Clark Marriott Hotel: Staycation in Pampanga
I realize that over the decades, my family frequently visited Pampanga for brief vacations. We don't have family or friends to visit in Pampanga - and there's really no reason for us to visit the place other than tourism. Looking back, I see how our activities in Pampanga have evolved through the years. Last week, my sister booked us at the Marriott Hotel in Clark. We were amazed at all the new developments we saw in the area, even with the pandemic! We started to reminisce about old visits and we took stock of the evolution of our family's Pampanga visits.
My earliest memories of Pampanga are tied to trips to Baguio. It was always just a pit stop on our yearly trip to the pine city, and never the destination. In the 1990's, after Mt. Pinatubo erupted and the US bases pulled-out, Clark became our destination for duty-free shopping, air shows and hot-air balloon festivals; and excursions to Nayong Pilipno. In the 2000's - our family went for leisure stays in Fontana or Mimosa, or food trips to nice restos; and then the airport opened in the mid-2000's just when I moved to Singapore. I found myself booking cheap tickets to the Philippines and landing in Clark for frequent trips home. After my husband and I got married in 2008, we'd visit Pampanga to look for furniture. By the 2010's, it was to take our kids to attractions like the water park in Fontana, or horseback riding in El Kabayo, and recently, in the 2020's, we returned repeatedly to do off-roading and overlanding, camping, and hiking through various spots of Pinatubo. We've taken our kids to hike up the crater, or to reach remote schools to join outreach activities to deliver relief goods. We've joined a Jeep Jamboree and I tried my first off-road experience on the dry river bed of the scenic Sacobia river. Recently, we've been doing staycations at Marriott Hotel in Clark courtesy of my sister.
We've returned several times in the last 2 years and there's a development each time we return! There's now a new casino, Hann, and a Swissotel to open in a couple of weeks. When I dropped off everyone at the lobby driveway and had to park the car in the shared basement parking (due to the pandemic valet parking is still not available), I found myself walking through the connecting passage linking Hann casino to Marriott hotel. I am amazed that while businesses are closing everywhere else, the energy and vibe here, is of growth! Amidst destruction and decay, there's this underlying energy full of life - Pampanga thrives! I saw Duty Free shops and Nayong Pilipino dying - but there were plenty of establishments rising in their stead.
After many years of many business trips and hotel stays, my sister Marion developed a preference for certain hotels for their brand of service. When she first invited me and my kids to a staycation in Marriott Clark, I was skeptical. There was a pandemic, it didn't seem safe, and why travel far to stay at a hotel when there are staycation options in Manila anyway? So I said no (stupid me!) and she invited cousins instead. The next time she invited me, I took only my daughter (because she was already vaccinated) but not my other kids. I enjoyed that trip and saw for myself what a real break the staycation offered. Now, each time my sister needs a break from all her back-breaking work marathons, and asks for a trip to Clark, I know better and already say yes!
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The drive to Clark is part of the appeal. It means a scenic ride through fields, and crossing rivers. It means finding one's bearings, remembering what it feels to go North, and South - navigating newly built roads and hi-ways, feeling a bit lost, but always figuring out one's location with Mt. Arayat as reference point. Repeated visits to Marriott offers us the comforts of the familiar, but there's still excitement for what's new. For our latest trip, we took our household staff with us, Krista. She's my son's daily on-line learning coach, as well as our cook. It was her first time in Pampanga, and it was also her first hotel stay - and her eloquent praise of the hotel's finer points, the amenities, service, and buffet selection amplified our own appreciation. When the people who inhabit your everyday space are transported to a leisure space like Marriott, everyone enters into vacation time and bodies and spirits are refreshed, relationships are re-set, resentments are expunged, and energy reserves are replenished. I woke up early, drove to and fro for hours, in a packed van with parents, sibling, staff, and children - it sounds like a recipe for more stress! But it wasn't. We stayed at Clark Marriott Hotel and that made all the difference. I am looking forward to when my sister needs a Pampanga break again :-)
Date of visit: 12-13 February, 2022
Clark Marriott Hotel
Manuel Roxas Hiway, Clark Freeport Zone, Mabalacat Pampanga
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