Date
of Stay: April 6-8, 2019
RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)
Location:
********
Rooms:
*********
Condition
and Cleanliness: **********
Staff
Performance: *********
Room
Comfort: **********
Food
and Beverage: *********
Other
Amenities: *********
Value
for Money: ********
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| Le Charme Suites Subic. On the left is the building's landmark clock tower |
The DOT-accredited, 4-star and conveniently located Le Charme Suites
Subic, a leisure and business boutique hotel opened last March 2017 by Grand Pillar International Development, Inc. (a Filipino and Taiwanese-owned company).
The hotel is accessible to the shopping malls,
Central Business District and residential areas of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
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| Facade along Palm Street |
This handsome, sleek and modern accidental hotel (it was supposed to be a furniture showroom) is also the hub to the famous theme parks like Ocean Adventure, Jest Camp,
Zoobic Safari, Treetop Adventure, Magaul Bird Park, as well as All Hands Beach and
the Aeta’s Pamulaklakin Trail.
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| Front Desk |
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| Reception Area |
The 46 beautiful, stylish and spacious
rooms, accessed by equally spacious hallways, have 50’’ digital LED flat screen cable TV; electronic door access; high ceiling, individually
controlled centralized airconditioning, in-room safety box, personal
refrigerator with complimentary minibar, coffee/tea set-up, a bike rack, bathrobe and
slippers, daily complimentary bottled water and complimentary
WiFi connection.
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| De Luxe King Suite (331) |
The private ensuite bath has motion-activated lights, hot/cold water, hair dryer, bathtub, bidet, a separate glass shower enclosure with rainshower head and free toiletry.
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| Bathtub |
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| Shower Enclosure |
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| Minibar |
The Superior Room (PhP6,400+)
has a queen-size (150 cm. x 200 cm.) bed,
the 45 sq. m.(484 sq. ft.) De Luxe Twin Suite (PhP12,900+) has two queen-size beds,
the 45 sq. m.(484 sq. ft.) De Luxe King Suite (PhP11,200+) has a king-size (200 cm.
x 200 cm.) bed and the Charmed Suite
(PhP16,000+) has a queen-size bed and a separate living room.
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| De Luxe Twin Suite (310) |
The bed, bed linen and pillows were top grade. Some of the rooms have balconies. Guests here get free
use of swimming pool and gym facilities plus free parking.
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| Charmed Suite |
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| Charmed Suite Living Room |
The elegant, Spanish-inspired Mi Tapas, Le Charme’s in-house restaurant, which
promotes LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability), serves up a storm
with its ambiance and a la carte menu of European-inspired dishes for lunch and dinner.
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| Buffet breakfast |
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| Mi Tapas |
For breakfast, they serve Filipino and Western fare - waffles, hotcake, French toast, danggit, garlic or plain rice, bacon, noodles, egg station, coffee/tea station, juices, bread station, cereals, pastries, sausages, etc., plus coffee and juices.
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| Mini children's playground |
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| Function hall |
The hotel also has an in-hotel KTV room (Las Palmas), conference room (Madrid) for intimate meetings and events and a 200-pax ballroom (Barcelona) for wedding receptions and company conferences.
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| Ms. Sara Grace Fojas tackling the rock climbing wall |
There's also a mini children's playground (third floor), an outdoor rock climbing wall (reaching up to the 4-storey height of the building) and a 15-pax elevator (with a bench for the elderly). Free high-speed Wi-Fi is available all throughout the
property.
The roof top Ibiza Roof Deck, with its
Game of Thrones motif and backdrop, has a captivating, almost 360-degree view of
the city, the Subic mountainside and the sunset and sunrise.
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| The rooftop Ibiza Roof Deck |
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| Sunken Seating Area |
It also has a world-class 25 m. long, 4 ft. deep, half Olympic-size swimming pool, a children's pool, sunken sofa area, shower rooms
(male and female) and palm-shaded sun loungers.
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| The spacious hallway |
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| Biking in Subic |
It’s more fun (and healthy)
to tour around the Freeport Zone using bicycles and Le Charme Suites
Subic, a true haven for those who go and visit Subic with their
bikes, is the only “bike friendly” hotel in town and in Central
Luzon.
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| A pair of bikes on racks at the lobby |
This is seen from its elevator (wide and spacious enough
to bring in a bike and other recreational equipment); slip-free and wide carpeted
hallways to its rooms and lobby with built-in bicycle racks.
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Ms. Vianca Gamboa and Ms. Sara Grace Fojas at an early morning spin
bike session at the Ibiza Roof Deck |
Its fitness center also offers the first ever spin bike class in Subic Bay. Here you can groove and workout in style and also enjoy a sunset spinning session prepared to have your work-out session in style.
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Framed French poster and a statuette of Eiffel Tower,
made with Legos, at the lobby |
The hotel is also French-themed (the hotel’s name is French for “charm" or a "charmer”) – from the framed posters in the lobby to the Eiffel Tower statuettes at the lobby (made with Legos) and on every table in Mi Tapas.
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| Rosslyn products in dispensers |
The ensuite bathrooms also have French-made Rosslyn personal care products (conditioner, shampoo and gel douche in tubes at the lavatory and bottled dispensers in the shower enclosure) made with botanical extracts and mineral essence combined with the French aromatherapy formula.
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| Solar panels |
The hotel and the building itself uses green technology – from the
motion sensor LED lights to the the soft touch switch panel (including the
Don’t Disturb sign) to operate everything. It also reduced its carbon
footprint by utilizing solar panels to light up the common areas and a unique rainwater catchment system to water the plants and flush the toilets.
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| Teppan 101 |
The hotel-owned Teppan 101, at the ground floor, is the only Asian-fusion restaurant in Subic. It offers hibachi and sushi and teppanyaki dining with a cigar and lounge deck.
The hotel also offers daily
housekeeping, concierge, currency exchange, dry cleaning, pressing service,
evening turndown service, car rental and shuttle service (additional
charge). Their friendly professional staff was helpful and polite.
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| Shabu Shabu |
Other commercial establishments at the ground floor include another restaurant (Shabu-Shabu), nail and beauty salon (La Bella) and a Spin Cycle
Station at the Johnson Fitness and Wellness Center. Nai Cha serves authentic Milk Tea and finger foods at very affordable prices. At The Cube, we experienced advanced Virtual Reality (VR) immersion.
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| Taichi Wellness Spa |
Taichi Wellness Spa, with its sauna and jacuzzi, offers Traditional Chinese Dry Massage, Tai Chi Foot Reflexology, Hilot Massage, Sports Massage, Swedish Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Combination Massage, Body and Foot Massage, Ventosa, Hotstone, Quaasa (Gua Sha) and Hand and Scalp Massage.
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| Tai Chi Wellness Spa |
The
hotel is located 100 m. from Royal Subic Duty Free Shop, Puregold, SNR New York Style Pizza and a BPI bank branch (with its convenient ATM machine).
It is also 220 m. from the Totalmed Subic Hospital; 700 m. from the Subic
Bay Convention Center; 1.56 km. from Subic Golf by Subic Leisure World Inc.; 1.6
km. from Subic Fiesta Carnival; 1.61 km. from Mother And Child Family Hospital;
1.77 km. from SBFZ Sports Complex; 1.82
km. from the Law Enforcement Department; 1.86 km. from Magellan's Landing
Maritime Museum; and 2.3 kms. from Harbor Point.
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| Virtual reality immersion at The Cube |
It is also 45-minute drive to
Clark International Airport and an estimated 3 hours from Manila International
Airport.
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| The author striking a pose at The Cube |
