Following the mishap that we faced through our Philippine Airlines flight, we found ourselves in Cebu on a supposedly first day of our 6-day holiday in Bohol. We hurriedly booked a hotel in Cebu just 5 minutes before we boarded the flight and crossed our fingers that we made the right choice. There was no time for us to read the reviews, all that mattered to us at the time was that it be centrally located. Mandarin Plaza Hotel in Cebu is exactly that and a lot more.
From Cebu airport, we paid around PHP240 to our taxi driver as he dropped us off at Mandarin Plaza Hotel. The hotel lobby was grand considering that it’s a 3 star property. I had to double check if we were at the correct hotel as I wasn’t expecting a 3-star property to have such a lobby. The check-in process was quick, exactly what we needed after a whole day of traveling. We asked the receptionist for an advice as to where to get good food and beer around the area, she couldn’t say anything. Maybe she wasn’t from Cebu or maybe, food and beer isn’t really her forte as she looks so petite just like everyone else in the Philippines. :p
We went up to our room and was again surprised by the size of it, clearly something’s wrong to whoever rated this hotel a 3-star. The room was huge as well as the bathroom, it offers all the basic hotel amenities plus a free-wifi. Yay!
As soon as we’ve dropped our bags, we immediately went out to search for food. We were extremely hungry from all that’s what happened to us that day and we were hoping that there will be something within walking distance from the hotel. The hotel is only a few minutes’ walk to Ayala Center Cebu however, it was already closed when we went out. So instead, we went to Cebu IT Park – a place which I do remember quite vividly from those times when I used to frequent Cebu back in the days when I still lived in the Philippines. We took a cab going there only to find out that that it was actually extremely near to our hotel too. The starting cab fare of PHP40.00 became PHP42.00 when we arrived at the IT Park. Lol. The cab driver must have thought we’re loonies for even taking a cab.
The breakfast the next day was abundant, a lot of Filipino breakfast options was served which I feasted on. The Greek Mister stared at my plate and said “how can you eat that much for breakfast?”. Lol.
Bacon, longganisa and sinangag. What’s so wrong about that? :p
The only thing which I may have had a complain about our stay at Mandarin Plaza Hotel was the tub gets a bit clogged whenever we’re taking a shower. Didn’t really matter to us though as we were staying for only a night.
Upon check-out, we went straight to Pier One to catch our ferry going to Tagbilaran. The hotel was only 10 minutes away from the pier including the very light traffic we encountered.
Yes, Mandarin Plaza Hotel Cebu was definitely a good choice for us.
