My college friends have been planning for our get-together and it took us almost a year to finalize everything. Unfortunately, we were not complete pero go pa rin kasi baka mag2024 na hindi pa kami magkita-kita. I thought I can’t make it too because my husband was in Indonesia, good thing that he was able to go home before our get-together.
We’ve been eating at Tong Yang for the last two meetings so for a change, my friend suggested Borro Manila. She reserved a table, a few weeks before our scheduled reunion. It was a good decision because when we arrived, the restaurant is already crowded and there are so many people waiting to be seated. Parking is hard too so we're thankful for the valet parking.
Borro Manila
Prior to our get-together, I checked Borro Manila Facebook page so at least I have an idea of their menu but when we arrived, it took us a long time to browse the menu. A one-page menu pero ang dami din options for pasta, seafood, pork, chicken, beef, steaks, soup, salad, and others. Most of the food is good for sharing so it is perfect for family or big groups.
They served complimentary bread kahit hindi pa kami nakakaorder. We ordered Creamy Truffle Pasta PHP550, Mixed Veggies with Seafood PHP650, Lechon Kawali PHP530, Stuffed Pork Chops PHP480, Barbeque Pork Belly PH490, Boneless Fried Chicken PHP580 (2), and extra rice + Service Charge.
When they served the food, we were surprised because of the big serving, especially the boneless chicken, 2 pa naman ang inorder namin. We are group of 8 adults and 4 kids, pero hirap kami ubusin yung order so take-out na lang. Among the food that we ordered, we liked the mixed veggies with seafood.
Borro
10 Scout Borromeo,
cor Sct. Tobias St,
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Kandle Cafe
After lunch, we went to Kandle Cafe which is just a few minutes walk from Borro. I thought they only serve coffee and pastries but they have meals din pala. But we went here for coffee so for my family, I ordered Americano PHP125, Iced Chocolate PHP165, White Mocha PHP170 and Blueberry Cheesecake PHP225. Drinks and cheesecake are good naman but feeling ko mas mahal compared sa ibang cafe na natry ko.
Just this week, I found this quote on my Facebook memories “Stress does not come from being busy. Stress comes from being busy about things we don’t want to do, or from not being busy about things we do want to do” - Patricia Sprinkle
Somehow true because for the past few weeks, I’ve been so preoccupied with some things that I don’t like to do but I need to do. I was mentally exhausted because I’d been researching, reading, planning, and processing some stuff. Information overload so I miss blogging and crafting.
I am not done with my list of things to do but I am carving out time so I can post something on my blog. Hehehe! I was browsing my phone and I only had a few craft projects compared to the past few months.
I’ve made this for my niece who finished her Junior High School level last month. This is a layered of textured and glitter cardstock. The font is Muthiara.
3. Friendship Card
This was also my entry for Bee Happy Craft Weeklies: Friendship. I used metal dies, stamps, Distress Oxides, and Ohuhu marker to make this “Thanks for Bee-ing my Friend” card.
Since the year 2018, my husband usually stays at The Westin Jakarta Hotel whenever he has a business trip in Jakarta, Indonesia. I can no longer count how many times he stayed in this hotel. During his last trip, he booked at The Westin Jakarta Hotel for almost one week but he cut his stay short because the hotel is too far from the site that he needs to visit.
Travel time is more or less 2 hours depending on the traffic so he was spending four hours or more every single day just to reach his destination and vice versa. His colleague suggested to transfer hotel so when he went back to Westin he asked the staff if there will be no penalty if he will shorten his stay.
The staff said “Yes, no penalty” but in less than an hour, he received a message stating that he needs to inform them within the day or else there will be a penalty charge. It was already late in the evening so he has only a few hours left to book another hotel. His colleague suggested Aryaduta Lippo Village. He browsed the website and the hotel looks good in the picture. And because of limited time, he booked the hotel without reading reviews.
Aryaduta Lippo Village Hotel
Aryaduta Lippo Village is located in Lippo Karawaci which is now known as Lippo Village. It is outside Jakarta and a short drive to the international airport. The hotel features 191 rooms and villas. This hotel is budget-friendly compared to other hotels that my husband tried.
At the time of his trip, he dropped by Aryaduta Lippo Village first for check-in but no early check-in so he just left his luggage and off he went to the site that he needs to visit. When he got in the taxi, out of the blue the taxi driver told him “You know I hear so many ghost stories here”. My husband was so shocked, he just check in tapos may ghost story pala. Waah!
When the lady driver said “here”, she was not saying that there are ghosts in the hotel but "ghost stories in the Karawaci area”. Napagkwekwentuhan daw ng mga taxi drivers. And because of that, my husband already felt uncomfortable especially when he saw his room after work.
He arrived late at night so even he turned on the light, the room was still not well-lighted. So parang Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar feel, hehehe! The room already looks old so it is no longer the same as the pictures on the website; expectation vs reality.
The hotel has a swimming pool designed in Balinese style, a gym, spa & massage, and a team building area.
For food and beverages, the hotel offers indoor and outdoor restaurants; Lounge Bar, Palm Cafe, Laguna Bar, The Gardenia, and RJ’s Sports Bar and Grill.
The Indonesian colleague who suggested this hotel also stayed in this hotel. The hotel looks okay naman but because of the taxi driver, nakakadalawang-isip magstay sa Lippo Village area. We don’t know if the ghost stories are true because when I tried to search, I can’t find anything. Also, there are so many guests in the hotel; in fact, my husband was not able to take a lot of pictures in the buffet restaurant because it was crowded.
My husband and I experienced celebrating our birthdays at Sheraton Hotel and we had a good time so we planned to celebrate our son’s 14th birthday at Sheraton Mactan. At that time, the hotel is only a few weeks old so bago pa mag-anniversary, tapusin ko na itong blog. Hehehe!
Our plan became possible because of the Philippine Airlines’ Great Mabuhay Miles Getaway promotion. We were able to use our miles to book our Manila-Cebu-Manila plane ticket. My husband also used his Marriott Bonvoy points to book our room. Fortunately, my son has no face-to-face classes at the time of our trip so he was not absent.
Since we’ve been to Cebu a few times already, we did not plan any tour so we really just had a staycation. We eat, sleep, and swim for 3 days and 2nights. Sheraton Mactan is the third resort that we have visited in the area, we’ve been to Shangri la Mactan and Crimson Mactan Resort and Spa already.
Day 1 in Sheraton Mactan Resort
We took an early flight and the resort is only 30 minutes away from the airport so we were in the resort 20 minutes before 8AM. We knew that the standard check-in time is still 3PM so we were so surprised and happy when the staff allowed us to check-in already. Wow, this is the earliest check-in that we’ve ever experienced in a hotel or resort.
2 Doubles, Ocean View, Balcony
My husband booked the ocean view room so we really had a nice view of the pool and ocean. The room is about 50 sqm so we have enough space to move around. There is a chair, a working desk, a mini fridge, etc.
The bathroom is also spacious, it has a bathtub, separate shower, and toilet. The toiletries are the same as other Sheraton Hotels that we have tried but this time, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are refillable.
When I checked the coffee and tea area, parang kulang so feeling ko dahil sa sobrang aga namin hindi pa naprepare yung room. My husband just called the reception and they delivered the missing items plus they also gave complimentary snacks and a birthday cake for my son.
Since my son has still online classes, nagbasa-basa na lang ako ng mga nakalagay sa room. I found out that Sheraton Mactan is the first Marriott International resort in the Philippines. It has 261 rooms and suites and it offers a fitness center, spa, pool, restaurants, cafe, and bar.
Our room has no complimentary breakfast so I also browsed the menu for in-room dining. After my son’s classes, we went to 5 Cien for our early lunch. You can check my previous post“Food Trip in Sheraton Mactan Cebu” for my detailed post.
After lunch, we explored the resort and this is small compared to the two resorts that we’ve visited but it has its own charm. We did not stay long because my son has afternoon classes pa so hintay ulit na matapos. Hehehe!
We had a quick dip at the beach and pool, then we had dinner at the Buhi Bar. We liked the Buhi Cave Bar, maganda din kasi yung view.
Day 2: Seekers Game
The following day while we were in the pool, a staff approached us and asked if we wanted to join their activity. We thought it is free kasi sa Crimson Mactan marami free activities for kids but we were wrong, we need to pay pala. But since we have no activity that day, we agreed to join the Seekers Game, malay mo maganda yung prize. We paid PHP687.53 for the game and the program starts at 2PM.
At the lobby, after registration, the staff gave us a map and laminated cards that we need to answer. There is a time limit for the game and we finished everything before the time was up. We were all tired kasi naman sa dami ng challenges, pero mas pagod si hubby kasi siya yung pinagawa namin ng mga physical activities.
After the game, the staff informed us that we have Two Complimentary Drinks at the Buhi Bar. Waah! Yung lang pala yung prize sa pagod namin, tatlo pa kami nagpagod so kulang yung drinks. We went to Buhi Bar to claim our prize and the only option is Signature Mocktails, PHP350 per drink. Charged to experience na lang.
Day 3 in Sheraton Mactan
Last day in Cebu so before we had breakfast, we spent our time in the pool first. We had no idea that we will be upgraded to Buffet Breakfast because of our incomplete in-room dining breakfast. So we experienced buffet breakfast at 5 Cien for less than 30 minutes. The photo below was taken on our second day, nag-iisip kasi kami kung buffet or in-room dining.
Check-out time is 12PM but my husband requested for late check-out because our Cebu to Manila flight was changed. Good thing, he has this benefit so at least hindi kami maghihintay ng matagal sa airport. It was a swift trip but we enjoyed our stay at Sheraton Mactan. Service is also good from the time we arrived until we left the resort.
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