Had a Planning Session cum Team Building the past three days in White Rock ... Was really looking forward to it because I hadn't been to White Rock yet ... Did it live up to my expectations?! Hmmmmmm ....
Location?
White Rock Beach Hotel is located in Bo. Matain, Subic, Zambales just 8 minutes away from SBMA and 2 hours drive from Balintawak toll plaza ... Going there, we took the Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo Highway (now the Jose Abad Santos Avenue), which is the regular route to Pampanga, Bataan and Zambales ... But on the way back, we tried the newly opened Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) ... we've paid i think a toll fee of Php 112 to NLEX, but it was a "refreshing" ride ... all green all through-out ... mountains and trees ... beautiful!
Rooms?
Hmmmm .... Next question please! hehehe ... It's really quite difficult to comment ... It was comfortable with basic furnishings - bed, TV, 2 chairs, a tiny (as in tiny) closet ... But with the price that the we paid per room, I was expecting something more ... Php 6000 +++ (deluxe room) is quite pricey for what they had to offer
... and on top, we had some disappointing experiences
- no hair dryer and slippers ... you have to request if you need one
- cannot borrow flat iron ... was informed that housekeeping do not lend flat iron to guests
- bed sheets are already stained
- our other colleagues even had "guest" cockroaches in their room
- one room's drainage wasn't functioning properly
- the hot & cold label in the shower was the other way around
Food?
Most of the time, we had Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in Sunset Cafe.
- Breakfast was okay ... First morning we had tocino & tinapa ... Second morning was bacon & daing na bangus
- Lunch was really forgettable ... they prepared three sets of main dish for buffet ... same fish dish was served three times the entire time we were there ... if they were recycled, I don't know ...
- Dinner was half-half ... First night was the usual three main dish buffet ... However, on the second night, we decided to try the Plaza Bar & Grill ... Food was better ... We had shrimps and BBQs ... There was live band but only up to 10pm ... we had to pay extra to make them stay for an additional 4 more songs ...
Facilities?
- Internet was down ... we couldn't access our e-mails which was a real pain ... and to top it off, the 3G coverage wasn't that good so we couldn't use our mobile for connecting to the net
- Recreation Room has fitness center, videoke, ping-pong tables and billiards ... wasn't too well ventilated ... one thing i appreciated was it was a non-smoking room ...
- No elevator ... had to take the long winding stairs ... difficult if you have a heavy luggage
Service?
- Check-out took so long ... It wasn't automated ... Had to write down everything in a paper ... Really error-prone ... good thing our organizer was meticulous to spot all the "additional" things that were being charged to us ... wasn't sure if those additional charges were deliberate or just because they were doing it manually ...
- Receptionists and Waiters were friendly and willing to provide assistance every time
The Beach?
