I wanted to share with you a pretty cool hotel in a really crazy place; Scorebirds Hotel in Angeles City, the Philippines. If you thought swimming with whale sharks was crazy, wait until you get a load of this.
It’s tucked away in a more local street only a few blocks from Walking Street and the craziness, but it’s pretty mellow when you walk outside, so you’ll be able to take a breath without being barraged by vendors, prostitutes, and trike drivers.
A Look at the Scorebirds Hotel
The hotel is set up with a Hawaiian theme, as it’s owned by an American who is from our beautiful 50th state. That may not sound remarkable, but foreign ownership also means a different standard of upkeep, services, and staff.
In fact, the people working at Scorebirds are another reason I stay there, and from security guards to waitstaff to desk clerks, they’re all friendly, positive, and helpful – and I’ve even become real friends with a few of them.
Everything at Scorebirds revolves around the pool – a nice, clean, and well-maintained shallow oval taking up the entire center of the structure. There are plenty of tiki-bar style tables and sun chairs around the pool, and a nice little bar there poolside but in the shade.
On the back wall of the pool, there’s a grand raised stage with a huge movie screen, where they show awesome Hollywood movies every night. You can sit there at a table eating dinner, lounge in a sun chair and drink a beer, or even swim while watching the movie!
All of the rooms are upstairs, and this is where Scorebirds goes from charming and fun to practical (which is OK). The rooms are small and utilitarian, with a big bed, built-in desk, closet, and not much else. But there is a nice flat screen TV and the small touches, like a mini fridge but also a water cooler in each room. The rooms have everything you need without extra frill.
That’s good when you consider the low relative price to stay at Scorebirds – about $35 USD a night. They have discounts if you’re staying a week, pay cash, and several other options, so make sure to ask.
But you also won’t find Scorebirds on most of the hotel aggregator sites online like Hotels.com and Agoda.com, etc., so the best thing to do is just email them to make arrangements.
I do recommend asking for two things when it comes to booking your room:
Some of the rooms upstairs open to a walkway that’s open-air and exposed to full sun, which can get pretty hot on one side of the hotel.
Also, it can get REALLY loud at Scorebirds until the wee hours of the morning because the big wall behind the pool is actually the back of a wild disco (High Society) on Walking Street. If you’re going to join the party, then it’s not an issue, and it’s quiet during the day. But if you plan on sleeping at night before 4 AM, ask for a room that’s as far away from that wall as possible, so the bass from the music won’t keep you up.
They also throw a once-a-week bikini contest and pool party with women from several of the bars coming in! And one night a week, they also have a nice big buffet spread.
It’s hard to find hotels with gyms in Angeles City, and that’s also why I like Scorebirds – it has a small (narrow) but very clean and modern weight room with a sit-down exercise bike (no treadmill).
Oh, and once you’re done working out, go take a walk around the corner to Tequila Reef. In my opinion, this is some of the best Mexican food in the Philippines (there are a couple of other great Mexican spots in AC, like Iguanas.) The daily combo platters are huge and the margaritas will make you call it an early night.
Have fun at Scorebirds!
About Norm Schriever
Norm Schriever is a blogger, Amazon best-sellling author, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. His work appears in the Huffington Post, Business.com, Good Morning America, The Anderson Cooper Show on CNN, NBC, MSN, Yahoo, Hotels.com, and media all around the world.
Norm grew up in Connecticut and graduated from the University of Connecticut, where he was never accused of overstudying. After expatriating to Costa Rica in 2011, he started traveling the world and documenting what he saw. He now lives in Southeast Asia, writing his heart out and working with local charities.
