Blown Away by Hotel H20’s 2010 Opening Blow Out Rate Promotion

I’ve been anticipating Hotel H20’s opening since it’s the first and only aquarium-themed hotel in the Philippines located at the heart of Manila Ocean Park.

The Discovery

One fateful day, I read from Mig’s site (Everything in a Budget) that Hotel H20 is offering an opening blow out rate promotion of Php2,010++ for an overnight stay (regular rate is Php6,000++) from Dec. 1 to Dec. 29. Realizing it’s a sweet bargain, I immediately called up the hotel, booked a room,  done! Reservations was a breeze. Though when I called, the hotel said Dec. 15 was the only available date left, but we didn’t mind.  It’s also a book and buy promo; so they requested for my credit card info over the phone to avail the Php2,010++ rate.

Just Ranting

Dec. 15 came and we arrived at Ocean Park at 3PM due to the Wednesday traffic in Baclaran (Wednesday mass). It’s our own fault tho because we left at 1PM coming from Paranaque.

Parking

Going to the hotel is the same as going inside Ocean Park. You’ll have to park your cars in Kalaw side (the side where Harbor View restaurant is) and pay P25.00. Parking fee will be refunded after you have checked out the next day. Just make sure to ask the receptionist about the parking clearance once you check out.

From the parking lot, we have to walk all the way to Ocean Park’s entrance. We didn’t mind the walk, but if I bet other travelers who are exhausted from  their trip would find this an inconvenience.

Entrance

Just a few steps from Ocean Park’s entrance you will find Hotel H20‘s entrance on your left before you reach the “dome”. We were told by the friendly manong guard to go up to the 3rd floor where the front desk was.

The Hotel: Front Desk

As we entered the hotel, we only saw the hotel staff, but no customers. It’s a plus for us because no customers means no lines and we were well-taken care of. The staff were all smiles, asked if they could take our luggage – everyone’s eye was on us. It was the first time I experienced that kind of treatment in a hotel. It was quite nice.

As we were walking through the hallway, we noticed that their hotel rooms were all on one floor only; so it’s a pretty small hotel.

The Room

As we entered our room, we were immediately wowed by the beautiful sight of the aquarium! My son was thrilled to see it. I was glad I reserved the Aqua Room. We were also informed that they offer complementary mini bar and WIFI (they’re free! Yey!)   You just need to call the receptionist for the WIFI’s username and password to have internet access.  Their WIFI connection was also pretty fast.

Likes and Dislikes

At first, we were disappointed due to the absence of a bathtub, but it was compensated with a “rain shower”, uh, shower so we got over it quickly.

Their queen-sized bed was so soft, almost comparable to then Hyatt Regency’s soft linens and bed. Their bed frame had a foam placed inside and was covered in a leather-like material so the edges were not sharp or dangerous for kids to play on.

Since the hotel is new, everything is new – the carpets, the bed, their Samsung flat screen TV, the toilet, the sink, even the thermos! 😀 Unlike in other hotels when you go barefoot on their carpets, you’ll see your feet colored black due to dust accumulated by the carpets. We didn’t experience this in Hotel H20. So I wasn’t worried whenever my son would sit down and play with his toy trucks on the carpet.  I just hope they could maintain this kind of cleanliness.

The Cons

I was about to give all pros to the room, but my husband reminded me of the few cons we experienced:

1. No chain lock at the door. If there were just adults staying in the room, then this wouldn’t be a problem. But since we have a 3-year-old with us, he could easily reach the door knob and open the door to get outside without our supervision simply because there’s no chain lock above the door.

2. Peep hole at the door was too high. My height is 5.1″ and it was difficult for me to peek at the peep hole because it was too high for me.

3. Whenever we take a shower and since there is no shower curtain, only a glass door, water was leaking out of the shower room and the water would even reach the carpet in the bedroom even if we close the glass door. We were surprised that the complimentary slippers we placed on the floor near the carpet were soaking wet because water had reached them from the shower room.

Conclusion

I, therefore, conclude that staying overnight in Hotel H20 was  a very refreshing experience! No other hotels can offer this kind of leisure and no other hotels have big aquariums in their rooms! Staying overnight was a real treat and my family really enjoyed their stay.

Oh! Did I mention that the room rate already includes buffet breakfast for 2? Yup! We ate a full buffet breakfast in MakanMakan good for 2 (kids eat for free). Their buffet spread was not as grand as other hotels, but it definitely filled our tummies.

Below are the pictures we took from our weekday getaway:

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H20 Hotel
Luneta, Manila, Philippines (Behind the Quirino Grandstand)
Telephone No.: +632 238-6100
Fax No.: +632 238-6188
E-mail Address: reservation@hotelh2o.com
Skype address: hotelh2o