Networld Hotel - Pasay City, Manila

I find it odd when people would stay in their hotels rather than exploring the world beyond it. I used to think that hotel rooms are just for slumbering and luggage storage. Maybe because sleep is my friend that I can snooze anytime I wanted to that I don’t need all the comforts that nice hotels could offer. And then an invite from a blogger friend, Melo, to a wonderful staycation for the weekend at Networld Hotel came. The schedule seemed relaxed and dull at first, but when the whole thing’s over, I was yearning for more.

I’m not the lemme-pamper-myself kinda person, I always wanted it rough and rugged. Staycation for me is just a waste of time; I’d rather be at the comforts of my own bed and slumber for hours and hours. So let’s just say that I was convinced to have a staycation ‘coz I’m with good company. 

Me and my blogger friends, Melo, Darwin and Christian, met at the Networld Hotel (check for discounted hotel rates) at around three in the afternoon. The plan was to do nothing but stay in the hotel for the next 24 hours. I heard we’ll be going to have some Japanese dinner and try out some of the Spa services offered in the hotel. Sounds like a nice plan eh?

We were assisted by the staff at the front desk office for our reservations when we arrived. Checking in was a breeze and some lavish paintings and chandeliers welcomed us as we went into our assigned rooms.

The huge draperies of our Royal Room were the first thing I spotted. The view of the Manila Bay from the floor to ceiling glass windows greeted me as I slowly revealed what’s behind the huge draperies. And then the beds; the bed was so comfy that the moment I rested my body into it I almost went into siesta mode. The en suite toilet and bath looks promising for a wonderful bath time (thanks to the bath tub which I planned to use but was preoccupied with other things inside the hotel).

The Royal Room

Breathtaking view

Pan de sal party. We wanted to have some tea time with biscuits and cookies but no, we settled and had fun with our coffee (the room has coffee and tea-making facilities) and pan de sal party and chitchatted for a solid one hour.

Game of Thrones marathon followed after. We were new to this craze and watching it inside a hotel room was the comfiest thing ever. We hardly noticed the sun setting along Manila Bay and some fireworks happening over. We were that engrossed (check here for discounted tours, transportation and activities in Metro Manila).

Dinnertime came and as much as we would like to finish some more episodes we dragged ourselves to the Kai Shu Japanese Restaurant at the Ground floor of the hotel. We were ushered by a staff, who’s wearing a traditional kimono, to our private room and it felt like we were teleported in Japan.

We were told that they also have KTV private rooms and that we can have our dinner there and then light bulbs. We hurriedly went to one of the KTV rooms in Kai Shu and you know what happened next.

KTV + Japanese food

Trays and trays of Japanese dishes arrived as we started to “vocalize”. The group ordered three different types of ramen; Chashumen, Stamina Ramen and Seafood Ramen (320-350 pesos each). I’m not a fan of ramens so I tried something else. The Tonkatsu Dinner Set (670 pesos). And I was overwhelmed when I saw my dinner set.

Ramen, ramen, ramen

The tray was huge that all of the other stuff on my set were brought in separately. My dinner set includes; Pork Tonkatsu, Nikasana, Nimono, Tamago Yaki, Hiyayakko, Potato Salad, Oshinko, Steamed Rice, Miso Soup and some fresh fruits. Pardon my little knowledge on Japanese cuisine but what I remembered having was an assortment of everything you could wish for in a Japanese meal; Sushi, Boneless Chicken, Pork Tonkatsu and some more little stuff on my tray. It was huge, yummy and fun. Move over Bento Box, beat my Dinner Set!

My Pork Tonkatsu Dinner Set was the star of the night!

We also tried their Bento Boxes; Zeitaku Bento and Stamina Bento (480 pesos each). Gyozas (190 pesos), Ebi tempura (390 pesos), Kanzake (rice wine) (200 pesos) and Ramune (lychee-flavored soda) (150 pesos) completed our wonderful dinner. Sapporo beer (280 pesos) accompanied us for an all-nighter videoke, props to the nice sound system which made our voices singing contest-worthy.

Zeitaku Bento

Ramune

We were so engaged in our OPM videoke playlist that we almost forgot about our reservations in the hotel’s spa. We hastily went to the Fifth floor of the hotel and realized that the spa is open until around three to four in the morning. Whew!

The SM Kenko Spa is the in-house spa of Networld Hotel. Sauna and other Spa services are offered and we signed up for their relaxing 1-hour massage. It was a combination of Shiatsu and Swedish massage.

The Sauna area; Steam bath, Dry Sauna room and Jacuzzi; was our first stop. We literally left everything on our lockers and went inside with just a hand towel, not that quite amusing for the timid ones eh? Men and women do have different Sauna areas though so don’t be so alarmed.

After the Sauna, we were ushered to the massage area. And then heaven. I dunno how long my masseuse fiddled my tired body but I woke up at around 3:00 a.m. Yes, I slept half of the time.

The morning after was great, we didn’t have a call time or wake-up call. And at around 9:00 a.m., my body automatically woke itself up and saw how nice the view was from the glass windows (me wishing for the same view and windows in my own bedroom).

The Lé Amoretto Café & Bar on the Second floor of the hotel serves their daily complimentary breakfast. A wide spread of Japanese dishes welcomed us as we checked out our food choices for the day. I had some Yakisoba, Grilled Pink Salmon, Yakitori, Korokke, some salad and bread. Arroz Caldo and Champorado were also on the spread.

First time to try Japanese breakfast

We spent almost two hours chatting on the café and headed back to our room for a quickie catch on the Game of Thrones. We finished three episodes in 24 hours in spite of our busy schedule in the hotel.

And just when I thought that this whole staycation thing was over. We went to the SM Kenko Spa again and had some good old foot scrub for our restless feet. Two others abused the Sauna room while I stayed at the Spa’s lounge after the nice foot scrub.

Whew! All of that happened in just 24 hours and for a person who hates staying inside the hotel this is such an accomplishment. I could never imagine you could do something like this. Networld hotel changed the way I think about staycations. And now I’m yearning for more staycations. Ugh!

Networld Hotel and Spa (book online)

Jipang Bldg., Roxas Boulevard corner Sen. Gil Puyat Ave.,

Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Contact number: (+63) 2.536.7777 / (+63) 2.536.5828

Email address: reservation@networldhotel-manila.com