Explore your accommodation choices when you travel with the kids

If you love traveling you might prefer to enjoy the experience alone. But there are times when traveling with the kids is amazing. The trouble is that you need to take extra care when selecting your accommodation. It may depend on the ages of the children or the budget you have when traveling with more people. Of course, your accommodation may be the main part of your whole vacation experience!

You might stay in an ice hotel as part of your visit to the Northern Lights in Sweden. Can you imagine the delight for your kids if they’re big fans of Disney’s Frozen? Or maybe your kids would prefer climbing and sleeping in the trees of the forests of Kent, England? They can delight at the thought of a fancy treehouse forming part of their vacation.

City breaks with the kids offer you the chance to explore museums, art galleries, theaters and more. They can be very handy when there is something on their school curriculum about the history of the area. To save money on city center accommodation you might choose a vacation rental of a studio or apartment. It can be quite helpful to choose self-catering accommodation if you have special dietary needs or you’re traveling with a baby.

This pic is from Flickr.com

Look! Space Wars inspired suite room at Victoria Court Hotel

Victoria Court signage

It was an epic experience during the launching of Victoria Court’s Space Wars thematic suite room at their branch in Canley Street, Pasig City last June 9, 2016.  A party celebration has been held for selected guests and celebrities who attended this event with a sci-fi experience of their newest room.

The room was upstairs the garage, and I was surprised when a Stormtrooper armed with his blaster greeted us at the entry way of the automatic blast door.    

I was totally in amazement with delight when I saw the full view of the room at the doorway, it seems I was transported in Space Wars galaxy, everything from ceiling, walls and flooring are intergalactic in design.  It was even more surrealistic when I keep hearing that Tan tan tan tan tan sound ...  the theme song of Star Wars .. with matching smoke coming from somewhere. 

What’s inside Space Wars Suite Room?

Windows with a space view 

Look at that! It seems you're out of this world with those sparkling stars and galaxies at those windows.  I can't help imagining things seeing objects from the galaxy.

Infinity Floor

A custom designed infinity floor to relive epic laser sword battles and for taking amazing photos and videos.  It is made of glass and I felt a little bit dizzy looking on the floor because it seems I will get drown in the abyss, you see I only put one foot on that floor to take photo of the infinity floor.

A big whirpool

This is their jacuzzi, located just beside the bedroom.

Interactive Spaceship Cockpit

This area is the best part of the room that I like best, because for the first time I was able to fly a spaceship in my imagination.  I really got carried away with the whole theme inside the room.  This cockpit is moving using those controls on the dashboard, with light switches and has sound effects as well.

Bedroom with galaxy views

The bed is so comfortable and so inviting to lie down and relax while gazing on the stars.  The bedroom was cold and dim, has wall hung TV and toilet. 

Costumes and gadgets

There are readily available costume like that brown robe, Darth Vader mask and several weapons displayed on the wall and the laser sword for a complete sci-fi experience.

Space Wars Food Menu

My amazement with Space Wars inside the room hasn't stop there, they also offered us guests with their Space Wars inspired menu options creatively prepared by their chefs such as the Dark Side Burger, Imperial Pasta, Trooper Onigiri, Space Wars Wrap, Panatrooper, and cocktails called Jar Jar Drinks.


The whole experience during Victoria Court Hotel Space Wars launching was truly unique and amazing, truly an out of this world experience!


To know more about the pricing and booking, please visit www.victoriacourt.biz

You can also like or follow them at their social media sites:

Facebook - VictoriaCourtPH

Twitter - VictoriaCourtVC
Instagram - VictoriaCourtVC

Summer getaway at Marites Homestay Blue Lagoon in Pagudpud

Just before summer comes to its close, I had an opportunity to visit Pagudpud for a weekend getaway with my daughter and her friend. This is the second time I visited Pagudpud, the first time was in 2013, when we had our Three day tour of Ilocos, and Pagudpud was just part of a day tour in our three day itinerary so we didn’t enjoy much the beach.  And so this time, I planned on beach bumming in Pagudpud.

Staying in Marites Homestay and Restaurant Blue Lagoon

As a busy mom, an overnight stay with me beside the beach would just be enough for me to relax and unwind from my busy daily schedule. I wasn’t looking for any fancy things in a place to stay just a homey ambiance, peaceful and quiet. 

It wasn’t difficult for us to locate Marites Homestay Blue Lagoon in Balaois, Pagudpud, fortunately the drivers who took us there knew their establishment.  From the van driver of Laoag to Pagudpud bound and the tricycle driver who directly brought us to Marites Homestay.

At around 2 p.m. we arrived at our destination.  While unloading from our tricycle Mrs. Marites Ubasa, the owner of the Homestay, greeted us warmly and I was surprised that she was already there anticipating our arrival.  Her crew was very quick to assist us in carrying our backpacks to lead us to our room.

Interior of the room

The room was already cold with the air conditioning unit was already turned on.  There are two large beds in the room, just perfect for the three of us.  I occupied the smaller one beside the window and the bigger one for my daughter and her friend. The room has the basic things we need for an overnight stay, a comfortable bed with pillows and blankets, comfort room with a water supply and toilet, table with chairs, roll of tissue and a soap.  The room is quite big, it could still accommodate closet cabinet or vanity cabinet for those who wanted to stay for a longer period of days.  Wi-Fi and television are available at the restaurant which is steps away from the rooms.  Absence of those two in our room is not an issue for me, it was actually good as I was able to take a nap in the afternoon and an early night’s sleep, I was able to read a few pages of the book I took with me.  And not to mention, of course, the beach is located in front, with the nice view of blue green water, vast white sand shoreline, that swimming and enjoying the cool water definitely took most of my time soaking in the water.     

Nipa Hut Design Rooms

Each room has Nipa hut style exterior design, using dried Cogon grass roofing, wooden structures and bamboo pole wall cladding.  Their restaurant and dining areas have also the same Filipino design structure which would appeal to foreigners and locals who wants a taste of provincial style abode.

Restaurant & Dining Area

Aside from offering rooms for rent, they also have a restaurant that is 24 hours open to cater to diners. They serve snacks and meals, they also offer “paluto” style food order, Ilocano dishes and other Filipino food. The owners are genuine Ilocanos so you will be assured that you can taste in their restaurant an authentic Ilocano dish like Dinengdeng, Pakbet, Poqui Poqui, Dinakdakan, to name a few.   

Other Services offered by Marites Homestay & Restaurant

They have a mini store at the entrance of the restaurant, souvenir shop at the parking area and they are the first to offer in Pagudpud the 4 x 4 ride, a mountain trail seaside adventure. Cottage rental near the beach.

  

For Reservation and Pricing inquiry:

You can check them out at their Facebook fan page - 

https://www.facebook.com/Marites-Homestay-and-Restaurant-Blue-Lagoon-Pagudpud-663990893738100/


Contact Person – Walter Ubasa – Marketing Manager 0909 950 4417

   

Summer Outing at a resort in Morong, Bataan

Last Saturday I was able to bring with me my family on our company outing in a beach resort in Morong, Bataan.  Although it was not our first time to go to Morong, Bataan, we’re still excited because we will be exploring a different resort.  Any place we haven’t explored yet always excites us.

I was the one who was tasked in our company to facilitate the outing wherein the time frame was short to be able to scout different resorts.  Booking a resort for a company outing during March is already difficult as most are already fully booked for the whole summer.  With the limited time that I had, I did not think of other location, but Morong Bataan because of its distance, not so crowded beaches, affordability, and availability of the resort to accommodate a big group.

I searched on the internet, first on Google, then on travel sites like Agoda, and Hotel Travel, and then on Facebook. I called up several beach resorts, which have nice reviews, but some were either too expensive or fully booked on our target date, which was either 18th or 25^th of April (Saturday).  The only one I searched on Facebook was the one which seems to fit what we are looking for, and so I booked one room for us and a big pavilion for a one day tour for the whole company at the Juness Beach Resort. 

Why you should travel to Grinell Iowa

Photo credit to Flickr photos

Grinell Iowa is one of the smallest towns in U.S. with a total population of nearly 10,000 but this town has a lot to offer to tourists that Grinell Iowa hotels would attest in terms of the number of travelers in this humble town that visit them the whole year round.

A far cry from the hustle and bustle of the Metropolis flaunting its skyscrapers, magnificent city lights at night, trendy people on the go, fashionable wears and flashy cars that reflects a modern urban city.  Grinell on the other hand is notable for its arts and culture, the town prided themselves with this architectural treasure at the historic downtown designed by Louis Sullivan, which is called National Historic Landmark Grinnel Sullivan building and the 1914 building made of bricks designed in the Midwest is the Merchant National Bank.   

Guide on where to stay in Vodice, Croatia

Vodice is a coastal town in Croatia with a few population approximately around ten thousand in numbers.  Because of its natural beauty and great location that claimed a large bayside, most tourists are visiting Vodice to take their time for a holiday in the beaches that has crystal clean water, white sands and colorful pebbles lying around those sands. Tourists can also enjoy island hopping with the taxi boats that can be hired at the bay. 

Review: City Edge Apartment Hotels in Melbourne

Melbourne (from Photobucket)

                It’s my first time to encounter a booking site where you can customize your stay when booking with them.  City Edge Apartment Hotels in Melbourne, Australia offers this kind of extras you can add up on top of a regular booking like these optional extras to ease your stay with them, so more time for travelers to explore the laid back city atmosphere of Melbourne.  These optional extras are breakfast, apartment servicing per day, late checkout, early check-in and cot.     

Resort type villas and houses in Spain

     When you travel and found your temporary resting place comfortable just like the comfort of your home, you would often make a remark such as “A home away from home!” or “A relaxing and ideal place to stay!” and other remarkable comments you could utter to express your appreciation of that wonderful place you would be staying in for awhile while you're on your vacation.

Choose the perfect accommodation for rent in Spain

   I was surprised to find out that Spain’s main tourism was generated from their summer resorts and beaches, that is because I was browsing this website – www.spain-rentals.net and their accommodations offerings are mostly near the beach, so when I located Spain on the map it shows there that it is surrounded by long stretches of coasts from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic ocean.  So when I find out about it my curiosity and interest to visit Spain grew further because I love nature specifically beaches and this website has introduced me to more regions in Spain that are never familiar to me before. 

Beach resort in Sariaya, Quezon

     Sometimes there are travels which are unplanned which will push through when time and resources connives with what the majority want.  Just like this one long weekend when we went to a beach resort in Sariaya, Quezon, it was an unplanned trip to the beach with the family, it just emanated when one of my daughter simply would like to go for a swim in our clubhouse but her sister want to go out of town on a weekend and suddenly I want to go to the beach.   Finally we ended our conversation in going to a beach resort within a short proximity from Metro Manila.  Our choices were Batangas, Olongapo and Quezon, but the latter won the vote because we haven’t been to any beaches in Quezon.   

Family staycation in Canyon Woods and food tripping in Tagaytay

Tagaytay overlooking Taal Volcano

    At long last! Our vacation pushed through which was postponed for several times due to bad weather caused by typhoons the previous months and followed by my kids’ first trimester exams last month so it took us 4 months since we purchased the vacation package from an online website store.  It was actually a 2 days stay in Canyon Woods located in Laurel, Batangas.  We got it at 50% off which was originally priced at Php6,000.00 but it can only be used on regular days so my husband and I had to leave for work as well as my kids from their school. 

Our two days stay in Cititel Express Hotel Kuala Lumpur

     Cititel Express was our home for two days when we traveled in Kuala Lumpur, it is located in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.  We booked two rooms which include breakfast, one triple sharing and the other one deluxe queen.  When we travel, most often we include breakfast so we don't have to worry where to eat early in the morning when we wake up so that after eating, we can clean ourselves and we can go out early and have more time to visit many places to explore. The hallway to the rooms are quite big and clean, as well as the inside room.  

From Oxford Hotel Singapore to where our feet brought us

     During our stay in Singapore we booked in Oxford Hotel  to sleep in for two nights, it is a budget hotel located in Queen Street, Bugis .  They have the basic necessities for their guests to sleep in for a night.  We were three in the room with my two siblings and there were only two single beds but we arranged an extra bed which they put in the middle which made the room crowded for the three of us. 

Our pleasant stay in RB Lodge Kalibo

          This is where our first stop over where we spent our night when we had our scheduled business trip to a nearby town.  RB Lodge was our choice, then because it suited our budget, near bus and FX terminals going to Caticlan, Iloilo, Roxas and it is near the Kalibo airport, a 15-minute tricycle traveler had brought us there instantly.

One night stay in Alla Luna Rossa Resort Boracay

Photo credit to Agoda

           As I have mentioned in my previous post that I was on a business trip and our stay here in Boracay was just a result of a postponement of a scheduled business endeavor in the nearby town of Caticlan which led us to have a short visit in Boracay and booked the resort that could accommodate us because I just had this booking a night prior. There were also available resorts, but we wanted a front line beach resort in station 2 that would fit our budget. And that time Alla Luna Rossa Resort fitted in what we are looking for.

The beauty of Baybay Leyte

   "Seaside" is the meaning of Baybay, which the name of this small town in Leyte was named merely because of its location beside the sea.

 

  The town plaza is clean and few bystanders can be seen in the area during daytime, people usually come around late in the afternoon until late at night because the weather is cooler and it's nice to see the glimmering lights when they are all switched on.

A cozy place to stay in Baguio - Dely's Inn

Dely's Inn

               The last time I have visited Baguio was in 2005. As I have expected, the improvement has been tremendous in terms of quantity of people, establishments were everywhere, mountains implanted with houses instead of trees.   Nevertheless I’m thrilled to see Baguio again!