CamSur

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

EDSA Shangri- La: Fabulous Hotel, Bad Camera

EDSA Shangri- La  
Fabulous Hotel, Bad Camera

Stay 

We arrived late on Edsa Shangri- La after
being delayed on a flight from Naga City.
I was longing to blog about this posh hotel
and found out that my camera battery was
discharged and I forgot to bring my charger.


So I decided to use my really old camera phone
which I have not used for a long time and I know
the photos would not make justice on how beautiful
the hotel was, but there was not much that I can do.


I cannot remember how many times we have been
to EDSA Shangri- La as we check in  this hotel
almost every year every time I am Manila
since I moved to Naga City in the mid- 1990’s.



I get to stay in the hotel as the annual meeting of the
Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism,
in which I am a member, is being here every March.



We also got to stay here a lot when we were building
our house in Naga in the early 2000 because of its
close proximity to EDSA Shangri La- Mall and
the Ortigas Home Depo where we got most of our
construction materials  and home furnishings.

 

EDSA Shangri - La was listed as one of the best hotels
in the world by prestigious Conde Nast and indeed
with the esteemed travel magazine saying so-
who am I, a lesser mortal (that I am) to disagree?



Shangri La is one hotel that I don’t mind booking
in their standard rooms (they call it premier rooms)
as they are always spacious compared to other hotels
of the same star rating, standard and category.


Their rooms have contemporary design with Asian touch
with a view of  the booming but chaotic Ortigas skyline.



Our room came with two comfortable
huge double beds where my whole family
of four (2 adults and 2 kids) could fit snugly.

 

It  had a fabulous bathroom-

 

… lavished with luxurious toiletries
that Shangri-La in known for,



…and  a huge closet with
useful amenities.

 

Connectivity was not a problem as
there are three telephone landlines,
in the room- the first one on the desk,


…second by the bedside,


…and third at the toilet.


There is also a free Wi Fi and broadband  internet 
connections and a well stocked mini bar.



It had a huge working desk,


…a comfy, warm lounge chair,

 

…a huge chic  vanity mirror.


…and a flat screen but vintage analogue TV,
and had it not for this old outdated box type model,
 hotel guests wouldn’t notice at all that
 the  room was old and needs upgrading.

 

The old room’s excellent condition of looking like
it was spanking new despite being very old,

 


...is a testament on how impressive the 
hotel’s housekeeping maintenance was.


 
.Stray

The hotel is located between two major malls,
the Edsa Shagri- La Mall in one side,

 
Source: housinginteractive.com
 
… and the SM Mega Mall on the other side,

File:Sm megamall.jpg
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sm_megamall.jpg

…but there is really no need to go out of the
hotel as it was built as a resort hotel
right in the middle of an urban jungle.


It had a fabulous garden where one can
have a leisurely walk, or just laze around
admiring the tropical greenery around you.

 

The hotel had several in house shops- so there is
 really no need to hit the nearby malls to shop

 


The hotel is also known for its fabulous Chi Spa
where one can have a relaxing massage
or guests may avail of their numerous luxurious
health and beauty therapeutic regimens.


Play

The EDSA Shangri La pool, is a place full of
memories for me and my young family.

 

I cannot count the number of times that my eldest
 teen daughter frolicked there as a toddler,


…it was also the same pool where we discovered
that my then two- year old son Timothy could swim
on his own without using any floaters.

 
The pools remained the same- beautiful,
clean and superbly maintained amidst the
amazingly vast greenery in the middle of  the
busiest and chaotic district of urban Manila.///

 

The hotel also has a well equipped gym
that guests can use for free.

 


Feast

Although there are countless of dining options
and posh restaurants at the nearby Shangri- La Mall
and SM Mega Mall, there is really no need to
go out of the hotel as EDSA Shangri- La has
an excellent in house restaurant called Heat.


We actually pigged out on our first night at the hotel
as we were tired and starving after the delayed flight
from Naga City and being stuck in the horrendous traffic
in legendary EDSA highway on the way to the hotel.


The restaurant buffet had a wonderful spread of
international dishes and was crowded with diners,
and considering that I had a very bad camera that
deosn’t work well on dim light I wasn’t able
to take photos except for the first serving on my plate.


We had an early breakfast the next day and I was
able to take photos as there were very few people then, 




…but I felt so guilty on my gluttonious binging
the night before ,so I decided to eat light made up
of fruit flavored cream cheese with crackers,

 

…and a platter for fresh fruits,


…despite the superb buffet spread for breakfast.



Edsa Shangri- La is an well maintained hotel 
and remained  as beautiflul the as the very first time
I set foot on this hotel in 1994, a  young, unmarried man.



It has been almost two decades,  the hotel looked 
exactly   the same twenty years ago 
and still made it to the Conde Nast list.

This goes to show that being on the top does not 
necessarily mean having the latest TV model.

No comments:

Post a Comment