Holiday in Subic

So as I mentioned in my previous post, we selected Moonbay Marina for our staycation. Moonbay Marina offers villas with and without a kitchenette area, and price ranges from Php 4,000 - Php 5,000.

I had the El Sol Villa (with kitchen) booked as early as April of the 2014th, since I knew that it would be fully booked by the middle of the year. So, here's how the El Sol looked like:

        

I wasn't able to take a photo of the living area, but it was spacious enough to accommodate up to four more people. I love the kitchenette! It was perfect because we brought some meats for our New Year's eve dinner.

The bedroom is really spacious, and the bed and linens were very comfortable. My only complaint was that they only offered two bed pillows, so we had to get some of the throw pillows on the sofa to supplement our pillow needs.

In addition to all of this, the bathroom was also nice and roomy. It comes with the usual bath tub and shower, with a water heater and complete with bathroom amenities.

Of course, the compound has its own heated swimming pool and jacuzzi, and the biggest one (I think) out of all the hotels that I was able to check out near the area. I also love their very welcoming frontage.

    

(Pool photo grabbed from the internet. Credits to the owner)

I really loved this Villa! It felt like our home away from home. For just Php 4,500 per night, it's a real steal! I honestly enjoyed my stay here more than my previous stay in The Lighthouse.

The rate already comes with a breakfast buffet. Limited choices though, and the buffet doesn't include the American breakfast choices, so, no bacon for me... :(

They do however, have an egg station and a coffee, juice and cereals area. Pancakes are also part of the buffet, but you have to order this from their servers.

For our NYE's dinner, I just prepared steak and pork chops (bought from S&R), and some hot coco to warm ourselves before watching the fireworks display.

     

Moonbay prepared a wonderful display of fireworks that lasted for about 20 minutes! Here are some moments that we were able to capture:

     

     

Check out the following day was a breeze!

Overall, we enjoyed our stay in the El Sol. I would definitely recommend this place for those of you who want to experience Subic.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 MOONBAY MARINA VILLAS Block 5 Lot 1 Moonbay Marina Ave.,Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Philippines

Landline: +63 047 252-9718 Mobile Numbers Smart: +63 999 997-5022 Sun: +63 943 700-8029

Email: contact@moonbaymarina.com.ph subic_coastal@yahoo.com.ph

Exploring Subic

Last April, we celebrated Kyle's birthday at Subic. Since we wanted to maximize our R&R weekend, and out of my curiosity, we booked an overnight stay at the Lighthouse Marina Resort.

We left the Metro around 8 AM and arrived at Subic before 10 AM. Since it was still early for check in, we decided to have brunch at Meat Plus Cafe.

Meat Plus is a famous steak shop in Subic. It's management is responsible for the operations of Tender Bob's (Yes, Tender Bob's is a local company). Other than the items on their menu, you can also purchase frozen meats and have it cooked to your liking, or just have it for take home. I was actually eyeing their burger patties, but we forgot to bring a cooler to keep it from spoiling, so that will be for next time.

From their menu, we selected the Pumpkin Soup, Tenderloin (Php 260), and Combo Meal 7 (Oven Roasted Beef Belly with Soup and Rice - Php 220). Ordering style is pay as you order. Service is a bit slow, so be prepared to wait for your food.

     

The soup was served after about fifteen minutes. It was served piping hot, but the taste was just ok. Well, It's always nice to start a meal with hot soup.

The meals were served about ten minutes after the soup was served.

     

The Beef Belly was a very pleasant and plentiful dish. The meat was very soft, flavorful and had a decent amount of fat on it. The gravy wasn't really necessary and I also found it too peppery. On the contrary, the Tendeloin steak was just sad. It looked like a small medallion of meat, not even enough to satisfy one hungry person. The meat was a bit overdone, but the flavor was ok.

We'll probably go back to buy their frozen meats.

After brunch, we went around the area and bought some chips and chocolates at Duty Free, before finally checking in.

We were welcomed by very accommodating staff, however, the receptionist was a tad slow while processing our check-in. I think she was just new and had to ask everyone around on what she should do. The lobby was quite spacious, but the furnishings looked old and sad. When check-in procedures were finally done, one of the bellboys assisted us to our room. We used their elevator, and it was tiny! The space was just good enough to fit a maximum of three people with few baggage.

Our room: Aqua Terrace Room (Php 7,800) with a king size bed

     

I found the room to be just normal, nothing really fancy about it. The bed and pillows were nice and very comfortable. The bathroom had the basic amenities, and a normal sized tub. After settling in and resting for a while, we went down to their cafe (Sands Resto Grill) to avail of the complimentary afternoon snacks.

We were served with nachos and cheese sticks. It was just so-so, both the cheese sticks and nachos were already soggy. We browsed over their menu and just ordered desserts. We decided to try their Mango Cheesecake and Mango Crème Brûlée.

     

Somebody took a whack at the cheesecake before I could even grab a picture, hehe. The Mango Cheesecake is probably the best mango cheesecake that I have ever tasted!!! The cheesecake itself was really thick and they did not scrimp on the use of cream cheese (instead of just cream or gelatin). The mango flavor was just right, it was really the perfect cheesecake!

The Mango Crème Brûlée was also heavenly! The custard was done right, not too stiff and not too runny / loose. I love the perfectly caramelized cap, which add that extra sweetness and crunch to it.

After our very satisfying afternoon snacks, we went to the pool area and rested on their pool benches. I also took a short dip in the pool.

     

The pool area is very small and the pool has a maximum depth of five feet.

Dinner was a another story since we headed out to Texas Joe's House of Ribs, but I totally forgot to get decent pictures while we were there.

The Lighthouse serves breakfast, buffet style (again, no pictures). The spread consists of both American and Filipino breakfast dishes. Bacon is not displayed as part of the buffet but you can order it from the Omelet station. The food was just ok, nothing to rave about.

Overall, we had a relaxing weekend. I believe that I was able to satisfy my curiosity on what makes this place special, and all I can say is, there's nothing special about the Lighthouse. Rates are even more expensive than my favorite Le Monet in Baguio. For its rate, I would rather book a villa somewhere else.

MEAT PLUS CAFE

Bldg. 65, Sampson Road, Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Olongapo, Zambales, Philippines

THE LIGHTHOUSE MARINA

Moonbay Marina Complex, Waterfront Road, CBD , Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales, Philippines