Executive Hotel Lounge Review: Sofitel Manila

How would like to enjoy your afternoon tea or a glass of wine with the iconic Manila Bay sunset as your view? Sounds like a dream, right? Well, look no further as Sofitel's Club Millesime lets you savor that and more when you book a room in one of their well-appointed luxury club rooms or suites. To read more on our Sofitel Luxury Club room experience, please click here.

Ambiance and Amenities.

I've been to Club Millesime several times and the excitement never gets old everytime I hear the ding sound in the elevator signaling that we've arrived in the club floor. As soon as we step inside the lounge, a staff immediately attends to each guest regardless if you're a regular or a first timer as the treatment is one and the same - warm, courteous, professional, and accommodating.

Variety and Abundance of Snack Choices.

What I love about Club Millesime is the assortment of your non-regular food items that we usually see in club lounges in Manila during evening cocktails. While most hotels tend to offer the basics, Club Millesime takes it a notch higher by offering a wide array of Western appetizers, a selection of cheese and cold cuts, at least 4 hot dishes, and jaw-dropping dessert spread.

 

Unlimited alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages.

Free-flowing cocktails, wine, champagne, fruit juices, and soda await guests during evening cocktails. Kids are strictly prohibited at the lounge at this time, as most Manila hotels impose nowadays. Coffee and tea, on the other hand, are available anytime of the day.

Operating Hours.

• Afternoon tea - 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM
• Evening cocktails - 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Breakfast - 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM
  

Full Breakfast Buffet.

An interactive buffet breakfast with 21 ateliers? There's no better way to start your morning but to dine in the most extensive offering any hotel in Manila can offer - welcome to Sofitel's Spiral Buffet! Go wild and enjoy food hopping from one cuisine to another to savor its HUGE selection because I guarantee that whatever morning cravings you might have, you can definitely find it in Spiral along with ten other breakfast staples you will surely love.

But if you like your privacy and some quiet, you are always welcome to enjoy your breakfast at Club Millesime with fewer but well-thought of options, of course.

Dining in Spiral is an incredible experience in itself so if you haven't tried it at least once in your life, you're definitely missing out on the best buffet in the whole country!

Other Perks & Services Offered. 

Overall Service.

It would be a shame to expect less than perfection from one the country's premier five-star hotels who have hosted several dignitaries and VIPs in the past. Except from the slow service we've encountered during cocktail hour, Sofitel Philippine Plaza's service embodies what true Filipino hospitality is all about from the moment we hear the parking attendant say, "Magandang hapon po!"

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Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila
CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.
Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel.: (632) 573-5555

My Weekend in Photos: A Better & Rehabilitated Boracay

Hotel Review: Aria Resort & Casino

Vacation is supposed to be relaxing, fun and enriching. Back when I was looking for a hotel in Las Vegas, my top considerations were location and amenities. Price was a secondary factor as CS wanted it to be the best trip with me being a first timer in the US so he let me choose which hotel I wanted to book. The Strip is full of 5-star hotels offering varying types of experiences but at the end of the day, Aria Resort & Casino won our hearts. Scroll down to find out why.

Standing tall at the heart of Las Vegas Strip, Aria boasts of modern architecture, top-tier dining and entertainment, and high tech rooms and suites. With just 9 years in operations, everything in Aria is relatively shiny and feels brand new. Our deluxe room, the cheapest available in the resort casino, is priced at Php11,650/night including resort fees and government taxes. Pretty steep for our standards but for the full Vegas experience, it was all worth it!

Aria Resort's deluxe room amenities include:

• Panoramic corner view
• Custom Sealy beds with Aria mattress and triple-sheeted, 300-thread-count bedding
• 42" HD LCD television 
• 10” tablet to control lights, temperature, service requests, and in-room dining ordering
• A goodnight button to power down your room with the touch of your finger.
• Fully-stocked intelligent mini-bar
• Dressing area with dual closets and granite-top dresser
• Full bathroom with shower and bench adjacent to a soaking tub
• Granite dual sink vanity

The Buffet at Aria Las Vegas is open from 7am until 10pm daily. We only tried dining once on our last night in Vegas because we wanted to save the best for last. Dinner on weekends is priced at $43.99/adult while weekday rate is $38.99/adult; quite pricey but the unlimited crab legs was very tempting! The open-kitchen buffet was divided into several sections: Fish Market, Asian, Italian, Pizza, Mediterranean, Tandoori, Latin, Carvery, Diner, Salad and Sweets.

As much as we wanted to try each and every dish on the buffet, the selection was just overwhelming. A tiny piece of this and that to try as many but in the end, we decided to save our calories for the freshly steamed crab legs - the main reason why we dined there the first place!

Pros: Las Vegas Strip location, modern and spacious rooms, tight security, friendly service, mobile check-in/check-out facility, relaxing pools, and smoke-free rooms and hotel corridor.

Cons: Nothing because we absolutely loved every minute of our stay in Aria!

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Aria Resort & Casino
3730 S Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Tel.: (1702) 590-1111
Website: www.aria.com/en