Somersweet

Hubby was flying back home late on the day of our anniversary.  So instead of going through the long drive home after picking him up from the airport, my daughter and I decided to surprise him with an overnight stay in Makati at a serviced apartment.

I’d had occasion to visit the Somerset Salcedo apartments, since it is accredited by the company where I used to work.  I liked the rooms, but I wanted a place nearer the commercial business district.  I tried reserving a unit at the Ascott Makati, but they were fully booked.  Then, I remembered how one of the managers had switched to the Somerset Olympia apartments for the same reason, and though she warned me that the rooms were a bit old, and smaller than their Salcedo counterpart, she found the accommodations OK, since it was just walking distance from the Glorietta malls, as well as the eating places at the Ayala Triangle Gardens.

The parking was definitely a challenge.  The narrow winding driveway barely accommodated the van, but I managed.  I did wonder how on earth I was going to get out later when I picked up hubby from the airport but decided that if I could get into the basement parking lot, then I could get out even if the van had to crawl all the way up.

The lobby wasn’t much, but then this was a serviced apartment, not a hotel.  The layout was also a bit scattered.  From the elevators, you go out the door to an underground driveway, get into the lobby then out again to get into the service elevators.

But the staff was very professional and friendly.  And the service was quick.  And surprise of surprises, my reservation for a one-bedroom executive had been upgraded into a 2-bedroom premier.   It was just my luck that they were fully booked and needed to make some changes, which required upgrading my reservation.  I wish I’d brought along the help, who would’ve been thrilled  - but then how could I have known?

My daughter was thoroughly enamored with the place that she didn’t want to accompany me to nearby Glorietta to get some provisions.  She’d already settled into the sofa in front of the TV with a snack, so I decided to just be quick and go by myself.

Which was a good thing.  It was one of those steaming hot days and I made the mistake of walking to the mall (I didn’t want to face that narrow driveway  unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary, sigh), forgetting it was a Friday and nearing rush hour.  I couldn’t get a cab to get back to the apartment.  I lugged my groceries down the underpass and up and all the way back to Somerset.  My daughter asked what happened to me when she opened the door and saw me, face red, hair limp with sweat.

Other than that though, it was heaven to have all that space and that coolness.  Better still, hubby’s reaction when he learned that he could relax in Makati after a long day, and not have to go through a long drive home.  We spent the night in comfort, woke up refreshed and even had some leisure time in  Makati before we went home to Batangas.

All in all, a comfortable stay.  Somersweet indeed.