Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila

Sofitel was a bit busy on the day that we were checking in so while they were preparing our room, we were made to wait at the gorgeous Le Bar with welcome drinks right by the lobby.  I'd like to spend the whole day there just to read.

The hallway to the rooms looks as if it's a resort far away from Manila.

The room looks modern with a Filipino touch.  It doesn't feel dated and smells nice; there's no musty smell. We immediately fell in love with it, never mind if the TV is a little small and at that time it still has the much fussed about channel, UNTV but really, we didn't notice.

I am on the fence with the wardrobe, I'm not sure if I like it or not.

The bathroom is clean and the amenities, basic.

We extended our stay and we booked the club room.  The hallway looks modern, kind of what you'd normally see at any hotel.  I prefer the more rustic one.

If we were happy with the standard room, we were over the moon with the club room.  It has a contemporary design, modern furnishings, a bigger tv and a larger bathroom with a tub.

Lanvin smells really great!

Even the bathrobes are different, compare the two below.

They even have a pillow menu but when I called about it, the one who picked up seemed even more confused than me.

What's even more great about their rooms is that you have your own private balcony so you can enjoy the Manila bay breeze, if you request for a pool view.

The club room also comes with lounge access with all day refreshments and snacks.  I've had more than my fill of their famous, chocolate chip cookies and all things sweet.

With all that eating, I have to hit the gym. 

They also have a steam room and a jacuzzi.

It was a great staycation and we're looking forward to the next one.

Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila

CCP Complex Roxas Blvd

Pasay City

Spiral Breakfast, Sofite Manila

Spiral's breakfast buffet is a delight.  Similar to their lunch and dinner buffets, they have a good spread but everything is well placed so you don't feel overwhelmed.  We asked to be seated at the bar area, natural light flooded the entire space, it just seems to be the perfect place to enjoy our first meal of the day. 

One thing I loved about the buffet is that they have free drinks available.  If you want fresh orange juice, they have the orange juicer that you see in supermarkets nowadays. 

Special healthy drinks are available and they go around giving every table the special drinks served in test tubes. 

Champagne is also available.

I also liked the fact that they have three egg stations.  In every breakfast buffet, the egg station always has the longest queue so it was good thinking on their part to have more than one station and to spread it out. 

The Japanese station looks beautiful, you can really see the effort the restaurant makes in making sure that you have an extra wonderful experience. 

There are lots of choices for the healthy eater, several kinds of yogurts and cereals take the area where the desserts are supposed to be. 

As for me, I wanted a Filipino fare that day so I went straight to the Filipino station and had the sinangag, tocino, tapa and bangus (not in photo). 

I also didn't miss the taho that is served traditional style. 

Fresh fruits were served nicely (a whole bunch of mangosteens were available the next day). 

For your sweet tooth craving, there's a waffle station, ice cream / sherbet station with my favorite ice cream toppings, almond slivers, pistachios and walnuts.

I also found out that the bicycle near the entrance serves its purpose every morning. 

Service is top notch.  I stood up to get myself some mangosteens, in anticipation of the mess that I will be making, I went back to our table to see several packs of wipes neatly arranged.

Spiral, Sofitel Manila

We went to Spiral last Saturday and I realized that I still haven't posted my first ever Spiral experience.

The buffet is said to be one of the country's best and the most extensive.  Reviews online have also been very positive.  I went there with two of my closest friends on a whim one Saturday night without any reservation so we had to wait more than half an hour to get seated. 

We were greeted by several chocolate bars on sale which effectively excited my sweet tooth.

I don't really know my cheese so I made a quick pass and gathered the familiar ones to start my meal. 

The chinese dimsum station made me happy when I saw the egg tarts and the buchi. 

They were also able to make the salad station look very appetizing.

Cold and grilled seafood are available.  

The Italian station with their very expensive looking pizza ovens is very impressive. 

There were several more stations which I liked but I didn't take any more photos.  I was already too preoccupied.

The dessert station did not disappoint.  I think I spent most of my time going back and forth that area, too bad I didn't take a photo of the creamery and the pastries. 

The crepe was made with so much love, I honestly didn't expect it to look this gorgeous.

While I mostly enjoyed the buffet, there were also a few misses.  The xiao long bao is such in a sorry state.  It looks the same when we went there yesterday. 

The teppanyaki grilled meats and seafood were bland and too oily.

I also didn't like the fact that there were no fresh juice available given their price points.  

Spiral 

Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila

CCP Complex

Roxas Blvd, Pasay City

551-5555