The Bellevue Hotel: 5-Star Filipino Luxury & Hospitality

If you've been a reader for quite some time now, you probably know that I hail from the northern side of the metro. If I have to count my previous trips to southern Alabang, I'd say it's about 4 times at max. Yup, just a meager 4 times within the my 22 years of living!

Thanks to Mommy Jane of Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice, and Mr. Ryan Chan of The Bellevue Hotel & Resorts, I was able to enjoy a staycation in Filinvest Alabang, in no less than one of most posh hotels in the area, The Bellevue Manila at North Bridgeway Avenue. And take note, this luxurious hotel even boasts of being 100% Filipino-owned!

Last December 28, the beau and I drove our way to the south. It was the first time for both of us to drive to Alabang, and we can't believe how smooth and fast our journey was! Well, except for some hiccups along C5-Eastwood. When we arrived at The Bellevue Manila, we made our way to the parking area located in the Main Wing.

Up! Gingerbread House at the Pastry Corner in the Main Wing

The Bellevue Manila has 2 buildings, the Main Wing and the newer Tower Wing. It didn't take us a while to find our way to the Tower Wing where we'll be staying. We just went past the Pastry Corner at the ground floor, which by the way, caught my attention because of its uber cute Up! Gingerbread house. (One of my fave Disney Pixar movies!)

We then followed the pathway from the Main Wing elevator going to the Tower Wing, passing through the swanky Grand Ballroom lobby...

After a few steps, we already found ourselves in the Tower Wing's spacious, stylish, and refreshing lobby with lots of seating areas.

I actually wouldn't mind seating at the comfy chairs for a while, but checking in was a breeze! In just under 3 minutes, we were already given our key card, Wi-Fi login details, and 2 stubs for welcome drinks from either the Vue Bar or The Poolside.

Left: Love the beautifully-lit elevators at the Tower Wing's ground floor
Right: Hotel rooms' hallway

The 18th, 19th and 20th floors in the Tower Wing house 45 signature rooms, and we were really fortunate to have been given a Signature Deluxe Room in the 19th floor -- a 41-square meter room with a super comfy king-sized bed, a bed bench, a lounge chair with footstool, an executive study area, and a panoramic bathroom.

Ultra soft king-sized bed with super fluffy pillows and white 400-thread count sheets

Samsung LED cable television for our cartoon-viewing pleasure

Couch with footstool and the bed-side table with an iPod docking station

Complimentary fresh fruits and a warm greeting

Executive study area and turn-down gift of fruit cake and overnight bag, with a super cute towel art

We were even welcomed with a bottle of wine!

Of course, there's also complimentary bottled water, with coffee and tea maker, and other snacks. There's also a fridge which I failed to snap a photo of.

Closet with hangers, bathrobes, in-room safe, hair dryer and iron
There's also a hallway of sort with a counter and a big mirror. Really handy!

Bathroom with fresh clean towels, clear glass shower room (rain and telephone shower heads), posh and modern levitating toilet seat, and a bath tub with shower

Grooming and vanity kit, and a complete set of Acca Kappa toiletries (Sossy!)

With a room this comfortable and elegant, it was so hard to convince ourselves not to stay inside the room and spoil ourselves with wine, fruits, Wi-Fi and cartoons. As much as we love our room, we know The Bellevue Manila has more to offer.

So let's tour the hotel now, shall we?

The Bellevue Signature Club

One of the perks of staying in a signature room is an exclusive access to the Signature Club, a 900-square meter lounge which occupies the Tower Wing's entire 21st floor.

This is the biggest executive lounge I've ever been to, and I really loved not just how the place looked, but the added privacy, luxury, convenience and service. It definitely upped our whole staycation to new heights. Just check out these photos, and see to believe!

All-day complimentary coffee and tea from 6AM to 10PM

Being a big tea lover, and the beau a coffee lover, we sure used and abused this Signature Club perk! I was suffering from constant coughing then, so sipping hot green tea really calmed my oh-so-stressed throat. The beau was also pleased. He can have his free-flowing dose of caffeine all day, while lounging around and playing on his phone.

Apart from enjoying the free tea, what I love so much about the Signature Club is its invigorating ambiance. I so dig its homey yet modern design with mustard, turquoise, orange, and violet against wood. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows also lets in this beautiful and refreshing lighting which perked me up even when I wasn't feeling that well.

The beau and I also enjoyed this nice view of Filinvest Alabang being seated by the window. Seriously, I would love to stay in the lounge and maybe do some blogging here.

Here's a list of services one can get from the Signature Club:

• Exclusive check-in and check-out at the Bellevue Signature Club lounge
• Daily continental buffet breakfast from 6AM to 10AM
• All-day complimentary coffee and tea service from 6AM to 10PM
• Unlimited alcoholic beverages during cocktail hour from 6PM to 8PM
• Strong wireless internet connection
• Free use of meeting room for one hour per day at the business center of the Signature Club
• Free photocopying services of up to 20 pages
• Exclusive access to the Signature Club’s gym
• Concierge services

Since I've already mentioned it, here's the Business Center at the Signature Club. It has 3 computer workstations free for use, and 4 meeting rooms.

There's also an exclusive gym at the Signature Club should you not prefer to go to the gym at the Main Wing. (I feel like this exclusive gym is more homey and friendly, than the manly-ish main gym. Haha!)

While I might not have any use for the business and fitness centers, the lounge alone is enough to convince me to get a Signature Deluxe Room again should I book for another stay at The Bellevue Manila. Seriously! The perks you can get, the ambiance, the free light meals and drinks, the personal service, the added value, these are all well worth the additional cost. Even the beau can't get enough of the Signature Club!

The Gym at the Main Wing

Aside from the Fitness Center at the Signature Club, there's also another gym, a bigger one, at the Main Wing. It was under maintenance when we checked it out though.

For some reason, I feel like this gym reeks of testosterone. Okay, not literally! I feel like I'd be too shy to work out here than in the gym at the Signature Club. The beau might think otherwise though since this seems more well-equipped. Now, what do I know? Haha!

The Swimming Pool at the Main Wing

Just outside the gym, there's also the swimming pool on the 3rd floor of the Main Wing. Not sure if it was also under maintenance that time, but there was clearly no one in sight.

There's also a Jing Monis Salon on the same floor. Hmm.. Makeover for her, workout for him, and playtime by the pool for the little one? (Pwede, pwede!)

The Swimming Pool at the Tower Wing

Guests staying at the Tower Wing also have their own pool located on the 3rd floor. It's bigger and deeper than the one in the Main Wing at 25 meters long and 4-feet deep.

Both pools at the Main and Tower Wings have a Poolside Bar, where you can grab a few drinks after swimming a lap, or just plainly grab a drink.

I was ready to take a dip, but ended up deciding against it. As much as the pool looked enticing, it was really chilly then. And on top of being a bad swimmer, I was also afraid of spreading my cough and colds to innocent and unsuspecting pool swimmers.

The beau and I still spent some time by the pool though. Not swimming, but fish watching. At the entrance from the Tower Wing elevators, there's a koi pond under a small wooden bridge. They were beautiful and definitely amusing!

Mandarine Reflexology & Spa

On the same floor at the Tower Wing, there's a spa which specializes in reflexology.

We weren't able to try their services, but these photos from the website were so convincing! We'll definitely give it a go the next time we check in at The Bellevue Manila. I would love me some reflexology pampering time!

Dinner, Nightcap and the Next Day...

The beau and I were already grateful to have been given a Signature Deluxe Room, and we can't be even more thankful that we were treated to full-board meals starting with a lauriat dinner at the Phoenix Court, the hotel's fine dining Chinese restaurant.

I'll be blogging about our sumptuous Chinese dinner (with the stars) separately, but don't say I didn't give you a teaser! *wink*

After dinner, we went straight to the room to freshen up a bit and catch some cartoons, before heading to the 22nd floor of the Tower Wing for a nightcap at the Vue Bar.

Group photo grabbed from Mommy Jane

Call the beau and I lame, but we were more than satisfied with our fruit juices and hot water. After all, it's the company that makes every gathering more fun. Right?

The next day, I have to confess that I didn't want to get out from bed. Catching some zzz's in an ultra soft and comfy bed really spoiled me to a good night's sleep. But of course, sayang naman the free breakfast buffet if I'd let the sleepyhead in me prevail.

So at around 9AM, off we went to Cafe d'Asie at the Main Wing!

The breakfast buffet at Cafe d'Asie offered decent variety. As always, I had me some of my favorites -- yogurt, cold cuts, potato salad, kimchi to help with my sore throat, bacon and omelette, some siomai, a hot soup of soba, and about 10 cups of hot tea.

We also checked out the breakfast buffet at the Signature Club lounge.

Variety is less at the Signature Club compared to that of Cafe d'Asie, but I have to admit, I would've preferred to have breakfast at the lounge for the intimacy and ambiance. It was perfect for an invigorating first meal of the day!

Now, not long after we finished breakfast, we found ourselves yet again at Cafe d'Asie.

I won't delve much into detail as I'm also planning to blog about Cafe d'Asie separately. But to get you (and me) drooling, here's a sneak peek of what I had for lunch.

After lunch, the beau and I were supposed to check out since it was past 2PM. However, we were allowed late check-out until 4PM. So after stuffing our faces full at Cafe d'Asie, we first stayed in the room for another hour or so, before heading up to the Signature Club for an exclusive no-hassle check-out and some parting cookies, tea and coffee.

Our overnight stay at The Bellevue Manila was surely one of the highlights of my 2013. The bonding with the beau, with the beautiful Go's, with our amazing blogger friends, the lovely Signature accommodation, the Signature Club lounge, the good food, the Filipino hospitality, and the whole experience was just amazing! The Bellevue Manila left me wanting for another Signature staycation, and I'm sure I'll be back real soon! Thank you!

Hotel Rates:
Deluxe Room - P4,300++
Tower Deluxe - P5,200++
Executive Suite - P7,500++
Tower Executive Suite - P7,500++
Signature Deluxe Room - P7,000++


The Bellevue Manila
North Bridgeway, Filinvest City,
Alabang, Muntinlupa City 1781
Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 771-8181; Fax: (02)771-8282
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