Our stay at Pico Sands Hotel

Our last hurrah for the summer was a trip to Pico de Loro to celebrate hubby's birthday. We've been here several times in the past, but this was our first time to stay in Pico Sands Hotel.

Our stay at Cala Laiya

I was looking for beach recommendations somewhere in Batangas and found Cala Laiya through one of my mommy groups in Facebook. I wanted to try it since it was new and luckily they had an available room when I inquired.

After I posted some pics in my IG, a lot of people messaged me asking about the place, so I made sure to blog about it soon ;p

Our stay at Hong Kong Disney Explorers Lodge

For our son Sabre's 7th birthday, we decided to just go to Hong Kong for a family vacation. Personally, I think I've become more practical through the years since his Ate Miley also didn't have a big party when she turned 7. We just celebrated in McDonald's because she wanted to have her own room as her main gift. I guess going on a trip was also a good idea since Sabre's birthday is during the summer. So it was the perfect time to travel since they wouldn't have to miss school or anything.

Anyway, I definitely wanted to book in a Disney hotel even for one night since the kids had so much fun the last time when we stayed in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. This time, I wanted to try the Explorers Lodge since it's the newest hotel which only opened last year (April 30, 2017).

Featuring an “adventure” theme, the resort’s third hotel sits on a breathtaking waterfront location and has 750 rooms, three restaurants, four gardens, and an outdoor swimming pool. The exploration theme expands to the four unique tropical climates of Asia, Oceania, South America and Africa.

A 7th Birthday Pool Party

For my son Sabre's 7th birthday, we just decided to go to Hong Kong for a family vacation instead of having a big party. However, he said he still wanted to celebrate with his friends so we just threw him a small pool party right after we got back from our trip.

Christmas staycation at The Bellevue Manila

Ever since I got married, Christmas Eve has been spent at my in-laws where my MIL always cooks up a storm. We always have mass on December 24 which starts at 8pm, and then we have dinner after. Then, we wait until midnight to open presents!

However, both my in-laws and my mom happened to be in the States for Christmas, so hubby and I were going to be orphans lol! We just decided to book a staycation, which is one of our favorite things to do with the kids, so we could celebrate a little differently.

I think we've tried almost all the hotels in the south already, except The Bellevue Manila and Vivere. And when I looked for holiday promos, I ended up booking with Bellevue since they had a great deal.

Staycation at Azumi Boutique Hotel

Ahhh... so many days without school! Coming from a 2 week sem break, then a class suspension because of a storm (na walang ulan naman on that day!), then another week because of the ASEAN Summit. I've talked to so many parents already and everyone feels the same - we're all going crazy with the kids at home lol! And sayang ang tuition haha! ;p

Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only mom who's getting stressed thinking of activities for the kids to do. And I wasn't planning on going out of town this week because we already went to Cebu for the sem break. So the next best thing? A staycation!

I booked super last minute so almost all the hotels here in the south were fully booked already. Good thing I found an available room in Azumi Hotel here in Alabang (via Agoda).

Long weekend staycations

I haven't been blogging lately since I've just been enjoying time with the fam, especially with all these long weekends. We love going on staycations and I made sure to take advantage of all these rainy day promos the different hotels have been offering.

My Little Mermaid

Since I just posted about my niece's Under the Sea party, I figured I'll share this very rare sighting of a mermaid...

Staycation at Somerset Alabang

Our family loves going on staycations, and our last one here at Somerset Alabang definitely tops our list.

Back in Pico De Loro

Happy New Year everyone! I still have so much stuff to blog about, but it was definitely nice to take a break after all the holiday celebrations. After Christmas, our whole family went to Pico De Loro for a short vacation.

The Children’s Garden in Gardens by the Bay Singapore

I've been to Gardens by the Bay in Sinagpore many times before, but this was the first time we were able to check out the Children's Garden. I think a lot of people don't even know about this place, since usually you just go the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest Conservatories. I myself just found out about the Children's Garden when I was searching for stuff my kids could do in Singapore. And guess what, the best thing about this place is that it's totally FREE!

Pico De Loro Beach & Country Club

During our stay at Pico De Loro, we rented a condo via Airbnb. As mentioned in my previous post, you will have to pay a separate club registration fee so you can have access to all the facilities in the resort. Since we went on a weekend, guest fee rate for adults was P1,200 per person (discounted for senior citizens), P400 for kids 4-12 years old, and free for 3 years old below. This is a one time payment for the entire duration of your stay. I believe if you go on a weekday (Monday to Thursday), guest fees are lower.

Our staycation at Acacia Hotel Alabang

We usually stay in Crimson Hotel when we're in the Alabang area, but this time we finally decided to have a staycation at Acacia Hotel.

LEGOLAND MALAYSIA RESORT (part 3): Theme Park & Water Park

Finally, here's the continuation of my Legoland travel posts which is all about the Theme Park and Water Park. If you want to read about how we got here from Singapore, click HERE. For our stay at the Legoland Hotel, click HERE.

LEGOLAND MALAYSIA RESORT (part 2): Our stay at Legoland Hotel

Since I wanted to maximize our trip to Legoland, we booked a 2 night stay at the Legoland Hotel with access to both the theme park and the water park. Check their website since they usually have different promos. We also went on a weekday (Monday - Wednesday) to avoid the crowds.

Here's the breakdown of our package for 2 adults and 2 kids:
2 nights Standard Room (with breakfast): MYR 2,150 
2-day combo ticket valid to access Theme Park and Water Park: MYR 810
TOTAL: MYR 2,960

Beach memories at Stilts Calatagan

It's almost the end of summer but the heat is still insane! Makes me want to go back to beach again one last time before school starts for the kids. Anyway, reminiscing about our outing last February in Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort. We made so many great memories during our stay there. You can read more about the resort HERE, but in the meantime, hope you enjoy these family photos. :)

Birthday staycation at Crimson Hotel

My son Sabre turned 5 a few weeks ago, and all he wanted for his birthday was a staycation at Crimson Hotel. I actually wanted to try another hotel since we've already stayed in Crimson twice in the past (you can read about it HERE and HERE). But my in-laws went ahead and booked a stay for all of us as their gift to Sabre! Yey! :)

Sofitel Staycation

My mother-in-law had her high school homecoming last February 20 at Sofitel, so she decided to book a stay there for the family so the kids can enjoy as well.

Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort

Hubby's family always takes a mini-vacation when his tita from the States comes home to visit. So last month, we went to Stilts Calatagan for a 2 night stay (from February 1-3). I did some research prior to our trip and I got excited seeing the photos of the cottages above the water, plus good reviews on TripAdvisor.

Staycation at Solaire

I was invited to a blogger lunch at Kiwa Korean Grill last January 14, which can be found in Solaire Resort & Casino. Since the kids had no classes on that day because of a school activity, hubby and I decided to just make a family day out of it and book a stay at the hotel.