“Staycation” is a term that was coined in the middle to late-2000s. The word staycation is derived from “stay at home” and “vacation.” I remember that in the past, a staycation didn’t necessarily mean checking into a hotel or resort. It just meant being home while the rest of Metro Manila was out of town or the country.
According to www.telegraph.co.uk, the word staycation “spread like wildfire across the US in May of 2008 after a record spike in petrol prices made it too expensive for many Americans to travel far from their own home.”
Someone once told me (with a smirk) that a staycation was not the next best thing to a real vacation after I said I was staying home during a long weekend. But the truth is that a “staycation” or a stay at a hotel or somewhere relaxing that’s not your home can be therapeutic in a way. For instance, you can wake up anytime you want and you don’t need to worry about food. There’s a breakfast buffet, or you could always order room service. I used to love going to The Bellevue Manila in Alabang until the traffic became horrible and getting to Alabang required a travel time of at least two hours. I mean, for that time, I could already get to Hong Kong, right?
Luckily, The Bellevue Hotels and Resorts group opened B Hotel in Quezon City around three years ago. I love the look and vibe of B Hotel with its industrial-themed interiors and non-carpeted floors in the guest rooms because carpets can sometimes trigger my allergies.
Located at 14 Scout Rallos in Quezon City, B Hotel (www.bhotelqc.com) is just 30 minutes away from my house. No need for a travel time exceeding that of a one-way plane ride to Hong Kong from Manila.
B Hotel Quezon City’s F&B supervisor said the hotel has an average occupancy rate of 80 percent, composed mostly of business travelers and corporate guests. During weekends and long holiday weekends, that’s when they get the staycationers who account for 30 percent to 40 percent of guests.
I love B Hotel’s homey rooms, particularly their beds. The beds are the right combination of soft and firm. The food is also something to look forward to. A favorite is the Lobby Café’s pancit canton.
Here’s more good news from B Hotel: The boutique hotel is now pet-friendly. I am actually considering bringing my dog Oden there for the New Year countdown. B Hotel, by the way, is hosting a New Year Countdown at the Lobby Café.
To check-in with your pet, you need to e-mail B Hotel a fully accomplished Pet Agreement Form at least two days before your booking date. You also need to bring the essentials such as leash and collar, your pet’s sleeping bed or blanket, a play pen or a carrier, doggie treats, medicine, food and water bowl, wet wipes and tissue, towels, waste removal bags, pee pads and diapers and toys. Think of it as a staycation with a baby minus the colic. (Please don’t judge me. I am a mother and I’ve dealt with colic, crying and all that.) There’s also a refundable security deposit of P5,000 per pet and a pet boarding fee (P1,000 to P2,000, depending on the room) on top of the overnight rates. You can bring in only two pets per room with a maximum weight of 10 kilos each.
The pets aren’t allowed in the F&B outlets but you can always eat in the room and enjoy room service (the Chairman’s Club sandwich is a must-try). We usually stay in the one-bedroom suite, which has a spacious living and dining room area that’s perfect for pets so they can run around freely.
In other news, Viu, a leading pan-regional OTT video service by PCCW Media Group, has announced a regional deal with South Korea’s entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM on the highly anticipated new romance K-drama series Encounter, acquiring its exclusive OTT rights in Asia.
The drama will premiere on November 28 in South Korea and will be streamed on Viu in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, fully subtitled in local languages and as fast as four hours after telecast in Korea.
Produced by Korea’s top drama production house, Studio Dragon, a subsidiary of CJ ENM, which has made numerous hit series, including What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, Goblin and Bride of the Water God, Encounter, has an all-star team with a renowned cast, director and scriptwriter. The lead actress and actor of Encounter are prominent hallyu (“Korean wave”) celebrities Song Hye-kyo, best known for her leading role in the preeminent series Descendants of the Sun, and Park Bo-gum, famous for Reply 1998 and Love in the Moonlight. Helming the show is director and producer Park Shin-woo, who also directed Jealousy Incarnate, with scriptwriter Yoo Young-ah, from My Annoying Brother, Bel Ami and Entertainer.
“Our strategic collaboration with CJ ENM has grown since the launch of Viu to now cover 13 markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Our collaboration brings the best quality and most popular Korean productions from CJ ENM to our highly engaged fans. Bringing Encounter to our Viu-ers in the region is an example of our commitment to offering the best and most extensive Asian content, including Korean, Japanese and Chinese content, as well as Viu Originals that we produce in local languages in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, India and Hong Kong. With extensive content offerings, the video views on our platform have more than doubled to 1.2 billion in the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year,” said Janice Lee, managing director of PCCW Media Group.
Encounter is the story of the romance between Cha Soo-hyun (Song), an unhappy daughter of a prominent politician and the ex-wife of a conglomerate’s heir, and Kim Jin-hyuk (Park), who lives an ordinary life. Their fateful meeting marks the start of a love story that will rock their lives to the core.