Our Christmas Break 2011 Blog Series includes :
- En Route To Pinas
- Day 2 : Ulingan, Tondo
- Day 5 : Malacanang Palace
- Day 8 : Bisperas Ng Pasko Sa Ulingan
- Day 11 : Our Students’ Wedding
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*This is not a paid post for Hotel Celeste. The blogger and his family spent for their overnight stay and this blog’s simple review and staff commendation attempts to be honest and fair.
Celeste (pronounced with silent last e) means heavenly. And Hotel Celeste in Makati City is just that. Celestial. Stellar. Heavenly! 
30 December 2011, Friday. Exactly 2 weeks after we arrived from Penang, we availed of the deluxe room I reserved a few weeks ago at Hotel Celeste, a European-inspired boutique hotel in the heart of Makati City. Now, before someone raises his or her eyebrows and comments that we’re spending a fortune on this overnight accomodation, think again. We only availed of the hotel’s promo called CELESTIAL WEEKENDS that I luckily spotted at their website last year. Besides, give us a break, will you? It’s already 2012 and it’s our 8th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday, January 08, 2012, hence this simple indulgence.
I asked first my commander-in-chief’s go signal (who else but Tina) if I can book a hotel room even for just a night in honor (naks!) of our 8th years of being officially married, 11 years of togetherness and as a part of our Christmas vacation in Pinas. And man, I was in cloud 9 when I got her nod.
It was already the night of December 8, 2011 when I emailed Hotel Celeste to make a reservation. One night for us (December 30-31) and the other date this January 2012 as gift certificate that we gave as present to our first inaanak sa kasal (sponsored newlyweds, Nicole & Carlo). Tina and I thought it’s a decent wedding present for them more than the classic golden chamber pots (ginintuang arinola) *pun intended*
Incidentally, this is the first time I’ll be acknowledging the names of the people who served us beyond expectations. The hotel service was excellent!
First to be applauded was the front desk officer, Ryan Lacerna. We never met him but he was the one who promptly replied to my email-request and immediately sent a reservation under my name on my preferred dates on PDF form. Thank you!
Second was the door man/bell boy, Dexter and the couple of guards outside. Mabuhay po kayo! Dexter’s Indigo blue marvelous uniform was perceived by Gabby as those worn with Samurai. (Our son mixed Japanese with Old World European–you know how kids watch so many cartoons these days, haha!).
And of course, the nicest people who man this small but ever efficient reception should be regarded as well.
Thank you to Em and Ethel who smilingly received me when I first personally went there to settle our bills in advance. Believe me, they’re the friendliest front desk ladies I’ve ever encountered.
Thank you to Jiggs Garcia who texted to inform me that the GC that I requested was already ready for pick up.
Not to forget the front desk people who were on duty during our stay, Gracie and the tall male front desk man who’s with her and whose name I forgot to ask, he also didn’t wear his nameplate that time, nontheless, thank you too!
To the Celi’s restaurant wait staff -morning and night shift, hats off to you for being courteous!
All of you made our brief stay so remarkable and memorable! Maraming Salamat!
Honey, lower your eyebrows, please. Umabot ata sa 3rd floor. Why? hehehe! *she'll kill me for this*
Needless to say, Hotel Celeste impressed us –not only the jologs in me who’s easier to pleased but Tina who has more discriminating taste. With only 30 rooms –in Suites and Deluxe that vary in their interiors (I think no room is designed similar), this charming hotel is an absolute respite amidst the hustle and bustle of Makati City and a great competition to the premier hotels around. It’s a few steps away from our favorite malls -Greenbelt and Glorietta. Very accessible too for tourists and balikbayans who likes a nearby accomodation from the airport.
Wacky Gabby posed for Tina while I check in at the counter.
Gracie, the front desk officer on duty didn’t ask anymore for the PhP 2K refundable deposit when I checked in for my family. I don’t know, either she forgot about it or I’d like to think she trusted me because of the 2 letters after my surname (ehem!). She just requested me to provide an ID; I gave her my passport and after she scanned and returned it to me, I found myself with Tina, Gabby and the bellboy/doorman, Dexter inside the lift. Even the lift was elaborately decorated with DAMASK TEXTILE and mirrors. Nice!
We’re assigned at level 3, room 305. Here’s the corridor…
The lateral view from the door of our room…
We were welcomed by spotless wooden floors and simple yet amazing fixtures.
I'm happy when my family's happy.
The mini bar isn’t free of course unlike QUINCY HOTEL SINGAPORE but nevertheless provides with complimentary bottled water, coffee and tea making facility. Personal fridge also available.
The quality of pillows and the size of the bed for me are relatively important whenever slumbering in a hotel. I want my pillows not too soft but a little firm. Tina and Gabby like it otherwise. We all love a king size bed instead of a twin, so much room to cuddle and curl up. And in Hotel Celeste, we’re grateful that we had one of our restful sleeps. Fantastic!
Tina noticed the wardrobe has a long umbrella for the guests to use. We both think it’s uncommonly provided by most hotels unless you ask for one and Hotel Celeste was thoughtful in doing so even without a request.
The tandas (toilet) at first glance was instantly perceived as covered with wall paper but a closer look revealed it’s beautifully stenciled. Thank God it’s no floral design but leafy. The Deluxe room has no bath tub but the rainshower dutsa with comforting hot and cold water was good enough.
The banyo may be small but almost sterile. It’s so important to be kept clean.
L'Occitane hair and body wash are provided, must of all, I like it when hotel choose Colgate to include in the box of toothbrush (despite we always bring our own gum needs).
The Celestial Weekend Promo package that we availed comes with a foot and leg massage upon arrival that we failed to enjoy. Tina and I opted to have it in the morning just before checking out however, it’s already late when we learned that the service is only available from 3 to 5 in the afternoon. Our fault. No worries. But definitely, Gabby and Tina savored the welcome drinks; they chose ripe mango shake and iced chocolate. 
vouchers for fee welcome drinks that were handed to us upon check in.
Fast forward to dinner : Most deluxe hotel room packages would only offer buffet breakfast, but Celestial Weekends treats guests to set dinner as well. When we’re almost ready to choose from the set menu, Gabby asked me to accompany him to pee.
This is how the toilet at the lobby looks like…
waiting area just before the toilet at the lobby
the male toilet : I wish I had mural painting of a knight to in our comfort room.
Admittedly, the set dinner may have been better if the servings are a bit bigger. But I’m not complaining; just saying. As mentioned, it doesn’t happen all the time that set dinner is inclusive in a hotel package unless it’s an ALL INCLUSIVE (Read : QUINCY HOTEL SINGAPORE again FTW!).
Inside CELI’s Restaurant just by the lobby of Hotel Celeste…
There's a male acoustic crooner who's set we adore : love songs from the 80s sang and popularized by male foreign singers. Ang husay!
The view from where we sat…
From the set menu, Tina and I chose, focaccia and another high-fiber bread with buttered spinach and rock salt as starter, then roast chicken for me that’s sadly too salty and so minimal serving (I should’ve ordered the salmon!). Tina had carbonara which we gave a thumbs up but wished for, yes, a larger serving, hehe (note to self : it’s free and included in the package, remember?). She shared some pasta to Gabby but he likes the desserts better. We all love the chocolate ecclairs but the creme brulee’s too sweet for my sweet tooth.
If the set dinner was just OK, we were greatly surprised with the buffet breakfast!
A knock at our door at few hours before we went watching last full show of Gabby’s choice from 2011 MMFF at Greenbelt 3 cinema (guess what movie? haha!), made me opened it and saw 3 people, wearing white collared shirts and pants (correct me if I’m wrong but they struck me as on OJTs or HRM interns) who handed me 2 sheets of paper to fill out.
It's all in the details.
The paper had the menu for breakfast but it allows the guests/diners to customize their dishes. It’s like tick the ingredient you want in your omelette; tick if you want Belgian waffle, croissants, danish pastries, cinnamon, smoked fish, pork tocino, bacon, chicken frankfurter, eggs benedict, fresh fruits, cereals, yoghurt and a lot more choices with various tea and coffee.
The jologs couple in us were puzzled after reading the instruction on the paper. It simply state tick your preferred dish to be served either in Celi’s restaurant or right inside your room. We’re not dumb or anything but we want to make sure before filling it out and submitting it to the front desk before 11PM. So Tina called the front desk to clarify. The OC in me followed to verify.
Tina : “Hello, this is room 305, We just received 2 sheets of paper for us to select our menu for breakfast. So how do we fill it up, will it be, we choose one per dish category or we can select more than one plate?”
Front Desk : “Maam, you can select all po.”
Tina : “Ah, OK, Thank you.” …puts down the phone and turned to me, “‘ney, pwede daw lahat? haha! Ikaw nga tumawag!”
To cut the funny story short, I confirmed that it’s like “select-all-that-apply” kind of thing. SARAP! Alam nyo naman, we have to eat like a KING during breakfast! hehe!
We’re glad to have tasted their SMOKED BONELESS BANGUS… This is one reason why we love Filipino dishes!!!
Admit or deny it, this is how a typical Filipino buffet plate looks like : mix-mix! haha! ...There's that gorgeously delicious Smoked Boneless Bangus (we opted it instead Daing), Omelette, Beef Tapa, Pork Tocino, Hash Browns, Bacon strips, Chicken Frankfurters which we all shared.
Then Tina loved their Eggs Benedict…
And then seriously, while being served with one of our delightful breakfast meals, Gabby began feeling sick (he and I really got sick, NOT because of Hotel Celeste but perhaps of pollution/bacterial/viral exposures or change of weather temperature), so Tina requested the wait staff if we could have all the food to be served in our room in order for Gabby to have ample and more relaxed time to eat. Et voila!
We didn't finish everything! Ang dami..so we take it home by buying microwavables from Landmark when we went grocery shopping before checking out at 12noon. Sayang naman itapon! haha..
Our stay in Hotel Celeste’s Celestial Weekends only cost us PhP 5,399 nett (the promo runs every weekend until January 15, 2012). Some may accused us of overspending beyond our means, but hey, it ain’t your money we’re using. So chill. Some may say it’s too much for an overnight stay, well I say it’s a steal from the original deluxe room price of almost PhP 10K+ exclusive of what we enjoyed. And above all, price for as long as you can afford, shouldn’t be an issue when you spend for family’s happiness and family bonding. Memories are cherished forever. Money can be earned.
I love you honey and Gabby! Cheers to our 8th year and here’s to more traveling, delicious feasts and fun-filled family bonding!
For more details on Hotel Celeste, visit their website at www.hotelceleste.ph
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It’s not our first time to dine at JOHN AND YOKO in Greenbelt 5, Makati City. We’re also quite familiar with the other themed restaurants within its group of companies- 
JAPAELLA, PhP 378+. One of Spain’s well-loved dishes was twisted anew with generous slices of chicken teriyaki, bite sized chorizos, my favorite prawns topped with nori strips. These ingredients rest on the most flavorful rice I’ve tested. Japaella also won my wife’s discriminating taste; we’re one in saying that we’ll definitely have this again next time we visit John and Yoko. Did I tell you it comes in enormous serving that’s good for 3 pax? But since it was just perfect for our appetite; I don’t think Tina and I would share it with other friend/s or relative/s, LOL 
EBI TEMPURA, PhP 368+ /5 pieces. Our son nearly finished the entire plate! He had 4 out 5 of those battered prawns. He must be so tired and hungry then or it must have been that delicious for him, or he just really favored it over other Japanese yummies on our table. But I know he also likes kani (crab). He enjoys dipping them on tempura sauce. As for my two-cents worth, it may not be the best tempura in town but heck, Gabby was satisfied so we like this too.
IKA LINGUINI IN TOMATO CREAM SAUCE, PhP 228+. This was my brother’s choice and because of its large serving, of course he had no choice but to share it with us. 
CHISAU RICE, PhP 208+. Tina ordered this bowl of rice+mushroom+chicken and nori strips. As she puts it, “Masarap naman.” but you know now that she likes my order better than this. 
ICED TEA in BLUE (Dalandan), RED (Calamansi), GREEN (Lime), PhP 108+ each/refillable servings. I like my glasses in BLUE and its flavor doesn’t disappoint.
but particularly because I am STILL optimistic that they’ll change for the better. 
Grooming -hair and face-paint, by my lovely wife, Tina… 
I like the print of this throw pillow or whatever they call it in Japan. 
SUKIYAKI PLATE, PhP 250 
OPINION COUNTS…