Bohol, 2016

These days, when I go somewhere, I always pray for good weather. God granted my request and blessed us with good weather throughout the trip.

Blogworthy & Travel: Boracay 2013

View from our villa

I was going through my photos and I saw my 2013 Boracay photos. I checked my past entries and was surprised I didn't post a single entry for this trip. Call me weird, or whatever you want, but I really want to (still) blog about this because our stay here deserves a post... two years after.

✰ This post is going to include LOTS of photos ✰

My family and I are Shangri-La fans mainly because they have the best service ever. There are other 5-Star hotels in the Metro and in places like Boracay, but in our hearts and minds, we are sure that nothing will ever beat their service.

1. Arrival at Caticlan Airport ✦ Shangri-La Lounge

As we arrived at the airport, there were already people from Shangri-La waiting for us and they assisted us with our luggage - we didn't have to pick them up. They asked us to tell them which were ours and they would do all the job. I had to mention this because the expressions of their personnel didn't show any hesitation with all the help they give. They always talk to you in smiles unlike other personnel who makes you feel that they're just doing their job. These people have the "happy to serve you" face all the time.

I was pretty delighted to find out about the lounge. If I remember it correctly, there were three lounges: Shangri-La, Discovery Suites and the general lounge. Obviously, it was air conditioned, they had nice and soft couches, super friendly staff (as usual), and they served juice. We only stayed at the lounge because we were waiting for the speedboat that would take us to Boracay. The waiting wasn't really that long; I know because I didn't finish my juice and I am a sucker for Calamansi Juice.

2. Speedboat to Boracay

In my other Boracay entry, I posted there a photo of the boat we rode. Of course, this would be far better since there's actually no cheap room in the hotel so they just better give you a good ride.

My brother would usually get seasick, but this short ride from the airport to Boracay didn't make him feel dizzy or anything. Personally, I liked the white - it kept the simple yet sophisticated look. The seats were very comfortable, I must add. 

3. Villa 8 ✦ Villa Kanluran

Welcome to Villa 8 ✦ Living Room / Receiving Area

This is my favorite (smoking) spot. Wouldn't you enjoy this view?

4. Rooms

Master's Bedroom & Bathroom

Master's Walk-In Closet + Display & the other bedroom and bathroom

I'm telling you - they aren't just photogenic. It would even more appropriate if I say that it looks even better in person. The ventilation and temperature were perfect. The pillows, bed, towels - they were all soft and smelled really good.

...but these photos do not give justice yet. Here's my favorite part of the Master's Bedroom:

Paradise at your doorstep

Yes, that's right. When you leave the curtains on the side, you have a view of the ocean and the sky. Isn't it AMAZING?! It has access to the back part of the villa. I was slightly disappointed to know that my mom didn't know that it was a door, not a full window. Nevertheless, she enjoyed her view before sleeping and waking up.

The villa included two butlers (yes, butler): One during the day and one during the night. If you're seated on the porch and you want water, juice, or anything you like, you can just call or text him and he would bring you what you requested. And yes, it came with a cell phone. That's where the butler's number is (well, duh).

5. Restaurants: Vintana Cafe & Sirena

Vintana Cafe

So these are the only photos I have of the restaurant. We had lunch here after checking in. I remember ordering my all-time favorite, Adobo. My brother had Steak, and forgot what my parents ordered. Regardless, we all know Shangri-La restaurants serve good food.

This is also where the breakfast buffet is held.

Sirena

From their website:

Perched on a cliff top above crystal-blue waters, Sirena, the resort's signature seafood restaurant, provides a casual, carefree dining experience.

Sirena serves culinary creations fresh from the market and a wonderful selection of wines from around the world.

Food was great, as usual. It's the experience I wanna talk about. Never in my life did I imagine that I'd get to have dinner by a cliff. Spending this quality time with your family is another thing.

Exemplary Service:

My brother was whining about his eye being itchy, and the waiter who was serving us noticed and asked what the problem was. When my brother told him about his eye, he excused himself and came back with an eye drop, and told him to keep it. Again, this is with no hesitation and was done with his lips smiling from ear to ear. Well, let me reiterate - we didn't request for an eye drop. 

Random words:

I was browsing through tumblr when I saw this photo:

I feel overwhelmingly blessed to have experienced this while it's on most people's bucket list. I need not to explain, but this photo, that spot, is exactly where we were seated (as seen on photo above). When I saw this on my feed, I immediately thought, "hey, this looks familiar". 

Given these, can you just imagine how I'm pretty pissed with myself for not blogging about this earlier? 

and YES, we had our own pool. 

MORE PHOTOS:

Travel: Baguio, 2015

Cembrano + Medina | © Kenneth Guevara, iPhone 6

If you are to ask the reason why we went to Baguio, the answer is simple. My brother and his friends went to Baguio last week; and my mom got jealous. She then planned a trip to Baguio. We would normally stay at Baguio Country Club, but it was full. Well, given the news that the weather was nice, it's really hard to book anywhere else.

UPPER HOUSE VILLAGE

I found it unusual that my mom searched Agoda for a place to stay at since she's not really into the web. We were supposed to stay at this Azalea place, but then my mom found UHV. It was a house with 5 bedrooms and was relatively cheaper than the 2-bedroom suite she had reserved at Azalea. At first, we were already settled and joked around that each of us will have our own room until I asked my mom if we could invite the Medina family to join the fun. Long story short, there were 8 of us and there was still enough room for at least 5 more people.

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

It literally is a village and it reminded me of San Francisco. The weather during the time of our stay added up to its San Francisco vibe. I believe they have a coffee shop but I wasn't able to try it. Their reception area sold cigarettes so that's really a plus for me.

UHV is not a hotel therefore you shouldn't expect a breakfast buffet. My brother and I look forward to buffet breakfasts, but we always hated waking up early to catch them. There, we brought canned goods, eggs, etc so we could cook & have breakfast. Okay, so they could have breakfast. Since there is no breakfast buffet, I slept my way through breakfast and woke up in time for lunch. Hihi.

So anyway, they have a kitchen with complete stuff - stove, utensils, casseroles, refrigerator, etc. As for my ever ready mother, we brought oil, onions, garlic, soy sauce, etc. The dining table in the house that we got was good for six people.

Dining table | iPhone 6

The kitchen with my momma | iPhone 6

Oh yes, you don't need to bring your own rice cooker

View from the Master's Bedroom | © Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

Me and my brother shared this room | © Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

This was our bathroom

Master's Bedroom - where my parents stayed | Hi, me.

Wasn't able to take a photo of the whole bathroom but this had a walk-in closet

Ground floor bedroom

Ground floor bathroom

Ground floor bedroom dresser

Basement bedroom

Basement bathroom

Basement bathroom

Third floor/Attic bedroom | Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the bathroom

 

Basically, there are 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. Seriously not bad for its price. I literally couldn't complain. They also offer daily housekeeping services although I remember having a conversation with their housekeeping that they change the sheets every 3 days. Regardless, she changed the sheets when I requested for it with no hesitation.

My favorite, favorite parts of the house are the following:

1. The Veranda

 © Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

You can smoke in any part of the house (if you're a non-smoker family/bunch, you should inform them beforehand while making your reservation), although you don't want that so we all smoked here. It was a really nice place to chill at. With the weather last weekend, I can say that we were literally chilling outside. 

2. The Attic / Family Playroom

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

Yeah, me, my brother and my cousin did smoke cigarettes here. But we only did because the oldies pretty much had a hard time coming up the third floor. We bonded here during the first night. The boys were playing games and I was singing alone with our karaoke (we brought our own; not sure if they have one for rent). Don't ask me why there's a tent - I cannot answer you. Nope, no one slept on the tent but it was really funny to see there was one. Pretty much like Xander on Forevermore. Lol! But if you ask me, I'm pretty sure that a group of friends could think of something to do with the tent.

MORE PHOTOS OF THE HOUSE & INSIDE THE HOUSE

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

Just found this really cute | © Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

© Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

Photo of the house from outside | © Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

Other view | © Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

Other view | © Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

The garage | © Tina Cembrano | iPhone 6

Aside from the weather, why else would you go to Baguio? Easy. STRAWBERRIES.

We made strawberry shake. Damn them strawberries.

In case you're wondering, nope we didn't roam around Baguio this time. We attended mass and ate out, but not really go sight-seeing. I agree that we're all past the phase of "touring" Baguio. We were all after the weather, the togetherness, and of course, the pretty house.

My personal rating for Upper House Village, Baguio: ★★★★★