We went to Thunderbird Rizal on a whim and booked our rooms 2 days before our trip. Although, we've been planning to go here for a long time now, just to check it out, since it's only about 45 minutes away.

We left the house at about 10:30am and arrived at the resort at about 12 noon. Upon arriving, the place seemed so quiet and peaceful. We thought we were the only one's there.

The resort had a lot of facilities to keep us entertained during our stay. There was a large manicured lawn just outside the lobby with a small playground which Natalie went straight to right after we arrived.

The rooms were large and cozy, but a tad bit old. Beds were very very comfy and the bathroom was very spaceous.

After we settled in our room, we agreed to not waste any time and visit the nearby Angono Petroglyphs, which was only 2 mins away. To know more about the Angono Petroglyphs, view my blog here.

We went back to the hotel after and got ready to swim. The kids were all excited to dive in the pool. As we saw the pool from the lobby, it was empty. We got more excited as we thought we had the whole pool to our own. And to our surprise, the pool has been closed down for an hour due to some kid dropping the "bomb" IN the pool!

So the kids had to wait in the jacuzzi, with about 12 other people, while they cleaned up the pool.

That night, it was the last night of Oktoberfest, which was happening in the resort's large lawn. The best thing about it was, beer was only P10 ($0.25) per bottle! So my wife and I head on down to the party and ordered ourselves a couple bottles of beer. My wife ordered just for the sake of ordering but isn't really a beer drinker so I had to finish hers too.

We left the party early and went into the casino to cash in our free money coupons. We found out then that the coupons were mix and match coupons, which means we had to bet the coupon with a couple hundred pesos additional. We weren't really big fans of casinos so we just forgot about it and went back to our room.

The next day, Sunday, the resort served an eat all you can buffet breakfast in their Koi Restaurant.

We had two coupons, my 5 year old was free and my 10 year old was half price, at about P300 ($8), not bad at all! They had the usual filipino/american breakfast which included bacon, sausage, beef tapa, tocino, omelette, chicken soup and fried rice. The fried rice was Chinese Yang Chow fried rice, so that was nice.

After breakfast, we went straight to the pool and enjoyed the warm sun. The resort set up some sound system in the pool area so we can enjoy some music as well.

The resort had some fun activities planned for the children that Sunday morning so the kids really had a good time.

When Natalie saw the cupcake making booth, she had to line up immediately. She just loves cupcakes and cherries.

The resort also had some lawn games you can play with, like badminton, frisbee and kite flying to name a few.

At lunch, the hotel still served buffet at only P299 per person, Natalie was still free. They served pasta, beef stew, chicken and a grilling station outside where you can get some grilled pork and tuna. The food was delicious, we really had a good time.

After lunch, we took a break and had our beauty naps. At about 4pm, we headed back to the pool. This time, we had the whole hotel all to ourselves. There weren't any guests left since it was Sunday, and it was workday the next day for the rest of the world, except us of course.

We just stayed there until evening, enjoying the view and watched the sunset, just the four of us. This was my favorite part of the whole stay. It was so peaceful, and so happy. Just being with the family.

For dinner, we just ordered sandwiches and fries right by the poolside, and then headed back to our room.

The next day, our last day, we woke up really early to still have some time for swimming. The resort just gave the breakfast for free since we were the only ones staying. They served the usual choices of bacon, sausage, beef tapa, tocino, muffins and cereals. David finished his food but still wanted more, the hotel just gave him another serving for free. Now that's service.

So, check out time came and we had to leave. It was a relaxing and much needed break from the hustle and bustle of the city life. We said our goodbyes and headed back home. We will be back soon, this you can count on.

The rest of our pictures:

Early Morning View

The Drive Home