installing a bidet.
It makes everything so easy and totally mess-free. They also provided us with soaps, shampoo/conditioner, towels and dental kits. Not bad...
My only complain was the very unpredictable heater. A fellow blogger told us that it was hard to control the temperature of the water and we initially thought this could be an isolated case but she was right! The water would go from burning hot to cold within seconds! The only solution was to take a bath really quick or keep it cold the entire time.
Unlike most hotels where they would leave two complimentary bottles of water for the guests, here they have a water dispenser and ice machine in every floor. This reminded me of the hotel where I stayed in while I was on a business trip in the US where they have everything provided for -- microwave oven, vendo machine, etc. This cuts the cost for all those plastic bottles and makes it pretty accessible for hotel guests to get water anytime they need to.
The next day, we woke up early to grab breakfast before checking out and heading to work. Each room gets complimentary buffet breakfast for two at the hotel's coffee shop named Millie's. Choices were pretty limited. It's your typical Filipino breakfast complete with garlic rice, a couple of meat options (ham, corned beef, fish) and omelet. I also tried the hashed brown but found it a bit too cold and dry unlike the ones served in McDonald's.
At the side was a huge bread basket with oven toaster and dispensers filled with two types of fruit juice. The food wasn't so bad but it definitely wasn't the best hotel breakfast that we've had either. Nothing still beats our Swissotel experience during our honeymoon.
After breakfast, seeing that we have a few more minutes to spare, we headed up towards the top-most floor to check out the swimming pool. If only we had more time, Paul and I would probably go swimming to burn those much-needed calories. Aside from that, I simply miss swimming a LOT!
While it may just be a mini-break but as expected, we left Microtel Mall of Asia feeling well-rested, with a happier disposition and a more positive outlook to tackle more challenges thrown our way. Bring it on!!!
For those who wants a short break away from the daily grind, or if you're traveling to Manila; check out Microtel Mall of Asia located at Coral Way Ave. corner Seaside Boulevard, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Philippines.
Visit their website at http://www.microtel-manila.com/ppc/ to view their rooms, rates and other amenities.
