So last year I received a gift from one of my blogging clients – a travel voucher. And since my husband and I had no plans of going out of the country, we have decided to have a simple staycation here in Manila instead.

We booked a 1 night/2 days stay at Hotel H2O via Webjet. It was our first hotel staycation as a family and we want to be near kid-friendly establishments. Manila Ocean Park is just beside Hotel H2O and my bunso has never been to the ocean park before, so it’s definitely the perfect destination for us.

We stayed in the Aqua Room, Hotel H2O’s signature room that features a life-sized aquarium, one of its kind in the country.

The Bed

I instantly fell in love with the bed because it’s big (king-size) and purple, but it’s still not the most interesting piece in that room — the life-size aquarium is.

The Aquarium

The aquarium runs the length of the main wall and it felt like we were under the sea with 35 different species of fishes. My eldest was amazed and spent most of his time admiring the colorful fishes as they swim back and forth.

The Bathroom

The marble toilet & bath is immaculately clean and bathroom essentials were all provided.

Other Amenities

Also inside the Aqua Room is a 37-inch LCD TV, underneath it is a work desk with binders containing info about the hotel, rules, and how-tos. There’s a hidden charging station at the desk for the kids’ safety.

It’s a good thing that I brought my Kikki K + Passion Planner with me. I was able to plan the next week peacefully when they all went to sleep.

There’s complimentary coffee/tea with clean cups and glasses. Beside it is the vanity and storage area, and the closet.

Dinner in Makan Makan

After our Deep Sea Rush activity in Manila Ocean Park, we dined in Makan Makan, a restaurant inside Hotel H2O that serves Asian cuisine. We ordered a set meal from the menu, plus an order of our favorite Laksa.

Night View

After dinner, we went outside the restaurant to the White Moon bar and marveled at the view of Manila Bay at night.

A Note

Z showed me a note that he wrote on the bedside table. It says:

First day at Hotel H2O. It was so much fun. I like the sealion show, the symphony show, and the oceanarium, and the barnyard. Thank you! 🙂 and a good day for us.

Weeks before our staycation, we availed of Metrodeal’s Ocean Deep Sea Rush promo. We’ve been to Manila Ocean Park a couple of times before, except for my bunso, so I picked the package na may attractions na hindi pa namin naexperience. For PhP 499 each, we were able to go/see 5 attractions: Barnyard, Birdhouse, Oceanarium, Sea Lion Show, and Symphony Evening Show.

Bedtime

It’s our first staycation as a family so this one’s really memorable for us. The king-sized bed fits all of us four.

Aquarium lights were turned off by 9 PM and around 11, they were sleeping soundly. I stayed up until 12 AM to read a book and use my planner.

Makan Makan Breakfast Buffet

We had no idea where to eat for breakfast. We’ve read negative reviews of the breakfast buffet in Makan Makan but I told my husband that we should at least try for ourselves (and that I’ll be paying this time, LOL) so pumayag naman siya.

I don’t know about the other reviews online, but the breakfast buffet was good. There’s an egg station (omelette? sunny side-up? boiled?), bread station, fruit station, coffee station, etc.

Swimming pool: Liquid Pool & Lounge

We went straight to the pool shortly after breakfast. I thought they have a pool inside the hotel but there’s none. Outside though, meron — The Liquid Pool & Lounge. We’re familiar with the place ’cause we’ve been there for a lunch buffet a few years ago.

Luckily, the pool area was clear when we got there. Morning is the perfect time to swim kasi wala pa talagang tao. By lunchtime, it will be crowded with people already because the pool is beside the dining area.

The kids enjoyed their morning dip. There are two pools and they’re quite small and not so deep so I got to chill in one of the tables knowing they won’t go somewhere else. We have a video cam but my husband wasn’t able to charge it LOL. If only we have a waterproof camera like this.

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We recommend Hotel H2O for families with little kids because:

• The hotel staff is friendly, helpful, and professional. Everytime na makikita nila kami they will greet us with their smiling faces at sobrang maasikaso sila.
• The Aqua Room is one of its kind in the country. We also like the Aqua Jellies Room.
• It’s just beside Manila Ocean Park and near museums.
• It’s within Metro Manila. We don’t need to go that far to relax and enjoy.
• There are a lot of food choices. There’s a resto inside the hotel and a lot more outside.

What can I say? I think we’ll be adding hotel staycations in our family tradition. 🙂 My eldest asked me why we can’t stay in the hotel for a year and I told him that he should get a job asap to be able to afford it. 🙂 

I’m homeschooling my youngest (who has Autism) so our hotel staycation and visit to Manila Ocean Park was also his field trip for the school year. Kahit hindi niya masabi na naging happy siya sa experience namin doon, I’m sure he’s had a great time. 🙂

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Published: 2019-02-19 18:15:22