Another reason why we chose Miniloc is they have rooms that are for up to 4 persons. When I checked the other El Nido Resorts, most of the rooms and villas are just up to 3 persons. Be warned, there will be a lot of photos. I like to be as detailed as possible so you know what to expect, what’s in the room and what you should bring.
After a super easy “check in” where we only needed to get our temperatures checked, we were off to check out our room. There was really no need to check in because they knew who we are already, from the military like precision of how they planned our travel where even the benches we sat on were labeled for our family.
Our Seaview Room was also on stilts, which is something that I love because I love hearing the water & waves below, and the sea breeze!
As we walked we saw a huge welcoming sign! This truly is the best way to welcome 2021! The pool is something that wasn’t here when we visited 4 years ago. We are so excited about it!
The way to the Seaview Rooms are lined with pretty flowers.
The reception area greets us.
I’m in love with the local drop lights!
We were in the very last room, Room 32, which we liked because there were no other guests passing by our room. It’s more private.
DiploBaby is excited to see our room.
SEAVIEW ROOM 32
I love that there is a cute little balcony where we can sit and enjoy the seabreeze, and it’s also much easier to remove our outside shoes/slippers. This is perfect for TD who has a hard time bending after his leg operation. There is also a convenient drying rack and table for stuff. This is where we parked our life vests. They also conveniently provide 4 huge umbrellas, which was great coz it did rain a bit during our trip.
The room is small but still had space and was very functional.
First thing DiploBaby did was asked for his feet to be washed.
QUEEN BED
The bed was enough for me and TD and we asked for extra pillows so we had 6 pillows. I loved that the cover of the throw pillows were clean. Most of the times in hotels I get grossed out by the throw pillows because I don’t think they replace the cover with every guest. The rooms were super clean and nice. A far cry from the moldy water cottage we stayed in 4 years ago.
They don’t provide much hangers, which is okay with us because we keep our clothes in packing blocks to prevent creasing. If we didn’t have these packing blocks, it would be hard to keep clothes neat.
I’m really glad that we finally bit the bullet and got the Rimowa trunk when we were in Tokyo, because it’s really the best for limited spaces like the smaller Miniloc Rooms. Unlike their traditional luggage which you need to open on the floor like a book and takes up so much space, the trunk cover once emptied, can stay up.
Like before they gave us a woven bag to use in the beach – such a convenient size! – and a paper bag which I assume is for trash?
Of course DiploBaby loved the turtle towel! The eye is carton.
They gave us 4 woven slippers which I used. We took them home because these are great for guests and they biodegrade unlike most bedroom slippers that are made of polyester (which is plastic).
I love the solihiya details of the table and chair. I only wish there was one more chair or a one seater sofa, coz there is no other place to sit except the bed.
Four cups, instant coffee and a hot water kettle. There is a personal ref where you can place some of the water bottles, if you like your water cold like we do.
They were very sweet and gave us complimentary wine. 4 glasses and 4 refillable bottles were enough for us and for preparing DiploBaby’s milk.
Lotion, cotton buds, privacy sign, clean microfiber cloth and disinfectant were provided. The last 2 is because they were not going to clean/refresh our rooms during our stay to minimize contact. I had my own disinfectant so I didn’t use theirs, but I thought the microfiber was very useful. The only thing we could do was ask for more water, more coffee and fresh towels.
To minimize contact I love that they provided QR codes so that we could spot the different creatures that lived here and there was also a guide for Miniloc. So clever!
2ND FLOOR LOFT
The stairs were a bit steep, but manageable for DiploBaby. We told him to be super careful going up and down. He preferred to crawl up with his hands, and he was very slow and deliberate.
He loved his loft room with Yaya B. The beds were heavy but we managed to push them together to one side so DiploBaby would not fall. He moves a lot when he is sleeping.
A cute litte window to look out.
The room was cool enough for cold loving DiploBaby.
SHARED BATHROOM
The bathroom is spacious, modern and clean. Love the solihya details here too! There is even a bench!
They provide a blowdryer, extra toilet paper, shampoo/conditioner and bath gel.
We placed towels and linens we wanted changed here and then asked for replacements.
Simple place for our toiletries.
Love that there is a bidet, 4 bath towels, 2 hand towels and 2 facetowels. And the trashcan has a reusable clear liner. So cool! No single use plastic!
PRODUCTS WE BROUGHT WITH US
The 2 hooks behind the bathroom door are great! We used 1 for our MUJI toiletry kit + 1 for clothes or towel of the person bathing. This toiletry kit + small reusable bottles for toiletries is the perfect compact case for our family’s toiletries.
For some reason we forgot to bring DiploBaby’s TinyBuds Rice Baby Bath which is for his body & hair so I’m glad I bought my trusty Travel Esscentials Travel Kit that has only essential oils based:
- Hand Sanitizer
- Bug Off
- Liquid Castile Soap
The Calming Green Tea liquid castile soap is safe enought to use for DiploBaby’s senstivite baby skin During the trip! Castile soap can be used for face, body, hair and so much more! Click here to see all the uses of gentle, natural castile soap!
When we travel we also always bring small bottles of our Tiny Buds Natural Laundry Soap & Bottle/Dishwashing Liquid. I do not feel guilty about using them for washing our swimsuits, glasses/bottles because they are biodegradable and will not harm the environment.
The Bottle/Dishwashing Liquid was important because the resort was not having our rooms cleaned during our stay so we washed our own glasses & cups with natural safe soap that doesn’t leave any residue!
They do not provide toothbrushes & toothpaste in Miniloc and this is fine by me because usually hotel toothbrushes are not very high quality and are quite bad for the environment because they are disposed of after only a few uses. We brought our Philips Sonicare Toothbrush heads and DiploBaby’s Philips Sonicare For Kids Electric toothbrush base because our toothbrush heads fit it. This way we aren’t bringing both bases.
I was very unlucky that my period started 12 days early, but no worries because using a menstrual cup feels like I’m not wearing anything, and it can be emptied after every 12 hours, unlike inconvenient pads and tampons that have to be changed every few hours because they cannot absorb much. Pads and Tampons are also really bad for the environment, because not only are they mostly plastic, but cannot be recycled nor biodegrade! Super absorbent tampons can also cause fatal Toxic Shock Syndrome.
To avoid having to empty in public toilets, I also bought plastic-free back pads called Natracare from Healthy Options. I usually use reusabe pads, but it’s not convenient for travel.
I also brought natural chemical free Kurin because it’s the easiest way to clean my menstrual cup without even having to rinse much since it’s just water. I placed everything in my Waterproof Charlie Banana bag.
I didn’t want my period to stop me from having fun, and I didn’t want to have to keep changing pads or tampons during our activities so using a menstrual cup that can stay for 12hrs is so convenient!
We were dying to change into bathing gear, but our luggage was not yet in the room.
It was just 10am, and DiploBaby did not have his chicken sandwich so he was hungry. Good thing I brought our favorite low glycemic but super yummy Kind Bar for him to have.
We also decided to have some coffee because we were a bit tired from the super early morning travel.
TD and I had coffee in our cute balcony. I had these Marich Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels and our friend gave DiploBaby these yummy Teddy Grahams. Perfect with coffee and for munching on in between our full board meals.
It was almost 10:30 so we were making our way back to the dock to feed the ginormous Jackfish!
Nothing really makes me happier than a beach vacation!
UP NEXT: Feeding the Jacks
RELATED READS:
TRAVEL BUBBLE TO MINILOC EL NIDO JAN 2020
PLACES I’VE TRAVELED TO IN THE PHILIPPINES
My in-laws since they only needed a room for 2 were supposed to stay in a Garden Cottage, but they were upgraded to a Water Cottage. The first one they got, the airconditioning was not working, so they were moved to room #2 which had an even better view! So they felt like they were upgraded twice!
BOOK EL NIDO RESORTS
Miniloc • Apulit • Lagen • Pangulasian
Ten Knots Development Corporation
+63 917 553 8004 +63 917 584 1576
holiday@elnidoresorts.com
3rd Floor Alveo Corporate Center, 728 28th St., Bonifacio Global City, 1634 Taguig, Philippines
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