My first (and hopefully not the only) outing this summer was an overnight stay in Lucena, Quezon at the Quezon Premier Hotel. We had a package inclusive of dinner, breakfast, and a 30-minute body massage.
It also included a day tour to two nearby attractions:
Since it was a weekend, I expected that people would be swimming there, but what I didn't expect was...
A swarm. A positive swarm of people who have set up tents and tarpaulins and portable cookware as far as the eye can see. No rock was left unoccupied. I wish I took photos but I was too stunned (no exaggeration here) to do so.
I didn't get to appreciate the falls as it was way too crowded for my taste :(
Enough about this, though; let's get to the gritty (and honestly, my favorite) part of this post:
Thankfully, one of the staff was very polite and apologetic. I guess I shouldn't have expected more, though; it was a discounted price.
Overall, it was nice to spend time with my family before I start job-hunting (gulp!) in May. I hope we get to go out again and make the most out of this summer.
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| Our room |
It also included a day tour to two nearby attractions:
Kamay ni Hesus
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| It took us fourteen minutes to climb this. |
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| View from the top |
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| My hair looks like Tracy Turnblad's. |
Taytay Falls
To get to the falls, we had to hoof our way there for maybe five to ten minutes. This reminded me of my Laguna experience, except way less nerve-wracking.Since it was a weekend, I expected that people would be swimming there, but what I didn't expect was...
A swarm. A positive swarm of people who have set up tents and tarpaulins and portable cookware as far as the eye can see. No rock was left unoccupied. I wish I took photos but I was too stunned (no exaggeration here) to do so.
I didn't get to appreciate the falls as it was way too crowded for my taste :(
Enough about this, though; let's get to the gritty (and honestly, my favorite) part of this post:
My list of complaints!
- The hotel had brownouts frequently, and I mean frequently. The power must have gone out not less than three times during our stay.
- I called at 6:30PM asking when dinner would be served. The desk operator said 7PM. At 8PM, I called asking why dinner hasn't been served yet. He replied that they would now begin making our food.
- Breakfast the following morning also took a long time to be served. Two of our party hadn't even gotten their dishes yet while the rest of us were already finished. To make things worse, the server was a sarcastic smartass.
- The tour was supposed to start at 8AM and last for four hours. It started at 9AM and lasted for over six hours. We were exhausted and pissed off, because we were supposed to be heading back home early.
Thankfully, one of the staff was very polite and apologetic. I guess I shouldn't have expected more, though; it was a discounted price.
Overall, it was nice to spend time with my family before I start job-hunting (gulp!) in May. I hope we get to go out again and make the most out of this summer.
