It has been a while since I was in the Ermita-Malate area in Manila. Last I remember, I was in a bar ordering Mule and Subzero (drinks that were soooo popular back when I was...nevermind).

Anyway, thanks to a complimentary overnight stay at Lotus Garden Hotel Manila, I was able to go back to one of the destination spots in Manila. And the experience was a pleasant surprise. Enhanced, perhaps, by a delightful stay at the Lotus Garden.

The Marilo Wing

Check-in was easy and fairly quick. A few necessities, such as signing a form, showing an ID, and waiting for your keycard, were in order. You'll also get your access to the hotel-wide Wi-Fi Internet here. As we--Me and Dompy--were completing all these things, the receptionist told us we've been upgraded from a Deluxe to the Grand Deluxe Room at no extra cost. Wow! Even the foreign family who checked in at the same time as us were upgraded. Talk about service.

Our room was at the new wing, Marilo Wing, which was an old establishment called the Marilou Apartment that was used by the Americans in the 1950s, according to sources online. Sadly, when we asked the staff about the building, no one knew about it.

The new wing felt old and looked "newly" old. It still had that Manila-of-yore vibe with its wooden floors and staircases, narrow hallways filled with black-and-white pictures of old Manila, and accessories that looked liked it time warped into 2014.



Anyway, our room was on the 3rd floor and was large and very nicely decorated. I love the wooden floors even though it creaks. The mini-bar was well-stocked and they had slippers and umbrellas in the closet, but these were priced to buy, so you'd need to have your own slippers. The floors are clean, though, so you can go barefoot. The bathroom was really nice, too. Very clean. The bed is firm and the pillows looked new and clean, as well. Everything is CLEAN!

Our room for the night, Grand Deluxe

The staff were friendly and greeted us whenever they saw us. The complimentary buffet breakfast was filling and there was enough variety to choose from. You can even have made-to-order eggs and pancakes. We were served coffee and asked if we wanted a refill when we finished our first cup.


After breakfast, Dompy and I explored the first floor of the Marilo Wing and discovered that this is where the spa and jacuzzi were. No one was there that morning we went investigating, so we took a lot of photos. A shame though, as my photography skills left little to be desired.


I also like the location of the hotel. It was near where I wanted to go. Turn a corner and you'll find a Jollibee, Chowking, 7-11, a Korean Mart, and a bar.

You can walk everywhere. From the LRT U.N. Avenue Station to the hotel and from the hotel to Remedios Circle. It was very accessible and there were jeeps going to as far as Monumento and Munoz passing by the hotel! I was actually amazed by that and thought about how long the travel time will be.

Bottomline, I would recommend the hotel to friends and family who will be visiting the area. The rooms were large and very clean and the rates are really affordable.

If you'd like to know more about the hotel you can visit their website, http://www.citygardenhotels.com/lotus/index.php.

 

Lately, I've been finding myself giving up on a book halfway through. One of the main reasons is that I keep thinking I will be able to guess what will happen next--and I do most of the time. And that kind of wanes my enthusiasm a bit. Ok, by a lot.

Then I realized that maybe I need to change genres. I've been reading contemporary romance novels for the last 2 months and I think I'm getting a little critical of the way the characters act. Talk about taking things too seriously. Hello.

Let's see...according to my Goodreads track, here's what I have been reading lately:

• Can't Stand The Heat (Recipe for Love #1) by Louisa Edwards
• Love Unscripted (Love, #1) by Tina Reber
• The Alien King and I by Lizzie Lynn Lee
• Scot on the Rocks by Brenda Janowitz
• Sex Snob by Elizabeth Hayley
• His Brother's Bride (Banks Brothers Bride, #4) by Rose Gordon
• Her Best Friend's Brother by T.J. Dell
• Propositioning Her Brother’s Best Friend by Sam Crescent

Now, I'm reading another romance novel, Falling For the Ghost of You by Nicole Christie. Where my mystery, adventure, Indiana-Jones-type novels? I need to get some James Rollins into my system again. Or Maybe an Andy McDermott. Or a Matthew Reilly. Anything, just not another love story.

Working as a copywriter and editor for a service company who provides online support for accommodation providers (hotels, resorts, B&Bs, condotels, etc.) all over the world has me on the constant lookout for travel-related information and industry news.

In this infographic, we see an easily digestible history of the hotel services--considered innovations way back when they were first offered--that we now come to expect as standard. However, as one commenter from the original source site noted, there hasn't been a standard service since 1974 when the first mini-bar was introduced in a Hong Kong hotel.

Source: CNN

I haven't experienced the tablet control thing here in Manila, but I've read InterContinental and Sheraton Hotels are already offering some form of tablet service. Meanwhile, I'm not sure I'd go for tweeting my hotel reservations, as there's not much room to write whatever you need/ want the hotel to know. I would guess this would take a lot of back-and-forth conversations via Twitter.

This infographic forgot one more thing, though, even before the tablet control--which I can safely classify as a non-standard still--iPod docks in rooms. Well, maybe they didn't want to promote any brand names that's why they left it out. But I do believe this is an "innovation" service, so to speak.

I'm finding it really hard to keep up with all the anime and TV shows I'm watching. Not only that, I also challenged myself to read 60 books this year, which I'm tracking via Goodreads. So, finally finding the time to catch up on Naruto Shippuden episodes is really great. This also means that when I'll be able to get to the next item on my catch-up list, One Piece...or maybe Bleach...or Fairy Tail...or Suits...or Game of Thrones...geez.

Anyway, I was glued to my computer the whole of Sunday watching Naruto, taking a break only to eat lunch and go to the bathroom. And I was able to trim down my backlog to less than a hundred episodes...around 80? Of course, I'm skipping ALL the filler episodes. They're mostly flashbacks anyway, and doesn't really affect the main storyline.



I'm at the start of the Fourth Great Shinobi War where Kabuto used the Reanimation Jutsu. And I was like, holy crap! All those dead ninjas like Zabuza, Deidara (annoying clay bomb ninja), and even Asuma were back! Basically, everyone we know from the past who dies were reanimated, along with whatever consciousness and skill they have. Well, except those who used the Reaper Death Seal Jutsu and those whom the jutsu were used upon, such as the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokages. Good thing, because I doubt anyone would win against the hokages. What about Naruto's mom? Hmm, maybe no?

Personally, I'm hating this reanimation thing because I'm emotionally attached to some of the dead characters. And having them pitted against their comrades is something I'm not keen on watching. But I know I have to. I'm sure there will be a good ending to that meeting.

Anyway, I'm happy that I've finally found the time to watch the anime again. Excited about this new arc, as well. I also liked the Pain arc...a lot. I'm hoping that more of Naruto's "classmates" get to shine in this chapter, and see how they've developed their skills as Naruto had.

Can't wait to start watching the next episodes again...

There's a new food store in town. Grocer John along Mindanao Avenue (near Tandang Sora Avenue) in Quezon City officially opened last week and I went there just a couple of days after. Here's what I found inside the store: familiar imported products, but most are variants you won't find in our regular grocery stores. This includes Coca Cola products in can bottles--yes, soda tin cans shaped into bottles--and Chips Ahoy Sweet n' Salty with salted caramel chunks.




And then there's this...Annie's Bunny cookies. My son's favorite cookie. But it's not the gluten-free one, so I didn't buy it. I asked them, though, if they will have stocks of the gluten-free ones, and the saleslady told me she would request these, so they could stock it.