Aboard Happiness

I travel often but I don't get to stay in very nice and expensive hotels for reasons 1) budget constraint; and 2) I only leave my things in the room as most of the time I am out. However, whenever I get the chance to score a good deal (wink wink here), I take it.  Last January, our family visited Boracay and stayed at Shangri-la resort as we got an employee discount because of my aunt. We are a party of 6 and we stayed in 2 Deluxe rooms with sea view. Maximum capacity of each room is 3 pax with of course a fee for the extra person. The room is very big and it has 1 Queen size bed and a sofa bed (which 2 people fit in), without breakfast. The room rate we got is really reasonable considering it is Shangri-La however, it still does not include the speedboat fee of PhP 750 per way. The moment we arrived at Kalibo airport, we were greeted by the Shangri La staff and head us to our van for the 2 hour landtrip to Caticlan. Then we waited at the lounge of the resort for the speedboat...

My sisters and I decided to spend our long weekend at Thunderbird Resort in Poro Point, San Fernando La Union. The resort is located 236 km away from Manila and about 5-6 hour drive.   It is a " Mediterranean-inspired luxury resort that overlooks the West Philippine Sea". I really felt that I was at the tip of the North Western side of the Philippines as we passed through the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard bases. It's architecture was influenced by Santorini Island in Greece.    THE BEACH!!! How to go to Thunderbird Resort?  Going to the resort is quite easy as you will need to pass through all the highways (NLEX, SCTEX and TPLEX). From TPLEX, exit at Urdaneta then turn right after clearing from the toll gate. Traverse the Mc Arthur highway for about 88 km to San Fernando.  Things to do The resort is very private and amenities are exclusive for members and guests only. They have swimming pools (including kiddi...