I had to attend an important event in Quezon city 2 weeks ago. I was excited about it because after 4 years I can fly again! This would allow me to escape motherhood for a while, unwind a bit and give myself a “me time”.
I traveled via PAL (Philippine Airlines), as I always did in the past.
I thought I was early for my late-night flight. When I arrived the airport in Davao, there wasn’t much passenger yet, so I had the chance to take pictures outside the pre-boarding area.
After I passed by the X-ray section, we were assigned at Gate 5 for pre-boarding. I like that PAL has separate spaces for their passengers. Unlike the other airlines, where their passengers are mixed in one pre-boarding area. Gate 5 was enclosed separately and was strictly for PAL passengers only. Passengers of Cebu Pacific and Air Asia were assigned at Gate 6 and 7 which was open, so they were mixed, and everyone was chasing for seats.
Upon arrival in Manila, I felt like a free person again and I loved it! I was happy to step on the ground of NAIA Terminal 2. It looked a lot better and cleaner.
I was lucky my graduate school classmate fetched me. We dropped by Burger King to have some snacks because I didn’t have dinner. Unfortunately, Philippine Airlines (PAL) only distributes either nuts or cookies on the plane then partnered with your choice of either water, tea or coffee.
After we ate, she brought me to my hotel. I first booked a night at Red Planet Hotel. It is a franchised budget hotel which I believe originated in Japan. True to its claim, it is strategically located along Timog Avenue, Quezon City and is indeed very clean.
I got the room via trip.com
for only P 1,296.00. I am not sure what should only be included in a budget hotel, but just to let you know, my room did not have refrigerator, slippers and toiletries. I was able to bear that, but what I did not want was that the room did not have a phone to contact the front desk in case of any concerns. You must go down the Ground Floor and personally talk to the front desk officer if you need any assistance.
By the way, it also does not have a restaurant, but they allow food deliveries as there are fast-food chains nearby. They have a water dispenser at the Ground Floor where you can get free water. You need to buy bottled water first from the front desk because you won't have anything to use if you want more water from their dispenser. They do not have glass in the room.
I transferred to a much better hotel the next day, the Wyndham Hotel located along Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City. I opted for this because it is very near the University of (UP) Diliman Campus, the venue for my event. It is also center to all central government offices and businesses.
While Red Planet originated in Japan and has budgeted amenities, Wyndham is from America. As it claims to be the largest hotel franchisor in the world, I can say that its amenities are also far better even if it’s only a 3-star hotel. Wyndham in the Philippines is more popularly known as Microtel and is known as a business hotel.
This time I booked this hotel via agoda.com and got it for around P 3700.00 more or less. This amount already includes a buffet breakfast. If you book it directly at Wyndham, you will be charged P 4500-7500, depending what type of room you choose and whether or not you want breakfast to be included.
It has a very good ambience right when you get in the lobby.
It has a small cozy airconditioned restaurant at the Ground Floor which is very welcoming. I had to stay there for lunch while waiting for the check-in time which was 2pm. I ordered Salmon Salpicao… yum!
The staff was very accommodating, their service was fast, and food was reasonably priced. You will see the restaurant modestly designed. Their tables are ready for fine dining. It has some tables outside if you want to eat with a garden view. Out there, you will see how the rooms look outside. Probably, the tables outside are for guests who would usually smoke after meals. 😊
Honestly, aside from the proximity to my event venue, what I really liked about this hotel is its safety measure for its guests. Each floor has a main door which only guests can open. So, when you get out of the elevator, you have to enter a main door first before you can get in your room. So, 2 locked doors prior to your entry to the room.
The room is huge with 2 matrimonial beds, complete with ref, cabinets with hangers and safety box deposit. The bathroom is also big complete with towels and free toiletries. This is their basic room.
The view from my room gave me idea if there were still enough parking spaces. You will also notice that I can see the highway. I can easily monitor the traffic situation and decide whether to go to places or wait when traffic has subsided.
I had a good rest for my first night. I knew my schedule the next day was early so I went down around 6am for breakfast. The restaurant has 3 sections of food. One for the salad, fruits and oatmeal section; another for the main dish section and another for the bread station with viands too.
It is easy to get cabs for transportation. You do not have to go out of the main highway and stand under the heat of sun to wait for cabs passing along. You can either book a grab or wait for cabs that drop-off passengers in the hotel. The hotel is situated in one of the properties of the University of the Philippines known as UP Techno Hub rented by Ayala Corporation. So, it is like a compound with Microtel, banks, restaurants and call centers within. There is Starbucks, Coffee Bean, and other really good restaurants which Wyndham Microtel guest can reach by just walking. Good exercise, hehe!
My 2-night stay in Wyndham was really worth it. I would give it a 5-star!!!! Wish I had the luxury of time to stay longer.
Finally, I had to go back to Davao. I left the hotel at 330am since my flight was booked at 625am. Lo and behold, I was told that my flight was rescheduled at 930am! I complained that I did not receive any email or call, and the ground attendant said the email was just sent. I arrived NAIA Terminal 2 at around 430am only to find out the email was sent at 427am! I could have rested longer in my hotel!
So, I ended up waiting till the plane was ready for our flight. As we landed Davao International Airport, as usual we were welcomed by Billboards saying, “Davao, Life is Here” and showing the photos of faces of the Mindanao natives, wildflowers like Waling-waling, Philippine Eagle, Durian and the Mindanao textile.
One day, I wish you guys can come and see Davao too!