Hello, hello! Welcome to Greta’s Junkyard. If you’re new here, my name is Gretchen Gatan Fragada. I’m a writer and editor based in Metro Manila. Greta’s Junkyard is a lifestyle blog I started in 2013 where I often dump articles on beauty, travel, lifestyle, and more. Aside from being a wife to Cayo and a veteran fur mom to a Shih Tzu dog named Booboo and a Persian cat named Bellatrix, I’m a first-time mom to a toddler daughter named Cambria.
Greta’s Junkyard also serves as a platform where I like to document life milestones as well as our little family’s adventures! And recently, Cayo, Cambria, and I traveled to Batangas and stayed in Lima Park Hotel.About Lima Park Hotel
Lima Park Hotel is a four-star business and leisure hotel with 134 rooms located an hour away from Makati via South Luzon Expressway and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway). It’s within the Lima Commercial Estate in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas. We booked an overnight stay because a good friend of mine, Maan, invited us to her wedding. She even asked Cambria to be her flower girl while I was the cord sponsor. The reception was held at Gunita Villas and Pavilion, which was about 10 minutes away from the hotel.
For comfort and convenience, since we were traveling with a toddler after all, Cayo and I both felt that Lima Park Hotel was the best option within the vicinity. Other hotels were either too far away or weren’t four stars like Lima Park.
Lima Park Hotel Gave Us a Room Upgrade!
Maan’s wedding was on a Friday but luckily, our call time at the church — St. Louis IX Chapel (about three minutes away from the reception) — was at 2:30 PM. A week before the wedding, I emailed Lima Park Hotel if we could check in early on Friday and check out late on Saturday. This way, Cambria could take a nap before the wedding, and Cayo and I could get ready.
To our surprise and delight, they didn’t just grant our request. They also upgraded our deluxe room to a premiere deluxe, which had spacious queen-sized beds pushed together and direct access to the swimming pool! Imagine the excitement on Cambria’s face when she opened the curtains to find the swimming pool in her view.
Pampering amenities were complete and included bath robes, slippers, and toiletries. Our stay came with complimentary breakfast buffet for two as well.
Our Friday Itinerary
We left our house, the Fraggy Home, at around 8:30 in the morning. We arrived at Lima Park Hotel about 10:20 AM and immediately got to check in. After arranging our things and settling in, we had brunch at PLUM Pan Asian Cuisine, one of the restaurants in the hotel. This is also where they serve their breakfast buffet. We ordered some pasta, mozzarella sticks, a burger, and fish and fries. But the highlight was probably their Drink of the Day, a fusion of lemonade and coconut milk, which came with a free plushie! Cambria chose the parrot, which we named Zazu.
After the meal, I put Cambria down for a nap before getting ready for the wedding. Our hotel room came with a hair dryer and lots of outlets. Since I brought my portable steamer from Shopee, I was able to steam our gowns easily. As soon as I finished with my makeup, Cambria woke up from her nap a little before 2 PM. So I just made her wear her gown and fixed her hair!
Since we stayed until after the wedding program, we didn’t get back to the hotel until around 10:30 PM. Cambria was still on a high from her grapes and crackers from the grazing table so I gave her a bath first. The tub came with an anti-slip mat, which I highly appreciated because it made bathing a toddler so much safer. The bathroom had a bidet as well. It made washing tiny toddler butts convenient!
The two beds pushed together also made me sleep at ease. No matter how much Cambria tossed and turned that night, I knew she wouldn’t fall off. Our little family got to sleep well that night thanks to the comfy sheets, too!
Our Saturday Itinerary
The next day, we woke up at around 8:30 AM and headed back to PLUM for the breakfast buffet, which was until 10 AM. We helped ourselves to coffee, pancakes, sausages, and eggs cooked in different ways (thanks to the egg station). Moreover, they had delicious hot chocolate. I kept coming back for more! Cambria was more than happy with her bowl of cereals and milk.
After breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning swimming. They have two kiddie pools and one adult pool. Cambria had so much fun in their kiddie pool and even tried many of the lessons she has learned from her swimming classes with Aqualogic. When she was tired, we headed back to our room where I gave her a bath before she took a nap. This gave Cayo and I some time to start packing up.
When Cambria woke up, we played for a bit before checking out a little after 1 PM. Since we were still full from the breakfast buffet, we decided to make a side trip to Ayala Solenad in Nuvali. We ended up having merienda there before going home.
I Highly Recommend Lima Park Hotel
If you’re ever looking for a nice and family-friendly hotel to stay in the Lipa or Malvar area, look no further than Lima Park Hotel. What made our stay even more memorable was the friendliness of the staff. They were all so warm and accommodating. And they always interacted with Cambria and made her smile! I appreciated it so much.
To know more about the hotel or to book a room, visit their website at limaparkhotel.com.
To stay updated with my posts, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram at @gretchengatan. Until next time!