I was having second thoughts of booking in The Manor CJH because of its location. I have mentioned in my old post that I would think a million times first before I book a room there because few years ago, when we went there a week after Christmas, we had difficulty in finding a cab and it was a terrible experience for us. My colleagues had to walk from CJH to Victory Liner. From then on, everytime we go to Baguio, especially during press trips, The Manor isn’t in my list.
So, how come we had our family vacation there? Here it goes– One day, I was just playing around and looking at Baguio hotels. After few minutes, I got a confirmation email already from the hotel. Realizing that the transaction got through and couldn’t be cancelled anymore, the next thing I knew was I already arranged the transportation for us– in other words, that was an instant Baguio trip! Besides, how would I know if I wouldn’t try it myself.
Prior to our arrival, I made sure everything was in order as I hate hassle during the trip. I emailed them to make sure about the additional charges if they have. They answer every email message that I sent and for me, that’s a plus factor and they sent me a text message to confirm what time will we arrive. That was GOOD customer service on their part.
When we arrived, we were kinda hungry but the prices of the goodies in their mini bar were too pricey so we didn’t get any. As usual, there were free sachets of coffee and tea, but were very limited. As a coffee addict, of course, it won’t work for me. Actually that’s the reason why I book for club rooms–because they have 24 hour free access to drinks.
Let’s have a tour in our one bedroom suite:
This is our spacious living room
The dining area
This is our bedroom with two beds where hubby and I as well as the three kids slept.
Leading to our own comfort room is a vanity area which became very useful to me during my make up and retouch sessions. They also have a closet where we put all our clothes and footwear so they aren’t scattered in some areas of the room.
They have a decent bathroom (though it’s quite old already). Unlike the other five star hotels I’ve been to, I wasn’t astounded with their bathroom. In Shangri-la and Marco Polo, you can literally stay for hours in the bathroom without complaining as everything you see is first class and of excellent quality and taste.
I didn’t attempt to get stuff from the mini bar as everything is EXPENSIVE.
Even the freebies are basic though.
But we loved the view in the terrace. If you are having an overnight stay, it is advisable for you to just enjoy the view and rest in the room. That exactly was what we did– we just spent the whole day at CJH.
It was raining hard that afternoon that I was tempted to sleep early, but I remembered that I booked for massage for the three of us in Belfrei Spa at Ayala Technohub. I called the front desk and asked to deliver a paracetamol because I was not feeling well. After we dropped Papa in the spa, we went to get ourselves takeout dinner in my favorite pizza house in Baguio, Pizza Volante.
We went back to the room to place the food in the dining area while Papa was having his massage. It’s a good hing that we were able to catch the rainbow at the veranda. It was such a beautiful sight! Rainbows remind me of new beginning and hope.
Few minutes later, the extra bed was brought to the living room and they also brought additional toiletries and towel.
After having dinner, we went back to Belfrei Spa. We had no choice but to wait for a cab going to Technohub.
When finally we were already in Belfrei Spa, I was soooo excited for the treatment. I had the facial, body scrub and massage minus the foot spa because I just had it few days before we had our instant trip.
Ms. Joe took care of us and it was indeed a pleasant experience. After the loooong trip, we were rejuvenated and ready again to explore the City of Pines.
It was all worth it! When in Baguio, there’s only one spa for me- thank you Belfrei for the best spa treatment everytime we were in Baguio. After the relaxing massage, I almost forgot that we had to leave (hi hi!). If only we could sleep there, we would. We were given hot tea before we leave. Don’t miss Belfrei, dear readers. They got the most affordable rates and you will be satisfied with their outstanding service.
After the pampering, all we wanted is to have a good night sleep. Too bad, we had to wait again for a cab because they don’t have service in the Manor 🙁
When we woke up, we cleaned for few minutes, tried to sort the clean clothes and dirty ones. Then, of course, our visit won’t be complete if we won’t be able to check the gym/health club. I was expecting a bigger gym but I was kinda disappointed, especially when I discovered that I won’t be able to use their jacuzzi. That’s my fave part when I go to the hotel and too sad for me because we had to leave when they were about to let the guests use the jacuzzi.
I think we were the first guests to enter the health club. It was a smooth registration and we were given the locker keys in a while.
Actually there is no need to have a locker because the place is too small.
The restroom is also small but clean.
So after the very short tour to their health club and after working out for few minutes, we went back to the room to take a shower and get ready for breakfast.
At that time, I didn’t enjoy probably because I didn’t sweat at all. I knew then that I was having a problem with my health. I was also upset because we were not able to use the sauna and jacuzzi.
It was about less than 30 minutes when all of us got prepared for the breakfast and morning walk. In my next post, I will be presenting our buffet breakfast at Le Chef and our tour in the Manor grounds. Til next post–Ta-ta!
