The Beauty That Is... Azalea Residences

I've been to Baguio twice and I must tell you I wasn't a fan of this place because I felt the distance from Manila wasn't justified when it just feels like Tagaytay "weather wise". I know, I'm so judgmental. So I went back there a few days ago and had a couple of friends along with me to attend Google's conference in Luzon. Before, I used to stay in small hotels and transient houses and always feels short changed (thanks to my friends then who wanted everything cheap LOL). This time, we were staying at Azalea Residences. It's a posh living space North of central Baguio City. It's near all known landmarks and establishments in this area and the place is just a taste of tranquility and modern convenience amidst the tourist filled metropolis of Baguio.

 

We arrived in the wee hours of the morning since we had events that afternoon. The place was indeed grandiose, it felt a little like a lodge on a mountain. The cool breeze, the dozens of wild flowers and the nipping fog covering the lush greenery outside was all but beautiful. I already felt I was wrong to treat Baguio City that way and compared it to Tagaytay. It had its own charm, it had its own personality if we can call it that. Azalea Residences in Baguio is pretty new. It's now on the lines of the other Azalea Residences like in Boracay, Davao, Cebu and Angeles City. I would have stayed here if only I had known about it years ago. I'm more glad I'm doing it now.

 You know those Chalet's in the Alpine region in Europe? That's exactly what I imagined when I saw this place. I guess they pretty much pegged it with that. That huge ball in front isn't actually just something to look at, it's a functioning fountain and it adds more pizazz to the place at night time.

 Checking in was a breeze. They didn't actually give much hassle as long as you have the papers filled up. They also gave us extra keys since we probably would end up going in and out of our rooms for the conference. That is quite convenient. 

Just look up and you'll see this huge space endowed with flowers on the wall. Props to the people who designed this space because they didn't sacrifice and put in so much rooms. It never feel cramped, plus I can't believe the rates of this place since I can pretty much stay in a lower class hotel in Manila for the price to pay for a family room here.

The Eight Degrees Lounge on the left side of Azalea was truly inviting. I can already smell the booze from where I stood while we waited for some participants that afternoon. Plus it's mighty nice to chat or have small meetings here too.

This place was packed since experts from Google applications and the social media industry converged in Baguio City to teach small and medium enterprises how to take advantage of technology. We did connect on different levels. I must say, I'd like to do that soon too.

Our Room In Azalea Residences

Our room was huge. It can pretty much house a family of around 4. We were three big guys that day and it was awesome to have that much space. This restored my faith in Baguio as a destination. The fairytale of having a pretty good room was happening right before my eyes. Take a look!

This is a full functioning kitchen. You can choose to cook or just order from their house restaurant. For china, extra spoons or forks and kitchen utensils, don't be afraid to ask the front desk for it and they'll gladly oblige. There's a place to dine and an almost 4 cubic feet refrigerator to keep your wine and drinks cold. Make sure you bring in snacks which you'll need while lounging around the TV.

This is where the magic happens LOL. As I say to my friends... A good blogger deserves a a good bed. This was housed on the right wing of the room. Yes, there are actually 2 rooms inside one room. So all in all, we had sections of it to ourselves. This one's mine. It could pass perhaps for 2 people if they were smaller than me. 

I couldn't remember if we had air conditioning. But then again in Baguio, why would you need air conditioning right? My room had a fan and an LED TV for kicks. I like how it's intimate and a little isolated. I published quite a few entries here because I had some peace and quiet even if they were just in the next room. Which brings us to the living room.

This is the living room. Azrael took dibs on this part of the room, probably because it's spacious. The actual sofa turns into a bed and it can fit two people. There's also a chair you can lounge around in if you would like to read a book, that's if you brought one of course.

This is perhaps the Masters bedroom. It was bigger than my space and had a bigger bed. Each of us had a TV to play with so there's no shortage in shows. We didn't have to quarrel about the remote and had space for all our luggage.

The toilet and bath we had was more than enough. Since this space was designed for a LOT of people, its pretty understandable that we had two inside the unit. So we don't have to scuffle around when it's time for a tour or to go home. It's pretty sad that we had to but we did have a LOT of adventures in between. I'll tell you more about our Baguio and Benguet escapades in the next few days. Stay tuned.

For more information about Azalea Residences (PLUS DEALS ON ROOMS!)

Please visit their official website

http://www.azalea.com.ph

Piso Fares on Air Asia!

Deals never come this sweet as the best low cost carrier Air Asia and Air Asia X gives you what you've all been waiting for! 

It's back! Piso Fare seats will start seilling today November 25 up until December 1, 2013. Guests would be able to travel from May 5, 2014 to January 31, 2015 on local and international deatinations because it's not too early to fly! 

Imagine only paying 353.92 including duties and taxes for a single journey for domestic destinations. They also have BIG discounts on international ones if that's what you want. If that isn't a good deal, I don't know what else is. Head on to their official website http://www.airasia.com or follow them on twitter @AirAsiaPH for more details.

2PM's NICHKHUN for BENCH

Everyone was so excited to hear the news that 2PM's NICHKHUN was going back to the Phillippines, but more importantly he's back for something special as this Thai American singer/actor from South Korea affirms his status as the newest BENCHSETTER for lifestyle brand BENCH. We were there during his press conference.

The event was hosted by Grace Lee also known as Lee Kyŏng Hee in real life. She hosts local radio shows in Manila and consequently fluent in Korean too. NICHKHUN was surprised later on when she interviewed him in English and Korean. 

 Then he arrived =)

Your New Tech Venue: TECH BOX

A new go to place for everything tech has began taking Manila by storm. This is Tech Box. A business that started from kiosks in the past, now has its business flourish and ultimately want to beat the grey market which has been getting the big chunk of smart phone and accessory sales in the Philippines.

In only 9 months, they have already put up around 19 stores. Now if that isn't successful I don't know what else is. They are carrying the latest handsets from Lenovo, they showed us the A300 tablets, IdeaPad Yoga Series and other mobile phone handsets from their line. Lenovo actually is their biggest partner and they sell more of their ware than other brands. Lenovo Philippines is actually proud of their working relationship and look forward to more things in the future.

Eagerly showing their newest handsets including a 41 Megapixel capable smart phone is the country's most loved phone brand Nokia. They have also been working with TechBox for years now and they showed us their latest handset the Nokia Lumia 1020. They say nothing else comes close to this particular model because even if you zoom in on images that are already magnified, you can still see the fine details of your shots because it's the only phone that can do that in the market.

They also have other phone brands carried like LG and HTC. They also have accessories for almost all phone brand and models courtesy of Technology in Motion. Technology in Motion has cases for protection of the latest mobile phone handsets. They also have armor, waterproof cases that you can carry around in out of town adventures. Aside from that, they have power items, storage devices and peripherals. It's all in TechBox!

So if you are in the look for something affordable but not in the grey market, try TechBox and see if you can get the best deals in this side of town. They are on Alphaland Mall across the Magallanes MRT station. They also have branches on major malls nationwide!

For more information

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Techbox.ph