Maddie says Hello!: August 2013

This year marks the sixth year of love and happiness I felt since day 1 we met. For that reason, it calls for a very special celebration – we decided to explore a new place while staying within the budget. LOL!

I took a leave - again (Like a boss hahaha), for two days because I wanted to have a nice and intimate celebration. Due to many factors, I could not afford to go outside Manila, say Tagaytay, to celebrate. We had to make a way.

Weeks before the event, we were searching like mad dogs on which place is better over the other one and so on. I was writing on my planner, when it hit me.

BDJ Planner = Ace Hotel and Suites.

I have this discount for a hotel within Manila that has something unique to provide its patron. I immediately called the hotel; asked a few queries; had an ocular tour around the rooms and finally made reservations a week ahead of our desired date.

Prior to our short vacation, I was really giddy (As in THIS GIDDY) because I have been planning to visit the place long time ago, when they first opened. Boy! Was I glad we went there! The experience was not like the other hotels I’ve been to. The water spa was the highlight or crème of the top of our stay.

How to get there?We went to their Pasig branch, since it has a hotel to stay overnight. If you are bringing your own car, they have a secured parking on the fifth floor of the hotel. You can also commute by flagging down a cab (which may cost around less than 500.00 PHp in my gauge), or good ol’ Filipino way: jeepney and tricycle.

Via private car: If you are taking the EDSA route, turn along Shaw Boulevard (corner of Shangri-la Mall) and go straight ahead until you see the new Capitol Commons (which is still under construction by the way as of this writing). In front of the Capitol Commons, there is a Petron gasoline station, turn right to it. Then turn right again on the second block. Just a few meters and you can already see the Ace Hotel and Suites.On the other hand, if you are coming from C-5 area (I know, I know, this is a bias tip on where you are coming. These are the only general routes I am aware of haha. Sorry one homebody gal in here LOL), you can take the Shaw route again through Bagong Ilog, Pasig. When you see the Capitol Commons area, take a left turn in the Petron gasoline station.
Via jeepney and tricycle: Point of reference is along Shaw Boulevard. You need to ride a jeepney with a signage of Pasig Palengke or Antipolo or Quiapo. It will be able to stop in front of Petron gasoline station. Walk a few distances and you can ride a tricycle to the hotel. Not a fancy way to ride towards the hotel, but hey, we can ride PUV as long as it passes by the hotel. You can shell out around 100.00 PHp (back and forth)

·         How much to shell out? For our overnight stay, with complimentary breakfast buffet and use of water spa for two – total cost is around 4,300+ PHp. I availed of the 30% discount from my BDJ planner (Yey! For being a BDJ girl). There will be additional cost of 100.00 PHp if you will be borrowing swimwear from them.
·   How was the room? We had two choices for our discount – Deluxe Queen and Deluxe Twin. We opted for the Deluxe Queen. You can also choose between The Fort view and Ortigas view. Personally, for me the view was so-so (I was able to book a room facing the two areas).Upon entering, it was clean and well-maintained. My thought was, maybe because the facility is relatively new. The ambiance of the room was comfortable - something I look for when staying at hotels. The bathroom was also well-maintained and spacious which I love. The drawback we had was the difficulty to set the A/C in the correct temperature. The control button near the door was not working and we had to call housekeeping to manually position the A/C. Oh, by the way, they have to contact their cable provider. The reception was not good with blurred lines and all. Plus, the TV might not be the appropriate size. The screen does not capture the whole thing (Hello to heads being cut off because the screen only shows the neck part downwards).
·         How was the food? We were able to taste their breakfast buffet and took orders at their Ace Coffee Lounge on the ground floor. The most memorable for me was the danggit served during the buffet. It was my first experience to see this Filipino delicacy served at a hotel. I had about three servings of rice with this viand haha! They also cook omelettes according to the ingredients you want (if available). Now, I wonder if someday they could also take pancake orders with custom ingredients. The pancakes served at the buffet were small and not fluffy at all. But over-all the food was great (I had the curious eyes of the people on me as I came back for the nth time LOL. They might be wondering why a thin girl like me eats like a man haha). The thing is the hotel is surrounded with various unique concept restaurants from Japanese to Filipino cuisine. So eating at the hotel might be your last choice (maybe if it gets too late already or it is raining hard or you’re plain lazy to get out haha).
· Overall experience? Totally memorable. The water spa definitely offered something exceptional to the hotel stay. We were like kids trying out all the different hydro massage systems, the hot herbal pools and the lapping pool. And there is the lazy pool. I swear you can sleep floating idly there. Ahh! The life free of stress.

You just have to remember the following when entering the water spa: wear only swimwear clothing (I saw a girl who was not allowed inside because she was wearing a push-up bra that looks like a swimsuit), no gadgets inside, always wear the head cap (I was whistled at because my head cap fell out of place).