F1 Hotel Manila

F1 Hotel is the first hotel to open in Bonifacio Global City which puts them in a prime position.  I initially thought that it's part of the Best Western chain of hotels but I didn't see any branding when we stayed there.

Check-In:

Check in was smooth but take note that the hotel lobby is at the fifth floor.  The ground floor lobby serves as a reception area for the residential side of the hotel.  The lobby looked very modern and neat.

Everything actually looks modern and appealing, the only thing that I didn't like is the elevator buttons as they confused me.

Room:

We booked a City Suite room and liked it.  It is not designed like your usual one bedroom suite where the living room is separate but it worked.

There's a workspace, an ironing board, a safe, an iPhone alarm clock dock, and two TVs.  The two TVs weirded me out a bit as you won't be able to use both TVs without distracting yourself. 

Toilet: 

The toilet is simple and clean.  Water pressure is not as strong though and their heater is a bit wonky.  It takes a bit of time to get the temp that you want and even then, it doesn't stay that way.  The provided toiletry is also too simple.

Breakfast: 

The restaurant where they serve breakfast is a bit small.  Good thing the hotel was not fully booked so there was no fuss but my friend had to wait half an hour before being seated when she was there. 

The food is okay, good enough to fill you up.

We have had no problems with the hotel staff except during breakfast.  We requested to be seated at a small square table like the one below but we were denied given an excuse that it's for four people.  I reckon they have tables half the size of that with only two chairs.  We were then seated at the very back of the restaurant and when we stood up to get our food, we noticed that they sat two foreigners on the very same table that we requested. 

Other Amenities: 

They have an interesting looking lap pool and a couple other pools.  There is also a gym, quite small, but should serve you fine if you're just looking to exercise a little.  There is also a steam room and a jacuzzi which were still under maintenance.  Do note also that not all elevators serve the floor to which the gym is located.  I had to wait for one particular elevator just to get to it as I wasn't sure if it was fine to use the stairs.

Location:

Located at 32nd street, it is right in front of S & R and one of the more nicely designed Starbucks store, there are a few restaurants for your late night cravings and High Street is just a few strides away.  I find it a little odd though that the hotel entrance is not along the main road but is at the back in front of the parking lot.  

Transportation:

Transportation is not that easy as it is not really as accessible.  Cabs pass by the main road instead of the entrance which would pose a problem if you are heading to the airport with all your luggages as you have to walk around the hotel.

Overall, I would stay back at the hotel.  I love a leisurely stroll at night and the area is perfect for that.  The hotel and the rooms still smell new and the staff are generally very friendly.

F1 Hotel Manila

32nd Street

Bonifacio Global City

Taguig, Metro Manila

www.f1hotelmanila.com

Holiday Inn Express, Hong Kong

I asked my cousin, Ralph, for recommendations on where to stay in Hong Kong and one that agreed with our budget is the Holiday Inn Express in Causeway Bay. 

Getting to the hotel from the airport by cab is quite easy as the taxi driver was familiar with the hotel. If you are taking the MTR, get off at Causeway Bay station, take the Times Square exit, and it's a few steps away. Its proximity to the station is another factor why we chose the hotel. 

The lobby is at the 2nd floor of the building, check-in was fast and smooth. 

The room is adequately sized with comfortable beds. As is customary with Holiday Inn hotels, firm and soft pillows are available and labeled properly. 

There is a small couch by the window and a small work table with a small CRT tv. I wasn't able to take a photo but the bedside table has an iPod / iPhone 4/S dock. 

There is a small wardrobe with a safe and a full length mirror on its door. 

The toilet is, likewise, adequately sized. It served its purpose and I'm glad that the shower area is actually separate from the toilet seat. 

I didn't get to explore the hotel much as we were just there to sleep but I did see an ironing room on one of the floors if you need any of your clothes to be without wrinkles. I also can't comment on breakfast as I skipped it. 

I would stay here again if given the chance primarily because of its location. Lane Crawford in Times Square is directly in front of it. Hysan Place is also but a few steps away. I particularly love going to Hysan Place because it looks surreal. I feel as if any moment the people walking past would just stop and burst into a song and dance number. 

There are also a lot of different shops within the area. For your really late night craving, a 24 hour McDonald's and a 7-11 are also nearby. 

Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort

Abby took charge of booking our hotel for Krabi and through her friend, we got the best deal ever. It took about half an hour for us to get to the hotel from the airport.

Lobby and Hotel Grounds:

The open air lobby is very spacious. We were greeted by their staff upon our arrival and we were led to their check-in area.









This is the view that you get from the lobby. The beach peeking after a long stretch of greenery is just exciting.



They initially prepared a honeymoon room for us so we requested to separate beds but unfortunately, the room still needs to be prepared and we were told that it would be ready after an hour and a half. This gave us time to explore the grounds.











Wifi:

Wifi is free only at The Link (pictured below), the lobby and the bar beside it. It's quite interesting because the restaurant below the lobby has their own wifi but it's not free. The bar, on the other hand, doesn't serve any food. What we did, in order to avail of the free wifi, is to have the restaurant serve our food at the bar upstairs.



Room:

Our room is adequately sized with an oddly positioned minibar. Bathrobes, a safe and ironing board are all available. As for your charging needs, I noticed that there are only three sockets that you can use, one behind the tv, one in the bathroom and one in the minibar, just not enough.





The bed was comfortable and their own signature sheets were divine. Really. It had a satin feel to it but it wasn't too cold on the skin. We were glad that our stay didn't come with breakfast so we had an excuse to stay in bed a little later than normal.



There is a small balcony with a view more greens.





The bathroom is simple but the bathtub and shower need a little upgrading.





Beach:

The beach had powdery sand. We had more fun there than the beach in Ao Nang and Rai Lay. It also offered a spectacular sunset view.









Another cool thing is this shower tree. I didn't even notice the shower the first time I looked at it. My curiosity got piqued when I noticed a switch before realizing that there's a makeshift shower there.





Pool:

They have an activity pool and the main pool, both with amazing views. There are plenty of lounge chairs for you to relax. Their main pool also has a water curtain which we really liked.











Their pool bar is actually open where you can have light snacks and cocktails.





Gym:

We lucked out on the gym as it is directly in front of our room. As a side note, Abby and Eco had a good view of our room while they were on the treadmill and they saw three guests try to get in which scared me when they told me about it. I don't know whether they mistook our room for theirs. Anyway, the gym is well-equipped but there's no shower area. Cold bottled water and gym towels are provided for free.







Location / Shuttle Service:

There's nowhere to go and nothing to do within the vicinity of the hotel. There's a 7-11 beside it and a small massage parlor right in front. There's a hotel provided shuttle that goes to Ao Nang or Krabi Town but it's not free. A 2-way trip is 200 THB (8 SGD, 268 PHP) per person. I personally think this service should be free for their guests. Go check the schedule because it doesn't leave every hour. Tip: Leave at 11am because the next trip isn't until 2pm which would force you to eat at one of their expensive restaurants for lunch.

Service:

Service was hit and miss. I left my passport and all my money at The Link and I didn't even know about it until I received a call from their staff at 2am in the morning when someone found it. It was returned to me with everything intact. This left a generally good impression on the kind of people that they employ.

I personally would have preferred some of their staff to be a bit more friendly, in particular, their waitstaff. We were assisted during our first lunch there by a very stern looking lady. Our food took forever to be prepared and we were only offered their bread basket after we followed-up on our orders after almost a 45-minute wait. The waitstaff by the pool were the same save for one who were preparing our drinks. We even joked that they might've put something on the mayonnaise cause the guy didn't seem happy when we pointed out that the fries we ordered were supposed to come with it.

Similarly, we were given our welcome drinks only after we asked. We were asked to wait for an hour and a half before our rooms were ready so we walked their grounds and we came back parched.