Our Staycation Experience at Discovery Suites

For years we have been celebrating our anniversary at an earlier date. Why? Because December is a very busy month for us, traffic is terrible, and reservations can be like finding a needle in a haystack. This year, we wanted to have a beach vacation but I was hesitant because of the 3-4 hours drive outside Manila. Two days before our scheduled plan, we decided to have a staycation instead at Discovery Suites in Ortigas.


The Hotel

Check-in time is at 3PM and we arrived a little over at three in the afternoon. We decided to leave the car and get a private car service instead, Uber, to free ourselves from the stress of driving on a payday Friday. True enough, traffic was horrific that the normal 15-minute drive to Ortigas took us an hour to get there.

We were greeted immediately by the hotel staff when we got there. At the lobby, I noticed that there were no couches or seats available except for the two seats near the elevator. At first it made me wonder but then I realized they probably don't need to have any because the checking-in process took us only less than five minutes. It was a breeze.

There were two reception areas as well. The right side is for the offices at the upper floors of the building while the left one is for Discovery Suites. 

It was interesting also that while my husband was busy checking-in, another hotel staff greeted me addressing me with my name. Okay, we reserved using my Hubby's name, how did she know mine and Little V's names? 

hotel in ortigas
Front Desk for Discovery Suites (left), reception for offices (right)

We got our room cards and proceeded to the 12th floor where our suite was. The hotel has over 200 suites: junior, one bedroom, two bedrooms, three bedrooms suites and admiral suite. It is centrally located in the Ortigas business district, just across Podium, and a 5-minute walk to SM Megamall.

View from the floor lobby, You can see the rooms across yours.



Serendipity 1-Bedroom Suite

We booked a 1-bedroom Serendipity suite for our stay. I read from reviews that these are the newly renovated rooms. Our room was facing ADB avenue and we can see Podium across.

We were surprised when we entered the room and was greeted by our family picture displayed on the desk. They also made a banner for our anniversary and placed it by the window. Wine, fruits, and a platter of cheeses were on the table.

My sister-in-law who helped us reserve for the room said that the hotel asked for our picture and about us. That's how they were able to place a photo of us and how they knew our names. We loved the personal touch.

The suite was very spacious. There's living and dining areas, kitchen, and a bedroom.

1 bedroom discovery suites
Serendipity 1-Bedroom Suite living and dining area






Our family picture was displayed on the study desk. Wow! Personalized experience!


The doorbell rang and when I opened, another hotel staff greeted us and checked how we felt about our room. She showed me some fact sheets about the hotel, gave us our welcome drinks, and a plate of cakes. Sweet!


Welcome drink

The suite has a fully-equipped kitchen. They also provided a dishwashing liquid and scrub by the kitchen sink. 



kitchen hotel discovery ortigas


ortigas hotel

Other amenities available in the suite are: cable TV, DVD player, radio, complimentary local newspaper, office desk with laptop and internet connections, multi-line telephone, and a complimentary WiFi internet access.


The bedroom was huge. I was expecting only one bed but for our suite we got two queen-sized beds. On one of the beds were two elephant lovers made out of towels. We find it really cute because the male elephant was giving a one-stem rose to the lady elephant. 





Elephant lovers made from bath towels. Look how macho the male elephant is. LOL!

Other amenities inside the bedroom were: bedside clock radio, cable television, in room safe, iron and ironing board, iPod dock, telephone, dresser with mirror, and a spacious wardrobe.
Bedroom amenities




If you know me personally, you'll know that I always look forward to a bubble bath when I go to hotels/resorts. We don't have a tub at home so a relaxing bath while on staycation would be superb.

We opened the bathroom and saw that the tub was filled already with rose petals. It looked so romantic! I checked the water and it was still warm. 

Guess who had the first dip inside the tub? 

The three-year old did!



I also liked that the rain shower area was separated from the bath tub.

Serendipity Suite Bathroom


Throughout the afternoon, more surprises came with each doorbell that rang. The biggest surprise for me was the big bouquet of flowers I got in the evening. That was the biggest bouquet I have ever received so far. I have a photo with me holding it showing that it almost covered half of my body! Ha! Ha!




Facilities

Let me show you the other facilities of the hotel.

On the 5th floor, there's a children's play room, swimming pool and jacuzzi, and the Restaurant 5. They also have a fitness club. We were able to experience Restaurant 5 and the play room.

The playroom was a 2-bedroom suite converted to a big play area for the kids. One of the rooms has a DVD player and Wii. The other room has a day bed and a small stage for pretend plays. Little V had a great time playing here with the other kids.

Children's play room


Swimming pool
Photo credit: Discovery Suites

Breakfast buffet is available at Restaurant 5. The selection during breakfast was almost the same with the other buffets we've had in our staycations before. 

Restaurant 5 



restaurant 5
Restaurant 5 breakfast buffet


We were unable to check the Serendipity Lounge and 22 Prime. We went to these in the morning after breakfast and they were still closed. Serendipity Lounge offers a stunning view of the city skyline while 22 Prime is an award-winning restaurant that takes pride of its specialty steaks. Next time, we will try them. 

22 Prime
Photo credit: Discovery Suites


Serendipity lounge
Photo credit: Discovery Suites



The check-out process was also a breeze. We were out in a few minutes. Before we left, the lobby was still being decorated for Christmas. Too bad we were unable to see it when it was lit. Here's their lobby when the display was completed.

Hotel lobby now. Photo grabbed from Discovery Suites FB page


Overall, we had a great time at Discovery Suites. Their service had a personal touch that made the experience intimate and worth remembering. We will definitely go back here, next time for a longer stay.

Tips:
  • Inform the hotel if you are celebrating a special occasion
  • Get rooms at upper floors. We were on the 12th floor already but we can still hear the traffic below.




Discovery Suites
25 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1600 Philippines
Telephone (63 2) 7198888






Comments

  1. Wow! I love the personal touches too. I will definitely consider them for a future staycation! :) We also tried Malayan Hotel in Ortigas, nice to know that hotels now have playroom for kids included in their amenities :)

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    1. You're right, Lique! It's really nice that hotel experience has become better now that they have playrooms :) We haven't tried Malayan, yet, I'll look into it. Do you have a review of the place in your blog?

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  2. Bongga! They really did a great job! Love that they made the effort to make you guys feel at home by placing your family picture. :)

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    Replies
    1. Korek! For a day I felt I have a new house - without the mess! Ha! Ha! :)

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  3. Wow, talk about extra mile. Thanks for sharing will keep Discovery Suites in mind on our next family staycation.

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  4. Aaaah.. the bath towels are cute! The place is sosyal! :)

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    Replies
    1. It does look sosyal but it's not too pricey. We really loved our stay :)

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