Thunderbird Resorts Rizal: A Weekend of Rest, Relaxation and Entertainment

Written By
Mimai Cabugnason

Thunderbird Resorts Rizal

When In Manila, we are always on a constant lookout for places to visit, new things to try and new food to taste. Since the weather has been very unpredictable lately, one of the best ways to spend a weekend is to have a staycation on someplace new where you can have relaxation and entertainment at the same time — and you can get all that atThunderbird Resorts in Binangonan Rizal.

  

Tired of the usual weekend destinations? Why not head your way to Binangonan Rizal, roughly an hour to an hour and a half drive from Metro Manila, Thunderbird Resorts Rizal is a good getaway alternative. 

Located atop the Binangonan foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, the ThunderbirdResorts Rizal is one on my list of recommended places perfect for weekend staycations. We were able to spend one rainy weekend in Thunderbird Resorts Rizal and I’m sharing with you guys our staycation experience!

 Welcome to Thunderbird Resorts Rizal!

No rain can stop us from having this relax-rewind weekend!

Getting to Thunderbird Resorts in Rizal won’t be a problem since they offer shuttle services in prime locations around Rizal: Cainta, Taytay, Antipolo, Angono, Binangonan and Morong. There are also shuttles available in St. Francis Square and beside Ever Gotesco Mall in Ortigas for their patrons coming from the Metro.

  

 You will be welcomed by their very friendly staff and their simple yet cozy lounge as you wait to be checked-in.

Most would probably associate Thunderbird with the one in La Union, little did we all know that there is also one in Rizal that has a very earthy vibe surrounded by greens and overlooking Laguna bay and Manila skyline as to the Poro Point that has a Mediterranean feel. Thunderbird Resorts is an international company that is a known provider of casino entertainment and hospitality services in Asia and Latin America. They operate in Costa Rica, India, Nicaragua, Peru and Philippines. And it’s only in the Philippines that they have two resort locations – it’s more fun in the Philippines indeed!

 

En route to our room! Thunderbird Rizal has a very laid back feel to it that I liked.

The woodwork interior and creme walls gives off a very classy feel. I honestly think that their rooms are perfect of wedding preparation shoots! Their Deluxe Rooms are very spacious and all you need for your stress-free stay is provided.

Comfy bed and fluffy pillows = check! I was sleep deficient that weekend due to work so you already have an idea who got glued to the bed that night!

The room is also equipped with an LCD television with home theater surround system. Movie marathon on a weekend staycation? Why not!

Now let’s check out the bathroom!

I love the giant mirror! What ensued was a series of shots of making faces that’s too embarrassing to post here! Haha!

I love bathtubs! And they provided branded bath essentials, you will surely have a relaxing bath with the minty cool hair & body shampoo and conditioner.

After settling our things, we went out to have our lunch at their Pool Bar.

Their Pool Bar serves charcoal-grilled dishes and bar snacks and that weekend they were having a Mongolian buffet.

We really enjoyed their Kilawin and the stir-fried Mongolian mix that Chef Toper made for us! 

Let me show you the Pool area! Thunderbird takes pride of their infinity pools and this one makes me want to just jump right in! 

And just right beside the pool area is their very inviting Jacuzzi. Just imagine yourself enjoying the warm water and looking at this view. Or just hang out and enjoy the splendor. Your relaxation is guaranteed at Thunderbird Resorts!

The skies started to drizzle so we had to retreat ourselves indoors. 

 

Thunderbird Rizal guests can enjoy a very relaxing and rejuvenating massage at the very zenZaphira Spa. 

Zaphira spa has a very zen vibe to it and they have a waterfall installation that is very calming and perfect while getting a massage.

And since it just rained the whole afternoon, I took the time to get some shut-eye while my friends just enjoyed our Thunderbird staycation by lounging in bed and watching tv.

I must have overslept that when I woke up it was time for dinner already! 

 

 Grilled salmon and liempo — don’t mind if I go ahead and dig in! I really liked their grilled salmon that I had it all for myself! 

 The Pool Bar also has a pool table so you can just hang around here with your friends, dine, play a round of pool and perhaps go for a swim afterwards.

 Thanks to the awesome chefs and staff of Thunderbird Rizal’s Pool Bar!

Thunderbird Resorts is not only perfect for staying in, lounging in bed, dining or taking a dip in the pool as it also houses the Fiesta Casinos. Thunderbird is known around Asia and Latin America for providing branded casino, entertainment and hospitality services.

Too bad cameras are not allowed inside the casinos!

 If card games and slot machines are not your thing, Thunderbird Resorts Rizal features different artists from time to time to perform in their Cabana Bar inside the casino. We were able to catch Sitti perform that night, Thunderbird sure knows how to give good entertainment!

It was time to call it a night! It was a fun Day 1 of our staycation weekend at Thunderbird Resorts Rizal!

Day 2 of our weekend getaway!

How about waking up to this view?

What could be more serene than sipping a cup of tea or reading a book on your room’s private balcony with this magnificent view!

 I could spend an entire morning just chilling at the balcony and enjoy a moment of admiring the nature.

And look at the time — Breakfast is ready!!

Thunderbird offers a breakfast buffet at the Koi Restaurant. I personally think they have an impressive variety for their breakfast buffet, a lot of bread choices, cereals, soup, staple filipino breakfast meals and the best part is, they have an area wherein their chef will cook fresh eggs to your liking! Isn’t that great? 

After breakfast, I was faced with the reality that our staycation weekend at Thunderbird Rizal is soon to conclude so we took the time to explore and enjoy the place.

We were supposed to go around and see a nearby attraction, the Agono Petroglyphs, but the weather that Sunday morning didn’t permit us to leave.

The Thunderbird Resorts Rizal villas where the rooms and suites are located.

This side is where the Fiesta Casino’s main entrance is.

We also got the chance to take a peek inside their newest Rizal Event Center, the ballroom was huge and its perfect for banquets and special events.

When we got back inside, I wasn’t surprised that it was time for lunch already. So we head to their Koi Restaurant to try their asian fusion cuisine.

 

They were also offering their Mongolian Buffet at the Koi Restaurant but passed on that and decided to try other dishes.

Always our favorite part of our trips — eating!!

Five Spice Pork Bargnet and Tofu with Black Vinegar – This made me miss Ilocos so much! The bagnet was so crispy and the tofu was cooked perfect to my liking. Dipping it in black vinegar makes it even more tasty!

Next up was their US Angus Beef Kare Kare! It was one of the best kare-kare I tasted!

I was already full upon finishing the Kare Kare but they say there’s still one more to come!

Say hello to their Hickory Country BBQ Baby Back Ribs! It was huge slab of barbeque goodness! They were very generous with its sweet and smokey ketchup-based sauce and the meat was of superb quality and served very tender.

 *BURP!* We were definitely so full after taking in all that good food!

Thanks to the chefs and staff of Thunderbird Resorts Rizal’s Koi Restaurant for warmly accommodating us and filling our stomachs to the brim! Our gratitute to as big as our appetite!

Our weekend staycation is so coming to its end. Time to pack our bags and head back to the busy city.

All our bags are packed and we’re not yet ready to go.

I took the time to leave a thank you note for everyone in Thunderbird Resorts Rizal for having us that weekend. :) 

We had a real great time at Thunderbird Resorts Rizal, thank you to everyone who made our staycation the best!!

When In Manila, if its rest, relaxation and entertainment you’re after, head your way to Thunderbird Resorts Rizal! You need not to go far to enjoy all of these just like we did!

And when in Cebu City, you can visit gregmelep.com for a more comprehensive tour or vacation.

Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City for only P12,000.00/month with its own parking lot. Hurry while the supply of units last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown below.

Tel. Nos. (032)555-8464/09164422611/09173378637

Thunderbird Resorts Rizal

 Eastridge Avenue, Binangonan, Rizal

Contact Number: (+632) 651 6888

Email: rizalreservations@thunderbird-asia.com

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The Philippines Passes a Cybercrime Prevention Act that Makes SOPA Look Reasonable

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The dark days of SOPA and PIPA are behind the US, at least temporarily as copyright tycoons reground and restrategize, attempting to come up with measures that don’t cause the entire internet to shut down in protest.

But one country has already moved ahead with similar legislation. The government of the Philippines has passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which on the surface, as usual, sounds perfectly well-intentioned. But when you read the actual contents of what’s been deemed “cybercrime,” SOPA’s proposed censorship sounds downright lax by comparison.

Yes, there’s the usual hacking, cracking, identity theft and spamming, which most of us can agree should be illegal. But there’s also cybersex, pornography, file-sharing (SOPA’s main target) and the most controversial provision, online libel.

Now, as someone who has been the target of many a vicious attack from commenters or forum posters, I can understand frustration with the nature of online anonymous criticism. But to actually try to make such a thing illegal? You wade into dangerous waters that anything resembling freedom of speech will likely drown in. And that’s overlooking the free speech implications trampled by banning pornography and file-sharing as well, two provisions getting less attention due to the severity of the libel section.

You Will Never Kill Piracy, and Piracy Will Never Kill YouPaul TassiContributor

Net Threat: The Dangers From Global Web RegulationEric SavitzForbes Staff

How SOPA Could Ruin My LifePaul TassiContributor

Via CBS, a senator who opposed the bill explains its potential ramifications:

“If you click ‘like,’ you can be sued, and if you share, you can also be sued,” said Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, one of the lawmakers who voted against the passage of the law.

“Even Mark Zuckerberg can be charged with cyber-libel,” the senator said.

The provision, according to Guingona, is so broad and vague that it’s not even clear who should be liable for a given statement online. And if you’re found guilty, get ready to spend up to 12 years in prison.

Guingona poses the question, who exactly is libel for the libel? Is it the person who made the statements? Anyone who reblogged or retweeted them? The website on which the comments were made? Anyone who commented in assent or even clicked ‘like’? The way the law is worded, the Filipino police could actually charge you with simply criticizing them or the government in a way they deem “malicious,” a word very much open to interpretation.

One of the two Senators who inserted the libel provision, Vincente Sotto III, stands by it.

“Yes, I did it. I inserted the provision on libel. Because I believe in it and I don’t think there’s any additional harm.”

Again, much like SOPA, these are lawmakers who don’t understand the true implications of the law on the technology they’re attempting to regulate. Or maybe they do, in this case. Sotto recently came under fire online for plagiarizing speeches from an American blogger and Robert F. Kennedy which he used to rail against a controversial reproductive health bill.

On social media sites like Reddit, young Filipinos are lamenting the seemingly backwards nature of their government’s recent policies, decrying that they were able to pass a law like this one heavily censoring the internet, but not the aforementioned legislation to teach sex education and give out birth control in schools.

Opponents of SOPA and PIPA should stand up to web tyranny everywhere, and when a supposedly free country institutes censorship practices like that of China and Iran, something is very wrong with that picture. Despite huge protests against the law, the government, as of yet, shows no sign of backing down.

Once again we see a mix of ignorance to technology and the desire to exert further control over a population. Neither is pretty, and neither has any place in a good government.

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When in Cebu City, Philippines please visit http://www.gregmelep.com