Sunshine and Tequila! A Night's Staycation at Wild Orchid Resort, Pampanga

The Wild Orchid Resort: a beautiful retreat in the midst of Angeles City.

As is customary for me before embarking on any kind of trip, I take to the internet to read about the place, where to stay and eat, and the stuff outside the hotel that we could do and then try to create a detailed itinerary.

I discovered this place, however, by accident when I opened Google Maps and I saw its very catchy name: the Wild Orchid. Beautiful, clean, affordable, and located in the heart of Angeles City (a walking distance from Fields Walking Street, Angeles City's premier nightlife hotspot), it was a resort-slash-hotel that catered not only to adults but to the two kids (one of which is a one-year old infant) we brought along. Room service is even open 24/7! That's rare around these parts.

Here is a walkthrough of the hotel.

A clean and impressive lobby.

The lagoon-side family room: a very VERY spacious room that can sleep up to 5 people. It costs just Php 5,400.00 per night, and the lagoon is right outside your (back) doorstep! The room has hot and cold showers, private azotea, a queen-sized and sofa bed, a fully stocked fridge, and 52" flat screen cable TV.

That mini island at the center of the lagoon? It's the poolside bar, only accessible by bridge or by swimming to it.

I remember the OJ costs about Php 80.00 per glass, and the fish and chips (which was delicious and has a large portion size) Php 360.00.

The hotel's bar and restaurant, open 24 hours a day.

An ATM in the lobby.

Sarong Cocktail Lounge is open only every evening. Girls wearing sarongs (a long piece of cloth worn over the body to resemble a dress) act as servers.

The place is beautifully lit up with fairy lights at night!

Grabbing a drink at the dry side of the island bar.

As I have mentioned in the introduction, Fields Walking Street is adjacent to the street Wild Orchid is on. A moonlight walk was inevitable.

Here's a little photo tour of Fields Walking Street, Angeles City's premier nightlife spot! Themed and unique bars and bistros line up the street, and scarlet ladies dress down (make no mistake-- the scanter the clothing, the more customers are sure to be attracted) and hunt for prey.

Mabuhay! Welcome to Fields Walking Street!

Every other bar in the street must have tried taking down this one.

Paradise Beer Garden is famous for being a reliable spot for a quiet sip of alcohol while tuned into ESPN.

Stopping for a snack in a quiet diner in Fields. These are my folks.

And this is mine-- classic hamburger with onion rings.

We went home in the afternoon of the next day. It was a very beautiful hotel, that even with malls and shopping areas all around we chose not to leave and swim all afternoon (and even early in the morning at 2:00 am). The water was great and heated, which is why our one-year old infant loved her swimming sessions. The staff was also very friendly and accommodating-- for one thing, they were not fawning over their foreign guests hoping for huge tips. The room and the room service was good and all were reasonably priced, too! I definitely would come back and stay again!