Travel Kalinga: Stay at Grand Zion Resort

Last week we stayed at Grand Zion Hotel and Resort for my cousin's wedding. They have limited number of rooms because they are a fairly new hotel. We got the biggest room, the dorm type, which is only for Php2600 a night with 5 beds and a huge room. My sister used this hotel room for her wedding flower arrangement gig that I will blog about soon.

WARNING: Major photo dump ahead. Prepare to load. :)

This is what the entrance looks like:

 Hello from my sister and cousins (we all shared the room and had our own individual beds!)

The view from the second floor.  This is what the hotel entrance looks like:

 Now from the other side:

 This is my favorite space/hang out:

The entrance (turning to the right) to our rooms. Our rooms with my cousin Chimayne (who's staying with her beau in the other room) is just opposite each other.

Photo from the lobby of the second floor. This is where Kuya had his pre-wedding photo shoot.

The hotel entrance at the ground floor. I love that they already have Halloween decorations!

 The cafe:. The downside of this cafe is you couldn't order any frappe if the barista is sick.

Yes, we tried and did not get the chance to try their cold coffee because they have no other barista to take over the job.

 Here's what we ordered during dinner:

Chicken Inasal with buttered veggies.

 The all-time pinoy favorite sisig:

 The sizzling boneless bangus:

 The garden salad:

 This is my favorite hang out, during daylight:

 Other side of my favorite hang out: The Lounge

 This is what cousin Jessa did most of the time when we hang around this place: Play with her iPad2.

 This is the dining area by day. That's my sister ordering breakfast.

May I just say that their waiters were very courteous, the customer service is really good! They were very warm and professional. The only downside of the cafe is it's only open from 7am to 9pm. So there's be no midnight snack if you suddenly had a pang of hunger during dawn.

 I love how they have the Kalingan fabric in the details of the restaurant that served as placemats.

 This is the view of the pool from the side entrance:

 The pool is only up to 5ft deep! (yey for me! Haha!)

 They have this patio beside the pool where you can have dinner and hang by the pool.

 On the other side of the patio is a mini-hotel souvenir shop just in case you want to take some memorabilia of having been in Kalinga.

 Again, another side of the pool. We did not have the chance to swim because we were too tired from the wedding, plus, we live in Laguna, City of hot springs, so the swimming pools are available everywhere for us.

 Our stay comes with two free breakfasts, but only good for two pax even if we are 5 in the room.

Here's what we ordered:

 French toast meal - it was actually in big serving

 Bangus + rice+ egg

My panwich with crispy fritters (fried kamote):

 Chicken in Lemon Sauce ( I'm a fan of Lemon Chicken, this can be a good substitute)

I cannot tell you how much we love the Crispy Fritters with Garlic Dip. I think we ordered about 6 or 7 of these during our stay:

We only paid Php 435.00 each for all the food during our entire stay. We even had left overs that the waiters gladly allowed us to take it out then reheat it for the next morning. :) 

Some added info:

• Grand Zion is just along the road coming from Tuguegarao ( 1 hour from Tuguegarao using a private vehicle) and infront of the Iglesia ni Cristo church (that is being constructed as of this writing).
• They don't have a spa but you can request for an arrangement but it costs Php 1800. 
• They really have good customer service. Every time we arrive, the guards never fails to open the car/van doors for us and the staff of the hotel are very proactive in offering to carry our things even if it's not that heavy. 
• They provide towels and toiletries, but the changing of linens is upon request.
• All rooms are non-smoking rooms. Our room had the entrance view because we have a little veranda, but still you cannot smoke outside.
• The little downside is the shower. The water flow is not as strong, but they have water heaters installed.

There's so much to tell about our second trip to Kalinga because this is my Kuya Stew's wedding weekend. Here are my upcoming blog posts to watch out for:

• How I turned my Bridesmaid Que Horror moment to Q'Viva moment!
• Our Kuya finally got hitched! 
• How the Brits got jiggy with it: The Tagalog-British-Kalingan inter-cultural wedding 

Also my sister's church and flower design here at her website: Aprille Araguas Designs