I don’t really celebrate my birthday. I usually treat it like an ordinary day. I feel like I can celebrate any day, eat cake when I want to, and go places any time of the year. 

It was coincidental when one of my #TripofWonders friends invited us to spend the weekend in Cebu.  He said that it was going to be a very chill weekend. It also served as our reunion. We stayed in Bai Hotel Cebu. 

I didn’t have any plans that weekend. I was set for a staycation. I actually missed my me-time but it was also good to reconnect with friends. They are mostly travel bloggers and it is a rare time to have everyone in Manila.

In case you want to read, here’s the Harry Potter Birthday Themed-Party I had two years ago. The rare time I celebrated my birthday.  

Anyway, we flew in via Air Asia from Manila to Cebu. From Mactan International Airport, we traveled around 20 minutes to Bai Hotel in Mandaue.  

Bai Hotel

Bai Hotel is a Contemporary Chic Business Hotel in Cebu. It is both modern, spacious and luxurious in its own right. It houses 668 guestrooms and 8 stylish restaurants. It has function rooms, fitness gym, sauna and rooftop pool with a nice view of the city of Mandaue. I was all set for the weekend in the hotel as it has everything I need. 

We were served Nature’s Spring Water with Grape Flavor

The view from the pool side

Bai Hotel Deluxe Room

I shared room with @wanderlasss and we love our Deluxe Room complete with the usual hotel amenities and more (keep reading to find out the more). 

Complimentary Daily Wi-Fi

Bai Toiletry Set 

Electric Iron and Ironing Board

Individual Climate Control

Individual Refrigerator (not mini-bar)

In – room Electronic Deposit Box

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)

Smoke Detectors

Sprinkler System

… and  Gas Mask (in case of emergency). This is the first time I saw these essentials inside a hotel room. 

Wall Street Coffee & Bar

@wanderlass and I spent most of our free time here. Wall Street offers signature selections of a traditional coffee house, drips and decafs, lattes and blended drinks. There’s a fine selection of baked goodies too! 

It is open 24 hours and is a perfect place for the after-party and/or morning meetings. 

When we woke up the following morning, received an invitation from the Hotel’s General Manager for a breakfast in the Executive Lounge. 

Breakfast at the Executive Lounge (Bai Hotel, Cebu)

with Liliane Cobiao, Trice Nagusara, Seph Cham, Darwin Cayetano, 

Mark Estur and THE Kenneth Surat
Background Music: Spice Girls 😁

Cafe Bai

For other guests, they can have buffet breakfast at the Cafe Bai (at the second floor) which is also open for Lunch and Dinner Buffet for walk-in guests (those who are not staying in the hotel).. 

Cafe Bai Buffet Rates

Php 599 (Weekday Rate)/ 

Php 699 (Weekend/Holiday Rate).

I love the spread at Cafe Bai especially for Breakfast where you can help yourself with some Taho, a Filipino snack made of silken tofu and sweetened (presented in the traditional Taho Balde Aluminum Container). 

UME Japanse Cuisine

After breakfast, we had lunch at UME Japanese Cuisine. It offers made-to-order sushi, soba, rice bowls and a la carte yakitori, sashimi, and ramen. My friends hailed for the sashimi but I just enjoyed the sushi and ramen (ah, always so comforting). 

After lunch, we headed to Temple of Leah. It seemed that everyone wanted to see something in Cebu especially that it was Seph and Trice’s first time together in Cebu, and Rodel (as always) was itching to go out.  🤩 It was an hour drive from the hotel and our host arranged a car service for us. Thank you!!!

Temple of Leah

I was expecting the place to be crowded. They say, the best time to go is right after sunrise when there is not much visitors yet. 

The temple feels like an inspiration from the Roman architecture and Chinese temples. 

Pool Time

I don’t know how we managed to squeezed in pool time after our trip to Temple of Leah. But Bai Hotel’s pool is so inviting, we had to take a dip. I tried to fit in my old bikinis too! 

Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly 

A trip to Cebu is not complete without eating Cebu Lechon Belly. We had dinner at the Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly (Parkway Mall) which is just walking distance from Bai Hotel. 

This is the brand that started the first ever spicy boneless lechon! 

I love the Spicy variant and seriously craving for it now as I blog this entry. 

I am not good at handling birthday attention like this. But thank you for this! 

🎂🎂🎂

We all loved the cake! I took home the leftover and brought back to the hotel (but unfortunately left it in the refrigerator when I checked out). My heart is broken. 

OQTAGON Bar

After dinner, we headed to the OQTAGON Super Club Cebu. It was like stepping in to the land of Oppa’s when we got inside. The dance floor was populated by Korean Tourists dancing to the beat of the music and spins of the resident DJ that night. 

I was quite surprised to see a state of the art facility and amazing interiors. I found the place decent and in order, with bouncers and waiters assisting every guest. Guests can buy a table in the middle or VIP room on the sides. 

 Before going to the club, I was already feeling my energy dropping to zero but when we got inside, I felt like joining the Koreans jumping and dancing the whole night. 

We stayed for an hour and decided to head back to the hotel to meet the Cebu Vloggers in Twilight. 

I stayed for a couple of minutes and headed back to my room at 1:30 AM. I woke up at 4:00 AM to attend worship service. 

The following day, we had breakfast again in Cafe Bai and lunch at Marbles & Grain Steakhouse. 

Marble & Grain Steakhouse

Marble & Grain is a stylish Steakhouse located at the ground level of the Bai Hotel. It serves the finest custom-aged USDA prime beef, seafood, lamb, pork, and poultry dishes. 

There was an eat-all-you-can steak promo when we dined in. I heard that the most serving one had eaten was 6, and I almost choked trying to finish the medium-well piece I ordered. 

This is @rodelflordeliz’s. 

Mine I requested for thinner slice and medium-well. 

And that’s how my birthday weekend went. I love our stay in Bai Hotel, Cebu. It is a nice hotel to stay at be it for business or leisure. It is located in the center of Mandaue City and is close to malls (Parkway Mall is just right in front) and entertainment centers. The hotel basically has everything one needs for a comfortable stay, including a nice view of the city and harbor. 

The hotel staff can mostly understand Tagalog and speak English. I love that there is so much space in the hotel and there is a designated room for check out transactions  (with chairs), that everything is just processed smoothly. 

Thank you so much Bai Hotel for having us, and for treating my friends on my birthday! 
I am so happy!!! 🤪❤️💋

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