Lumawag: Staycation at Seda Abreeza

WHILE most are out on vacation during the long weekend of Holy Week, I found myself spending the night at the Seda Abreeza Hotel, which is celebrating its sixth anniversary this year.

When you enter the hotel, you will immediately find the reception area. To the right is the Misto restaurant. Then to the left of the entrance is the lounge and the way to the swimming pool and the gym.

Personally, I love the minimalist feel of the hotel and its color palette of black, brown, grey, and white.

I checked in to my room at around 10 a.m. Though check-in time was supposed to be at 2 p.m. I was able to make arrangements with their reservations. I got a really good customer service from their reservations staff.

I was booked in a deluxe room for my staycation here at the hotel. The room has the basic amenities that you will need when you stay here for a night or two.

Once you enter the room, there is a small short entryway where to the right is the bathroom and to the left is the closet.

Being a business hotel, the bathroom is very simple. Basic toiletries like a dental kit, vanity kit, shampoo lotion, and body wash are found at the sink.

Right next to the closet is the mini bar and on top is a heater, complimentary water, tea, and coffee.

The king size bed was very inviting. I find it to be really comfortable. I also liked that it has four soft pillows. On each side of the bed were bedside tables and power sockets are conveniently placed above each table. There is also a phone on the right bedside table.

In front of the bed was the 40-inch HDTV TV with cable channels. Next to the TV was an executive desk with an IDD phone with alarm clock, radio and iPod dock and a media panel with HDMI, USB, and audio-visual connectivity.

After looking around the room, I was kind of feeling hungry at this point. Since I was staying at the hotel during the Holy Week, the mall and some restaurants I want to go to were closed. Instead of going out of the hotel to try my luck at looking for someplace to eat, I had lunch at Seda’s Misto.

Misto is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant that has made it into Philippine Tatler Dining’s Best restaurants Guide for the last three years. The breakfast buffet is also served here.

For my lunch, I had the Farfalle Carbonara Filipino Style (P430). I had high expectations for the dish considering that I have had previous dishes here that were quite good. However, this did not hit the mark at all. I think it needed more salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. It was really creamy and all I can really taste is the cream. The smoked bacon though did add flavor to the dish. I also think the plating of the dish was quite nice and the food looked good.

Looking back at their pasta menu, I wish I had ordered the Penne Pesto or the Pancit Canton instead.

I went back to my room after and spent most of the night here surfing the internet or going through Netflix. The WiFi at the hotel was good enough to stream movies, surfing the internet, and sending emails.

For my dinner, I went to a fast food chain nearby and bought snacks at 7/11 to keep my tummy satisfied for the rest of my stay here.

I really wanted to take a dip into their pool but sadly, I forgot to bring my swimming trunks.

I had a comfortable sleep at the hotel. I love that they have blackout curtains, it plunges the room into comfortable darkness for a good night’s sleep. Before I slept, I made sure the air conditioning unit was at its coolest. I made sure that the room was at its maximum comfort so I can get that much-needed sleep.

In the morning, I woke up refreshed and happy to start the day. I was ready to have my breakfast at this point. I had a complimentary breakfast for two during my stay at the hotel. Instead of having breakfast alone, I invited a close friend over.

We had breakfast at around 9 a.m. and the restaurant was packed. We had to wait for around 15 minutes before we were seated.

I think the wait was worth it. To be honest, Seda Abreeza’s breakfast spread is among my favorites in the city. It may not be very extensive but it had a lot of favorites for breakfast like garlic rice, hashbrown, sausages, bacon, and eggs — scrambled, sunnyside up, or omelet. I am always happy to have breakfast here.

My stay here may be short but I had a pleasant stay here. I had a comfortable sleep here and the food I had the following day was great. It is also good to note that the hotel has a very convenient location. Hope to be back here soon!