Hotel Ozz by HappCulture

HappyCulture Indeed

HappyCulture

Looking for a hip, trendy, fun and comfortable hostel? Hotel Ozz is the perfect one in Nice.

My friend and I stayed for 3 nights in a 4-bed female room with a shared bathroom.

View from the room

Common area/lounge

The building is relatively new and well kept, and there's a lift. The reception/main area is spacious with tables and chairs, TV, guitar, games, etc.

Reception desk is in front of the girl standing right at the back

There is a microwave in the dining area which you can use. We didn't avail the breakfast but it looked like standard French breakfast (croissant, spread, butter, and cereals, hot drinks and juice).

Dining area and kitchen at the back

Microwave

Dining area

There's a secured luggage room where you can leave your stuff before check-in/after check out, and an outside seating/smoking area.

Outdoor seating

Location

It is about 13 minute- (easy) walk to get to the Old Town from the hostel which is not too bad really, but it is very near the Gare de Nice-Ville train station (3 minute-walk), tram line and the bus stop for the airport (just past the train station), which is handy if you plan to do trips to neighbouring areas like Cannes and Monaco or to get to/from the airport. There are also loads of restaurants and supermarket/convenience stores within the vicinity as the hostel is just about 5 minutes from the high street.

Staff

Staff members are no doubt very friendly, accommodating and helpful.

Room/facilities

The room door and lockers on the right

The room was spacious and the bunk beds were very comfortable to sleep in. There is air-conditioning in each room. Each bunk bed has a personal light, sockets and a curtain for privacy. There is also a locker allocated per person, but you need to have your own padlock or buy one from the reception. The bathroom was clean and comfortable to use. You need to bring your own towel but you can rent from the reception. You can also borrow a hair dryer.

Our bunk beds

Roommates' bunk beds

Overall Rating

Excellent: it was a great and comfortable stay for a very affordable price. I highly recommend this hostel!

Post Hostel

A fun and comfortable stay in Praha

My sister and I booked 2 bunk beds here for 5 nights in a 4-bed dormitory with shared bathroom.

Staff

All of the staff members were friendly and good at their job. We checked in pretty late and I think we were still given the same treatment as anyone who's checking in anytime at the hostel. The information given were very thorough and helpful.

Reception

Room

The size of the room was massive and clean. Each bunk bed has its own curtains which was a big plus point so that you have privacy; other hostels don't have that feature. You have you own personal locker, and the bunk beds each has your name on it and your check out date. The room also has a table with 2 chairs, and plenty of electric sockets. Each bunk bed has its own light and electric sockets.

Bunk Bed name

The bunk bed was really comfortable to sleep on. I did not have any problems going to sleep.

Bunk Beds

Bathroom

4th Floor

On our area, there was one shared bathroom, each with a separate water closet and walk-in shower cubicle, for three 4-bed-dormitories/rooms. Meaning, it's a shared bathroom for 12 people. But it was maintained clean all throughout our stay and I did not have any problems with its cleanliness. The only downside with that is if someone is already using the W/C or is in the shower, you'd have to wait for your turn, obviously.

The shower cubicle has hooks for you to hang your clothes, but apart from that, there's only the shower tray to put on your toiletries, there's no other countertop available to put your stuff. But the water pressure in the shower is pretty good, and it's got hot and cold options.

The water closet does not have a bidet but there's plenty of tissue paper available as well as an air freshener. The flush works great too.

There's a separate sink with mirror and an electric socket inside the bathroom in front of the cubicles.

Facilities

Post Hostel Reception

Over all, the hostel is relatively new and thus looks, smells and feels really clean and comfortable. The ambiance is pretty chill and the decorations in the hallways, main room, common areas and lounges are pretty cool.

Hallway at 4th floor

They also clean the bathrooms and common areas daily. There's a lift in situ.

Each floor has its own substantially-equipped kitchen with dining area. There's also a fridge where you can store food with sticker labels available on top of each fridge so you can label your food with your name and check out date. 

The kitchen is one of the good places to make friends with your fellow travellers.

Activities

Every day, the hostel has activities planned that will be sure to help you meet new people and make friends while enjoying what the city of Prague has to offer.

They arrange walking tours with free transportation to the meet up point, pub crawls, and drinks by the river, among many others. Just check out their schedule at the reception desk and in bulletin boards scattered throughout the hostel.

Location

The location is great as it is very near transportation routes. It is also near Námêstí Míru (aka the Peace Square) where you'll find the Church of Saint Ludmila as well as the Námêstí Míru tram stop and metro station.

The neighbourhood is also pretty safe and has good restaurant options.

The hostel is roughly:

- About 10 minute-walk from Námêstí Míru metro station

- About 5 minute-walk from Jana Masaryka bus and tram stops

- About 5 minute-walk from a laundromat and small convenience stores

Other Points:

Main Dining Area

- There is free breakfast at the main room from 8-10 AM. Free breakfast includes cereals, toast/bread, spread, hot drinks (coffee, tea), milk and juice.

Free Breakfast

Eating breakfast in the main room is actually a good way to make friends with other travellers staying in the hostel, or with the staff.

- There are different games available on the main room, including a table football and PS4 with loads of games.

Main Room at day

Main Room at night

- The entry to the building and to each room is via a key card system. Take care of your card as they charge if you lose it.

Computer area just outside the Reception area

- There's a luggage room where you can leave your stuff on the day of check out.

- They charge €1 for a towel, but it's free to borrow a hairdryer and iron. You can also buy food and drinks at the reception, as well as a charger adapter and padlock, if you forgot to bring one for your locker.

OVERALL: I had a really fun and comfortable stay at this hostel. It was very affordable and it was a great value for your money. I definitely recommend this hostel especially to solo travellers.

Nilandingan Cove

If you're looking for an island that is still not commercialized, Nilandingan Cove at Cagbalete Island is the place to be. This is, without a doubt, the best choice for accommodation for a Cagbalete Island getaway!

Located 6 km from Mauban town proper and northeast towards the Pacific Ocean, Cagbalete Island measures around 1,640 hectares of mangroves, trees, long coastline of white beach, and tranquility. It is one of the best places to be for people who seek serenity and or adventure.

We booked two nights at Nilandingan Cove. Here's the breakdown of the accommodation:

Branded tent (4 pax): Php 1,000/night

Cottage (4-6 pax): Php 3,000/night 

STAFF/SERVICE

The staff, and I mean every single one of them, ooze with quality service and warm hospitality! They have really fast service, and a friendly staff. They were really helpful, especially whenever we were trying to start a fire to cook our meals, one of the Kuyas, Kuya Jun, would always come to the rescue to help us. The girl manning the resort's hotline was really nice and very helpful as well. She answered all of our questions and even gave us suggestions, and the contact details for boat transfers.

ACCOMMODATION

We stayed here for 2 nights with one night at a tent and one night at a cottage. The tents were branded and were really comfortable to sleep in! They already provided the pillows and the mattresses. I couldn't imagine a more amazing first time camping experience than the one night I had at this place. You can also choose the spot in the resort where you want them to set up your tent.

Tent for 4 pax

For our next night, we had a really comfortable stay at the cottage as well. One of the differences between the two accommodations is that with tents, you use the common bathroom, which was really well tended to, and with loads of water. While with the cottage, you have your private bathroom located at the back of the cottage that only you and your company can use. Another difference is that there's no electricity available for guests staying at the tents, but is available from 6pm to 530am for guests staying at the cottages. You can, however, plug your devices at the main house for 150 pesos per full charge of a gadget.

Sala/Dining area

Bedroom

The cottage we stayed in can accommodate 6 pax, having a huge wooden double deck and a hidden bunk bed on top of the doorway. It also has its own sala/dining area with a sink on one side, and one small electric fan inside the bedroom. The room smells really nice the first time we entered it. The pillows and mattresses were soft and comfortable to sleep in. But the windows don't have screens to protect you from mosquitoes at night as opposed to the screened tents without electric fan. Still, I had sound sleep for both accommodations.

Cottage with Private Bathroom

AMENITIES

Path to the Beach

During our first day, we didn't avail a food package because we wanted to really achieve 'camping feels,' so we cooked our lunch, dinner and breakfast the next day at their kitchen available for use by guests, using only the sinaunang lutuan (by uling/charcoal). They also allow guests to borrow kitchen utensils and tableware. All you have to do is go to the main house and ask for whatever you need. Just make sure that you return them washed clean after use. There are many spots at the resort where you could eat your meals, so don't fret because those staying at the cottages have their own tables and chairs for their own use.

Kitchen

They have lots of cabanas where you could lounge or eat your meals. The staff makes sure that the tables are clean for use by the guests by routinely cleaning the tables and the resort area. They also have a resort store where you could buy toiletries, snacks, and rent sports equipment like volleyball ball, frisbee, etc.

Covered Picnic Tables

FOOD PACKAGE

For our second to third days, we availed a food package (set B) with 2 dishes (meat/seafood and veggies), which was good for 3-5 pax for only 850 pesos/pax. The food was simply cooked but really delicious. They would send you a copy of the proposed menu, and you would have to choose your entrees and then send it back to them. Here's our menu for 2 days:

Lunch: grilled fish, ginataang sitaw at kalabasa, rice, juice

Lunch

PM snack: kamote que

PM Snack

Dinner: Bicol express,  tortang talong, rice, juice

Breakfast: Longganizzang Lucban, fried rice, scrambled eggs, coffee

Breakfast

 AM snack: pancit habhab 

ACTIVITIES

Beach hammock and bench

The place is very private, and peaceful. You could do a lot of things by yourself by the beach sitting on the sand or lounging by the beach benches/hammocks under the shade of the trees. You could meditate, reflect, read a good book, eat, watch the soft crash of the small waves by the shore, or just chat the hours away with somebody. 

Sunrise

There are also loads of sizzling activities you could do aside from having 'me time' or swimming. You could visit the Magic tree, the mangroves, or swim at nature's own version of a Jacuzzi during low tide. You could also ask one of the island kids to be your tour guide to see the Nakahigang Balete Tree, Lambanugan, or the fiddler crabs! Just don't forget to give the kids tips afterwards. You could also do island hopping, sagwan de banca, play volleyball or frisbee, or fish by the mangroves for a (rental) fee. One of the most amazing things we did at Nilandingan Cove was to watch the sun and the moon rise twice from the far horizon right in front of the resort! For more information on such activities, check out: Things to do in Nilandingan Cove.

Nature's Jacuzzi

VALUE

For only 3,000 pesos (including the boat transfers to and from Nilandingan cove, accommodations, food package, groceries for food), I had a sizzling summer escapade at Cagbalete Island! This place is a must for those wanting a quiet time either alone, with friends, family, or workmates. Since it is secluded from the other resorts, you can rest assured that you are 100% safe and that you won't have to experience having your things stolen because almost everyone there knows everybody. Even the owners were really friendly, they chatted with us a lot of times during our stay. They are genuinely really nice people, if I might say.

LOCATION

The only downside is that it is the resort located farthest from Sabang port. So if you're traveling via the passenger boat from Mauban port, you have to trek through the island for around 45min - 1hr depending on your pace. This, I highly discourage for you to do if you have loads of things with you (especially for solid campers who will bring their own tent, equipment, etc) especially since the path is rough and swampy and really shady. I believe that it is still more practical to avail a private boat for transfers to and from the resort to save time, and effort. Although the resort doesn't have their own boats for rent for transfers, they did gave us a number of one of their trusted boatmen, Kuya Maximo. He was really nice and polite. He also offered us island hopping, which we availed for only 1,200 pesos. Here's his contact number: 09087172962.

Here's the breakdown of all my expenses for this trip:

1) JAC Liner air-conditioned bus fare (MNL <-> Lucena Grand Terminal): 209.50 pesos/pax x 2 = 419 pesos/pax

2) NCR Rienton Bus Liner ordinary bus fare (LGT <-> Mauban): 54 pesos/pax x 2 = 108 pesos/pax

3) Round trip boat transfers: 2500 pesos for 4 pax = 625 pesos/pax
4) Accommodation: 4,000 pesos for 4 pax = 1,000 pesos/pax
5) Food package: 2550 for 4 pax = 637.5 pesos/pax
6) Groceries: 627 pesos/4 = 156.75 pesos/pax
7) Tourism Office: 50 pesos/pax

TOTAL = 2,996.25 pesos/pax

To be sure, bring around 3500 pesos for your budget, and you're good to go! All in all, it was a great sizzling summer escape!! And I'd really love to go back if given a chance!

For more information on this resort, visit their website at Nilandingan Cove or like them on Facebook.

The Sun Rises in Sunrise Buckets

I am not a really good writer in terms of describing the how or the what of something. But I really love to eat good food, travel to really nice places, meet new exciting people and experience all the fun there is. So let me share with you an experience born out of impulse. We were about to go home from a good day's worth of duty from the Medical City - Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Occupational Therapy Section), when we decided that we're all too hungry to just go home. So we decided to try out Sunrise Buckets at Madison Square just past Greenhills coming from EDSA. With just one bus ride away, we arrived in time before the place became jam-packed with people at around dinner time, i.e. 7 pm. Of course no food blogger (in this case, me) would have started the kainan review without having a few snapshots of the good ol' place, so voila...

Our group first found ourselves a table and settled down. Since one of us already knew what to order, we didn't have to decide long before we ordered and let out money from our own small banks we call wallet. I was the one to place the order, which consisted of 2 pounds of original recipe buffalo chicken wings/tenders. We kind of split the total amount into 4. So we all had to pay our respective amounts before I got to order since in SB, you have to pay first before you get stuffed. They have a good number of different house specialty and recommended picks available on the menu. They even have recipes mixed with whiskey, etc. But since it was our first blood on the place, we decided to order the original recipe. A major plus point for SB is that everyday of the week they get to have a different gimmick, like for example, on Thursdays you can get a free pitcher of iced tea or a bucket of beer of your own choice with each pound of chicken wings/tenders, or on Wednesdays they have a 30% off promo. So since that day was a Thursday, we decided to choose a pitcher of iced tea and decided against the bucket of beer since we still have to wake up really early for tomorrow's last duty day of the week. While waiting for the order, we took some shots of the place. To summarize, the venue is a good petite place with an ambiance emitting that of a Western beach-side bar and grill resto. The walls are decorated with different beach items such as vests, surf boards, vintage beach-style photos and graffiti, and a wall of chalkboard where you can get to write your sentiments/comments regards SB.

They also have a small smoking area with tables outside. The background music included hit songs of the 90's with matching LCD TV on one side of the place on which I can only imagine NBA games or other sports being played because during our stay there, it was only showing random ridiculously beautiful beach-related scenes.

Anyways, when the food arrived, I was kind of actually expecting bigger chicken wings/tenders. But nonetheless, when I tasted my first blood chicken wing, my taste buds became like hyposensitive taste receptors shouting for more stimuli so that they are satiated. It was the best-tasting buffalo wings I've ever tasted... so far. It has an earthy taste in it, not too spicy and not too flavory.

The dip was really good too. But I'm not really a 'dip' kind of person, so I was okay with or without the dip. Two more cute things about this resto include having this gimmick of letting the customers dig into the bucket literally either using utensils or like really digging into it using your hands with or without a pair of disposable gloves. They also have this bone collector, which is a bin where you can get to put all of the chicken bones after you're done with them. It's just so nice seeing them perfectly skinned-to-the-bone bones after finishing the whole bucket.

One downside was that they offer really expensive order of rice for like 40 pesos. But on the plus side, you can still get to enjoy the wings even without rice, but since I'm really a food lover, I had to have a taste of those scrumptious wings with a spoonful of rice, and boy was it worth all those pesos. All in all, it was a really nice place for 2 kinds of people: one who's hungry for really good food while the other just wanna have fun and some booze with friends in a vibrant beach-style atmosphere. Whether or not you're one or both, I promise you'll never regret a dining experience at SB where the sun rises, metaphorically speaking, with each bite of those wings. Til the next kainan review! :)

- Keso