Staycation at Acacia Hotel Manila

For Ate Cesca’s 7th birthday, we skipped the idea of a traditional party since it’ll involved 2 things that are major concerns for us at the moment: Budget and Time. We still wanted to do something special, so we’ve decided that aside from throwing a simple celebration for her at school, we’ll also have a family staycation at Acacia Hotel Manila!

Acacia Hotel Manila is a five-star Filipino luxury hotel located at the heart of Alabang’s business and commercial district which is at most 30 minutes away from our home in Taguig.

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When I was searching for hotels online, one of the main point I considered was the location because we’ll be leaving baby Raven with my mom — the hotel needs to be near enough that we can go home immediately in case we needed to.

I booked directly through their website and since excited akong bata, I was able to avail of a 10%  early bird discount! We got a Deluxe Twin room which includes buffet breakfast for 2, free VERY STRONG 24-hour Wifi access, use of swimming pool and gym plus shuttle services within the Alabang area.

The hotel’s lobby is modern and grand yet non-intimidating. Natural light coming from it’s glass exterior gives it a warm and open aura.

We arrived an hour early for the 3PM check-in but since the room was already available, we were able to go up na. Checking in was a breeze and the receptionist was very friendly.

I printed beforehand a copy of our confirmation email, so I was just asked for a valid photo ID and Php 3,000 incidental fee which was refunded upon checkout, less the room charges we incurred. We were given 2 electronic proximity cards, the wifi’s password and the buffet breakfast’s schedules.

We were given a room on the 9th floor and it did not disappoint.

It was spacious with plenty of space of the 2 girls to run around in.  The fluffy white beds and pillows were the softest. It was too soft and too comfy that I momentarily forgot that I needed to take photos! Sorry!

I have no plans of getting up Mom!

I tried to take a clear shot of the whole room but then this happened. To say that she got very excited was an understatement!

When I called to confirm our reservation, I mentioned that we will be celebrating my daughter’s birthday. The birthday girl was kilig when she saw the welcome banner and balloons. Nice touch Acacia!

The room has complete amenities for the perfect staycation — cable-equipped 40” LCD, full-size executive desk with universal socket and phone system. They also provided complimentary tea, coffee and bottled water.

Our bookworm found her spot 🙂

Complimentary bottled water that were replenished daily plus tea and coffee making facilities.

Workstation big enough to accommodate your laptop and gadgets.

The dresser by the door contains a digital safety deposit box that can be activated by your electronic proximity cards, iron and ironing board plus bath robes and slippers. The safe was big enough that you can fit your laptop.

There were 2 things I noticed though. There was no welcome fruit platter plus the fridge was empty, not that we’ll get anything from it, but still right? Maybe they forgot? 

Think they missed this one?

Moving along, another plus factor that I considered when looking for a hotel — needs to have a bathtub! I have 2 very kikay girls who just love taking bubble bath 🙂

The bathroom was pristine clean and spotless. There’s the separate tub and glass-enclosed shower with rain shower head with hot and cold options. Basic toiletries were provided as well. Plus they have hair dryer!

I later had my mommy me time here 🙂

It took sometime for us to get off the beds since they seriously are the comfiest. After some struggle (haha), we had a late lunch/early dinner at North Park (in South Supermarket).

The hotel offer shuttle service within the Alabang vicinity but since we have restless kids with us, we figured that the walk will do them good. We also had a quick look at the Samanea garden, pool and gym area.

Samanea Garden at night

When we returned to the room, it’s cleaned and refreshed, and the bed linens turned down. And as we were getting ready to spend the rest of the night cuddled up while watching TV, hotel staff knocked on our door with another surprise for our birthday girl.

Small sweet gestures like this birthday cake for Ate made our stay in Acacia Hotel memorable.

Claimed the beds. Hon, guess we’re sleeping on the floor 😀

Since I had to express milk, I woke up the earliest and was able to snap a photo of my mag-ama in slumber. Pretty obvious that the beds were very well slept in, right?

Early morning view of Alabang

Our stay also includes complimentary buffet breakfast for 2 at Acaci. I made sure we woke up early for this! This was one of my ‘selling’ points when I discussed our staycation plan with hubby. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to a spread of good food?

And once more Acacia Hotel did not disappoint. I’ve tried other hotel buffets and I can say that their spread is impressive with a balanced mix of Continental and Filipino breakfast favorites.

My plate. I was just warming up haha!

YASSSS

The food was so delicious and the experience was so good that it deserves a separate post!

My only gripe was that it’s only free for kids ages 0-5. My eldest is a picky eater and is very loyal to her dad’s cooking that why I felt it’s too much to pay half the buffet’s price just so she can eat. I do hope hotels can reconsider this policy. Make it free for ages 0 up to 10 perhaps?

She only had this bowl of cereal, some eggs and a piece of bread. Sayang 😦

Nevertheless, the buffet was a hit to hubby and myself! We are such hearty eaters that I felt we got our money’s worth sa food palang haha.

After breakfast, we then went up and got changed so that the kids can swim.

Acacia Hotel has 2 swimming pools, the lap pool and the smaller one for kids. They also have a Jacuzzi but we weren’t able to try it. A group stayed there the whole morning haha.

Children’s pool

TIP: The pool got crowded pretty fast though since it’s a Sunday so it’s better to take a dip earlier.

MY TAKEAWAY: TRULY FILIPINO SERVICE LIKE NO OTHER

Since we are a family with a grade schooler, a toodler and an infant, it’s really a challenge for us to plan a trip anywhere out of the metro. This is why a staycation is perfect for us. We get to ‘escape’ from the hustle and bustle of our everyday routine without worrying much about ‘logistics’. And being staycation virgins, we’ve made the right decision to stay at the Acacia Hotel.

Apart from the five star hotel amenities (I cannot stress it enough — the comfiest beds and good food!), we really felt taken care of like we were just at home. From the moment we arrived, there was nothing but friendly and accommodating smiles. The staff we attentive and always ready to help, truly an affirmation of their unparalleled Filipino hospitality.

Will we be coming back?

Definitely! As I’ve said, I think our staycation in Acacia Hotel Manila ruined future staycations for us since we now have very high expectations. Aside from some minor area’s for improvement, we truly enjoyed our stay. And since the kids are still raving about it we actually booked another night’s stay this time with the rest of the family!

NOTE: This is not a sponsored post. Our family just loved our stay!

Acacia Hotel Manila

5400 East Asia Drive corner Commerce Avenue

Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Telephone: 63(02)720-200/ 63(02)588-5888

Email: enquiry@acaciahotelsmanila.com

Website: www.acaciahotelsmanila.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AcaciaHotels

Instagram: @AcaciaHotels