Manila Ocean Park and Hotel H2O Experience 2017 (Part 1)

I have been planning to take my family to Manila Ocean Park before the summer ends and to maximize the experience, I booked a 3-day stay at Hotel H2O, a hotel inside Manila Ocean Park, through Metrodeal. I swear, it's way cheaper than booking on the hotel's website. Two nights means two vouchers so that sums up to almost P7,000. 

I also bought the 10-in-1 attractions for Manila Ocean Park which costs P799 each which I thought was a good deal. The deal includes the following:

• Oceanarium
• Trails to Antarctica
• Jellies Exhibit
• Penguin Talk Show
• Birds of Prey Kingdom
• Sea Lion Show
• Sharks & rays Dry Encounter
• All-Star Bird Show
• Symphony Evening Show
• Amazing Stories of Yexel's Museum
  So last Sunday, we went to Manila Ocean Park and checked in at Hotel H2O. We checked in at the hotel first to settle in our luggage and stuff. You may also check out my first review of Hotel H2O back in 2010 here. 

Manila Ocean Park Entrance

Checking in the Aqua Room

Checking in was a breeze. I simply presented my Metrodeal printed vouchers and my ID. I also deposited P2,000 which is redeemable when we check out. 

Hotel H2O - Aqua Room 

The aqua room never ceases to amaze children with their huge built-in aquariums with colorful fishes. That is actually my intention which is why I booked the room :)  The TV has Cartoon Network and the hotel offers free WIFI in the rooms so that's a big plus for my kids. Plus, all of the contents of the mini bar are complimentary so that definitely brought some smiles on our faces.

Some minor downsides of the Aqua room include not having a bathtub (shower only) and the bed is a queen size only so the four of us will sleep like sardines in one bed. You can also request for an additional bed for P1,000 per night, but we decided not to take it because we're really saving our cash. 

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A Tour in the Manila Ocean Park

After settling in our room, we went back to the entrance area to submit our Metrodeal vouchers to the ticketing booth. They have a separate ticketing booth for Metrodeal customers which was quite nice and convenient.

After getting the tickets, we went to the following places: 

First, we went to the "Trails of Antartica."

We were all excited to see the penguins. It's actually our very first time to see penguins in real life! We just looked at them through the glass... and that's it. We stayed here and looked at the penguins for 10 minutes. Afterward, we went inside a room with a White Christmas theme where you can take pictures. The room was not filled with real snow, only styrofoam.  

 Second, we went to the "Oceanarium"

The first time we went to the Oceanarium was 8 years ago when the place was newly opened. I remember the place was a bit cold due to the strong air conditioning and there was a lot of fish including sharks and sting rays. Now, I'm not sure if it was just me, but when we went inside the oceanarium, it was a bit hot like there was no air conditioning at all. Not sure if it was turned off or there were just too many people inside giving off heat and all. 

Aside from the air conditioning, I didn't see the popular spider crab inside and the sharks dwindled in numbers. It's all mostly fishes now and a few sting rays. There used to be crocodiles, too, but I don't remember seeing them during our recent trip.  

After walking around the oceanarium, my feet were really tired and I was really hoping to see some best massage chairs somewhere where you can pay some coins and then you lie down and get massaged by the chair for like 10-20 minutes. I did saw some chairs outside the Yexel Toy Museum, but we decided to return to our room instead because the kids were also tired.

When we returned to our room, the roof was leaking!!! Stay tuned for part 2 of our Manila Ocean Park / Hotel H2O experience.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2