ANOTHER FUN F1 HOTEL MANILA STAYCATION

There is nothing like family getaways, and the Yappy Bunch is now addicted to staycations! I'm sure you'd agree with me that it is so fun to go away for the weekend and bond over delicious food, swimming, and 24 hour air conditioning! Of course, there IS no place like home but sometimes there are hotel accommodations that fulfill the premise of a stay close to where your heart is.

And THAT has been our experience with F1 HOTEL MANILA every time!

We were so happy to receive again an invite for a weekend staycation in F1 HOTEL MANILA and we were doubly excited to learn we will be experiencing their FIERY AND FROSTY HOLIDAYS for 2014. Of course I'm so used to having a chilly Christmas but incorporating it with something "hot" is indeed new to me. But, whatever the place, event, or weather (tee hee) we will definitely have fun because THE YAPPY BUNCH will be spending it together.

With that, we packed up and got ready to go. The Chinese Adonis and I must have been very good this year because winter... este.. Christmas is coming! And it's delightfully early with F1 HOTEL MANILA! 

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Now let's go on to our staycation at the hotel which promises to be "The Home of Happy Experiences!"

F1 HOTEL MANILA!

The weather was really cloudy that morning but we didn't mind. 

NOTHING could dampen our spirits with an F1 staycation!

The Chinese Adonis dropped us off at the main entrance to F1 HOTEL MANILA. Parking is free in the basement if you'll be checking in.

F1 HOTEL MANILA's "guard" dog was very cute and friendly. Mati and I often take pictures of the canines we would encounter in our yearly hotel hopping and I thought of including this new buddy of mine in that album. 

F1 HOTEL MANILA had Christmas decorations that show the passion of red. 

It is actually very eye catching believe me. 

F1 HOTEL MANILA lobby had a modern design but seemed comfy enough to still make you want to chill and hang out in. 

Read up on magazines or just chat with a friend. The F1 lobby will make you feel like you're in a new age museum but you can stay in it! 

One of the best things about staying in F1 HOTEL MANILA is the location. It is near just about all the prime spots in the Fort Area -- there's S&R... 

St. Lukes Hospital (they have Sunday mass there at 12:15pm too).

Of course everyone NEEDS Starbucks.... He he he he he he!

Plus, it's a stone's throw away to Serendra, Bonifacio High Street, and W building (Raven and Nest Modern Restaurant and Bar).

To help you go around, F1 HOTEL MANILA even offers free shuttle service for drop off and pick up on designated areas. 

Check in has always been a breeze for us at F1 HOTEL MANILA (yep even during the times when we booked the vacation ourselves). 

Front desk ladies were always prompt and smiling. We were all ready in no time. 

Afterwards, we proceeded to the Premier Lounge to meet up with the other bloggers for the staycation.

In the Premier Lounge of F1 HOTEL MANILA, coffee, iced, tea, cookies and pastries were available for the guests.  

Reading materials were available in the Premiere Lounge which you could along with a hot mug of coffee!

Though I did not read, I did partake in the chomp offerings of the lounge! He he he he he!

It was great to bump into Joaquin of BERTO IN BROGUES. We used to be in Trumpets Playshop in the late 90's and I was so astounded that he grew up to be such a chunk of hunk!  

We were officially welcomed in F1 HOTEL MANILA with their Director of Operations Mr. Tony Co and Director of Sales and Marketing Ms. Cindy Brual.

What I love about F1 HOTEL MANILA is that even if they are right in the center of the Fort's busy gimmick district, they still stress on the comfort and enjoyment of the whole family.

And yes, let the F1 FUN begin!

The little lords excitedly ran up to our room and raced who will get to use the key card first.

I always take a picture of our room number. He he he he he!

F1 HOTEL MANILA has 3 kinds of rooms:

Deluxe Room : Php9,500 

City Suite: Php10,700

Fort Suite: Php13,100

(published rates)

We were fortunate to get the F1 HOTEL MANILA Fort Suite which had a separate bedroom altogether.

The little lords were happy that they have their own tv to watch the night away in what they claim to be, their "anything goes" staycation. 

They were pretty behaved and waited for us as the Yub and I checked out our unit.

I wonder what program this is?

I remember before when I was a stay at home Mom that I could sing all the songs to the kiddie shows my sons watch. Now that they're older, I'm guilty that I'm not able to keep track of all their new shows.

I hear a lot of Adventure Time and Stampy Longnose from them though. 

Each F1 HOTEL MANILA room is equipped with a mini-refrigerator, water heater, plus complimentary water and coffee/tea.

Yohoo! Our room for the night!

I remember the F1 bed to be so soft and comfortable. The Chinese Adonis was so tempted to jump on it like a little kid but I'm a KJ (kill joy) so I stopped him. :P

I just made him watch TV too. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Yes! I'm evil Mommy/Wifey I know!

OH. I'M. KIDDING. 

Our F1 bathroom!

MY F1 toiletries... HA!

I also took the opportunity to do my usual unpacking and organizing. I really feel that everything is easier to pick and pack up if they're all distributed properly in drawers.

See my favorite yellow hamper? Now THAT goes with me everywhere. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Later on, we went down to F CAFE for lunch. 

I will have a separate blog post for THIS!

Of course, the food at F1 CAFE were so good it deserved its own entry! I'm sure Mati would agree!

In F Cafe, I was able to meet Camille of THE SOSYAL NETWORK! She is just crazy as me! I know we will get along real well!!

After our delicious lunch, we took the kids to F1 HOTEL MANILA's pool area for a swim. Yup! My boys could have fun ANYWHERE just as long as there's a pool.

And the reason they love it at F1 so much is because they do not just have ONE but THREE pools to splash in!

There's the very long lap pool (for those who also wish to exercise).

Fast forward pic

Juls Rodriguez of GAMEPLAN TV said he was able to have a good work out from it! 

There's the mid-size pool for older children!

Mati loved swimming here!

And there's the kiddie pool which always seem to be Andrei's choice to swim in.

F1 lifeguards are always watching the waters for anyone who would need their assistance.

Yub and I waited by the CANARY LOUNGE while the children swam their hearts out.

Later on I heard a familiar snooze. Yub was sleeping like a baby! I wonder what he'll do if I pop a plastic balloon near his ear? Ha ha ha ha ha!

Poor Yub woke up extra early today (even if we stayed up late the previous night) because he took Andrei to his weekly basketball clinic. 

I told him it would be better if he just took a nap in the room since the kids may take a while swimming! 

I made my wait sweeter with an order of ripe mango shake from CANARY LOUNGE. YUM!

When we got back to our room, the little lords were so happy to see that their bed was ready for their afternoon nappie!

The boys had a quick bath and changed into their syesta jammies. Afterwards they asked for some cookies and milk before their nap. 

Now normally I don't allow eating in bed but since they were ALSO on vacation, they were free to do so.

While the kiddies were sleeping, I got a visit from Melissa as I scheduled a massage from the F1 HOTEL SPA.  A 1 hour massage session good for 2 people is included in the Fort Suite amenities and my husband couldn't be happier. He was sort of stressed that week (because of me??) that he needed some strong hands to relax his muscles.

But I was to go first so that I could get the kids ready while he was having his massage!

Honestly, I'm not really fond of massages because I could get so ticklish. But Melissa here is already an experienced masseuse who underwent extra training by F1. 

Dear Melissa had such strong hands that worked so well with the coconut oil she brought with her that I was instantly under her spell.

F1 HOTEL SPA offers a lot of massage services to suit your needs and soon they will also have more on their list depending on the guest requests.

By the way, this is already the Chinese Adonis. Yup! He's just firm everywhere!

For your massage you have the choice to have it in the room or in the F1 HOTEL SPA.

They are open from Mondays to Thursdays at 1:00pm to 5:00am. While on Fridays to Sundays they have extended hours from 10:00am to 5:00am!

Oooh! I wonder if I could use that bathtub???

We all got ready for dinner extra relaxed and refreshed. I noticed later on that we were all carrying bags. He he he he!

We were supposed to have a barbecue night at the CANARY LOUNGE as part of F1 HOTEL MANILA's "fiery" holiday. But it was drizzling that night so we stayed in.

Yum! Our barbecue plate!!!!!!

More on the F1 FOOD BLOG to come!

That was such an awesome dinner!

It was great to catch up with 2 of KTG's hotties: Len of THE MOMMIST and Yen of THE TUMMY TRAVELER. To be sandwiched between these two ladies was just plain WOW!

We also had a great chat with Ysab and Juls of JUICE.PH!

Yub also had a wild session with dear old Bacardi there. He he he he he!

It was also VERY cool to meet the bloggers behind A NOT SO POPULAR KID and PEPE SAMSON!

We almost closed the restaurant down with some chikahan with dear Spanky and F1 HOTEL MANILA's Marketing Coordinator, Mr. Paulo Esmedilla!

After meeting all those interesting bloggers over delicious barbecue, WAS a fiery-fun time already for THE YAPPY BUNCH!

Since I ate so much that day, I thought of dropping by the F1 HOTEL MANILA gym for a bit of exercise.

The hotel gym was open 24 hours and could be used for free by hotel guests. Mineral water and fresh towels were available at no charge!

If you feel like having their special healthy drinks, you could place an order to be delivered at the gym.

I don't really need anything. I always get my much needed dose of "Andrei-Energy" by showering this guy with a lot of hugs and kisses! Yup! It just gets me going!

I cannot run for a long period so I just did a pretty mean brisk walking for 30 minutes. 

Dear Mati stayed with me because Yub had to go with Andrei to the room. Sorry, I always need a bodyguard. He he he he he!

Check out my shirt!

After 30 minutes, I was really sweating and panting! I hope I could maintain my daily exercise regimen which I have been doing for more than a month now!

When we got back to the room, Andrei already changed into his jammies and was having some fresh milk.

Good thing that the television sets of F1 HOTEL MANILA were also USB ready! We were able to download some movies and they were requesting to watch something that night.

Now showing at our F1 HOTEL MANILA staycation are THE LORAX and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY!

We may have 2 beds in our room but THE YAPPY BUNCH huddled together for our instant movie night!

Sweet dreams Fort area!

The next day it we were up early so we could still enjoy the amenities of F1 HOTEL MANILA!

Mati asked to include this shot in the blog :)

And for Mati, one of them is F1's soft and "jumpable" bed!

When we stepped out, our complimentary newspaper was waiting for us.

We had a quick but ultra filling delicious breakfast at F CAFE! 

Yep! You'll know it's going to be a great breakfast if they fry up your bacon EXTRA crispy this way.

More on our F1 CAFE blog later!

After breakfast and while I packed, the boys swam once more in their favorite F1 HOTEL MANILA pools!

After we finished packing, we did our traditional "around the room" pictures. He he he he he!

Yep! Don't worry. Your eyes won't hurt so much.

Our traditional wacky shot....

Our traditional by the window shot but I was cut because my face with flash is just HORRENDOUS!

Our usual ON THE BED shot but since we forgot our tripey, I became the photographer.

Oh Andrei!

Our hallway shot!

Our "waiting for the elevator" shot!

Check out was easy peasy. The kids have not yet really settled in their modern metal chairs when I sadly told them that we are ready to go.

Going home we received these colorful his and her bracelets from dear Pau!

F1 HOTEL MANILA also gave us this rich and scrumptious Red Velvet Savarin that my family loved for dessert during our Sunday lunch. My Dad liked this a lot because it had the right sweetness to it. I might order this for our upcoming Noche Buena!

Wow! We had another fun and unforgettable staycation at F1 HOTEL MANILA! This early on, the little lords are asking when we're going back again for another bonding weekend. The great thing here is that, compared to other hotels, F1 is very affordable yet provides great service and amenities. Yes! It certainly is your "Home of Happy Experiences".

For December, instead of harassing yourself with the usual pressures of the holiday, check in at F1 HOTEL MANILA for their special Holiday Haven promo!

For only P7,800 net (max of 2 adults and 2 kids) you'll enjoy the following:

 - Buffet breakfast for two

- 1 hour in-room massage for two

- Unlimited Broadband and WiFi access

- Use of swimming pool and gym facilities

- Php 1,800 worth of F&B credits

On New Year's Eve, their F CAFE dinner will only be Php 2999. This will include dinner buffet (featuring the delicious Holiday dishes featured above), unlimited drinks, pica-pica, AND a ticket their New Year countdown party!

Wohoo!!!

Thank you so much to Mr. Co, Ms. Brual, and Mr. Esmedilla for having ERICJAZ FOODIES and the little lords.

Of course, superkaduper thanks to dear Spanky Enriquez (THE DAILY SPANKS) for the invite! The kids absolutely love you!

Now you may not feel the same way for "the Mom" but it's okay. I love you anyway! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Check it out!

F1 HOTEL MANILA STAYCATION (DAY ONE)

F1 HOTEL MANILA STAYCATION (DAY TWO)

F CAFE 

F1 HOTEL MANILA

 32nd St, Taguig City 1634

(02) 928 9888

F1 HOTEL MANILA WEBSITE

F1 HOTEL MANILA FACEBOOK PAGE