Castles in the Air: A Touch of Beijing: My First of Summer 2014

Summer has definitely started and my clock just started ticking. So to get the ball rolling, I started it with a perfect staycation in the bustling metro.

Since everybody knows I'm an online contest junkie, I joined a great deal of online contests and giveaways just before our clerkship ended and lucky to have won a free overnight accommodation and breakfast for two (2) in one of the 12 biggest and luxurious hotels in the metro. The said contest was sponsored by none other than, Philstar.com and Agoda.com.

What's formerly called New World Renaissance Hotel is now refurbished to become the New World Hotel Makati. The hotel is strategically situated within the upscale Ayala area. So if you're the shopaholic type of person, you'll probably enjoy most of your stay since it's quite near a lot of malls like The Landmark, Glorietta and Greenbelt.

The parking area was located at the basement area. Even if there were ongoing wedding celebrations during our stay, we never had a problem finding an accessible parking space at that time. I only hoped the elevator from the basement parking opens up directly to the main hotel lobby so you don't need to go out the hotel first before coming in the hotel entrance.

Upon entry to the main hotel lobby, we were welcomed by really polite attendants. I even heard one speak Mandarin to a Chinese guest at the lobby. Check-in was organized. Within a few minutes, we were on our short elevator ride to our room at 11th floor.

We stayed in a superior room with a queen-sized bed. There's a single couch, an arm chair and a small living room table. The cable LCD TV was mounted nearside the dressser. It would, however, be a little nice if it was not diagonal to the bed. The room was equipped with a small refrigerator, telephone, iron and ironing board and a safe for valuable things you might want to keep when you leave your room premises. It also has a mini-bar with sampler sizes of some liquors and tea and coffee maker. The air-conditioning is perfectly cool. The control for the air conditioning, lamps and sound is set in a single remote found at bedside. Sadly, the radio isn't working where we stayed.

For those who might be asking and because I've read a lot of bad reviews re: their internet provision on foursquare when I checked-in, the wifi service is working perfectly well when we stayed there.

Each bathroom is equipped with a bath tub, shower, hairdryer and of course-- 'selfie' mirrors. There's actually a lot of them inside the room.

What I also liked about the hotel bathroom are the toiletries that smelled really good. There's only been very few hotels I visited where I used their toiletries.

The hotel was pretty much provided with facilities you need for a much needed recreation. The fitness center is located at the 3rd floor and is open 24 hours. It's furnished with weights, aerobics, steam and sauna rooms, private massage rooms, lockers and shower rooms. I've completely forgotten to take good pictures of the steam and sauna rooms, my bad.

The splash pool bar is located at the 4th floor and is open from 7 am to 7 pm on weekends. They have created a poolside bar offering light snacks and thirst quenchers. The pool is atop the fitness center and there's a nice passageway between the two without having to enter the hotel premises.

The hotel also houses the Marahai spa at the 3rd floor which offers massage, facial and body treatments. This is open from 10 am to 1 am daily.

Food will never be a problem for staycationers like me. The hotel has 4 dining rooms to chose from. Jasmine restaurant at the 2nd floor offers a wide array of Cantonese cuisine and dimsums to choose from. The Lounge and the Bar Rouge at the lobby serves cocktails and light snacks. Of course, you wouldn't want to miss the breakfast/lunch/dinner buffet at Cafe 1228 where they served Asian and Continental food everyday.

We had our buffet breakfast at Cafe 1228. I love the modern ambiance of the dining area. We were ushered to our own table by the windows upon entry. They served us with coffee and tea--in a pot! So you can have your own cup repeatedly filled if you want. But you can also serve yourself juice or puree of your choice from their drinks station.