Staycation Files : Edsa Shangri-la Hotel, Ortigas

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It's no secret how Paul and I love to travel. However, given that we have very limited leave dates at work and more than half of those are spent in Manila for Christmas, Chinese New Year and for family birthdays, we barely had any days left to really go on a vacation. That said, this is one reason why we love taking staycations every now and then. You see, we both love taking some time off from work to unwind and recharge. We both lead very hectic work lives so this is the only chance that we get to spend one entire weekend clearing our minds and catching up on sleep. Not to mention that we get each other's undivided attention as we don't have to worry about household chores or running errands too.

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During one of our visits to Manila, we spent the night at Edsa Shangri-la Hotel. As you may have read in my past entries, this hotel holds a special place in my heart as I've spent a lot of weekends with my family here. I love how it's located right at the center of the metro yet you get that resort, out of town feel from the moment to step inside the lobby. More so when you walk out towards the pool area, oh you can totally forget that you're actually still in busy cosmopolitan, Metro Manila.

We got the Tower Wing Deluxe Room (est. Php. 9,000 / S$280) which is at the same wing where Heat, the Lobby Lounge and all the other F&B outlets are. How convenient! We literally just have to take the lift down and the restaurants are simply a few steps away. Before anything else, let me take you on a quick tour around our room:



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The Tower Wing Deluxe Room is a spacious 34 sqm room that has a nice Oriental touch in its decor. I'm loving the blue and gold hues which gives a relaxing yet regal vibe. I love how each side of the bed has a side table which allows us to store all our phones, a water bottle or anything that we would need prior to sleeping and upon waking up. Our king size bed was big and having 2 big pillows and 2 small ones added a nice touch. My only request was a bolster pillow as I normally would store the smaller ones away. Definitely a side sleeper problem.

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The marbled bathroom was also very big which is definitely at par with most Shangri-la hotels worldwide. It's nice to see that the toilet comes with a bidet (hooray!) and the shower area was so big that it even has a bench inside. I'm not sure why though..

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Another thing that I love are the Shangri-la toiletries. They have one of the best smelling shampoo and conditioners that I've used that I normally do not bring my own anymore when staying in any Shangri-la hotel as I get excited to use the one provided in our room. I also love the complimentary hair tie which I think is very thoughtful of them.

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Moving to our dresser, they got the usual items such as the safety deposit box, iron and ironing board, hair dryer, laundry bags and bedroom slippers too.

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They also got a nice bar area with the basic coffee, tea and of course, a heater too. Wish they'd consider adding in a coffee maker or a Nespresso for a nicer touch.

We spent the rest of our afternoon and evening inside the hotel complete with a nice spa treatment at Chi Spa before heading to bed. Let me tell you more about those in my next entries. Meanwhile, the best part of a staycation is always the morning after. Instead of staying in bed till late, we woke up early to head down to Heat for our breakfast buffet. Of course! Heat is one of the best hotel buffet restaurants in town and we're not missing out on the opportunity to have breakfast there.

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Look at all these selections! They got a wide array of longganisa and tocino which made our OFW-hearts skipped a beat. So yummy! I wasn't able to take a photo but they also got different kinds of vinegar to go with it too.

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In addition to this, we filled our tummy with cereals, fruits, yogurt and even this section is suitable for those on a gluten-free diet.

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Paul went nuts when he saw this! Kakanin (rice cakes) is probably one of his favourite Pinoy snack and only when we're in Manila can he get his fill of this native delicacy. Sadly though, the suman, according to him, wasn't that great but at least they tried, right?

There's actually a lot of dishes available for breakfast and I was really impressed by the selection at Heat. The best part was the service was also good and we were even given tomato ketchup and mayonnaise in cute tiny bottles. This was definitely a great way to end our overnight stay at Edsa Shangri-la Hotel.

 Till our next staycation (which I hope will come SOON!). 

 Edsa Shangri-la Hotel is located at 1 Garden Way, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. Visit their website for more details. 

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