Sea Residences: The Under $20 (Php 1,000) Staycation Challenge!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Let's rejoice! Well, not only that but most of us also consider December as one of the busiest months. Do you agree? Hands up! Actually, I'm one of them. Why? As we all know we are now in the holiday season. Everyone is busy as bee and whether we like it or not we are somewhat required to be a one day millionaire. In reality, instead of saving it for a rainy day, our 13th month pay or Christmas bonus often goes into the merchants' pockets. We shop a lot just to make sure that everyone(from your family, friends, godchildren to coworkers) on your list will receive a unique gift from you. Pretty much if you won't do this, you won't unwrap any gifts under the Christmas tree. No, just kidding. It's still best to give gifts without expecting anything in return. Furthermore, we buy new clothes and new shoes but if you're so lucky and received very big holiday bonus from your work, you'll surely buy new car or new house. As much as possible we also want everything new to prepare for the new year. Let's just call it our "start of something new".

Speaking of new, I'd like to congratulate my friend who just gave birth on December 8. Hence, she's now a newly crowned mom and will start a new chapter of her life.

Many couples also pick December as their wedding month. In fact I was invited by my college friend to be on her wedding day. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend because I had to visit my friend in the hospital who gave birth and her baby Callie. Although I didn't come I was fortunately present on my friend's surprise bridal shower. Honestly, it was more of a reunion than the usual bridal shower with male dancer(s). You know what I mean? That's rated PG(Parental Guidance). While most of us had their brainstorming session about what to wear for the christmas party and where to host it, us had our meeting about where to celebrate the bridal shower. Good thing, we didn't think so much. We thought of only one thing. Scroll down please.

So we chose to stay at Sea Residences, Sunrise Dr., Pasay City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. We thought that it would be better to rent a condo unit just within Metro Manila than a staycation in Tagaytay again. Yeah, because it's cheaper for us, more accessible and more swimming pools. Like what I said on my previous article that nowadays, booking a place to stay is easy peasy because of apps like Airbnb and booking.com. Therefore, more condo units are being converted into business, I call it "Rent out your glam room, please!".

However, it didn't go smoothly when we went there because the owner of the unit was unidentified and our reservation was denied. The room we booked on booking.com was a disaster. We thought of pushing the Tagaytay staycation but not so strong since we also didn't want to experience another inconvenience.

Indeed, every cloud has a silver lining. The guards told us that there's someone also inside the Sea Residences who could offer an available room. So, we waited for an hour, hoping for a miracle.

And then Ate Cecil approached us with big smile. She is a caretaker for several condo units and it came as a surprise when she gave us great rate, Php 2,800(roughly 56 US Dollars) good for 4-5 persons. Totally way better than the price of booking.com! Yahoo! A lucky accident.

So, after my staycation in Tagaytay Prime Residences, I thought of asking and challenging myself. Marky can you find another cheap yet good place to stay?

Yes, I've found another one. For sure finding a great and cheap room rentals will now be my objective everytime I need it not only for bridal shower or family bonding but for all occasions. In the Philippines, living here is way cheaper than living in the U.S. or London. In fact, there's really a big difference as far as price is concerned. One example, staycation in a lovely Sea Residences for less than 1000 Pesos(roughly 20 US Dollars) per person and per night. Do I sound like I'm joking? Honestly, it's true. You can even find room rentals for only 20 US Dollars per month but don't expect quality stay there. Okay?

Aside from pool and all that jazz, I like the shower room because there's an automatic washing machine inside, sadly we weren't able to use it because we only stayed for a night. The whole unit is clean too.

Ate Cecil gave us the room with a city view when I said to her that I'll blog our stay and maybe she felt sad when we checked in late because of the hustle. Perhaps, she's really just nice. This balcony is perfect at night especially if you're a heavy drinker and want to be a dramatic actor.

Welcome to our room! Compare to the room that I had stayed in Tagaytay, it was smaller and not a themed room. Simply normal and clean. Although the bed was only good for two, all of us still able to sleep because of the convertible sofa. Actually we didn't sleep a lot, our hours were allotted primarily to fun and quality talk. OMG! Time flies so fast. We started as college classmates and now we are like part of "friends for keeps" group on facebook.

Television, WiFi, Kitchenware, dinnerware, microwave oven, fridge and functional cooking area. What else can I ask for? Free pool and air-conditioned room are there too. I guess everything was there and there's no need to go to the balcony and cry. Just make sure to buy toiletries. There are convenience stores and restaurants outside Sea Residences where you can buy or eat, you may not really need to go to SM Hypermarket especially if you don't want to walk for like 5 minutes under the sun.

 "Luckiest are those, who still have their school friends as best friends", I just saw this on social media and it's really true. Our one night stay in Sea Residences was for keeps. We shared our stories with each other and laughed a lot. Hopefully there'll be another reunion next year. My apologies for not including their pictures on this article since I'm somewhat protecting their privacy but don't worry I was not alone. My main point of creating this article is not to brag but really for you to have an idea or option just in case that you're planning to have a budget-friendly staycation in the near future. This is a perfect place for us. I only paid 750 Pesos(roughly 14 US Dollars). So, there you go. Another success story has been told. Thank you for always reading my blog. For more inquiries about Sea Residences and how you can book a room, feel free to contact Ate Cecil Tagle via mobile phone +63(0)9179553759. 

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