Hotel in Quezon City: Maya Residence Inn

Maya Residence Inn is a newly-built hotel around Teacher’s Village in Quezon City. It mainly caters to those who have some personal business to attend to around the area.  Located at Matino St., just a few steps away from Kalayaan Avenue, Maya Residence Inn is an accessible yet quiet place to stay.

Matino St., Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City

Courtesy of a close friend, I was able to stay at Maya Residence Inn in one of their standard rooms. It costs about P1800 plus a food voucher worth P200 per night. Since it’s a new place, the room smells and looks new too! The room is designed in brown muted tones with an air of simple elegance. It actually feels like a real bedroom in the house- cozy and clean. Space is just enough to move around- not spacious but not cramped either.

Maya Residence Inn's Standard Room

comfy bed with an abstract painting headboard

The standard room has a double bed with a firm mattress. A medium-sized closet with a few hangers is also available at the room. There are two high-backed chairs with a low table. A 24-inch LCD TV is also hanging on the wall across the bed.

sitting place :)

spacious bathroom

The washroom is quite big than the usual. It has hot and cold water and has free toiletries and towels.

Food is available on the ground floor. Maya Residence Inn has an in-house café and a restaurant- M restaurant. Food is of average price and taste.

Service is great and prompt. The reservations agent replies within 24 hours through email.

Maya Residence Inn is near from Trinoma Mall and SM North. It’s also near UP, Katipunan, East Avenue, QC Circle and the Timog Strip. So if planning for a trip around QC area, give Maya Residence Inn a try for an affordable yet restful stay.

Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati: Terribly Luxurious

Location: Dusit Thani Makati is along EDSA just beside SM Makati and near Ayala MRT. It's beside malls and just in the center of about everything. 

Dusit at night
Photo Credit: localyte.com

Thanks to my sister who works at Dusit Thani Hotel Makati, I was able to spend my birthday in their Grand Room. Modesty aside, it is the hotel's third most expensive and expansive room. It is worth a whooping P22,000 a night good for 2 people!

my generous sister posing at Dusit's receiving area

The bathroom that we had was bigger than this but i wasn't  able to take a picture but this is somewhat similar.
Photo Credit: tripadvisor.com.my

The room is about 60 square meters- larger than most studio type condo units. The washroom alone can contain a small kitchen and dining area. It has a tub, a shower area, and  a lengthy wash area. Across the washroom is another washroom minus the tub and bath area. (which I really didn't understand why there's two wash rooms for a room that's good for two). Expectedly, toiletries are available for free including soft fulffy white towels! The only thing missing is a bidet. For some reason, Dusit does not have bidets while hotels with lesser stars have them.

my sisters on the couch at the receiving area

There's also a receiving area with a comfortable couch and a view of the city. During the night, there were 4 people who slept on the carpeted four without being cramped. Added to this, the couch was able to contain 2 people during the night with still some space left. I hope you can imagine how spacious the place is.

my brother and his girlfriend pretending to pose for a stolen shot

The most comfortable part is, of course, the sleeping area. The grand room has two single beds although they also offer a grand room with a queen-sized bed. Actually, even the beds are called single, they're double in size. The sleeping area is more spacious than the receiving area. You can actually dance on the space fronting the bed. Even though it's fronting EDSA and near the MRT, the rooms are sound-proofed with double glass windows.

Other amenities of the room would be the mini bar with goods five times of their prices! There's a mini ref and a water heater. By the way, the only free item in their bar are the coffee, sugar and creamer which really tastes good.

pool area

The hotel has a restaurant offering buffet food. Dinner is offered for about P2000 while breakfast is about P1000. They have a pool which only allows 2 guests per room so we didn't try it anymore. They have valet and shuttle services too.

So I guess, if you;'re really that rich and can spare some cash, it would be nice to spend a night or two in this hotel. As for me, a middle-class worker, I'm just lucky to have a sister connected to the hotel but otherwise, I wouldn't spend my hard-earned money on this hotel. I mean, seriously, there are other hotels which are less pricey with the same luxury. In fairness to Dusit, they really pride themselves of being a luxury hotel that caters mostly to businessmen. 

Where to Stay in Coron, Palawan: Mt. Tapyas Hotel

Mt. Tapyas Hotel is located in Coron, Palawan. It is placed on the higher slopes of Mt. Tapyas. Mt. Tapyas Hotel is a three-storey building overlooking the seas of Coron. It is about 10 to 15 minutes walk from the Coron Town Proper and about 2 hours from Busuanga Airport.

I had the experience of staying at Mt. Tapyas Hotel  last October. My fiance and I availed a package tour of Coron as recommened by a close friend. A three-day stay in this hotel was included in the package. We stayed in a standard airconditionded room with a mountain view of Mt. Tapyas worth P1300 a night. I think rooms with the sea view is better though because the only view we saw from our room are rocks and dense trees.

facade of Mt. Tapyas Hotel

The room where we stayed has two single beds and a cot meant to be an extra bed or a place to sit. It also has TV. The CR has hot water. The facitlities are clean. Breakfast is also included including shuttle services to and from the ariport. In fact, we could have saved more if we just availed our tour directly from the hotel.
The hotel also offers spa and massage services which we didn't have the time to experience.

standard room in Mt. Tapyas

Mt. Tapyas  hotel is far from the sea. We had to travel for 20 minutes via shuttle to to ride a boat going to the islands of Coron. It is also about 10 to 20 minute walk from the stairs leading to the top of Mt. Tapyas. Sunset and sunrise are something to look forward to.

Mt. Tapyas Hotel is actually in a residential area so from the street leading to the hotel, you can see a lot houses. The place is quiet though even if there are houses near it. Actually, we got bored during the night because there's nothing to do around the place or within the hotel vicinity except to stay in the room and watch TV.

sunset view from the dining area and view deck of Mt. Tapyas Hotel

They serve lunch and dinner but of course food is more expensive. However, the nearby restaurant or eatery is about 15 minutes away from the hotel on foot. There are a few tricyles that pass by the hotel so it's faster to travel on foot than waiting for a ride.

Generally, we had a good stay in Mt. Tapyas. The staff were attentive enough to our needs. However, if we're going to return to Coron, we'll stay in a hotel nearer the sea.

Resort in Panglao, Bohol: Paragayo Resort

My boyfriend and I stayed in Paragayo for 2 days last November. The hotel is a sprawling Bali-style lodging. It has open areas for garden which adds to its relaxing atmosphere. We rented a standard aircon room good for two via online reservation. It costs P1300 a night.

The CR was clean. They provided soap, shampoo and toothpaste. They also have hot water. Towels are changed daily. Each room has its own balcony facing the gardens. We stayed at the back portion of the resort  o it was very peaceful. The room also have TV and the bed is comfortable enough.  It was also spacious enough. They also have security vaults for storing your valuables. They clean the room daily even without you requesting them. They also have free WiFi services. Just ask them the password.

Paragayo is not beach front. It is around 3-5 minute walk from Panglao Beach which I think is okay because you get to see beyond the beach. The place looks secured enough because it's along the highway. They also provide one of the cheapest countryside tour. Just P1000-P1500 which is cheaper when you compared with other tour packages. They also have airport shuttle services which is around P500. This the standard price anyway. You need to hire a shutle because Paragayo and even Panglao is about an hour away from Tagbilaran airport.

One thing that I didn't like is that the water from their taps are a bit salty. But what I noticed is that salty water makes your skin smooth. They also do not provide free drinking water because I think drinking water in Panglao is expensive. Even restos do not provide free water.

By the way, they do not have restaurants. Just a bar where you can buy some drinks. It's not a problem though since there are a lot of restaurants around the area. Staff is quite okay. They will accommodate your requests but they don't smile a lot.

In conclusion, if you want a relaxing stay in Panglao Beach,  Bohol without spending too much, try this place and enjoy!

PHOTO CREDITS:

http://www.beachresortfinder.com/paragayo-resort/gallery/

http://www.sulit.com.ph/