Travel: Post Valentine's Staycation at Azure Urban Resort Residences
Sunday, March 12, 2017
For Valentine's Day this year, we celebrated it as a family by going down south and spending it on a staycation at Azure Urban Resort Residences. Azure is a property of Century Properties located in Paranaque. This place is highly associated with Paris Hilton's name because she designed the amenities of its beach club, which was eventually named Paris Beach Club.
We initially planned of arriving at the resort by 2pm of Saturday to meet the caretaker who will hand us the key to the unit where we will stay. But due to unexpected rain and super heavy traffic, we arrived at 4pm. Our country's traffic is really terrible! To think that we came from Pasig area only. With that amount of travel time, we could have opted to go to Batangas instead! 😅
After
registering ourselves at the building's reception, we were escorted to
our unit and this view greeted us at the balcony. We spent a few minutes
to rest before going down to check out the amenities.
Days prior to going to Azure, we were requested by the unit owner to fill out a guest registration form which was submitted to their Property Management Office. Every guest who will be staying at the resort needs to be listed and acknowledged before their arrival date. You then need to bring that document and show it to the receptionist of the building where you will be staying. A visitor's pass will then be issued that you need to bring everywhere while inside the resort premises. You will also be required to leave your ID before they hand out the visitor's pass.
The resort consists of 9 high rise buildings which surrounds the man made beach. These buildings were named from famous beaches and renowned seaside resorts from around the world such as Bahamas, Santorini, Maldives, Rio, Boracay and the likes. Currently, there are still some unfinished buildings under construction so expect some noises and construction debris while there.
What's special about this resort is its one-of-a-kind-in-Manila man-made beach located at its center, the Azure Beach. It boasts of white fine sand, a wave pool, an infinity pool, waterfalls and children's beach. It was designed to give that beach vibe without having to go out of the city of Manila. Very clever and wise idea, right? Kudos to whoever thought of this design -- bringing the beach in the middle of a bustling city.
Kiel surely had a great time enjoying the children's beach despite the chilly weather. Actually, it was his first time to step on a beach sand. I thought he forgot how to walk since he can't make a single step at first. Haha, kawawang bata nanibago ata. Nonetheless, he still enjoyed based on his giggles and smiles everytime he is in the waters. The children's beach is until 3 feet deep only and has sand all the way to the deepest part.
A play area is located near the shore where kids can slide while water splashes. There's a big pail on top which will topple over once it becomes full with water. A lifeguard is also present around the area which provides extra help for parents and guardians to watch over the kids.
On the other side is the wave pool. Unlike the children's area, the pool's bottom is made up of blue tiles without the sand. They say they turn on the waves at an interval. We only saw it one time though. This pool is maximum of 5 feet deep.
Me and Kiel enjoying the waves. Just be cautious because the floor tiles tend to be slippery.
They also have an infinity pool/lap pool. However there are amenities on the resort exclusive for unit owners and residents only, one of these being the lap pool. A guard is nearby dedicated to advise guests of this rule. He was kind enough though to let us take some photos while seated on one of the lounge chairs.
Feeling this Season of Love at Azure. This is found near the entrance of the Beach Club.
If you go on top of each building, a garden inspired rooftop will greet you. It has artificial grass as flooring and seats are available for those who want to make tambay. No plants or ponds or trees though but it offers a really good view of the surrounding city. This place is surely ideal for watching sunrise and sunset.
Where we stayed: DJ's good friend was generous enough to offer our little family a free stay at their condo unit -- a 1 bedroom unit located at the 17th floor of St. Tropez building. It's a fully furnished unit facing the amenities complete with appliances such as a cable TV, aircon, water heater, rice cooker, microwave, ref and conduction stove. We have the option to cook or call for food delivery. There's a landline and wifi as well. SM Bicutan is just nearby in case you want to go to the grocery, because unfortunately there's no convenient store inside the resort. The unit even has a wine bucket with stand and wine glasses ready if you're into romantic night drinking sessions. Restroom is very clean with options for hot and cold shower. Drinking water is also provided for free.
The place is actually open for rent through AirBnB. Currently, the unit owner and his wife resides in Singapore. It's his wife's mom who is in charge of taking care of the unit for the guests.
Some tips in case you also want to have a staycation here:
- The place tends to be crowded on weekends, if possible go here during a weekday to fully enjoy the place.
- On weekends, expect the pool area to be full of people. I've read they have day passes where guests can use the amenities without having to stay on a unit.
- Waiting for the elevator will also take some time due to the number of people.
- There's a 20 peso fee per person per day if you want to swim on their pools. A wrist band signifies that you are registered. A different wrist band color is issued everyday. There might also be a long queue for the registration.
- There are amenities that are exclusive for residents and unit owners only.
- You need to be dry before you can enter the Paris Beach Club. Either you go here before you swim or after swim when you have already changed clothes.
- Security personel requires the visitor's pass to be worn at all times.
- Make sure to sign and submit the Guest Advise Forms at least 2 days before your arrival date. Bring a copy also to show the guards when entering the gate.
Overall, our Valentine's celebration has been enjoyable at Azure. I just hope that the management would do something to promote and preserve the luxury that they want the resort to be. Due to the massive number of people who wants to experience the place, especially on weekends, it somehow becomes a public resort available for everyone, sacrificing the quality of service that it offers.
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