Discovering the Discovery Suites

We celebrated Father's Day, which was one week late, by staying overnight at the Discovery Suites in the Ortigas Center, which is just a few blocks away from the SM Megamall and just across the Podium. You get to park for free at the basement level 3 and 4. The driveway was too narrow that we had observed a lot of scratches on the wall at the turns, probably from cars who miscalculated their driving going down. After finding a suitable parking slot, we took the elevator going to the ground level where the Reception area is. When we got there, lots of people were waiting in line to check in. After getting our electronic key and the breakfast stub, we took another elevator going up to our room on the 16th floor.

checking in

16th floor, our floor

view of the atrium above and below

We got a one-bedroom suite and it was quite roomy. The only problem is the view. You stare blankly into the wall of the next building. I failed to realize that the hotel was between two buildings and was not able to request a room with a view. Well, we were not planning to look at the window during our stay. We immediately unpacked our bag and checked out our room.

view of the room upon entry

 The dining table can be found upon entry to the room and besides an almost fully equipped kitchen (there was only one pot), with a four burner electric stove, a refrigerator, a microwave oven and a toaster oven. Upon checking the cupboard, we found out that there still more plates and cutleries than was what set up on the table.

dining table for 3. there is an extra seat used at the study desk

angel ready to cook?

 The living room, which was beside the viewless window, was quite spacious with an old television and a CD-radio to either watch or listen to music. The sofa was wide enough for a person to sleep on, which was what happened one time while I was watching TV.

watching television in the living room

panormic view

The bedroom was a little bit small but has its own LCD television. The bed was also small compared to the rooms we had in other hotels. Another one I forgot to request should have been a twin-bed to accommodate the three of us. 

 The toilet and bathroom is found inside the bedroom and has a separate bath tub and shower and comes complete with toiletries like bath gel, shampoo, lotion, soap, showercaps and toothbrush and paste.

After settling in, we decided to check out the pool and go to St. Francis Square to buy some drinks and dinner. The pool and the jacuzzi, which is located at the 5th Floor. The pool is a bit small also and would easily fill up with the number of guests they have.

After returning from the grocery, we had our dinner and watched TV and surfed the internet afterwards. The wifi in the room is not free. You have to buy a prepaid access card for a two or 24 hour period. It's a good thing we brought our Sun Broadband Wireless  modem and after loading 50 pesos got a 24 hour unlimited access to the internet.

unpacking the laptop and getting ready to surf

 We went to bed at around 10 PM and watched television till we finally dozed off. We got out of bed at just before eight AM to have a dip in the pool before we have breakfast. Angel and I went ahead as Vangie has no plans of swimming. The water was cold and the jacuzzi still had not water when we got there.

After about an hour we got out of the pool to have a shower before having our breakfast. The restaurant was just beside the pool and when we got there at around 9AM, there were lots of people having their breakfast that we had to wait before getting a table. The buffet breakfast was disappointing. There were a few selections on the buffet table. It took time to refill some of the items. The orange juice always run out that my wife and daughter had to check again and again to see if it had been refilled. There seems to be a lack of wait staff to attend to the dining guests. To be fair, we had breakfast at peak period. The restaurant seemed more relaxed when we passed the place when we went to the pool at around 8 AM.

Our stay was coming to an end. We returned back to the room to pack our things and get ready to check out. Alas, the weekend is over and Angel is looking forward again for a repeat. All I can tell her is, "we will see."

a self portrait inside the elevator