Category Archives: hotels

I could get used to this

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I was going through the pictures from our trip to Macau last October when I stumbled upon this:

Metropark Hotel MacauMy sister May lounging on the extra bed. Abet giving the receptionist an earful.
(Kidding, that’s a scripted shot, Abet was just calling for ice for our booze.)

I can’t help but reminisce about how nice our hotel room at the Metropark Hotel Macau was. That was the first time Abet and I stayed  at a real hotel — one with a pool, bellboys, bathtubs, toiletries, and buffet breakfast. I loved the room and its soft beds and bedsheets, and the bathroom with the nice sinks and bathroom faucets. It even had this little central remote-control panel on one of the side tables where you can control the room lighting, that was the first time I came across one of those things. The room and bathroom seemed even more impressive to the three of us because we just spent the last three nights at a cheap-ass hostel in Hong Kong.

I already mentioned this before: Abet and I are King and Queen of Cheap Accommodation. We’ll stay anywhere cheap, as long as the reviews are good, location is good, and there’s an ensuite bathroom, so we can spend the extra money on food or shopping. We didn’t do fancy hotels. In fact, the most memorable stay we ever had in our entire relationship was in a kubo in sleepy Dolores, Quezon in this amazing bed and breakfast called Kinabuhayan Cafe.

But after our Macau stay, I think I won’t say no to a fancy hotel stay every once in a while. Abet mentioned last weekend that he wants us to get an Accor card as a present to ourselves, so far I like the idea.

Does anyone have an Accor card? Is it worth it?

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Lub.D Hostel, Bangkok

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Lub.D in Silom is very highly recommended in the Thailand travel thread in Peyups.com, UP’s online community, so this was already at the top of my list of hotels/hostels for our Bangkok trip. But when my friend Marvin posted a rave review of this hostel on his blog, I was just about ready to book. I just needed to make sure of one thing: the room has to be quiet enough for Abet to practice. When Marvs confirmed that it was, I knew we had our hostel.

Lub.D is top quality as far as backpackers’ hostels go. First of all, its location is the best. It’s on Decho Road, just off busy Silom Road. The hostel is just a few minutes walk to Chong Nonsi Station, the nearest BTS station, but Abet and I preferred to go to the one after that, Sala Daeng, so we can walk along Silom Road and absorb the sights and happenings (Patpong is along the way). Sala Daeng and Chong Nonsi stations are just a few stops away from Siam Paragon and MBK, two of the (still-standing) must-visit malls in Bangkok with awesome foodcourts. It’s also just a few stops on the other direction to the Sathorn Pier, the nearest stop along the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok’s main artery. The ferry is the quickest way to the Grand Palace, Wat Po, and Wat Arun.

The hostel has dorm-type rooms (it even has a ladies-only dorm section) as well as twin and double rooms. We booked one of their double rooms which are all on the top/fourth floor of the building. There isn’t any elevator, but walking up several flights of stairs was a welcome exercise with all the food we were eating. The room itself is spacious, bigger than most backpackers’ digs. If you’ve been reading my previous hotel reviews, you’d notice that I’m a bed fiend, and Lub.D’s bed certainly did not disappoint. The term ‘”lub d,” after all, means “sleep well,” and sleep well for five nights I did.

Lub.d Hostel Bangkok

The guitar looked comfy on that bed. So did my boyfriend.

The shower and toilet were separate from each other,with entries on opposite sides, something I found weird, but nothing to complain about.

Lub d Hostel Bangkok

The shower is behind the toilet.

Abet, on the other hand, preferred this set-up, because he can do this:

Lub.D hostel bangkok

Abet the Constipated Guitarist

Yep, he preferred practicing on the loo. He says the acoustics are best in there. Whatever, honey. Also, he’s facing the mirror from this location, so he can check his form. I wasn’t too happy with this arrangement, because when I’d go in to do my business, the toilet seat is down and there’s a footstool on the floor.

Towels and some toiletries were provided, as well as a hairdryer. Drinking water was replenished daily.

Lub.D Hostel Bangkok

Hair dryer, hurray!

There’s also a safe, a flatscreen TV and free (and fast!) wi-fi. Good thing Abet brought his laptop, we were able to keep in touch with our families online instead of paying for expensive texts and phone calls.

Lub D Hostel Bangkok

Abet the multitasker: booting his laptop while watching Alive while tuning his guitar.

We booked our room in April via Hostelworld and we got a discount for booking early. We paid 1,260 baht (around P1,800) after the discount. However, I checked the rates today and there’s an even bigger discount for June, a double room would cost just 900 baht (around P1,300). Therefore, it is best to check for promos to get the best deal. P1,800 is the most we paid for a hostel room so far, but the location, the security, the nice fluffy bed, the cleanliness, and the very friendly and efficient staff made it worth the price.

I will definitely stay in Lub.D again, and I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a place to stay in Bangkok. They’ll be opening a branch in the Siam area in July, so that’s also another option.

–=-=–

Lub.D Hostel
4 Decho Road (Silom Area)
Suriyawong, Bangrak
Bangkok 10500
Thailand

http://www.lubd.com

contact.silom@lubd.com
+6626347999

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Fancy Guest House, Phnom Penh

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Fancy Guest House in Phnom Penh is a TripAdvisor find, it is among the top-ranked bed & breakfasts in the city.

Making reservations was easy, I just inquired directly with the owner, Mr. Phannak, via email months before our trip. He offered three types of rooms:

the singleroom with one kingsized bed in the middle without window costs 15usd/night,at the backside with large window costs 20usd/night and in the front with private balcony sitting in the armchair for Lipton tea and coffee costs 25usd/night.

All my rooms are with A/C,multi channel cable T.V,cold-hot shower,fridge,telephone,free drinking water..etc,and the bathroom inside.

We chose the best room, and here is what it looked like:

Fancy Guest House

Fancy Guest House

Fancy Guest House

There really wasn’t anything fancy about Fancy Guest House. The room was basic and sparsely decorated, but it was good enough for $25, even if we didn’t bother with the balcony/armchair/coffee & tea that we paid extra for. We don’t even have and idea of what the balcony looked like, it would just have a view of the street in front of the hotel. Fancy Guest House was located in a residential area that was far from fancy (Abet described it as “parang Malabon lang”), but we felt safe, and it was just a few minutes’ walk away from Sisowath Quay. Location was good.

What I liked best about the guest house was the friendly and efficient service of the staff and the owner. Mr. Phannak was easy to deal with and made things hassle-free for us. He arranged airport pick-up for $10 (same as taxi) and for a car and driver to take us around for a day for $30. (Actually, it was his brother who drove us around, but hey, whatever works for us.) He also took arranged our bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and had the bus company pick us up right at the guest house. And before we left, he called up our hotel in Siem Reap to advise them that we were on the way and what time and where they would need to pick us up. We appreciated the convenience.

Here are more pics:
Fancy Guest House
There were convenience items for sale in the lobby like toiletries, drinks, chips, and beer. (Mr. Phannak proudly recommended Angkor Beer, their national brew, but it wasn’t our type.)

Fancy Guest House

The façade. See that guy reading the newspaper? That’s Mr. Hana, our designated driver, Mr. Phannak’s brother. We’re not sure about the name, but that’s what he said when I asked what his name was. I don’t know if he understand the question as his English wasn’t very good. Nice guy, though. He kept calling my “Missy” in a sing-song voice. That’s Mr. Hana’s Camry in front, our ride during our stay in Phnom Penh.

Overall, I enjoyed our stay at Fancy Guest House. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a place to spend a night or two in Phnom Penh.

I do have to mention, though: Abet said that he felt that there was mumu in our room. He woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and that’s when he heard our plastic bags of pasalubong rustling as if someone was going through them, and he swore that it couldn’t have been the aircon. I guess this is not for scaredy-cats, but if you aren’t, then Fancy Guest House will be just fine.

–=-=–

Fancy Guest House
169B, Chan Reachea (St. 15), Phnom Penh 12205, Cambodia
http://www.thefancyguesthouse.com/
fancyguesthouse@yahoo.com
(855) 23211829

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Fenix Inn, Malacca

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Abet and I are King and Queen of Cheap Accommodation. The cheaper the hotel room, the better. We’re out most of the time anyway, the room is is just a place to rest, shower, and leave our things, so as long as it’s safe, clean, and in a good location, we’re fine. I do have one additional requirement though: an ensuite bathroom. I like to take my sweet time inside the bathroom, and I have this habit of arranging all my toiletries in the bathroom as soon as we arrive and keeping them there until it’s time to pack up, so no shared bathrooms for me, thank you.

This is why we ended up in Fenix Inn in Malacca. It was the least expensive room we found online which had its own bathroom: RM98 (P1,372) on weekdays and RM118 (P1,652) on weekends for a double room (we were there on a Friday night and paid the weekend rate). It was pricey for our backpackers’ budget, but we really didn’t have much choice.

The room was small but fully carpeted, and this was actually my favorite among the five rooms we stayed at during our trip for one good reason: the sheets. They were of high quality/high thread count and were soft as butter against my skin. There was also an extra pillow, a big plus.

Room comes with wired internet. Abet was able to connect when we arrived in the afternoon, but after we got back late in the evening, the internet connection was down. Abet was told by front desk that it would be down for a week.

Bathroom was nothing to complain about. I wish I could say the same for my photography skills.

Overall, I would recommend Fenix Inn to anyone travelling to Malacca, who, like me, insists on an ensuite bathroom. It’s around 10-15 minutes away from Jonker Walk where all the action is, but it’s near enough to the most popular attractions such as Christ Church, A Famosa, Stadthuys and St. Paul’s Church. The rates are more expensive than the average backpackers’ accommodation, but the bed was definitely worth the price. If you love good sheets like I do, you’ll appreciate Fenix Inn.

–=-=–

Fenix Inn
156, Jalan Merdeka, Taman Melaka Raya,
75000 Melaka, Malaysia
http://www.fenixinn.com
reservation@fenixinn.com
606-281 5511

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Bich Duyen Hotel, Ho Chi Minh

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We chose Bich Duyen Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, because of the stellar reviews on Tripadvisor.com. It met all our requirements for a hotel: clean, airconditioned, central, and most importantly, cheap. Double room was $18 including breakfast.

Of the five hotels we stayed in during our trip, this was the smallest–smallest bed, smallest bathroom, smallest room, but it was definitely big on value. Room has a fan, aircon, TV, ref, a tiny closet, and did I mention the complimentary breakfast? I don’t have a pic of our room without Abet in it. :P

Breakfast was basic, just the ubiquitous baguette, eggs, fresh dalandan juice, green bananas and coffee:

Of course, the coffee was the popular Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, which was very good. I was very pleased with the bananas, we used to have this everyday when we were still living in Cagayan de Oro, but I don’t think I’ve had this since we came to Manila. Breakfast wasn’t much it was good, and it saved us a few thousand dongs every morning.

The hotel is on Pham Ng? Lão, right smack in the backpackers’ area on District 1 (where most of the tourist attractions are) and is surrounded by bars, cafes, restaurants, banks, and street food stalls. Cho Ben Thành (Ben Thanh Market) is just within walking distance.

The manager, Chanh, was energetic, friendly, and extremely helpful. He arranged the Cu Chi Tunnels tour for us at 11pm, we were picked up at the hotel the next morning. He also arranged for a car to take us to the airport for $8 (pick-up from the airport is $14).

There’s a computer with high-speed internet at the lobby which you can use for free. We abused this on our last evening there when we were trying to get updates from friends in Manila about storm Santi and checking Cebu Pacific’s Twitter for updates regarding our flight.

I feel that at Bich Duyen, we got more than what we paid for. If I visit Saigon on a budget again , I’ll definitely stay here.

–=-=–
Bich Duyen Hotel
283/4 Pham Ngu Lao Street, 1st District, 84, Ho Chi Minh
bichduyenhotel@yahoo.com
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Tune Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

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Abet and I did all of our planning for our trip online, and travel forums such as the one on PinoyExchange and GirlTalk, as well as travel blogs, have been a great help to us. We wouldn’t have pulled this off smoothly (notwithstanding the bus accident and flight delay) if not for all of the tips, advice and recommendations we got online. I want to give back by posting all about our trip–accommodation, itineraries, food, costing, destinations, transit routes, etc. for anyone planning a similar trip.

I have been asked several times if we took a packaged tour: no. I dislike packaged tours. I want to choose where to stay, when and where to eat, and how long to stay at a particular destination, and I don’t like being herded like sheep. I highly recommend doing a DIY trip–it’s not as much of a hassle as it seems, and you’ll have control over your travel. There are a lot of travel resources online, and I hope my blog can help a bit.

But I majorly digress. On to my hotel review. Please bear with me with my backpacking posts as I am not a travel blogger, and I still (STILL!) can’t work the DSLR.

I highly recommend Tune Hotel for anyone looking for cheap, clean and central accomodation in Kuala Lumpur. Tune Hotel’s concept works for the budget traveller: they don’t have a sauna, pool, gym, meeting room, or other amenities you probably won’t need, and the non-essentials such as airconditioning (all rooms have fans), towels and toiletries, and in-room internet come are charged extra, which means a much, much lower price. Book in advance and you get an even better deal.

A towel can be rented at RM5 (P70) with a RM10 (P140) refundable deposit (comes with free shampoo, soap and shower gel–no, we didn’t avail of this), wi-fi internet is at RM12 (P168) for 24 hours (we didn’t avail of this as well–there are several computers at the lobby you can use for free), and airconditioning can be purchased in sets of 12 hours and 24 hours: 12 hours is at RM13.49 (P161.76) and 24 hours is at RM21 (P294). The prepaid airconditioning works like cellphone load–the hours are programmed into your key card and is deducted upon use and can be topped-up at the front desk.

We paid for our room online five months in advance, and for a double room for two nights with 12 hours of airconditioning, we paid only RM87.43 (P1,225). That’s just a little over P600 per night! And the room was not bad at all, it was actually much bigger than a standard hostel room:


The bed is outfitted with 250-threadcount sheets. Pretty decent for the price we paid. See those ads on the wall? Those help bring the cost down, they are all over the room, even inside the bathroom. The walls are care of Nippon Paint:

What I loved most about the room is the bathroom, it was larger than what I expected for a hotel room of that price. When I stayed at a P1800-per-night hostel in Hong Kong 2 years ago, I had to sit on the toilet to take a shower, but this wasn’t the case with Tune:

Tune prides itself on its showers: high-pressure heated showers with a rainfall showerhead.

The hotel is conveniently located, just a few minutes’ walk away from the Medan Tuanku monorail station (three stops away from Bukit Bintang) and is on the Star Shuttle route from LCCT, so you can take a bus from the airport and get dropped off right at the hotel doorstep.

There’s a 7-11 and a Subway shop on the ground floor, as well as Uncle John’s (a local kopitiam chain), perfect for grabbing a quick breakfast of kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs and white coffee.

kaya toast
The things I disliked about the hotel was its dilapidated elevator, the unfriendly reception staff (maybe friendly service costs extra, too) and the fact that they don’t let you leave your luggage with them after you’ve checked out, which caused us to make adjustments to our itinerary. But other than these, I wouldn’t mind staying here the next time I go to Kuala Lumpur. Its value for money can’t be beat.
–=-=–
Tune Hotel – Downtown Kuala Lumpur
316 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman
50100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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I’m baaaaaaack!

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I’ve been out of the loop for almost two weeks because we just moved (for the nth time), but just to the other street in our village. Our internet connection isn’t up yet. Also, my internet connection at the office was down for the last few days, and by that, I mean my—and only my—internet connection was down; everyone else was happily surfing. Almost two weeks of no Facebook, no Multiply, no personal e-mails, no forums, no RSS feeds of my favorite blogs, and no blogging wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I sure am glad to be back online!

And now, I come back to you after my (forced) hiatus with yet another Baguio post, what else? I had to take an impromptu trip to Baguio two Saturdays ago, and last-minute trip that it was, I had no pre-bought bus tickets nor hotel reservations (pretty unusual for Queen of Well-Planned Trips me). I was able to get a last-minute companion, though. Ah, the benefits of being in a relationship.

The several times I’ve been to Baguio this year, I was limited to Fort del Pilar (PMA), SM Baguio, and the Victory Liner bus terminal. This time, I wanted to go beyond, even for just a meal or two, and I wanted to stay somewhere other than Teacher’s Camp (where we stay as a family even back when I was in high school) or at Nakar Hall in PMA (where we’ve stayed during the last few trips).

My resource for this particular trip was the travel forum at GirlTalk, which I got to browse a few hours before I boarded I left for the bus station. Based on the Baguio thread, I was choosing between Bloomfield Hotel and La Brea Inn for our accommodation, both strategically located, and both #1 on TripAdvisor, (the former for Hotels, the latter for B&Bs). I chose La Brea because of the P700 difference—if I wasn’t being a priss and chose to stay at PMA instead, we would have paid just P250 per head. Also, I wasn’t interested in the breakfast included at Bloomfield because I read about two restaurants over at GirlTalk that I wanted to try. Anyway, we weren’t able to be all touristy the two days we were there because it rained nonstop. Therefore, no pictures, no camwhoring. Please bear with these:


La Brea Inn

I would suggest La Brea Inn for anyone looking for cheap, clean, and fuss-free accommodation in Baguio City. The standard room we got was basic but spacious and had cable TV, towels, and a clean bathroom—good value for P1,100 per night. Its location can’t be beat, it’s right smack on Session Road. I was grateful that they let us check our weary asses in early at 9 a.m.—4 hours earlier than the standard check-in time.

Two restaurants stood out in the forum: Oh My Gulay and 50′s Diner. We tried both for dinner and breakfast the next day respectively.

Oh My Gulay at the fifth floor of La Azotea along Session Road is said to be more an art gallery than a vegetarian restaurant, but we were there during dinner time and were not able to enjoy the sights and views, so the food took centerstage:

Oh My Gulay
vegetarian goodness

At this point, we were too pooped and too cold to take note of the prices, but I remember the dishes we ordered being reasonably priced (around P90-120) and were cleverly named (I had the Anak ng Puttanesca). Aside from my pasta, we had eggplant parmigiana (one of Abet’s ultimate favorite dishes), lumpia salad, and clubhouse sandwiches. Everything was fresh, healthy and delicious, and their dayap iced tea was a winner. I’ll make sure to go back here next month, and I’ll make sure to be there during the day.

Breakfast was at 50’s Diner which served milkshakes, pancakes, burgers, pizza, and pasta (no,tthe food wasn’t served by roller-skating waitresses). Food was good and cheap, no wonder it was highly recommended.

50s Diner
cheeseburger with massive fries; chicken cordon bleu


milkshakes for breakfast–gooooood!
And there, my dears, is the crappiest travel/food blog post written. I guess I just wanted to say ‘I’m back!’, and that I did something while I was away. :D I’ll definitely be going back to La Brea, Oh My Gulay and 50′s Diner before the year ends, allow me to write better posts then?
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