No occasion and nothing to celebrate. We just decided to take the baby on a weekend staycation on this new hotel right in the middle of Makati's chain of shopping malls. This is the first time we, as a family, did an overnighter away from home. Bonggang bata!

welcome to Fairmont Makati

Quick Facts:
* Location: 1 Raffles Drive, Makati Avenue, Makati
* Type: Five-star Luxury Hotel
* Rates: P10,000 to P13,000 per night for two, with free breakfast buffet at the Spectrum
* Website: http://www.fairmont.com/makati/

Place

The hotel is in the corner of Pasay Road and Makati Avenue and literally a stone-throw away from Greenbelt, Glorietta, and Landmark. The building is adjacent to the Raffles Makati, a sister brand of the hotel. Both are connected through their respective lobbies. Speaking of which, the lobby is nothing short of elegant. It's accentuated by this sophisticated chandelier that fronts the main stairway that is an access to the second floor events hall.  

Lining the ground floor are specialty restaurants and snack lounges. One of them, at the end of the hall, is the Spectrum, the hotel's main restaurant. They serve several international cuisine prepared on the spot. More on that later.

elegant corridor

Our accommodation is a deluxe corner room that has a view of both the Greenbelt and San Lorenzo Village skyline. Furnishing and design are state-of-the-art and truly of five-star quality. The bathroom is huge and luxurious with almost everything in posh marble and glass panels. One corner of the spacious room has an office counter where all the media connectivity is found. Lighting and air-conditioning can be controlled on a central panel beside the bed. Suffice to say, the room has all the important amenities and they look premium. We even requested for a baby crib free of charge.

office counter for K's calligraphy

The pool is on the same floor as the spa and the gym. We weren't able to try it out as it is raining when we dropped by but, although it looks not that big for an upscale hotel, it's just right for the purpose of taking a relaxing dip. We weren't able to explore Level 7 which is reserved for Fairmont Gold members.

can't swim yet

Food

There are complimentary fruits in our room. There's also a mini-bar with an assortment of branded beverages but these are for sale, of course.

Spectrum dining area

Breakfast buffet for two at the Spectrum is included with the rates but the actual price is about P1,500 per person. They got a lot of food to choose from and frankly the choices can pass for our lunch already. Once seated, we are asked for our morning drinks by their very accommodating staff. I opted for a latte while K got herself a jasmine tea. There's not much customers when we had our breakfast so all those morning sounds of softly clanking plates and utensils and the buzz of cooking in the kitchen can get really appetizing.

carving station

There's literally a mound of bacon on one of the food counters. Heaven on Earth! They have pastries, breads, spreads, fresh fruits, fruit juices, cold cuts, hot pot, dried fishes, potato wedges, sausages, pancakes, cereals, and various soup, just to name a few. And of course, we sampled almost all of them! Sarap!

All food are served fresh and hot. We can still see some of them being prepared from the open kitchen. The staff attentively refill all the dish as frequently as it dwindles. The area where the food are displayed is quite limited but it's crammed with all the food the patrons will need for variety.

we see Mount Bacon!

For our stay, we also opted for a lunch buffet which is about P2000 per person. The food selection, although not as many compared to the leading buffet restaurants today, is varied enough to cater to an assortment of dining preferences. They have a grilling station for barbecued meat. They have a carving station that served roasted beef and chicken. They have a noodle station for a selection of noddle dishes. There are cold seafood, fresh ham, cheese, and other local and international cuisine. Again, we sampled most of the items from these options.

fresh fruits

They also have a salad bar, a sushi bar, and a pizza and pasta bar for those who want to go light but we are just too full to try any of these. Well, not really that full... but we are trying to reserve some space for the sweets! Their dessert is equally packed with an assortment of premium sweets and we enjoyed our chocolates and glassed treats.

more meat dishes

The place's design is modern. There are huge glass panels that takes in ample sunlight to give the room a bright and lively vibe. This goes well with their friendly staff, who are all smiles to us. There's like a wedding event the day we went there for lunch so there are a lot of people walking to and fro, and we need to fall in line on almost all the food stations. We don't mind it really but it will help if the place can be more spacious for such cases. They have an al fresco area but not everybody will want to eat there on a hot noon.

happy diner

Rating (Spectrum): 6/7

Others

Pipay had a good time crawling and rolling on her soft pillows and huge king-size bed. She made friends with one of the Spectrum supervisors, who did a good job on helping us pacify her on one of her random baby crying bouts.

4/F amenities

The distance to the malls is very convenient. I was able to do a quick walk to Landmark for some groceries. It's a bonus for those who don't want to try Spectrum and would rather go for any of the restaurants nearby.

K took the chance of having this downtime to do some of her calligraphy exercises while I lounged with our baby. We also did the shoot for Pipay's 4th month "birthday" photo ops, a tradition we want to do until her first actual birthday next year. Generally, it's a great time of relaxation. We are looking forward to have more staycations like this one and try out the other hotels around the metro. Ang saya maging patabaing baboy for a day!

loves her king size

* * * * *
Acknowledgment:

• Citibank, para sa discounts! May silbi ka din sa wakas.
• Sponklong, para sa pag hatid sa amin.
• Mami and Kakang Anging, para sama sa amin hanggang kwarto para umuzi.
• Fairmont Makati and Spectrum for the awesome service! Good job, guys.
•  Our Man Upstairs, for blessing us with a wonderful time together as a family!     

Photo Bomb:

morning at Spectrum

Spectrum's Pizza of the Day

elegant furnishing

sophisticated bathroom

Pasay Road by night

Pasakalye:

Isang Linggo sa BF, pagkatapos ng pang-hapon na misa, naghanap kami ng makakainan along Aguirre Avenue. Ang naisip ko, diretsuhin namin yung kalsada hanggang makarating sa kanto ng President's Avenue. Kapag wala kaming nakitang interesting na makakainan along the way, doon kami kakain sa Tropical Hut sa dulo ng President's.

Ang una naming nadaanan na promising ay yung Balai Ilocos. Kaso nadala na kami sa restaurant na medyo madilim ang ambiance dahil last time na kumain kami sa Little Quiapo, nag topak si Pipay at iyak ng iyak. So dumiretso pa kami ulit hanggang sa makita na namin itong Big Daddy Jay's.

Let's go!

picnic

Foods:

• Original Smoked Ribs (Full Rack)
• Honey Mustard Chicken Wings (12 piece)
• Chicken Pineapple Macaroni Salad
• Buttered Rice
• Rootbeer Float

No holds barred. Full rack please! At hindi kami nagkamali. They got the smokiest, most tender, and juiciest ribs na natikman namin so far (upscale restaurants included). Sa unang tingin, mukang sunog at tutong yung balat nung karne. Pero kung babasahin yung isa sa mga naka paskil na instructionals sa dingding nung lugar, hindi ito "sunog" per se. Ito ay nangitim dahil sa secret ingredient na pinahid sa karne at binabad ng isang araw bago inihaw. Ito yung nagkukulong ng flavor para manuot hanggang sa loob ng laman. Texan or American Southern style ng pag barbecue daw ang tawag dito.

full rack

Regardless of the technicalities, it took our attention pretty good at siguradong mauulit pa kami dito. Under the charred skin is a thin layer of fat. Marapatin na lang na tanggalin ito kung kelangan. Pero sobrang lasa nito isabay sa laman. The meat falls off easily at sobrang lambot nito nguyain. . The barbecue sauce is served separately. Tama lang ang pitik ng tamis nito, hindi katulad sa iba na natatabunan na yung lasa ng karne.

The chicken wings means business as well. It's crunchy fried outside and chewy soft inside. The sweet tang of honey mustard is just right. The wing pieces are average in size at kapag sinabi nilang 12 pieces, totoong labingdalawang pakpak ng manok. Hindi katulad sa iba na 6 na pirasong pakpak lang na hinati sa gitna para maging labingdalawa. LOL.

twelve piece

The macaroni salad is so so. Not the best we've had but serves its purpose as a side dish. We can pass on this next time. 

Sticky yung butter rice at may pagka oily. Medyo tenbits yung servings nito para sa isa. Sana yung isang order ng ribs or wings may kasama nang rice.

Panalo yung rootbeer float. Vanilla ice cream topped rootbeer. Matagal na din kaming hindi nakapag ganito kaya nakaka good vibes makatikim ulit!

rootbeer float

Damage:

Price is actually fair. The full slab is about P800 at kaya na ito pag saluhan ng limang gutom na customer o anim hanggang pito na casual diners. A solo plate of ribs is about P200 only. Sa kaledad ng ribs nila, sobrang mura neto.

Mura din yung chicken wings kumpara sa mga nag sulputang chicken wing restaurants ngayon. Ang anim na piraso ay P180. Pwede na!

smoked ribs

Hirit:

The place is small. I can imagine yung ingay at siksikan doon sa mga araw na puno sila. Buti na lang at halos walang customer nung pumunta kami (5PM in the afternoon). The place is well-lit which is number one requirement namin kapag kasama si baby.

Malinis at sapat lang ang disenyo ng lugar. Parang fastfood diner type. May mga words sa walls about barbecue. Gusto namin yung picnic tables na parang kumakain lang sa bakuran ang datingan. Retro ang mga kitchen utensils tulad nung plato at Mason jars. Yung slab ng ribs ay sa kahoy na chopping board nakalagay.

counter

Sobrang accommodating ng mga staff (siguro dahil konti pa ang customers?). Mabilis naisilbi ang mga pagkain at mainit pa ang mga ito. Sobrang konti ng items sa menu dahil prinarily ang mabibili lang sa kanila ay pork ribs o chicken wings. The rest looks negligible and not their specialty. 

Bonus na 70's yung pinapatugtog nilang music. Naaliw si Mami.

Bonus na may gelato place sa tabi nila so pwedeng dun mag dessert after ng isang masarap na meal.

wall prints

 
Hirit Pa More:

Easily the best ribs we've had kaya makakasama ito sa mga future cravings namin.

MUST TRY!

solb ako

Rating:
7 out of 7




[obi.Jul.26]