The past two weeks were a lot more tiring than the usual for our family. This is because my two younger children got sick one after the other. I knew and felt we all could do with some relaxation time. With my husband and I's work schedule and our children's school schedule to consider, we couldn't afford to go far nor spend more than necessary. It is with all these in mind that I decided to book our family hotel staycation using the Traveloka App.
Why use a hotel booking app when we can just book through the hotel site, right? Well for one, there's the convenience of visiting just one site to have access to information about thousands of accommodation possibilities. Another is having access to discounts and promotions which can be more cost-saving than those offered through respective hotel sites. Still another, is seeing unbiased reviews from travelers who have actually visited the hotels we may be considering. At the back of my mind, I cannot help but think that most businesses would not publish bad reviews on their own sites. Thus, my decision for now to try booking through Traveloka.
How to Book Hotels Through Traveloka
The first thing to do is to download the Traveloka app.
After getting a welcome message, you will be directed to the Traveloka site.
Click on the "Hotel" icon to start your search. You will be immediately be given choices near your area. These choices can be very useful for those who literally don't want to go far from home. Unfortunately, I found none in our area that fits our needs.
Don't forget to check as well on "Ongoing Promos" for the best deals.
Of course, you have the option to indicate your desired destination and duration of stay. Once these information plus the number of guests are filled in, you are given choices based on the room availability when you tap "Search". We decided to check options in Tagaytay and considered several. The place we must choose should have a room available for four on February 18. These were non-negotiable since I always travel with my family and this is the only remaining weekend we expect everyone of us is free. The coming weeks will be filled with school exam schedules and other activities related to graduation and moving up ceremonies of my two children.
Probably because of the date which is just several days after Valentine's Day, there were not very many options available based on our specifications. I can just imagine other families like us wanting to get a short break from the everyday grind of life. We finally settled on Days Hotel Tagaytay as we still have good memories of staying in Days Hotel Batangas several years ago.
Once I've chosen the hotel and room, I was asked for my contact details and special request/s, if any. Aside from reliable Internet connection, our needs are very basic which is a safe, peaceful and clean accommodation plus facilities that are in excellent working condition. A courteous staff should be a given or else it is in my opinion that the absence of such, places a hotel in the wrong industry.
I chose to pay through Dragonpay via an over-the-counter payment at a BPI branch near our home. I got the payment instructions almost instantaneously through email. I received confirmation of my payment after about 5 minutes from bank validation.
The next email message I received was the hotel voucher from Traveloka. And just like that, our family staycation was set. The whole family waited for the weekend with great anticipation.
Our Stay at Days Hotel Tagaytay
Traveling to Tagaytay on a Saturday can be particularly challenging, traffic-wise. Everybody seemed to be on their way there, so the usual travel time of 30 minutes from our place doubled to an hour. Still bearable though. It was easy to find because of the signage, although the hotel itself is below street-level.
Our room was comfortable enough. It was clean, although the walls and carpet showed visible signs of wear and tear. The absence of a bidet in the bathroom is probably my major concern overall. Everything else was acceptable.
My Say
I know that staying in a hotel for a vacation can be considered a luxury for many families like us. Given the busy schedules of family members and the high cost of everything nowadays, relaxing can indeed come with rigorous planning and at a price. That shouldn't be a reason however to forego it.
That said, it is a good thing that hotel booking apps like Traveloka are now available. By being able to see online the offerings and prices, families can plan accordingly. Having a family staycation is not impossible. We just have to save for it, give time to make it a reality and make use of deals and promos that will allow us to enjoy more but spend less.
Why use a hotel booking app when we can just book through the hotel site, right? Well for one, there's the convenience of visiting just one site to have access to information about thousands of accommodation possibilities. Another is having access to discounts and promotions which can be more cost-saving than those offered through respective hotel sites. Still another, is seeing unbiased reviews from travelers who have actually visited the hotels we may be considering. At the back of my mind, I cannot help but think that most businesses would not publish bad reviews on their own sites. Thus, my decision for now to try booking through Traveloka.
How to Book Hotels Through Traveloka
The first thing to do is to download the Traveloka app.
After getting a welcome message, you will be directed to the Traveloka site.
Click on the "Hotel" icon to start your search. You will be immediately be given choices near your area. These choices can be very useful for those who literally don't want to go far from home. Unfortunately, I found none in our area that fits our needs.
Don't forget to check as well on "Ongoing Promos" for the best deals.
Of course, you have the option to indicate your desired destination and duration of stay. Once these information plus the number of guests are filled in, you are given choices based on the room availability when you tap "Search". We decided to check options in Tagaytay and considered several. The place we must choose should have a room available for four on February 18. These were non-negotiable since I always travel with my family and this is the only remaining weekend we expect everyone of us is free. The coming weeks will be filled with school exam schedules and other activities related to graduation and moving up ceremonies of my two children.
Probably because of the date which is just several days after Valentine's Day, there were not very many options available based on our specifications. I can just imagine other families like us wanting to get a short break from the everyday grind of life. We finally settled on Days Hotel Tagaytay as we still have good memories of staying in Days Hotel Batangas several years ago.
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Once I've chosen the hotel and room, I was asked for my contact details and special request/s, if any. Aside from reliable Internet connection, our needs are very basic which is a safe, peaceful and clean accommodation plus facilities that are in excellent working condition. A courteous staff should be a given or else it is in my opinion that the absence of such, places a hotel in the wrong industry.
I chose to pay through Dragonpay via an over-the-counter payment at a BPI branch near our home. I got the payment instructions almost instantaneously through email. I received confirmation of my payment after about 5 minutes from bank validation.
The next email message I received was the hotel voucher from Traveloka. And just like that, our family staycation was set. The whole family waited for the weekend with great anticipation.
Our Stay at Days Hotel Tagaytay
Traveling to Tagaytay on a Saturday can be particularly challenging, traffic-wise. Everybody seemed to be on their way there, so the usual travel time of 30 minutes from our place doubled to an hour. Still bearable though. It was easy to find because of the signage, although the hotel itself is below street-level.
Our room was comfortable enough. It was clean, although the walls and carpet showed visible signs of wear and tear. The absence of a bidet in the bathroom is probably my major concern overall. Everything else was acceptable.
The view from our balcony was incredible especially when the sun was rising. Food was delicious. The hotel staff was very courteous and welcoming. I will be writing a separate review for Days Hotel Tagaytay very soon to provide readers more information on what can be expected if they choose to stay in the hotel.
My Say
I know that staying in a hotel for a vacation can be considered a luxury for many families like us. Given the busy schedules of family members and the high cost of everything nowadays, relaxing can indeed come with rigorous planning and at a price. That shouldn't be a reason however to forego it.
That said, it is a good thing that hotel booking apps like Traveloka are now available. By being able to see online the offerings and prices, families can plan accordingly. Having a family staycation is not impossible. We just have to save for it, give time to make it a reality and make use of deals and promos that will allow us to enjoy more but spend less.
