Played whilst on holiday and it was slightly badly organised. some games were longer and some teams…read moredidn't have the same amount of time. The turf was a joke. There were so many patches, which would mean the possibility of easily being injured. Especially from twisted ankles. The team I was on was a joke. One half, who were regulars and mainly Nigerians, were negative and aggressively so. They would shout how shit their own players were constantly yet, if you told them they did a shit pass or anything, they would be angry with you. It's fine if you're amazing players but, half were perhaps good but, too busy criticising and played mediocrely. Many just hoofed the ball forward and not much ball to feet. Won't be playing again or if I did, I would definitely not play with those lot again.

Being a soccer/football player most of my life, moving here to the Philippines was kind of a drag…read moresince no one really plays the sport out here. Fast forward 5 years later to the present day and the sport is slowly making waves. It might be thanks to the upward trend of the Azkals but I'm just happy the sport is starting to pick up here since I think it's perfectly suited for the Philippines. Turf BGC is evidence of that and the other football fields that are popping up here and there. You can go here almost any night of the week and see pick up games, league games, and the occasional football camps take place here. If you're interested in the beautiful game, I recommend you walking onto an open play night. It's the equivalent of pick-up basketball where you'll be assigned to a team and play 7 on 7 with other teams, on and off for the duration of the session. Not just fun but an awesome workout and a chance to meet other football enthusiasts. Only negative thing I can say about Turf BGC is the design is a bit cramped especially how the sidelines are about 2-3 feet away from the enclosing metal fence. It can be a hassle and also dangerous when playing here. Besides that, make sure to bring yourself water, a towel and some money. Most open play sessions charge about ₱200-250/person. You might even see me out there every now and then playing so be sure to say hello! :)

This is the 2nd time that we had an event held at Valle Verde Country Club. This past Sunday,…read moreafter 2 years of planning, our family reunion was realized. I'd like to do this review and share our experiences from planning and the actual event. First of all, I give Anne, the Sales Reservation Officer 5 stars for her assistance through the process. I am based abroad and I did everything remotely and it was not easy. She was very attentive and truly cares in giving us a great experience at this club. We encountered some mishap on the function room set up and she facilitated the set up changes we requested and still able to meet our timeframe. The event was a family reunion which entails a lot of bonding and therefore this Agono & Barras rooms should not be recommended to cater for this purpose because the divider cannot be opened fully to have 1 big function room . The food was delicious from the main to the desserts but the best part are the service staff. They were attentive and catered to everything we needed. Lastly, this club has a very old and dull looking facade. The club sign is an eye sore and truly needs some serious refurbishing. It matters because that's the first thing you see and the club sign would be nice to be featured on the video of the event. That takes out 1 star for this my review. Thank you Anne and to your wonderful service staff.

Note: This is a 4.5 Stars Review!…read more My parents have been going here even before I was born. This Country Club was one of the first clubs in Manila. Though the facilities are not as new or "flashy" as the other clubs in the Makati area, Valle Verde Country Club or VVCC feels like a second home for me and my family. I spent my summers here with my friends and cousins. This is where we would have Sunday lunches with family and friends. My dad and brother still go here on weekdays to play tennis. I go here to eat! :) Like any club, you need to be a member to get into VVCC. I only get to eat here because of my dad's membership and he's been a member since the 70's. Some of the waiters here have been working for VVCC since the 80's and know the members like they were family. They know my dad so well that, once they see him, they will have his regular order prepared! The food here is top-notch and they also make a point to add new dishes every month. My favorite dishes are the Pork Chops (two thick pork chops + rice and unli-gravy), Corned Beef, Lengua con Champignon (ox tongue with mushroom butter sauce), and Roast Beef. All their dishes are delicious. I haven't ordered anything I did not like. On Sundays, they have their lunch buffet which includes made-to-order Mongolian rice and barbecue/grilled meats. The lunch sets are "super sulit" and the desserts/pastries are very good too! Did I mention that their dishes each cost about Php250-350 only? Nice! :D Lastly, they also have a "Party Pack" or "Christmas Specials" menu! Available for Take-out and Pick-up, their big orders are perfect for special occasions or get-togethers with family and friends. My dad ALWAYS orders their Paella and Chicken Galantina! I also recommend their Roast Beef. Super delicious dishes! Saves you time and energy come Noche Buena! :D

I've been to many badminton courts in the Metro, but The Zone remains to be my favorite. For one,…read moreit is conveniently located if one lives and works within Makati CBD. After work, I just walk to the court. I don't need to bring my car, even if there are ample street parking slots in front of the building. The Zone has a total of fifteen standard badminton courts. Six of which have wood flooring, while nine are equipped with Taraflex material. There's also a basketball court complete with digital scoring system. The shower and comfort rooms are air-conditioned and personal lockers are also available. A food stall in the receiving area makes sure that players don't have to worry about drinks and food. If you forget to bring accessories, there's even a small store that offers sports socks, apparel, and other badminton stuff. Recently, The Zone improved its security by placing surveillance cameras in strategic places inside and outside the building. With this, fees and court rentals have slightly increased. At present, the entrance fee is PHP 75.00 per person. During peak hours, weekends, and holidays, you can rent a Taraflex court for PHP 300.00 per hour, while a wood court can be used for PHP 250.00 an hour. A play-all-you-can promo is available during weekdays from 6:00am to 5:00pm for just PHP 150.00 per person. The basketball court rate is PHP 1,500.00 per hour during off-peak time and PHP 2,000.00 for peak hours.

The Zone Badminton Court has one of the best locker rooms among all the badminton courts that I've…read morebeen to within its price range. Nicely laid badminton court mat. However, some courts are damaged and they just patched the damages instead of replacing them. White stuff coming from the ceiling also fall down which I assume are bird feathers. They did not even bother to fix the damaged lights. Most of the staff are either lazy or rude. I have only come across two staff members who are nice so far (mostly women). Half of the time that we go there, they do not automatically turn on the exhaust on each court. We either have to turn it on ourselves or go back to the counter to ask them to turn it on, which, of course, consumes the time that we paid. Rudest of all is the guy receptionist who I think is on his late 20s or 30s. He once switched the light off of our court when we just started playing. When approached, not even one apology was heard from that guy or from any of the staff present. This guy also tends to answer sarcastically. They also have a very inconsistent rescheduling policy. Or so said this guy. We have asked to reschedule more than once before this incident because of an unexpected conflict on our schedule. We thought that that would be better instead of cancelling. All of the receptionists that we talked to have always been happy to accommodate this. However, on one eventful day, same receptionist guy said that they don't allow rescheduling even if it is on the same time period that we have scheduled and that it should be done at least 2 days before our supposed schedule. That is the first time that we have heard of that policy although guy insists that that is always how things go. Weird how that is not how it always was for us and only happened when he was the one we're talking to. When asked about this rescheduling fiasco and the unwarranted-turning-off-of-the-court-lights-incident, this receptionist guy even taunted that we should go there so we can discuss it in person. AGAIN, NO APOLOGY WAS HEARD. They suck at complaint resolution. Lastly, expect that when your schedule is near their closing time, they will turn off your court light without any warning 1-2 minutes before the supposed end of your playing time.

Besides basketball and badminton courts, a gym and other training facility mostly for the use of…read morethe Ateneo de Manila sports teams, (though most of these are also open to non-team members) The Moro Lorenzo Sports Center is also home to an indoor track oval that covers 200 meters. I find the facility most useful when the weather goes cray-cray, yet I still find myself harboring an obsessive need to do some laps - literally come hell or high water. The track is situated on the topmost level, traversing the periphery of the building. It is laid with an artificial rubber surface designed to lessen the impact of my footfalls so yeah, my knees thank me every time I run here. One thing about the oval, however, is that the size and structure can be a challenge to those who have the tendency get cabin fever. Also, having to go around it so many times in order to achieve my target distance means having to exert more effort to amuse myself or to keep myself motivated to cover yet another round. (Thank God for Spotify.) There is a changing and shower facility though if you are not a gym member, you don't get a locker. I'm not sure how much they charge non-alumni, but I pay 30 bucks to get in and go trigger happy until my legs fall apart - or until 10 pm, which ever comes first.

Tucked into one corner of the huge Ateneo University is the Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex. To many,…read moreit's the home of the Blue Eagles but if you make a trip here, you'll find that it's way more! It's three floors of sports everything! They have a gym, basketball court, running oval, medical facilities and other things you might not even know you'll need. They have one of the best sports clinics in the Philippines, headed by Dr. Canlas. They can help you with therapy and other sports related injuries. Some of the country's best athletes have gone here to recuperate after a bad injury. They also rent out their other facilities like the basketball court (some PBA teams use it), their badminton courts also! If a quick jog is all you're looking for, their oval is open to the public for jogging and running. It's good to note that these are available in case one day you'll need it!

One of the main reasons why I visit the Guadalupe Nuevo Barangay Hall and Sports Complex is to…read moreaccompany my mother-in-law when she gets her Certificate of Registration every year or when she applies for Barangay Clearance and other important paperwork related to her senior citizen's privilege card. This multi-storey barangay hall may not be newly renovated, but it's surely clean and well-maintained. The topmost part of the building is used for meetings and events. The area can be rented by residents of the barangay to hold parties and meetings. At the back of the barangay hall is a big sports complex that's typically used for summer basketball and volleyball tournaments. The covered sports area is also the default venue for inter-barangay competitions at various times. Apart from tournaments, the area can also hold proms, concerts, intramurals, and other important activities by the local church or nearby schools. Anybody can rent the multi-purpose hall for a fee. Our company rented the sports complex as venue for our team's sports fest several years ago.

Me and my friends were looking for something to do that is a little unusual and Google introduced…read moreme to Power Smash's Facebook page. The gym itself was a little hard to find but once we were there, we had an amazing time. We actually showed up with no reservation so we were lucky it was a Monday because that's the day of the week you can just join other people and play a doubles game. Unfortunately, we lost the game but at least we had the excuse of not having played in years! The staff was very nice and they sell some drinks and crisps as well as a little treat after the game! Looking forward to going again! Anyone?

Huge 12 badminton court complex. Floor renovated mid 2016. Not a perfect reno but it will do. When…read moreit rains hard for 30 mins, there are drips from the ceiling. Locker rooms are small and smells. You'll have a slim chance of playing between 6pm to 8pm. It's full and difficult to get reservation. Good luck on that. But the good news is, no one is playing anytime of the day except the above mentioned time. Now get your ass up and play!

I remember first finding out about Mystery Manila when one of their sponsored ads caught my eye on…read moreFacebook. I have to give props to their advertising agency or advertising team as the ad was extremely enticing and I know I wasn't the only one whose attention was caught by the copy and graphic that they used. Anyway, when the website finally launched (www.mysterymanila.com), my friends and I rushed to book the first room we could get our hands on. It was called Chained Chamber and we were a group of five (two guys, three girls). Upon entering the grounds at Libis, we were greeted warmly, briefed, offered drinks, and finally, blindfolded, and accompanied to the room we would be solving the mystery in by a guide. I was extremely expressed by what the owners have done with the place and how they've been able to so ingeniously utilize the small space that they have. For that space in time, I really did feel like I was somewhere else and the challenge in itself was quite a feat to tackle. I don't want to give away too much, but allow me to liken the experience to the Amazing Race. Been back several times since the first visit, and I can say that those experiences were super fun as well. I can vouch for the Sinister Sensorium (Jupiter branch) and the Ticking Time Bomb (Libis). Have fun... and don't forget your brain food!

If you feel like you want to play a game... *puts on a Jigsaw voice*…read more You're bound to have fun at Mystery Manila. You and your friends are locked in a room for one hour, and you need to solve some kind of puzzle (depending on the scenario) to get out. No athletics or brute force needed here, just lots of skill points in problem solving and teamwork! It's all about mind games and riddles, which you'll have to solve under an hour. I went with a group of 5 friends for the Sinister Sensorium room in their Makati branch (across Mapua). This was lots of fun because each of us had to pick a disability: 2 of us had to be deaf, 2 blind, and 2 mute. I won't give any spoilers here, but let me just say that it we had an awesome time. Gather a group of friends and try it out! :D (We also realized that if we were to actually be in a serial killer scenario, we'd be so screwed. :P)

When I was a kid, I would spend hours and hours playing with friends and biking around the Cuenca…read morePark. Located just beside the St. James the Great Parish, this park is one of my favorite places laced with fond memories. Most of our after-school activities back then involved a lot of sports and outdoor activities; More often than not, we would end up here playing football, track, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, softball, kickball, and even badminton. Up to today, most afternoons at Cuenca park are filled with students and residents of Ayala Alabang Village enjoying the playground, the bike and running path, the covered basketball court, the football field, as well as the newly-upgraded Rustan's Fresh and Starbucks cafe. On Sundays, you will find residents stopping by post-mass to buy a quick treat at Rustan's or going for a stroll. During some weekends of the year, this well-loved park is also home to many food and specialty bazaars. Make sure you don't miss out on the biggest bazaar called the St. James Bazaar which usually takes place before Christmas!