We have already tried Escape Hunt Bangkok and it being the original, we assumed we already tried…read morethe best. But Escape Hunt Manila was way better! First off, we love the place. It was bigger and more comfortable, and it exuded a more elegant yet still cozy feel. And of course, the best assets of this Manila branch is its people. From the owner (Mark) to the game masters (we had Carlo and Sam), we were treated like royalty. We were a big family celebrating my niece's 15th birthday, and Escape Hunt provided a nice cake for the birthday girl. All 14 of us also played at the same time and the staff volunteered to look after our 3 little ones under age 7 since it was not yet a busy hour. And of course the games were so much fun! It required lots of teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, fast decisions, and even some math (yes!) but it was all worth it. Good thing we were the only ones scheduled to play during our assigned time because I'm pretty sure we got pretty loud. :) Definitely a place to visit for locals and tourists alike. And since their 3 themed rooms change every 6 months, there is so much more to look forward to. Thanks Escape Hunt Manila for a wonderful family bonding experience! We'll be back!

If you want to reenact that Tom Cruise rock climbing scene in Mission: Impossible 2, one possible…read moreway to do that is via wall climbing. We have to at least start with a harness and a belayer. Otherwise, we might fall to our untimely demise without those two important things. BaseKamp is stationed at the 5th floor of Market! Market! welcoming wall climbing hobbyists and enthusiasts. They offer lessons at P3500 for 9 sessions. It's 2 hours per session, so you'll really get those arms toned in no time. A single climb with a belayer is only P50. Imagine that! And I've always thought that this sport is expensive. For unlimited climbs for adults with belayer is P340; P140 without a belayer. They even encourage kids to try this sport out! If your child is between 7-13 years old, then he or she can try wall climbing already. An unlimited climb for kids without a belayer is P110 while with one, it's P310. It's also open from 12nn-9pm.

I have too many good memories here at Worlds of Fun. From the haunted train ride to the bump cars,…read moreeverything was magical specially because it was a time I spent with friends and I was at a point where the biggest problem I had was my first crush, it was indeed a good time. Looking back I was thankful that they've put up small amusement parks like these in malls where kids can easily go to, not just this one in particular but also in other malls too. As a child, we couldn't afford to go to big ones on our own because: 1. we didn't know how to drive and 2. our baons weren't enough to cover the expenses to go there. Unlike most kids nowadays! Worlds of Fun though, they're really budget friendly. Give a kid a couple of hundred and he'd be all set for the day. I also loved playing arcade games there though that wasn't my main focus. It was the haunted train ride that still haunts me to this day (scaredy cat!).

When the baby boomers of the previous generation had children of their own, the demand for places…read moreto take the little toddlers rose considerably, leading to some malls and supermarkets or other major shopping establishments to create mini-carnivals which catered to the young and the young at heart. I don't know if this is something unique to the Philippines, but when you're not up to travel all the way to Star City or Enchanted Kingdom, Worlds of Fun may be a very viable option for you. Boasting mini roller coasters and smaller scale carousels, as well as a plethora of modern, digital arcade games, this area provides children with multiple worlds of fun to go to! Designed in a grandiose fashion that I still find impressive (the entrance gateway is in Egyptian style, for example), the area manages to make something affordable and reasonable look like a lot of fun, even to a young adult like myself, who may be secretly wishing to have the ability to go back to those carefree times.

I was around 6-8 when I was first bought to this place called Kid's at Work. It was basically one…read moregigantic playground or jungle gym. It was a maze of different rooms with a whole load of different things to do. Long slides, a room full of plastic balls, and so much more. It was amazing. It was great. Then came the point where video games were the only things kids would do. It closed. Kidz Republic reminds me of that. It's not something I can review in the sense that I actually tried it, I mean I'm too old for this sort of thing, though I wish I wasn't. As a psych major, I just want to emphasize how something like this can be important for a child's development. They need to learn to have fun in this kind of way and understand what it means to have fun while being active. It's never a bad idea to bring kids to a place like this, so do your kids a favor and take them here.

I still call the place ULTRA. Most of my friends still do. Now, it is formally named Philsports…read moreArena, short for Philippine Institute of Sports Arena. My earliest memory of ULTRA was when my parents brought me here for various sporting events. After that, I would not hear about ULTRA again until I got into running and my friend encouraged me to try its outdoor oval. The track has a rubberized surface designed to relieve the force of impact in my strides, which must be the reason why it attracts both casual joggers and hardcore marathoners. To give some sort of order, the sprinters were relegated to take the inner lanes while the slow joggers stayed on the outer. (Also, I think this is where our national athletes practice and they have the place all to themselves in the morning.) It was a midsummer sunset run but somehow, the place was cool. It had a nice view of the tall buildings by the horizon, which reminded me of the field at the Manila Polo Club. One only has to pay 35 pesos to use the track, which is open until 9pm. It stretches 400 meters long, meaning I had to go around 25 times if I were to achieve my target distance. Another thing worth mentioning is that ice-cold water and Gatorade is being sold by the bleachers.

Carl (the previous reviewer) is right. Nobody I know calls this place "PhilSports Arena" or…read more"PhilSports Complex". To us, it was and it will always be ULTRA. I love it here. I have plenty of fond memories in the oval as I used to run for the track team back in college. So I've witnessed several sunsets here with people that I loved and bonded with even for but a time. The pool is decent too. I've even been inside the fencing hall because my best friends used to train there as they were part of the varsity team in their respective universities. This place is great for a run, a swim, or even just for hanging out. The arena isn't half-bad either.

I like that the room is sufficiently difficult for 5 people in the Sinister Sensorium. However, as…read moresomeone who has played dozens of escape rooms, the team giving you clues you already explained you knew (meaning you had no new information and wasted the +5minutes addition to your solving time for asking for a clue) was a poor choice. We ask for a clue for NEW information. Additionally, you don't get walked through the puzzle at the end if you don't solve it. I understand they don't allow phones because of recording purposes but I've never encountered an escape rooms that doesn't explain the puzzle at the end for "secrecy." 0/10 do not recommend that type of escape room rule.

If you're a fan of Divergent, The Big Bang Theory & Sherlock Holmes, then you should definitely try…read moreMystery Manila. What do all the things I have mentioned have in common? Simulations & solving mysteries! I have heard of Mystery Manila from the grapevine and then saw an episode of The Big Bang Theory where they play a real-life room escape game. It looked like so much fun that I wanted to try one A.S.A.P.! The players are locked in a room where you have to look for clues in order to escape - with a time limit of 1 hour! Mystery Manila is the first live room escape game in the Philippines. What's great is that there are themes & subplots for different rooms to choose from. The themes & size of the room can differ per branch or month. In the Jupiter street branch, the room is quite small but the players (maximum of 7 per room) can still move about freely. There were 3 mystery rooms and we tried the Harry Potter one. You don't have to love or have knowledge about Harry Potter to solve the mystery so everyone can play. We even got to wear our very own cloaks. It definitely helped to internalize and think like a witch or wizard! The room and props looked great - some a bit worn out from usage but it adds to the antique-y vibe of the theme. I'm not going to spoil everyone so I'll just say that my friends and I enjoyed and the best part is, we finished the game in record time! They have merchandise as well. If you're on the early slot, they might give you a promo for a next game like they did with us but we already have tickets for Avengers so we did not avail of it. For P400, it's a bit pricey but if you want to try something new and have a great time with your friends, go for it. :) They're also opening up a branch in Boracay! It's definitely a fun story, memory & experience to share with loved ones. Tips: Reserving than walking in is better, eat a hearty meal beforehand (we got really hungry from all the thinking), follow the sequence of clues and be organized. We got a bit flustered because we were running around everywhere and panicking because we were thinking about the time limit, haha. And last but certainly not the least, relax & have fun! :)

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)

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

The background of Breakout Philippines is actually very interesting as the people behind the "first…read morereal life escape room in the Philippines" are the same guys behind the popular running marathon "Outbreak Manila" wherein zombies would show up out of nowhere and chase participants in an effort to get them to run faster, and secondly, to scare them out of their darn wits. With this in mind, I was curious to see what these guys had cooked up for their new venture. I was actually surprised to read about Breakout online just a few days after Mystery Manila was making its online presence felt on Facebook. There goes a stellar example of healthy competition. Of course, with my friends and I being hooked on live escape rooms at this point, we made a booking immediately. We've been here thrice already, but the first game we played was called "Outbreak Manila" (identical to the name of the marathon -- I'm confused too). Here, the goal is to solve a hypothetical situation wherein the entire Manila would be affected with a deadly virus if the case isn't solved. We had to get through three rooms in order to crack the code but unfortunately we didn't make it. Needless to say, it was an extremely fun experience and the fact that five brains couldn't solve the puzzles should testify to the high challenge presented by its creators. Room 13 and Prison Room were equally fun to play as well. Nice job, Breakout Philippines!

The PhilSports Complex, or "Ultra" caters mainly to the needs of national athletes, but is open to…read morethe public, for a small fee: P35 for the track oval; approximately P60 for the pool. Its sporting facilities have improved; they only recently reopened the track oval for use after being closed for over a year. The track and field area is still well-lit, cushioned for comfortable running, and the grass rehabilitated. I've come here to run during both the mornings and the evenings -- while it is cooler in the evening, there tends to be more people and less parking. And parking can be a problem. There are a few slots, which are not actually open for parking and I am not sure why. Going in the morning means less competition for parking, and less people. Besides the track oval, both whole teams and individuals come to Ultra to make use of the Olympic-size pool, and the field for frisbee, rugby, futbol, and martial arts. However, the toilets are disgusting. If you can, hold it in. You do not want to go into those (dis)comfort rooms. Opens at 5 AM; closes at 9 PM. They will be closed or at least be unavailable on some days without obvious notice. The guards at the main gate will not even know. They need to be more transparent about their special activities, or when they will not be open to the public.