Wedding Preps Venue Hunting Part 2

I've been very busy with work lately, that's why I haven't got the time to update this blog. I'm still at the office (bored of working), so here I am making a side step on blogging hehe :D

Last January 28, we went out again to scout more hotels in Ortigas. Good thing the weather that day was with us, it's not too sunny and with partial rain showers, so it's kinda cloudy walking around Ortigas between 11am-3pm :)

We visited four hotels. We inquired at Richmonde hotel-Ortigas, Linden Suites, Discovery Suites and Oakwood Premiere Joy-Nostalg Residences. These hotels are just one to two blocks apart, so it was a good exercise for us. I suggest, if you are going to bring a car, park it at SM Megamall or Shang-rila mall then walk towards San Miguel Avenue.

Richmonde Hotel-Ortigas

This is the first hotel we visited. It is not as big as the Eastwood Richmonde hotel, but the staff too are nice and accommodating. The hotel is kinda old, but the interiors, decors and furniture are really nice. It has a vintage feel like ambiance, unlike the one in Eastwood that has a modern and bright feel vibe (maybe because it is new). We only checked their junior suite,because that's the only available room that time for ocular. I must say that room is suitable for groom to be's. It has a mini living room, just enough for the groom's preparation and  picture taking with his groomsmen.

Richmonde hotel-Ortigas offers reasonable room rates. Money wise, it is cheaper to book here than in Eastwood Richmonde hotel,but if you are after the spacious lobby and modern design, you could extend some amount to go for the one in Eastwood. Their room rate ranges from 4000-21,000 pesos ( I think this is the largest suite in the hotel), not bad for a four star hotel.

Pros:

• Pretty vintage interior in the lobby and hallways
• It has a spiral wooden stairs but not as big as the one in Eastwood. By the way, the stairs in Eastwood is made of metal and colored marble.
• Nice and very accommodating staff
• No food corkage fees
• Can extend check out time ( just talk to the manager)
• Free picture taking in the rooms and lobby except in their pool and restaurant

Cons:

• The rooms in Eastwood Richmonde hotel are bigger
• Its lobby and hallways are not that big ( but not too small either)
• Small lobby area  (compared to Eastwood Richmonde)

I'm going to add Richmonde Hotel-Ortigas in my final choice list. Both Richmonde hotels got in, what's next??

Linden Suites

I've been hearing a few good feed backs about this hotel from w@w, since it's just a block away from Richmonde, we decided to take a look. I can't comment more about this hotel because that time they don't have any rooms available for ocular( they have a lot of tenants that time), so I'm just going to write here what I've known from their receptionist and also from my observations.

For me, it is a must to have a  nice hotel lobby for pictorial and video purposes. Linden has a small lobby and they don't have a staircase. I think they need to improve their lobby so that there could be a space where you can strike a pose for pictorial. I know they have minimal corkage fee if you're going to bring food outside, just verify it to them for sure.I've read in forums that they have nice and spacious rooms, so if you really wanted to check this hotel, better make a visit.

If I'm not mistaken, their room rates ranges from 7000-18,000 pesos. Also a good deal if you are not after the lobby design and just with the rooms.

Discovery Suites

This is the third hotel that we visited in Ortigas, unfortunately we had a bad customer service experience in this hotel. I don't want to spread bad feedback about this hotel, but I just want to share our experience so it could be a lesson to everybody.

Before we enter Discovery Suites, we are already warned that we are going to wait for some time before we get our turn to inquire. We saw through their glass doors that their receptionists are very busy accommodating a long line of tenants. We even saw tall basketball player imports in the lobby waiting for their turn to check in the hotel.

Upon entering the hotel premises, instead of the usual greeting that we get from hotels like "Hello Ma'am, Sir, Good morning/afternoon." we received this very rude greeting from their hotel lobby guard. 

Guard opening the door: "Saan kayo?"- (with matching taas ng kilay!  na napansin pala ni hubby to be)

Me: "Magiinquire lang kami ng room rates, kasi we're looking for a hotel where we can have our wedding preps."

I just ignored his rudeness because I'm not in the mood to react violently, but my fiance told me that he didn't like the guard's attitude. So, after asking room questions to their receptionist, we immediately told her what the guard did to us. The receptionist was nice and very apologetic to what the guard did, and she said that they'll have an immediate action for him.

We wore decent clothes that time ( my fiance was wearing slacks and long sleeves because he came from a meeting) and we don't look like beggars roaming around the hotel, so I just don't know why he treated us that way. I think if beggars are trying to enter the premises, they should still treat them with respect, unless they are going to cause a commotion. 

I can't say any nice words about Discovery Suites because one, I haven't seen any of their rooms because they are fully booked when we visited, two, because of our bad customer experience and three their lack of staircase in the lobby They are definitely OFF my final hotel list.

Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg 

Just a block away from Discovery Suites is the Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg residences. My office mate recommended this hotel to me, so we decided to pay a visit.  It is an apartment type hotel that's why it has the word residences to it. 

As of today, this is the newest hotel in Ortigas so its interiors are new (also smells new). Their lobby is big and nice, but they don't have a staircase. When the receptionist accommodated us to see their rooms, we were amazed to see that they have spacious, well lit, fully furnished rooms. The kitchen is very modern, there is an  oven where you can bake goodies. Their bathrooms have bath tubs with LCD TV so you can watch a movie while dipping in the tub. They have a pretty couch and big bed. All in all the room is very nice, so I suggest if you are going to stay for a week get Oakwood's long stay rate, you'll definitely enjoy it.

Their room rates are a little bit pricey, ranging from 8000-19,000 pesos but it is worth the stay. I really love their rooms but I'm really after the hotel lobby with staircase so I guess I'm not going to add Oakwood in my final list.

If you're going to ask, why we didn't visited Edsa Shangri-la hotel because one, the room rates are too expensive for us, and two you need to pay an additional fee to have a pictorial in their room and lobby.

Now for my final list, we're choosing between Eastwood Richmonde hotel and Richmonde hotel-Ortigas. I'll let you know what we're going to book pretty soon! :)