A Quick Weekend Getaway to Subic In a Budget

If you're feeling cooped or has been dreaming of a weekend getaway with your family or friends without overspending, then Subic is a perfect destination for you.

Subic in Olangapo is a place in the Philippines that is teeming with beautiful beaches, mangroves, and plenty of fun activities to do. It is in the northern part of Luzon which is very close to Manila. Getting there is not very complicated if you are already coming from nearby metro areas like Caloocan, Manila, and Quezon City, and nearby towns along the North Express Way which is one of the main artery leading to Subic, Olongapo. You can either take a public transportation via bus or drive your own car for faster navigation. What ever your choice is to get there, you will surely find your way with GPS, the traditional map, by following the directions given by your travel guide or Subic Hotel booking confirmation's details, or simply follow the street signs.

Accommodation

There are many accommodations to choose from in Subic. You do not have to spend a fortune to book a family room too. An example is, a family room for max. of 6 pax in Golden Slumber Resort for an overnight stay and the rate is based on today's date in Traveloka when you search for Subic hotels is only Php 3,800 inclusive of tax. You can use the resort's amenities like the pool for a quick dip.

Activities

(Photo credit:  zoobic.com.ph)

There are plenty of things to do in Subic while you are there over the weekend.  You can visit Zoobic Safari and experience nature up close, go trekking or even pet small animals too.

Entrance rates vary for adults and kids:

Adult: Php 545
Kid:  Php 445 (4 ft. and below)
FREE: kids 3 ft. and below

And if you buy your tickets online, you get 10% discount! (Based on Zoobic Safari's website)


If the zoo is not your thing, then you can head on to Ocean Adventure and watch cute dolphins and sea lions perform their acts in front of many spectators. Ocean Adventure has a 4+1 promo right now which costs Php 3,155 for 4 pax and plus 1, making it a 5 pax rate! However, the rate is valid only until 16 Dec. 2016 but the reservation is not required for the 4+1 promo.

(Photo credit: chancesfading.blogspot.com)

Is your group into hiking and marveling on the beauty of mother nature? Then enjoy Pamulaklakin Forest Trail. Here you will get to walk for 30 minutes along a trail with a guide who will teach you how to follow a trail and even give trivia on some of the plants' medicinal properties that you will find along the way.  The entrance fee is also relatively cheap.


Is thrilling activities and adventure your group's thing?  Feel like a superhero or Tarzan as you zip through one tree to another with Tree Top Adventure's adrenalin pumping rides like the canopy ride, superman ride, silver surfer, and others. Rates vary per ride or as combination. However, with your Php 100, you will surely have some activity to do in Tree Top Adventure.

Dining

Aside from the thrills and nature encounters, there are plenty of food outlets to try to satisfy your cravings without burning a whole in your pocket.  Check out some local food outlets in Subic and stretch your budget to enjoy your meals.

Hotshots - a Garden Fresh salad will cost your Php 179 and the Filipino Style Barbecue is only Php 159.

The Coffee Shop Restaurant - known  now for their coffee but for their giant tacos for only Php 90!


Or you may even try the ubiquitous McDonald's, Jollibee, amongst others.


So, stop thinking about that weekend trip you have been longing to take and just do it! Having fun with your family or friends need not be costly as you can split the cost amongst other members of the group so everyone gets to enjoy and save too! Happy trip!

Review - Beach Hotel by Bin Majid Hotels and Resorts in Ras Al Khaimah

Our trip to Ras Al Khaimah was an early celebration of Eid Al Fitr. It was also a nice moment to bond with my mom-in-law who had never set foot in RAK yet. The family had a great relaxing time in  Beach Hotel by Bin Majid Hotels & Resorts in Ras Al Khaimah. And who knew that a place like that existed if we haven't checked out Booking.com's offers? Good thing my husband saw the deal just in time so we booked few days before we went to RAK and we certainly enjoyed the weekend getaway.

Beach Hotel by Bin Majid Hotels & Resorts is a private beach-front hotel along the caramel-hued sandy coastline of Ras Al Khaimah. It's just few hours drive from Dubai. The property is a part of the Bin Majid Hotels' chain of properties. It has 4-stars rating with 136 rooms to boast.


What I like:

General and Service
It's a quiet hotel and gives me that very relaxing vibes.
The rate came with buffet breakfast.
The pool area is covered with plenty of covered seating areas where you can lounge and get covered. There were enough washing/shower areas so you don't drag the sand back to your hotel room.
There's a coffee shop and the restaurant also serves burgers + beers near the pool area! My husband certainly liked that!
The whole hotel has landscaped gardens and the lush greenery added a calming effect to the vacationers. Even the pool area is surrounded by trees and bushes.
The beach area is well-organized with elevated sun lounges so you really have a space to sunbathe or just sit back and enjoy the view of the sea.
The caramel-hue sand around the beach was so fine and we really enjoyed the beach area. It wasn't crowded in the afternoon towards sunset.
The Concierge agent named Susana was very friendly and accommodating. We were checked in in less than 5 minutes.
There's ample parking space for hotel guests and visitors.

Location
Just few hours drive from Dubai (approximately 45-60 minutes from Al Ghusais where we live to this hotel property on a Friday)
It's located just as you enter Ras Al Khaimah and it's easy to find. There is a signage before the flyover so you have to take the one at the bottom to turn to this property.
It's nestled in lush greenery in a quiet beach community. It's really ideal for a relaxing weekend away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Rooms
Rooms are adequate even for a family of 3. We booked 2 rooms (3 adults in one standard bedroom and 2 adults in the other standard bedroom).
The beds and pillows were so comfortable. This is one of the best sleep I have ever had in an hotel.
There were enough cups and glasses in the room.
The bathroom was spacious with a bidet and separate tub-shower area.
The vanity table is long enough to accommodate mine and my daughter's laptops.
The bathroom amenities were well stocked with enough towels for all of us.
I also like the fact that it has a hair dryer.

Food
The buffet breakfast has a very wide selection and we all loved it. We certainly enjoyed our hearty meals! Of all the places I have had eaten French Toast for breakfast, this is the only hotel where I really ate yummy French Toasts that were not so soggy and oily or buttery.  We had more than 2 slices each. It was that delicious!
We also enjoyed making our pancakes with the pancake machine. So cool!

The hotel also had selections for Arab and Far East Asian guests. You can choose some Indian food staple for breakfast if you prefer that.

What I don't like:
Considering the features in the room, I can tell it's an old one. The thermostat knob of the AC was antiquated that when I turned the knob to a low setting, it fell! I certainly don't know if I returned it properly that the room remained cold throughout even when the setting was high temp. It's because the knob was not properly aligned as I don't know which is which.

There was no rubber stopper in the bathtub so I was unable to soak.

The small mini-bar fridge leaked.

The cabinet sliding doors were hard to slide. They kept jamming at a certain point and they were a bit heavy for a cabinet door.

The rooms given to us were 231 & 232. 232 had a city/mountain view while Room 231 had a very small view of the beach from the side.  We requested for a beach view but since there was a group booking, we didn't get the adjacent rooms with the beach view.

No free wi-fi, not even in the lobby. Wi-fi connection for 24 hours is AED 80.




Facilities:
Olympic-sized swimming pool
Leisure activities such as jetski, windsurfing, scuba diving, beach volleyball, sun-bathing lounges Sports/Fitness centre
Business centre
Restaurants, coffee shop and clubs for entertainment
Landscaped garden around the hotel area


Nearby attractions:
2 kms away is the Iceland Water park
RAK Mall
City centre
beach area


Price: AED 300 per Standard Room per night, buffet breakfast included in the rate from Booking.com

Some snaps in the beach area:

My recommendation: 4 out of 5 (5 being the highest)

I recommend this property to families, groups and business travelers who are looking for a quick weekend getaway away from the city life. This property, albeit an old one, has clean facilities, friendly staff, spacious and clean rooms and a breath-taking view of the beautiful beach area of Ras Al Khaimah. I don't mind booking again as long as they give me a beach view next time!

To know more about the property, please visit the hotel's official website.

Address: Coast Road | P.O. Box 1946, Ras Al Khaimah 1946, United Arab Emirates
Website: http://www.binmajid.com

If you want to book the same hotel or want to search for hotels, please book here using the search field below:

Booking.com

Disclaimer:
I was not compensated to do this review.  This booking was personally paid for by my family for our getaway.  My opinion is 100% mine and may vary from yours.

Review - Ras Al Khaimah Hotel

We drove to Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) last 18-19 January, 2013 for a quick and short weekend getaway. Ras Al Khaimah is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is a sleepy town compared to the bustling cosmopolitan city of Dubai. However, it has that certain quiet charm that lures city-dwellers  for a quick escape to the fast-paced life in Dubai.

Ras Al Kkaimah Hotel is in the Beachfront, RAK (P.O. Box 37755, RAK, UAE). I am not sure when the hotel was constructed but looking at the old fixtures in the room and lobby gave me the notion that it might be an old hotel.

It is not a big property though. It has 92 rooms, 2 serviceable elevators, an accessible ramp for the handicap, a restaurant in the lobby and near the pool area, a fitness centre with sauna, a big swimming pool and wading pool for the kids, a bar and some mini-offices in the lobby.

It is in a quiet area, I think the nearby community is a residential area but it also few minutes drive to the RAK Mall and the Al Manar Shopping Mall in the city proper.

The price:
We booked 1 night for a triple bedroom (3 adults) for AED 249.00 (approx US$68) inclusive of the 10% service charge.

The amenities/services:

• Free parking
• Free wi-fi in the lobby
• Pool
• Gym/Sauna
• Restaurants and bars
• 24-hr front desk/Concierge
• Ramp for handicap access
• Elevators
• Safety deposit box in each room
• Air conditioning
• Hair dryer
• Toiletries
• Laundry/dry cleaning service

Some of our photos:

View from our room to the right. You can see the mountains' vista.

Driveway leading to the front door of the hotel. See the mountains behind me? Beautiful on a clear day!

Pool view from our room

Toilet amenities

Old light controls

Empty mini-bar. It's just a small ref but hotel's policy says we cannot bring food/bev from outside.
I wonder why they have this in the first place.

What I like:
Situated in a quiet place, just in front of the main road. If you're billeted in the higher floors then you'll have a good look of the nearby beach and on the right side is the mountains (if your room happens to be pool-view).

There's a free wi-fi connection in the lobby. The caveat on this one is that, we have to go down and sit in the lobby to connect. Otherwise, I have no complaints since the connection is actually good.

The beds are very comfortable and our room has a pool-view. So, we can see the beach from a distance and to our right are the mountains. The mountain-scape look so pretty with the contour of the peaks and dips in great detail because they seem so near.

Very comfy beds

The room is just about right with enough walking spaces to go around without bumping on the chairs nor edges of the bed. It's quite roomy.

The cabinet is spacious.

The bathroom is spacious.

They have free slippers and other basic amenities to go like toiletries, shoe wedge, laundry bags, a pen and stationery and too many soaps. I think we have  4 in the bathroom and I say, that's too generous!

The staff are very friendly and accommodating. I should have taken their names to commend them for their excellent customer service support. And that includes their housekeeping staff and waiters and waitresses.

Our package came with free buffet breakfast. The breakfast was continental and I am amazed by the wide selection. Their selection is better than the one in Ibis Hotel in Deira, Dubai.

There's an ample free parking for guests in front of the hotel and you get a good view of the neighborhood too.

Ample free parking for guests

What I don't like:
The lobby is a smoking-area. I find it disturbing to do my online business without someone's cigar's smoke wafting to my face.

The hotel's strict "no outside food/beverages" policy. We are practical travelers and we cannot afford to blow our budget dining in the hotel's in-house restaurants. And we all know that in-house bars and restaurants' meals will cost a fortune. We had to drive to the nearby mall to eat.

The fixtures in our room are all antiquated except for the flat TV screen.

The toilet seat is broken and if you're lucky, you'll get your skin pinched by accident (I had the misfortune of getting my leg skin pinched when I sat on the broken toilet seat).

The broken toilet seat that pinched my leg skin.

The tub did not have any rubber stopper if you want to soak. We requested as soon as we checked-in and got the stopper in the evening.

The bathroom sink and mirror are dirty. Dirty in a sense that even if they've been wiped clean, the sight of dirty grouts with mildew or stain is just unappealing. Well, I'm sure they've been wiped and sanitized but the overall cleanliness is just not at par with other 4-stars hotels.

No, they're not designs nor borders. The mirror is practically chipping from behind.

The bathroom is actually clean and freshly scented but the grouts need to be steamed in the bathroom. All over!

The carpet looked like it was not washed for sometime but I can live with that. We used their free slippers anyway.


My recommendation:
For the non-fussy, practical, short-staying guests - This is a great hotel with value for your money. If you don't mind staying in an old hotel with basic amenities and outdated fixtures then you can stay here.

For the meticulous and finicky ones - No. This hotel will not be ideal for your discerning tastes.

For family with older/smaller children - Yes. I do recommend the hotel as they have a big pool and a children's pool too for the kids to enjoy. They have a big grassy area near the pool where the kids can play ball or run around to their liking.

And for the hotel management - I think it's high time to do an overhaul or refurbishing.

(This is not a paid post for the above mentioned property. All opinions and photos are 100% mine and personal.)

Autumn Getaway in NYC

Yes! It's autumn and my family and I will spend 5 days in lovely New York City again this coming 25-31 October. Too bad, we won't be there to experience Halloween but we can purchase some nice goodies to bring home.

I just love cool weather and where else to spend the short holiday break than in my favorite Big Apple! I'll see lovely fall foliage again. It's nice to walk around the park with the cool breeze blowing on your face and the crisp autumn leaves on your foot step.

Ah, fall! We can't wait to feel you again! And hello NYC!

Weekend at Ibis Hotel in Deira

We love spending overnights in different hotels in UAE. We do not this every single week as this costly habit will definitely burn holes in our pockets. Our family makes it a point to spend a weekend in the nearby areas when time and budget permits at least once every 2 months. We take that opportunity to bond as a family and explore different places and hotels around the UAE.

I chose Ibis Hotel in Deira, Dubai this time. The last time we checked in a hotel was last quarter of 2011 in Hilton Ras Al Khaimah. I decided to book in Ibis because our company gets special rates and I will earn in my A/Club Loyalty Program which is under the Accor Hotels. Ibis Hotel is one of that famous chain.

Ibis Hotel is a 2-star property. However, I feel it can pass as 3-4 stars because it is clean, has modern amenities like other 3-4 stars hotel. It has a basement parking lot for free for guests and clients, restaurants, access for the handicap, free wi-fi at the lobby, internet access in the rooms, vending machines on every floor, ice machine in the 1st floor and is connected to the Novotel Hotel so guests can access the pool with a minimal fee.

I booked a standard room with a queen size bed. The room is actually spacious with very basic amenities and no mini-bar. The cabinet has no door which I find very chic for easy access and there is no safe box unlike other big hotels. The private bathroom has a shower and the body gel and liquid soap are attached to the wall. There were no other free toiletries. However, there is an installed hair-dryer which is okay.

I like this hotel because it is clean, smells good and is walking distance to the nearest metro station. It is situated right in front of Deira City Centre. So, business travellers in Dubai can enjoy this small but very chic hotel for a budget price. I give it my thumbs up!

"Ibis Hotel Deira Dubai"

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