9th anniversary at H2O hotel

Chea originally planned to celebrate our 9th anniversary at Pico De Loro. There was a promo with BDO for a free stay there, and she had earned enough points to avail of it.

Unfortunately, the one handling her account bungled things a bit, so we never got the vouchers in time. Not to mention, since it was mishandled, it was never processed correctly in time before the promo expired.

Anyway, Chea spoke with her travel agency, and got a booking for H2O hotel. It's a hotel in Manila, behind the Luneta grandstand, that's also connected with Manila Ocean Park. So if you're a tourist, especially with kids, it's a great place to stay at. There's an Oceanarium, where there are clear plexiglass tunnels under big aquariums with lots of fish, so you can walk under them, and there's a big stadium where you can watch performing sea animals, and an indoor amusement park with a few rides, some activities, and a lot of stalls selling all sorts of things and food establishments as well.

The hotel, as the name suggests, has water as its theme. It's actually built on top of Manila bay, supported by columns rising from the bottom of the seabed (I think). On some units, you get a great view of Manila bay, and on some, there's an aquarium filling up an entire wall.

We wanted to bring Thirdy along. But since we won't be able to handle him by ourselves, we decided to invite Tita Fe as well. I also asked my parents to come along, so they could relax. It has been a stressful year for my mom and dad, especially with all the hospitals, tests, and check-ups my dad had to endure due to hypertension and fear of getting a heart attack.

So we booked a room, asked for an extra bed and breakfast booking for Tita Fe. We then booked another room for my parents.

Nanay Chea and Thirdy arrive at Hotel H2O. Where are the banners?

Check in was January 8, our anniversary and Chea's birthday, at 2 pm. We were told we could check in a little early.

We were coming from QC, so Chea opted to try going through Santa Mesa and Nagtahan, which unfortunately, was filled with trucks (it was past 12 noon that time). The traffic was worsened by the fact that The Feast of the Black Nazarene was the next day, so there were a few streets that were already being prepped for closure. By the time we arrived at Roxas Boulevard, South Drive was practically closed with traffic cones blocking the entry. We headed straight for it, and the cones were cleared out, and drove along South Drive. The entrance to Ocean Park and H2O hotel was at the end, at the left side.

Shot of the entrance area from the inside.

Information desk of the reception area. 

Thirdy walking around while waiting for Chea.

We parked and brought our baggage to a receiving area. We were then instructed how to reach the hotel.

Hotel to the left. Oceanarium to the Right. Don't worry, they all lead to the same area inside the hotel.

The main entrance, it turns out, was a big area with the Ocean Park entrance to the left while the main building loomed directly in front of a few steps. There was a square area, the length of each side heading towards the main building filled with food stalls and ticketing booths. At the far end were the entrances to the hotel and the other indoor establishments.

View from somewhere near the steps. Food stalls and ticketing booths on both sides.

We headed for the hotel entrance, took a few pictures, and took the elevator to the reception at the 3rd floor.

The main building was few stories tall, and had a cylindrical open space in the middle. Half of the encircling floor was for the hotel, while the other half was for the other establishments. The rooms I think were on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

Area off to the right once you get off the elevator. It heads straight to the spa. Thirdy probably wants to have a massage.

The reception area was expansive, as the area stretched off to both sides, following the cylindrical shape of the indoor open space. We checked in and it took us a few minutes, as they had to clear everything with the travel agency. We weren't supposed to pay anything, as the agency will handle everything, and we'd pay them.

Some seats. The reception desk is the one to the left once you get off the elevator.

I was texting my parents as they were just leaving the house at the time, since my dad was overseeing a carpenter who was fixing our garage.

Business desk to discuss some things with the hotel management.

The entire floor was carpeted, so we allowed Thirdy to walk around. There weren't any hard edges except for a few tables so we just followed him around. It was also a bit dark, as there weren't that many lights.

The ceiling of the center of the building.

The ground floor as seen from the hotel's 3rd floor.

Signage for the lounge.

The deck right below the lounge area windows. Probably a nice play to stay to while away the night.

There was a lounge area to the right of the reception, where there were lounge chairs, and a great view of the ocean. There was a deck below the window, which was a bar. It was still closed at the time. There were some ships anchored nearby, so Thirdy spent some time there enjoying the view.

Room 3318. Im not sure if there are actually more than 318 rooms on this floor.

After half an hour, we were then given a keycard for room 3318. Our room it quite a bit of a walk. Since the hotel's built on top of the water, they can't design it vertically to hold several rooms, so the hotel is stretched out horizontally.

We had to walk past the Lounge, then a long stretch past the Gym, and then a longer hallway to the rest of the rooms.

The bed.

Thirdy headed straight to the aquarium. He loves fish.

As we got into our room, it turned out that we booked the room with the aquarium. It seems that our side fronted land, so we don't have a view of the ocean. I guess for the rooms on that side, they put an aquarium on one wall that stretched through all of the rooms. So there are times that there were a few fishes around, as they were most likely swimming from one end of the hotel to the other. The other side that fronted the water, had floor to ceiling windows with a great view of the sea.

At first glance, the place is amazing. That big aquarium spanning an entire wall with salt water fish is tantalizing. Thirdy was immediately drawn to it, and spent the first few minutes being held up by Chea by it.

While Thirdy and Chea were occupied, I did my round of pictures of the place.

View from the bath tub. Bed in the middle. Closet off to the left.

From the main door, there was a queen side bed off to the left, with its headboard resting on the wall. The wardrobe was to its left (along the wall with the main door). To its right (the wall directly across the main door) was the aquarium wall. There was a long table in front of it, with the personal ref and electric kettle. There was a desk chair in front of it, so I guess that's where you can do some writing, or even eating.

Area behind the entertainment center wall.

In front of the bed, was a wall, with the entertainment center (which was basically a flat screen LCD tv and a media box). The wall had doorways on the left and right sides, as past that was the bathroom. Directly on the other side of the wall, was the bathroom sink and a mirror. Behind that was the shower, enclosed by frosted glass. Facing the shower, to its right, was the toilet also enclosed by floor to ceiling frosted glass. To its left, was a bathtub, which was exposed.

The toilet.

Vanity mirror and desk, beside the toilet stall.

The shower in a separate stall.

Bath tub. Exposed. 

So taking that into consideration, it seems that this particular room is ideally suited for singles or couples, since the bath tub is exposed and is in line of sight from the bed.

Since Tita Fe would be staying in our room, I don't think I'd be able to take a bath in the tub, unless I time it while they're outside of the room.

There isn't any cooking appliance in our room, so if you're bringing in food , there's no way to reheat it.

Going back to the entertainment center, the TV displays a welcome message with your name on it. So it's a pretty modern spin, compared to the hotels that I've been to. It has an inbox to read messages as well. If you're ever outside, the hotel can probably send messages directly to your room for you to peruse when you get back.

The media box also has several entertainment options, such as watching movies. There were only 3 at the time: Captain America, 2012 and another one I can't remember. However, selecting any of them requires you to pay 500 pesos. Nice try, but I doubt if anyone would bite since there's cable tv.

I'm not sure if there was free wifi, since I've enrolled Chea and myself (and my parents too), with unlimited internet surfing on our phones and tablets.

The room, in itself is pretty awesome. This is actually how I envisioned my future master bedroom to be. But instead of the bath tub, I'd probably put a walk in closet there. I won't mind a bath tub actually, but I'm afraid I'd get in one awfully tired, fall asleep, and drown myself accidentally.

After going around and taking pictures, I went to the bed and tested it. It was really nice. And, comforters! I love comforters. I started surfing the channels while Chea and Tita Fe unloaded our stuff. While I was watching cable, the novelty of the room's design kinda wore off. After all, it was just another hotel room.

North Park menu.

After an hour or so, I headed down to look for a place to eat. Again, the hotel was just a small part of the place. I decided to go to North Park. After a few minutes of going over the menu, Chea, Tita Fe and Thirdy arrived.

Thirdy enjoying North Park.

After eating, my mom texted me that they already arrived. So I went to the parking lot and fetched them and brought them to North Park. Since they were still full, my mom just decided to buy some waffles over at The Spaghetti House.

My dad and I then decided to head up to their room with their things. I misread their keycard, so I thought they were at the same wing as ours, so my dad and I walked all the way to our room. Having realized my mistake, we then had to walk back to the reception area, as their room was at the other wing, whose entrance was beside the reception desk.

My parents' room.

The TV with the personalized greeting. 

We entered my parents' room and my dad and I waited a while until my mom, Tita Fe, Chea and Thirdy arrived.

The bathroom sink. The toilet and the shower are to the right. Didn't notice if they were in separate stalls.

View from my parents' room. No shows at the moment.

My parents' room didn't have an aquarium. It was smaller and did not have a bath tub. Their side of the wing had a view of the stadium where they had the animal show. Unfortunately, when I took a peek, there wasn't one scheduled at that hour.

After my parents settled in, Chea, Tita Fe, Thirdy and I, went back to our room to rest for a while.

After a bit, my mom and dad arrived at our room. We stayed for a few minutes before deciding to go out. We then went to the lounge and took in the view for a while, then decided to go down to where the deck was.

We took the elevator down to the 2nd floor, and walked past Makan Makan restaurant to the the building exit. The deck had a resto bar that opened during the night. On the other end, was another entrance back into the building.

At that entrance, there were a few food stalls, and some activity establishments like displays, rides, and what not. We didn't enter any of it, as Thirdy is too young to appreciate them, and the rest of us were too old to enjoy any of them.

There was an escalator that went down, so we took that. We ended up at the first floor, where there were a few more rides and some food stalls as well. Walking past that, you'd find an area filled with shops that sold all sorts of things. This is ideal for tourists as some stores had Philippine memorabilia.

Beyond that, was a hallway filled with restaurants which included Gery's grill. This actually led back to the center of the building at the ground floor, so when we reached it, we were thinking if we should go back the way we came, or just head towards the hotel elevator which was just around the corner.

I wanted something to eat, and there was this waffle stand from back where we came, at the far end of the deck area.My parents decided to head to the elevator back to the hotel, while the rest of us went back to the waffle stand. After eating, we went back to the hotel but dropped by at Makan Makan again to ask if we needed to make a reservation for dinner at around 8pm. After that, we went up to the 3rd floor.

Salad with duck. This was sweet and enjoyable.

My parents were at the lounge, eating salad with duck, which my father was thoroughly enjoying. We sat for a bit while Thirdy went around tailed by Tita Fe. Later, Chea, Tita Fe and Thirdy went to our room, while I stayed with my parents.

My mom wanted to buy a cake for Chea, since it was also Chea's birthday. So we went down to Makan Makan while my dad waited at the lounge. We ordered a chocolate cake, since it was the only one available, and asked to put in a dedication. After that, my mom and I went back up, and I headed straight to our room. It was just around 5pm, so it was still a bit early for dinner.

By 6:30 pm, we got hungry so I texted my mom to have our dinner early at 7 pm. By the time we got to the reception area, my mom and dad were already at the elevator so we all went down together.

Makan Makan. Great but inexpensive food.

We were brought to our table, and given menus. I'll blog about our dinner experience on another entry, but all I can say is that most of the menu items are pretty inexpensive. If you have a car, I'd seriously advise you to try the place out for dinner. It has a wide range of menu items, and they're not fully packed.

Rotti. One of the items we ordered for our dinner.

The cake!

After our dinner, the cake was brought out and the staff belted out a birthday song for Chea. Of course, Thirdy had to blow out the candle himself (with a little help from his mom). Since we didn't have a big fridge in our room for the cake, we asked the staff if we can store them at the restaurant for the night, to which they agreed.We then headed back to our rooms for the night.

I spent the rest of the night watching cable (for posterity's sake, the movie i was watching was Dungeon and Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness)

When we woke up, we headed back to Makan Makan for our breakfast buffet. The food was great. There was continental breakfast, they also had filipino and chinese breakfast menu. We skipped most of the bread, and some of the heavier menu items like adobo, although I went for the sausages, and noodles.

The filipino station.

Soup, noodles and congee.

Bread, sausages and mango juice. 

I had two of this

I'm not sure how much the breakfast buffet would cost on its own, but based on certain websites, it's around 800 pesos. I'm not a heavy breakfast eater, so I don't think I would spend 800 pesos on a buffet, even with a somewhat large selection since you can get a way cheaper breakfast somewhere else, like Something Fishy for example. They may not have as diverse a menu selection, but come on, I don't think you can taste all of the food offerings with your body still starting up for the day.

So after a hefty breakfast, we went back to our rooms by 10 am and did our morning routines. My parents were checking out around 12 noon, while we were allowed to check out at 1 pm. So I fetched my parents from their room, helped them get checked out, and brought them to our room.

Around 1 pm, we all went out of our room with our stuff and headed to the reception desk to check out. We then stopped at the ground floor area first while Chea picked up her cake from Makan Makan. After that, we went to our cars, and then headed home separately.

So what are my impressions? As non-tourists who are just staying at the hotel overnight, it's a pretty great place to stay. It's a bit far from the other commercial establishments which we don't mind since we can visit those places anytime we want. They have sufficient areas to look around that's enough to consume the day. There's the oceanarium, the water park, the shops, the food stalls and some restaurants. However, during the night, there's not too much you can do. Aside from the bar and Makan Makan, there aren't adult activities to go to like bars, clubs, videoke, and the like. If you want to, the closest is Malate, which is a very long walk since your situated at the far end of Luneta. You could ask for a service car to bring you to Malate or if you have a car, you can probably drive there. But really, I think most non-tourists would try to get as much value out of the hotel, since that's what you're paying for, by staying around the area.

If you're a tourist, and you have kids, this is a pretty great place to stay. Lots of activities for the kids to keep them busy the entire day. And it's pretty safe since it's too far from other establishments, so there aren't any loiterers around. And if you're a tourist, you'd probably take cabs most of the time, or you'd walk around, since that's the way you could see the sights and experience the local life. The best part is that it's a bit separated from the very busy Malate area, so there's a bit of privacy and quiet to go back to once you're done for the night.

But if you're a tourist and you don't have kids, then you probably won't appreciate some of the activities offered by Ocean Park and the hotel during the day (and the lack thereof, during the night). You're probably better off at hotels that are near other establishments such as Makati, The Fort, and the Scout area in QC which are bustling with activity during the day and even at night. And if you want to experience the country with a little bit of history and still get to have fun after sundown, then it's Malate in Manila for you, as it's near Luneta, Intramuros, and even some places like Quiapo, Binondo and Ongpin.

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Globe Telecoms: #ProjectAweful

I've posted an entry a few months back about my experience with BayanDSL. Despite being a loyal subscriber for more than a decade, I decided to look for a better ISP.

I've been toying with the idea of shifting to PLDT, but since I didn't want to let go of our decade old Bayantel landline number, and I didn't want to pay for an extra landline, I decided to go for an unlimited data plan with Globe. I've been using the same number for years, and I've always needed to be online all the time, so I can check emails and my team at work, despite being elsewhere so getting a mobile data plan seems like the best option for me.

With the unlimited data plan of Globe, I was thinking I'd use it to be online anywhere, and when I'm home, I can use it to download stuff over the internet.

So last year, I did just that. And for the first few months, I was extremely happy. I was able to check emails, browse the web, watch a streaming video or two during the day. And when I was at home at night, I could download stuff during off-peak hours. And the connection was fast enough during night time (not so during the day), that i felt I never needed a dedicated DSL line anymore. I was so happy, that I decided to get three more lines for my wife, and my parents.

Finally, I thought, we were now getting great internet services only the more affluent countries are getting. Tolerable speeds at tolerable rates.

Imagine my disappointment when I woke up this morning. My internet connection is now down to barely twice the fastest internet residential speed back in 1995 (56kbps). My connection is around 80kbps or just 10kB/s.

After getting new subscribers, they're now screwing them over using FUP. Well, #FUPYouGlobe

Just last January 23, 2014, Globe implemented a Fair Usage Policy (FUP), that capped their 'unlimited' data plan to 1gb per day or 3gb per month (whichever came first). This means that if you reach a total download of 1gigabit per day or 3gigabit per month, your connection speed will be throttled to 2g speeds (which is slower than internet speeds back in 1995).

I will admit that I am a heavy downloader on some days (but who isn't nowadays? with streaming music and video, which is what Globe marketing is using to entice new subs), but I feel that I'm paying too much to be limited to 3gb per month. Heck, I'm paying way too much to be limited to downloading 1gb per day.

When I was with BayanDSL, I've downloaded 10gb a day, at least once. At the minimum, I download 2gb per day. And that's paying 999 pesos for the internet service per month.

But instead of Globe improving their infrastructure to handle more bandwidth per customer, they're packing in more customer to their already congested network. And they have the audacity to still call it a Fair Usage Policy. How is it fair that you charge a premium to your subscribers, when you're not giving them premium services? And instead of improving your speeds, you're still enticing customers to sign up despite your lack of capacity?

The bad part is, Globe is handing out 2 year plans to subscribers, with promises of unlimited surfing, without explaining their FUP. Now these customers are tied up for 2 years on terrible plans.

The only good news on my part, is that I only subscribed to SIM-only plans, so I'm not locked in for 2 years. I could get the lines cut any time I want.

As consumers, we have rights. And when it comes to situations like these, we should let our wallets do the talking.

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Dapitan Market and Lunch at The Breakfast Club

December 15, 2013, we had nothing planned except to visit my brother at the columbarium. I wanted to head out to Divisoria but it was too late at 9am. My mother, on the other hand, broached the idea of heading to Dapitan Market where they sell all sorts of home decorations for export. As I mentioned before, nowadays, they're just too expensive to bother with. But it would be nice to see what Christmas decorations they had this year.

So Chea, Tita Fe, Thirdy, my mom and myself headed to the Divine World columbary. While there, one of my brother's best friends, Gino, arrived with the mother of another of my brother's friend who was also interred there. We stayed and chatted with them until 12 noon, after that we headed to Dapitan Market hoping to beat out the foreboding rain clouds.

Along the way, my mom and Tita Fe chatted about this new restaurant owned by Erich Gonzales, the ABS-CBN actress, whose restaurant, The Breakfast Club, was recently featured by another ABS-CBN talent, Kris Aquino in her TV show.

We found it along Santo Domingo in Quezon City, but the parking lot was full. And even from the road, I could see that there was a line of people outside the restaurant itself. It really is amazing how Kris Aquino's endorsement could send people rushing to establishments, like us for instance.

So we decided to have lunch later instead and went first to Dapitan Market. Arriving there, we managed to get parking immediately. As soon as I got off the car, I saw an ex officemate of mine, Beck Bautista, along with her husband, looking around. After a brief chat, Tita Fe, my mom and I went for a quick look around for a Christmas tree. I saw three stalls selling them, but they were practically at mall prices, so I went back to the car, so Chea could take her turn to go around while I looked after Thirdy.

We spent less than an hour at the place. It wasn't packed at that time as compared to a week ago, when Gino told us that it was full. I guess most people have already finished with their Christmas decorations. It is mid-December already.

Chea and I found some Christmas balls which were the same as the ones we bought at Uniwide. The stall owner said that 3 pieces were sold for 100 pesos. We were slightly amused, as these were being sold for 19 pesos each at Uniwide. There was another lady eyeing the decorations and we mentioned them being sold for less at Uniwide.

Anyway, Chea bought some small Santa plushy tree decors for 20 pesos each. There were similar ones being sold at Uniwide as well for 39 pesos, so these were a good buy. My mom also bought some decors she planned on hanging in our garage. After that, we headed back to The Breakfast Club.

When we arrived, there was no longer a line outside, but it seems there were still people standing inside waiting to be seated. Chea really wanted to try the place out, so I went in and asked for a table reservation. The hostess told me that waiting time was about an hour, and I said I was willing to wait. I went back to the car and told everyone that it'll be an hour before we were seated and handed Chea a menu left on one of the outdoor tables.

Bright yellow! 

Patrons still arrived while we were waiting. Some had been deterred by the waiting time and left. I spent the time waiting outside at the outdoor tables along with my mom and Tita Fe, while Chea and Thirdy were waiting inside. The afternoon sun unfortunately shone directly at the front of the restaurant, so it wasn't such a great idea waiting outside. The waiting line inside was full and some of the patrons were standing. So we waited outside while chatting with one of the guards about Kris' visit to the place, and about Erich as well.

After 45 minutes (it was 1:45pm), my name was called, and we were finally seated. My mom ordered a chicken Bibimpa, which turns out wasn't available, so we went for Carbonara, Baby Back Ribs and four plates of rice. I ordered Chap Chae because I was in the mood for noodles, while Chea ordered soup for Thirdy. My mom and I also ordered Iced tea.

The place was fairly new, as was described by a signage outside. And with the entire place packed with eating customers, and others still waiting to be seated, service wasn't as fluid yet, and there's certainly a wait for getting your orders. Fortunately, they served free french bread with margarine. We had about 2 full bread baskets before the first of our orders arrived. Looking at my watch, it was a 20-minute wait.

You might want to order light or share meals. There's a bit of a wait, so you might get full just from the bread.

We first got the soup, then the carbonara, quickly followed by the baby back ribs and the four plates of rice. The table for four we were seated at looked adequate when we seated, but as soon as the plates arrived, it turned out to be a bit small. When the chapchae came, there were barely any space left on the table, especially since we planned on sharing the meals and we asked for small plates.

Cream of mushroom for Thirdy.

As for the food itself, the carbonara was creamy. It had a different taste to it, and I could taste a hint of ham on the noodles even without chewing on one.

Creamy. Pretty good.

Chap chae. I liked this the most.

I then went for the chapchae next and I liked it a lot. It wasn't sweet and had more flavor to it than with what i've tasted at other places. The sauce was a bit dark in color than most, so I assume it had more soy. But the saltiness was just perfect. There were some red powder sprinkled on top which I thought might be chili powder, but it wasn't as it wasn't really spicy at all. It could've been paprika, but I rarely could tell one spice from the other.

I think the shortest one was about 7 inches long. Picture isn't accurate though. This was paler in person, and didn't look as good as in the picture. 

Next was the pork baby back ribs which looked like it was baked in an oven. There wasn't any charring to it. There weren't any sauce on top, so it was practically bare, and the color was an even light brown. You can see most of the herbs rubbed on top.

The meat was tender but it didn't have as much flavor as I hoped. It came with a cup of mashed potato with gravy which was a little salty.

Felt more like a sponge cake.

Chea later ordered the cheesecake. Unfortunately, it wasn't a full-on cheesecake. The inside part crumbled easily which made it look like it was sponge cake mixed with cream cheese. The top actually tasted like pancakes.

The short straw kept falling into the glass.

If I had any complaint, was that the straws for the iced teas were too short as the glasses were a bit tall. As soon as your drank 1/3 of the glass, the straws dropped low so you had to fish it out with your fingers.

Overall, the food was pretty ok especially given the price. Chap chae was only 150 pesos, the carbonara was 190, and the baby back ribs was only 350 pesos. The refillable iced teas were at 95 pesos each. The cake, 155. There was a sufficient number of staff around, so service was pretty decent.

Our bill was around 1300 pesos, and with two senior citizens, it was 95 pesos less. So it's a pretty ok place. Most of the menus cost less than 200 pesos, and the big menus like steaks are fairly priced (steaks started at 750). But to be honest, most of the food is not worth an hour's (or so) wait.

So if you're around the area, try to drop by and see if there isn't a queue and give the place a try. Based on some accounts, Erich visits at night and has dinner when the crowd is light.

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