Old experience (3 years ago to be exact. You've been warned LOL) but I just want to share this. I remembered with my recent post about The Peninsula Manila so I figured, why not share the other hotels I've been to. You may want to proceed with the idea that the experience was 3 years ago so there might have been changes. 

It was my first time at Las Vegas, but I'm in charge of booking everything for the trip. So after several days of googling, and checking the budget, I finally decided on The Stratosphere. Jie also agreed, especially when we saw the cost of Php 9,800 for 6 nights. Who wouldn't be tempted? We booked through Agoda for this trip. (I checked the rates just now, and for the same period, Agoda gave me Php6,500 for 6 nights! Wow.)

So how was this hotel given the price? Hmmm :)

Stratosphere from afar

Stratosphere is located at the south of the Strip, opposite end from the Las Vegas welcome sign. If you want to be part of the nightly action, then  you may want to reconsider staying in this hotel. All the other famous ones (MGM, Mandalay, Linq, Harrah's, etc) are in the opposite side. Stratosphere is quite a long walk away. Though Las Vegas is the city that never sleeps, we felt that we were not in the center of the action.

How far from the previous hotel

According to Wikipedia, Stratosphere is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States. It stands at 1,148 ft so it is still an experience to stay here.

The room we booked through Agoda was actually nice. It came with a king size bed, tables and chairs in case you would want to dine in room. The bathroom though is quite different as the sink is inside the room, not in the bathroom. So expect your room mate to see all your nightly rituals LOL

Sink just beside the bathroom

A big feature of the hotel is their attractions on top of the tower.

Air Bar
Air Bar is located at the top, before reaching the observation deck and the rides, yes the rides. The Air Bar is at 896 ft high above the air where you would be able to look at the Vegas Strip while getting drunk.

They encourage drinking and riding the attractions

one of the tables in the bar

One of the doors announcing how high you are where you are currently standing

The view

Us, enjoying our drinks

On top of the Air Bar is the open air observation deck. This also the way to the rides on top of the tower.

The view. You can see from the far right one of the rides

I am not very sure of the names of the rides because I did not even consider riding.  But I know you can try bungee jumping from the tower, plus the other 2 below.

One of the rides

All in all? Staying at Stratosphere is an experience. The hotel is a more affordable option when staying at The Strip. There are buses along the boulevard so getting to and from the other locations is not that hard.

We recently renewed our membership with The Peninsula Manila. We initially decided that we would no longer renew this, but when our agent called us again to inquire, we decided that the perks are still worth it. 

The package recently came and I just want to share the perks of being a member of this luxurious hotel. 

Package arrived in a black box, and inside contained a leather card holder. It contains the Peninsula Card, Global Privilege Card and all the discount coupons that came with the membership. 

With welcome remarks from the general manager

Coupons!

Below are the privileges of being a member*:

1. To dine in any HOTEL restaurant on a complimentary basis on the condition that he/she is dining with at least one other person.
2. A twenty percent (20%) discount off the total food & beverage bill in Salon de Ning.
3. Special rate in a Superior Room, inclusive of buffet breakfast for two (2) adults and two (2) children at Escolta.
4. 20% discount off the total Food & Beverage bill at The Bar.

It was one of those weekends where we had a spur of the moment decision to go to Tagaytay. I immediately went to my go to booking site Agoda and checked available hotels for that weekend. We decided to book 2 rooms at Splendido because it was cheap at Php2200. The room cost came with buffet breakfast for 2.

Going to the hotel that Saturday, this was our landmark. It was a steep drive down going to the hotel.

The Country Club

The lobby contains sofa sets so guests can be comfortable while waiting.

The bathroom came with a tub.

Toiletries were made from Australia

The 2 rooms we got had balconies with mountainside view. There is also an option to get the one with the lakeside view. We also realized when we booked again later on that not all rooms have balconies. So perhaps it can be requested during checking in, though we never asked.

The balcony

View from the balcony

The country club can be seen from our room's balcony

All the amenities were in the other building. One can request to be brought there and the staff will bring you using their cart. One can also opt to walk but be sure to ready your leg muscles. It would be a steep walk.

The swimming pool for those who want to brave the Tagaytay breeze.

The cart that would bring you to the Country Club and back to the hotel

We guess the only downside to the place is the lack of options for restaurants. One may choose to dine there but options are limited. We had to bring the cars and drive back up to the city proper for dinner.

All in all, Splendido is a cheap staycation option when in Tagaytay. Of course, this assumes that booking is through Agoda. One can also book through their website : www.splendido.ph/ though when I checked, price varies from Php 3,800 to Php 5,500 per night. I suggest to check both options or other booking sites.

Keep in mind though that the place is for those who have their own vehicles as it is quite a drive going to and from the hotel.

I accompanied JA on a business trip in Tarlac a few days back. We left Muntinlupa at around 9am and arrived in Paniqui Tarlac at 12 noon. We did not stop by any of the food options along the North Luzon Express Way (NLEX), choosing instead to eat in the Paniqui to save time. We were supposed to be in the area by 1:30 pm for an appointment.

We arrived at Paniqui Tarlac at a little after 12 noon. We drove around a bit to check where we can have our lunch. We passed by Plaza Mocha which was about a street away from the municipal hall, and decided to try the place.

The interior was nice, with a combination of booths and coffee tables. There is a counter where one can order. Menu is also on the wall. I think the place is mostly a coffee shop because they have several drinks and coffee options. Its too bad it was too hot at the time, plus we were hungry, thus we opted for their full meals instead.



I allowed JA  to order for both of us and he originally thought that each meal was good for one, when in fact the servings were actually quite big. We ended up having too much on our table hahaha







I think the place was quite popular with the locals. We left at around 1 pm and people were still coming in, and some were already waiting for seats.

If you happen to find yourself near the area, I would definitely suggest to try the place.

The view

Queen size bed

Considering its the junior suite, it still doesn't have a bath tub

Walk in closet

I can't believe time flew that quickly. Just like that and my little one (LO)  JEEA is one year old. Her birthday falls on a February and I started planning by December. I was thinking that after the holiday festivities, I would run out of time to prepare for her birthday.

I was googling a lot of venues and checking reviews. I had a lot of considerations:
Shall we hold it in Makati? We live in Muntinlupa but we have visitors who would be coming from the north.

• Who would style the venue?
• Which caterer?
• What style of cake? I have a baker in mind already. And a design based on my theme
• Kaya ko ba mag DIY? 
• Literally, hay. Ang daming kailangan isipin. 

Come January and I have not crossed off anything in my to-do list.  But i have read a lot of sites and reviews (Perhaps I should create a post regarding that.) I have to decide on the venue before I can move. The venue would actually dictate a lot of the next steps.

Finally, following the advise of my friends and my husband, I settled on the clubhouse of the condominium of where we live. That would be most convenient for us since we can just go to our unit in case we need something. Plus, its the most practical of all options.

Second is the caterer. I already have a caterer in mind and it's just a matter of choosing the menu.

Third, the event stylist or at least who would decorate the venue. I had my eyes on an events company and already approached them for their quotation. My only concern is they would be coming from Manila. @jie_golo cautioned me that since they would be coming from afar, it might stress me out if they would be late. But I so wanted thema sana. Hay.

So I googled again for a nearby supplier, read reviews, joined supplier groups. Of all those I checked, NicPatJan seemed interesting. I asked for a quotation and agreed to meet one Saturday.

My chosen theme is "You are my sunshine" as we feel that JEEA has actually filled our lives with so much sun and laughter. I informed NicPatJan about this and we were pleasantly surprised that Ma'am Gina, the owner, showed some ideas when we first met. She also informed me that they can do catering, tables and chairs, photobooth, the works!

@jie_golo and I decided to try them out and ask for a package quotation for the whole event. I just chose which ones I wanted and this included the following:

• catering + kiddie meal
• decor
• magician / host
• photo booth rental
• candy buffet
• chocolate fountain
• tokens
• photo coverage
• 2 layer fondant cake

My first year frame provided by JEEA's godmother when she was born

For the cake, I already have a baker in mind but she was due for a trip on the week prior to the party and would be back a day or two before the party. She declined as she might not be able to finish it. Fortunately, NicPatJan can also provide cakes. Mam Gina mentioned that her daughter can bake it. This is what I showed them to try to copy. It was a design from Delana's cakes. For the sun topper, we told them to just use whatever sun they would be using for the decor so it would be consistent. They can also simplify the details.

This is what they came out with. I was actually pretty impressed.  For the cake itself, it was very moist with caramel inside. I loved it as it tasted like dark chocolate, which I love, and was very rich! Siksik. The sun though was just printed on thick paper. But we were okay with that.

Bami - combination of canton and bihon

Beef caldereta

chicken teriyaki

releyenong bangus

mixed vegetables

buko pandan

kiddie spaghetti

puto

chicken lollipop