Waterfront Cebu Hotel

We were booked at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, and my room, shown above, was a simple yet elegant suite at the casino block.  This hotel is a huge one, with around 550 rooms, a casino and a convention center all in one location.  I understand that the location used to be the site of the Lahug airport, which serviced Cebu City while the Mactan airport was still on the drawing board.  The room was priced at around P8,500 per night, and my booking agent was already able to get a discount at that.

We asked for a tour of the different suites and were lucky to be shown the Presidential Suite--finely done with intricate Filipiniana decor.  Quite spacious, I estimated that the suite was around 250 m2 in area.

The executive lounge was on the 18th floor, and was just right for small gatherings and business meetings.

The tour guide also took us to one of the older suites, which had a different feel compared to the renovated rooms (done maybe 3-4 years ago).

We were also shown the reception area for the tour groups--wide and spacious, right as you get off from the bus drop-off area.

Shamrock

It seems that no visit to Cebu is complete without buying some local delicacies, and this time, we were taken by our guide to Shamrock, right along the Fuente Osmena Circle in the heart of the city.  The bakery is famous for their otap, which is a crunchy puff wafer biscuit that is sprinkled with sugar and sometimes cinnamon.  While the first few bites are delicious, you have to take the biscuit with some liquids, otherwise you wind up choking on a dry throat.  Packs of otap are available at less than P100, which are reasonable for pasalubong (gifts given to people who receive and assist weary travelers).  The bakery also makes other sweet biscuits, like rosquillos (flattened donut-shaped butter biscuits), ladyfingers, barquillos (rolled butter crunchies and shaped like cigars), galletas de patatas and hojaldres (which is also like an otap).  I was a bit worried about my luggage weight, so I only purchased a couple of packs, but my friends bought boxes of goodies to take home!

Imperial Palace

Our first stop on our tour in Mactan was the Imperial Palace Resort, a wonderful five star resort with around 550 rooms and villas.  I understand that this was built as a time-share around 7 years ago by some Korean entrepreneurs, and the concept was expanded to include a water park, some villas and a spa.  I also understand the project was partly funded by the Land Bank of the Philippines, and that the hotel is now owned by some Cebuano businessmen.  The hotel was bustling with activity when we arrived, and I noticed that a good 70% of their target market were Koreans on family vacation.  I would suppose that since Cebu is a mere 5 hour plane ride from Korea, the resort is sold as the ideal long weekend getaway--a boon for Philippine tourism!

Facilities are top notch.  Dining at the resort will probably go for around P1,600 per head on the average.  We were informed that room rates would be placed around P10,000 per night on the average (a bit above US$200). 

The main attraction for the kids is the Water Park, which has a river-like feature that runs around the complex.  Water slides are another favorite, and the water park also has a feature that injects man-made waves in the swimming pool.  I understand that the resort also has a day-rate, which includes swimming and lunch for around P3,500 per person.

The beach area isn't anything spectacular.  It's not a true beach, but you can see in the picture below that they have a stairway gently sloping into the water.  The water is very clean, no jellyfish or stones, and I could see that the water was waist deep for around 30 meters into the sea, which is good for swimming and snorkeling.

The villas are very near the beach and are popular for bigger families.  I like the relaxed and private atmosphere the villas project.  A good place to bring the family--I was hoping that Vicky and Monique would approve my vacation plan, but since they are not beach people, it doesn't seem plausible for the summer of 2013.... 

CnT Lechon

My cousin Henry dropped by Manila with a whopping pasalubong for the folks.  One whole lechon (roasted pig) from CnT, the king of Cebu lechon, was delivered to our doorstep, nicely boxed for air travel!  I understand that unlike the Luzon style of cooking lechon (which greatly depends on sauce for taste), the lechon in Cebu is marinated overnight and stuffed with tanglad (lemon grass).  Once cooked, all you need to do it to eat it straight, with no sauce added.  As you can see, the only picture I have is of the box label, since the lechon was immediately consumed, either straight, re-fried, or chopped into paksiw by Gwammy and my siblings.  I was quite amazed at how the crispiness of the skin was maintained during travel, I understand from Henry that the lechon was picked-up at 6am, brought over via airplane, reaching my folks just before noon.  It's something to enjoy, and even if you have a cholesterol problem, be sure to take a small bite to experience the delight!

UPDATE (15 November 2012):  My trip to Cebu with some bankers would have been considered to be incomplete without the visit to the CnT Lechon shop near the SM Mall.  We got to the shop around 10:30 am, and found a long line of waiting customers--at P380 per kilo of delicious lechon, how could anyone go wrong?  My only complaint was that the chopping methods of the ladies below create bone splinters in the food, and that's a bit irritating to have--instead of enjoying the dish, you have to play hit and miss with your tongue!

Waterfront Airport Hotel

Airport hotels are built for travelers' convenience, and the Waterfront Airport Hotel in Mactan serves exactly that purpose.  You can fly into Mactan, cross the street and check-in, it's that simple!  In addition, this hotel has a spacious 5,000 m2 casino, and a lot of tourists just play the slots while waiting for their flight.

My suite was quite spacious, I'd say about 85 m2 in size, and I had an unobstructed view of the runway.  It was a nice sight to see, planes coming and going.  Room rates go for about P3,000 for the regular rooms and around P6,000 for the suites.  Staff are courteous and very willing to help.

Movenpick

During the nineties, Cebu was marketed as an island in the Pacific, without reference to it being a city in the Philippines.  That was an effective strategy--despite continuous depressing news bits from the rest of the country (e.g. kidnappings, coup attempts, terrorist bombings, and the like), the city was pretty much isolated from the negative publicity in the eyes of the international tourists.  Mactan Island was a favorite of the weekend tourists and the boom led to the construction of several resorts, among them the Hilton complex.  This project consisted of three buildings--a residential condominium, a time-share building, and a hotel, all sharing a common beachfront.

I recently learned that the Hilton contract had expired, and that the owners decided to enter into a management contract with Movenpick, the Swiss chain.  The hotel is due for a total shutdown in July 2012, and will reopen in January 2013, after undergoing a full renovation. If you look at the pictures below, you will notice that the room interiors are very 90s, and a much-needed face lift is in store for next year.  Present room rates for regular rooms hover around the level of P6,500 per night.

The Mactan seawater is absolutely so inviting!  The view from the room makes one want to dive right in.  The fresh water pool is located right next to the sea, and one has a choice where to swim.  Just the perfect place for a lazy day at the beach!

Quest Hotel

This trip to Cebu was pretty much a rush trip (overnight), but I managed to take a look at a few hotels.  I was pretty much delighted to find out that the Filinvest group has a 3-star property located right across from the Ayala Mall.  Quest Hotel has some 400+ rooms, and while the room sizes were not a spacious as the higher end hotels, the quality was pretty impressive.  The chain operates out of Indonesia, and I understand that this is their first foray into the Philippine market.

Lobby area with a welcoming flower arrangement

True to the no-frills concept, the hotel has only one restaurant, the Puso (I think this refers to Visayan word for the casing made of coconut leaves in which rice is cooked, rather than the Tagalog word meaning "heart").  However, it was a pleasant surprise to see a well appointed buffet, and a pretty extensive bar set-up.  Function rooms are also available for business meetings and social gatherings, and I was happy to note that the function rooms are connected directly to the car park, which is very convenient for guests.

I would say that the regular rooms are about 23-25 m2, while the bigger suites run to around 35-38 m2.  Room rates go for something like P2,500 per night for the regular rooms and around P4,000 per night for the suites.  Well appointed, very clean and comfortable.

The pool area is not lavish, but the concept works.  Travelling on business, I would say that this hotel is one of my top choices, the location is great, right next to the Ayala Mall, the rooms good, and prices are very affordable.  Two thumbs up!

Marco Polo Plaza

We capped our night at the Blu Bar at the top Marco Polo Plaza hotel in the Nivel hills area of Cebu.  This used to be the Cebu Plaza Hotel run initially by Anos Fonacier.  Sometime in the mid-nineties, the hotel was bought by the Pathfinder group.  After some financial difficulty, Metrobank foreclosed on the property and as such, the hotel is now owned by Federal Land, an affiliate of the bank.  I understand that the Marco Polo chain manages the hotel and from the looks of it, the hotel is even better now that it was when it first opened.

At night, the city view is quite beautiful, you can see the lights all over town.  I enjoyed our ride up the scenic elevator, something that was in vogue during the eighties, but nowadays not much used by architects and building owners.  The cool breeze was a welcome treat, and most of the guys had some beer while the girls held onto their cocktail drinks.  As usual, I had a shot of whiskey (this time single malt Glenfiddich).

I like the new look of this hotel.  We stayed around till almost midnight and even reminisced on older Cebu hotels like the Magellan and the revolving Chinese dimsum restaurant.  Being one of only two 5-star hotels in the city (the other being the Radisson), I'd recommend this hotel to any traveller who would like to stay in a hotel Cebu with a spectacular view.

STK

Upon the suggestion of one of our colleagues, we went to a place called "STK ta Bay sa Paulito's Seafood House" near the provincial Capitol.  It's a mouthful to pronounce, but it's basically an invitation to friends to eat Sinugba (grill items), Tinola (clear soup) and Kinilaw (raw fish in vinegar) at Paulito's Seafood House.  Whew!

You can see by the number of pictures hanging on the wall that a lot of celebrities, politicians and athletes have eaten at the restaurant.  The restaurant owner, Karen Alcover-Cabahug greeted us as we entered, and we were instantly mesmerized at the wealth of family heirlooms that dotted the interiors.  I gathered that Paulito is her brother, who is the head chef.

We started off with grilled scallops, and proceeded to taste the hot beef soup, which was quite tasty and a welcome treat for our tummies.  We continued with 2 kinds of grilled fish (tuna and a smaller but tastier local fish that I did not recognize), more grilled squid, fried pork cutlets and some veggies.  Overall, we spent something like P350 per head, and we went home with bulging tummies!