We almost swore off Clark Pampanga hotels because of a bad experience with the Marriot. But while surfing Instagram (or IG as the young ones say), my husband came across an ad for the Hilton Clark Sun Valley resort. He did the usual stuff, checked out the website, checked the room rates, checked the reviews, and was pretty much blown away by it all enough to show me.
I was apprehensive at first, I feel like we’ll be wasting money again (hahaha!) but he showed me the reviews man. I must say, old clients of the Hilton are pretty convincing. From what I learned, this is a brand-spankin’ new hotel, they just opened December last year. I love going to new hotels, guys, the amenities are so fresh. Anyhoo, I became excited and we decided to book a weekend stay to celebrate my husband’s birthday.
Now here’s the thing, I excitedly brought our toddler along and that’s the reason why I don’t have any pictures of everything. I’m literally kicking myself for forgetting to take a picture of the hotel itself and the interiors. Can I just say, family trips are exhausting man.
I managed to take pictures of the food (IKR, priorities, hahaha!) just to show you that I’m not making this up.
We had such a great experience, we’ll book a return visit sometime in April. It will be just the two of us this time, hahahaha! On to the review:
The Exterior
Sorry for the lack of images, we were with Damien so I didn’t spend a lot of time taking pictures. I love how the building was set up, it’s right across the parking area so the walk between the entrance and the parking area only takes a minute or so. Very nice! Also, the staff members were very alert, you’ll be greeted by someone who’ll collect your luggage and take it upstairs. All you have to do is to head to the entrance.
Safety
Basic health protocols were observed guys. You have to fill a form before going to the entrace. Your bags will be scanned before entering the lobby. Checking in is very, very quick. The receptionists were very nice, they explained all the inclusions of the room perfectly. A perfect 10 for customer service.
The Interiors
The interiors are not as grand as The Marriott but they’re still nice, very elegant, and modern. The escalator is near the entrance so it’s very convenient to go in and out of the building itself.
From the lobby, you’ll get a great view of the playground, the courtyard, and the pool area. On the left side of the lobby is the Olive restaurant. We stayed here for coffee and snacks because our room was not ready when we arrived. We ordered coffee, brownies and strawberry cheesecake for us and sosyal an mac n’ cheese for Damien. Presentation is top-notch.
Here’s little Damien by the way:
He’s so big na, no?
Getting to Our Room
Once the room was ready, we received a text that says we can go to the room. We took the nearby elevator and stayed in the room somewhere on the 5th floor. I did take a video of the room while going in but somehow, my phone became glitchy or something because it only captured a second of the shot. Huhuhu! My only consolation is that we have plans of returning to this hotel and I’ll take more pictures this time.
The room itself isn’t grand, it’s a PHP10K a night room so no bathtub. We didn’t get the one with the bathtub because frankly, we were not sure if we’ll have a good time, hahaha! Nakaka-trauma and Marriott kaloka. Anyhoo, the bathroom is nice, they use Crabtree and Evelyn bath essentials. I loved the bath gel, it smelled so nice.
Amenities
Love love the amenities. All the fixtures were brand new and medyo hi-tech so it took a little tinkering to do things. We love the playground, Damien had such an amazing time playing. The timing was a bit off, we were hoping that there will be few visitors but we somehow booked a stay on Chinese New Year so there were more people than usual, according to one staff member. Not crowded at all pero a bit more peeps than we realized. It’s okay because we felt safe naman because I can see the staff members tirelessly sanitizing the busiest areas regularly.
The pool area is so nice as well. It overlooks the hills so the view was green and picturesque! The water is only 4 feet deep so perfectly safe for kids. There were a lot of cabanas and lounge chairs with umbrellas. Gorgeous. You can order your drinks poolside also pero we didn’t have the chance since we were busy with Damien in the waters. And as you can see, medyo nag enjoy and bagets. He was totally knocked out by 8PM hahaha!
Shoutout to the life guards BTW, they mean business. They don’t go around loitering and pretending to check the swimming folks. They’re literally standing at the edge, giving you a stern warning if you’re having way too much fun. Ilang beses kaming nag eye-to-eye nila kuya hahahaah! I remember that one time at the Marriott when this foreigner teen slipped and hit his head on the tile floor. Yikes, I was so shocked medyo napatayo ako and still, walang lifeguard. Totally different experience which says a lot.
For dinner, we had room service. We ordered the Premium Platter, the Bocconcini pizza, and pumpkin soup + rice for Damy. Damien’s not picky with his food but he prefers soupy dishes. Since the menu is limited, we had to order soup. The soup we wanted was not available and the receptionist suggested pumpkin soup because it’s child-friendly.
Stomach Ache AGAIN
I’m totally not making this up. Remember last time when I had stomach cramps while staying at the Marriott and came face to face with the most incompetent nurse of all time? Well, I had a stomach ache again no doubt from eating too many things. You can totes ask for the logbook and check if someone on the 5th floor asked for meds at 4 in the morning.
We informed the hotel via their app and yes, you’re not the only one surprised that they actually check the messages at that hour. I almost got angry at my husband for using the app instead of calling the receptionist, hehehehe! But it worked! We were informed that the nurse will arrive in two minutes. And guys, like fucking clockwork, the nurse did come in 2 minutes or less. And he was accompanied by the manager or something. I had to talk to them in the hallway kasi Damien was sleeping.
I was told that they were not allowed to give meds and suggested we ask my husband to drive to the city for the meds. Eh I couldn’t because we have a toddler and we’re basically in a remote part of Clark (hilly areas) and I wouldn’t take the hot compress knowing it won’t ease the cramping. They relented when I begged them to give me a buscopan. They only allowed one but it did the trick hehehee! Thank you, nurse and manager!
Food and Breakfast Buffet
I was very curious how a hotel like the Hilton Clark Sun Valley would handle a buffet knowing we’re in the middle of a pandemic. It was surprisingly great because instead of getting the food yourself, there is an attendant at every station. All you have to do is choose what you like from the spread and the dude will do all the food hoarding for you, hahaha! I had zero appetite since I was just recovering from the stomach cramps but I had a fried egg, a pork sausage, fried rice, and bacon. They’re so good!
Damy ate a cup of yogurt, a few sips of juice, and French toast. He loved all the food! My husband had everything else and was happy as a clam.
Checking Out
Checking out was very seamless, we got a call a few minutes before checking out and we prepared our bags. Someone came in to collect the luggage and then after checking out, we decided to eat at the Olive before driving home. We had the Premium Platter, yes again, along with the carbonara for Damien. We also ordered two servings of rice.
Final Thoughts
Guys, believe me when I say that the Hilton is worth checking out. We had a great time despite the anxiety of the pandemic. It’s worth mentioning that this is Damien’s first trip after his birthday celebration at Marco Polo in Ortigas so it’s a big deal. It’s also my husband’s advanced birthday celebration so the day was very meaningful. Amazing service, great food, and fantastic amenities. My only gripe is the menu, which is quite limited. I get it tho, not much people are going to hotels so they curated the menu items. That’s cool because the food we had naman was fabulous. 10/10 would come back again!