ACUATICO ~ Where Nature Meets Adventure

Whenever we are in the mood for an easy access hide-away and yearning a breathe of fresh ocean air, our go to place is

Laiya, San Juan Batangas. 

We have tried a few resorts at Laiya, but just recently found our favorite one.

Welcome to Acuatico Beach Resort.

Acuatico Beach Resort is a Balinese-inspired luxury resort made up of modern villas and rooms surrounding one of the most beautiful infinity pools we have been to.

The resort shares the stretch of pristine beach with neighboring resorts Blue Coral Beach and Acuaverde.   

 The beach is undoubtedly clean, however, the sand is a bit rough and coarse (you would have to keep your beach sandals on, to be safe).

Philippine sunset is simply magnificent ~

 We booked a Casita unit. 

Casitas are two bedroom (a masters and a second room with 2 twin beds) units located at ground floor fronting the infinity pool.  

Location is perfect for those with kids who wont leave the pool.  

The view of the pool from the Casita patio.

 Welcome goodies from Acuatico.

I brought the necklace back home as gift for my Kikay Lola, who loves trinkets.

The rooms were averaged sized, each has cabled television and air-condition units.

 Beds were comfortable with clean and freshly laundered linen.

The rooms shares a bathroom. 

The bathroom is a bit small tough and could be tough to navigate shared.

  

The best part of the this vacation ~ all day and all night swimming!

My son in Zen mode.

The pool bar was a great addition.  Their mango shake was delicious.

Breakfast is at Oceano. 

(We also ordered our dinner here and had it served at our Casita. Food was on the expensive side, but quality is good and serving is good for sharing.  They offer dinner buffet at P900, but opted for an ala carte as we don't think we will be able to eat that much.)

Breakfast spread was good, but not spectacular. The Batangas Kapeng Barako though was to rave for ~ I think I had 2 refills.

Acuatico Beach Resort is 2 thumbs up!

It promised nature and relaxation and delivered.

Fantastic place with cordial and warm personnel.

MamaSpeaks will be back soon...

Acuatico Beach Resort

Laiya, San Juan, Batangas
Tel: +632 6515972
Email: reservations@acuaticoresort.com.ph

For information, please visit their website at www.acuaticoresort.com.ph

Oakwood Premier (Joy-Nostalg Center Manila) ~ A Fine Retreat in the Ortigas Urban Jungle

We again scored big discount on our latest hotel staycation via the Traveloka booking site. 

We needed to stay at the Ortigas Central Business district area and decided to book at the Oakwood Premier (Joy-Nostalg Center) ~ wondering if the excellent online rating was real!

We entered via the ADB Avenue entrance and was led to a short hallway leading to the hotel lobby (the hotel's main entrance and basement parking access was via Topaz Street). 

The lobby was medium sized but impressively decorated.

We were really pleased with the a one bedroom suite that we booked. It was huge at about 90sqm ~ talk about space.

There is a separate bedroom with a king-sized bed, that screams "STAYCATION". 

(Note: There is also a television inside the bedroom, on top of the television in the living room and bathroom). 

Definitely no fighting over TV here!

A working kitchen ~ fully-equipped with microwave and convention oven, vitroceramic cook top, dishwasher, refrigerator, toaster, rice cooker, coffee maker, crockery and cooking utensils.

A dining area that fits 4.

The living room comes with a home entertainment system (40" LCD TV and sound bar home theater system). 

Cable channel options were quite good too.

A full work space ~ for business travelers (actually there are two of them, one in the living room and another one in the bedroom).

My favorite place in the suite is the all-modern/luxury bathroom (free-standing bathtub, double sink, shower stall with rainshower and STEAM GENERATOR).

Dual Sink

Free Standing bath tub ~ warm bath while watching TV anyone?

My very own in-shower steam (truly relaxing and such a perfect way to unwind and de-stress)! 

The rooms also come with all the essentials to make your stay comfortable ~

toiletries, bath robes, iron and ironing board and even a washer/dryer. They thought of everything.

Our stay comes with buffet breakfast at the famed The Nostalgia Dining Lounge ~ the place was classy and posh with an eclectic design. 

The buffet spread was varied and very good.   

We checked the hotel pool, but never got to try it.

It was well kept and clean.  My son, decided last minute that he wanted to try the bath tub, while watching TV (Yes the TV won it).

VERDICT:

• Location is perfect. It is just a stroll away from Podium, Mega Mall, Robinson's and St. Francis Square.    
• Fast and efficient check-in,  although I was a bit disappointed that check-in time was a little later than I am used to (3pm, instead of the usual standard 2pm).
• Staff were attentive and pleasant!
• Our room is clean, spacious and comes complete with all of our needs.
• The Ortigas skyline view from our  room's floor to ceiling window was wonderful. It was nice sipping coffee, while we lose our gaze in the multitude of lights outside. 
• For the bathroom alone, I am giving Oakwood an A+.       I so want an in-shower steam at home!

 

My family hands down love Oakwood Premier and we would definitely be back soon!

It is a luxury-business hotel, perfect for those who wants to mix business with leisure!  ...Or families who just want a retreat in the urban jungle. 

Oakwood Premier Joy~Nostalg Center Manila is located at
17 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

For direct booking and inquiries:

Tel: (63-2) 637 7888 / (63-2) 910 8888
Fax: (63-2) 706 7777
Email: premiermanila@oakwoodasia.com
www.oakwood.com

For Traveloka bookings check their webpage or download Traveloka mobile application:

www.traveloka.com