IT’S been ages since I last got to visit and stay at Holiday Inn Clark. I was still working for a weekly women’s magazine back then, and I was in Clark to cover an event. Back then, I remember staying in a two-bedroom villa, which I shared with a media colleague who ran a food column for a newspaper. So, when the recent Holiday Inn Experiential Tour brought my husband Raff and I, along with a group of other media people, to Holiday Inn Clark as the second stop of our three-hotel tour of Holiday Inn’s Philippine properties, it felt like a totally unique and different experience.
From a hearty breakfast at Holiday Inn Manila Galleria in the Ortigas Business District, the Holiday Inn Experiential Tour took us to Holiday Inn Clark, which we reached in an hour’s drive.
Located 90 kilometers north of Manila, Holiday Inn Clark can be found inside the Mimosa Leisure Estate within the Clark Freeport Zone. The hotel proper houses contemporary guest rooms and suites, and just across the main hotel is a cluster of two-bedroom villas that guests, particularly families, can also choose to stay in. Home to prestigious social events and high-profile conferences in the region, Holiday Inn Clark boasts of eight elegant function rooms, including a 1,100-square-meter pillarless meeting space.
Reaching Clark, which is located in Angeles City, Pampanga, close to noontime, our hosts led us straight to Mequeni Restaurant on the ground floor. Mequeni is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, and it offers buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner with very diverse menu options. We got to sample its buffet lunch spread. Having skipped the Japanese corner in the breakfast buffet of Holiday Inn Manila Galleria that morning, I headed for the Japanese corner this time and got a small platter of assorted sushis and makis for starters. Then I had a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup made so I could have warm soup in my tummy. The desserts looked inviting, so I succumbed to a piece of Linzer Torte from the dessert spread.
After lunch, we formally checked in and got to rest in our respective rooms for a good 30 minutes or so before it was time to all meet up in the lobby to set off on a rolling tour of Clark.
It took a bit of time to re-assemble everyone, after which we left for Zoocobia to look at the animals, especially the birds and owls, which came in awesome colors, feed the birds, make our way through the Garden Maze, and try the Zooc gravity ride. Other adventure activities included carabao rides, zipline, zing ride (like steady swings suspended from an overhead cable, much like in a zipline), giant fun slides and animal shows during weekends and holidays.
From Zoocobia, the group proceeded to Nayong Pilipino sa Clark Expo. It’s here in Clark that the former Nayong Pilipino in Pasay City, near the airport, was relocated. I could no longer find the mini Mayon Volcano that caught my fancy when I was still a kid, but there were a lot of other attractions that kept me busy during our visit. We went on a guided tour to look at the replicas of the houses of Dr. Jose Rizal, Apolinario Mabini and Emilio Aguinaldo; explore the Aeta Village, Maranao Village, Ifugao Village and Kalinga Village; visit the Museo ng Nayon; and watch a cultural show at the Teatro.
Having spent long hours at Nayong Pilipino, we afterwards had only time to drive by the Clark International Speedway before heading back to the hotel to freshen up in our rooms and then go up to the Rodizio Roof Top Grill for dinner with Holiday Inn Clark’s executive chef Jean Marc Veron.
Chef Jean Marc was already there at Rodizio when we got there by taking the dedicated elevator on the ground floor. Like other grills, Rodizio specialized in steaks that are grilled to perfection, which is complemented by an extensive wine menu.
We were having Churrasco dinner that evening. It’s giant skewers after giant skewers of different kinds of grilled meats, which servers bring to the tables and serve guests. The grilled meats included pork baby back ribs, chicken teriyaki, beef and pork sausages, roast beef, fish, prawns, and pineapple brushed with cinnamon before grilling.
There’s also a good spread of buffet selections for diners to enjoy with their Churrasco meats. I mixed myself a good amount of Caesar Salad, then had slices of Mediterranean Baked Fish from the carvery with buttered corn wheels, plus a few shrimps, before raising the white flag and calling it a night.
Back in the room after dinner, I sat down in front of my laptop to work for a while as Raff enjoyed watching TV on cable, then we hit the bed to rest our weary bodies and tired minds and get recharged for another busy day tomorrow.
Holiday Inn’s signature bed turned out to be most comfortable indeed, and of the soft and firm pillows that each room had, I opted for the soft pillows and snoozed almost as soon as I closed my eyes.
Breakfast the following morning was a truly satisfying affair. It is Raff’s and my favorite meal of the day. It is, after all, the most important meal of the day, and gives you the energy you need to last you through even the longest day. Raff and I began our breakfast with fresh fruits, then I had garlic rice with chicken adobo, tomato and mushroom omelette, and daing na bangus with a piece of baked tomato. Aside from the interactive egg station, where you can have your eggs prepared the way you want them, I found the pancake station interesting. A chef was making pancakes a la minute, but they weren’t just pancakes but interesting pancakes that came in flower and animal shapes. When I walked by the pancake station, I saw a stem of flower (made from pancake batter, of course) cooking alongside regular round pancakes. Afterwards, he started making animal shaped pancakes – teddy bear, a tri-dimensional smiley bear face, then a doggie (which can also be interpreted to be a rabbit) pancake. He served them to us, and I got the doggie pancake, whose ears Raff plucked out and then attached to the body to turn it into a turtle shape.
You shouldn’t play with your food, some people say, but at Holiday Inn Clark, you actually can play with your pancake and enjoy it, too!
The group left Clark shortly after breakfast to make it back to Manila in time to have lunch at Holiday Inn and Suites in Makati.
(Holiday Inn Clark is located at Mimosa Drive, Mimosa Leisure Estate, Clark Freeport Zone 2023, Angeles City, Pampanga; with telephone numbers (+632) 8451888 and (+6345) 5998000.)
