Cebu - Where to Stay

In Southeast Asia, hotels are so cheap compared to similar star-rated hotels in the U.S. In the Philippines, you can get 5-star hotels for a fraction of the cost of 3-star hotels in New York City! With that in mind, it's easy to go overboard and reserve rooms in the swankiest of places, and who can blame you? But, I love finding great hotels for unbelievably low prices in the Philippines. It's so easy, because they're everywhere!


When making plans for traveling, I am pretty much obsessive-compulsive when it comes to choosing just the right hotel to stay in. With everything else - what to see and do, where to visit - I can (almost) go with the flow as long as I have a basic idea.

But with hotels, the comfort level, location, cost and prior reviews of a place is crucial for me. I can spend hours looking at reviews and pictures of hotels and their rooms, checking out maps for their locations, weighing the advantages of one hotel with another. I'm like a religious zealot with TripAdvisor as my bible. It can get tiresome at times. Ok, who am I kidding? This is my FAVORITE part of planning a trip!! So let's get crack-a-lackin'!

(Note: Hotels are going to quickly sell out - especially the cheap ones - in January for the festival so these must be booked well in advance.)

Tune Hotel - $16-25 (what!) Double Room
Holy cheap find, Batman! This is the cheapest place I found that has decent (albeit tiny) rooms near the Ayala mall in downtown Cebu. It's a brand new hotel (opened February 2012) with modern rooms.

 

There's a big BUT coming though: each amenity you have to pay for and you pay for only what you need. Their base room rate is super cheap - something like $5. But you want A/C for 12 or 24 hours? Extra 200 pesos. Want some towels and soap? Extra 20 pesos.

You can get package deals on their website or agoda.com. I found one for $16 including the room - 12 hour A/C, 24 hr TV, 24 hour wifi, towel and toiletries - on their website.

If we land in Cebu and just stay for one night before heading off somewhere else, then this place is ideal. Not sure about staying for more than a day or two here because it could get cramped after a while. And if staying in Cebu City for more than a night, I'd want something with a little more to offer. But the price is really unbeatable. Here's the breakdown:


Pros:
- CHEEEAAAP!!!
- near Ayala Center Mall
- in downtown Cebu
- brand new hotel 
- pretty good reviews for a budget hotel (TripAdvisor)
- attentive staff supposedly
- 5 mins away from North Bus Terminal (if we take a bus to a dock for Bantayan Island)
- did I say cheap?


Cons:
- pay for every little thing: towels, soap, wifi, A/C (but package deals are available)
- no phone in rooms to contact front desk
- tiny rooms
- no restaurant (but near a mall so that's ok)
- no pool (it would be nice to refresh yourself with a dip after a long, hot day, but if we're only staying for a night, should be no problem)
- loud A/C (just bring earplugs!)

CONCLUSION: Ideal for a one or two night stay!

Premiere Citi Suites - $27 standard room (double bed or two twins), no breakfast
                                 $37 Deluxe room (one double bed and a single bed, or two double beds) breakfast
                                        for 2, sofa bed

This hotel is also pretty cheap and is still in downtown Cebu although a little farther from the big malls. However, there are plenty of restaurants and fast food places in the area and a smaller mall so at least food wouldn't be a problem. The rooms are larger than Tune Hotel and amenities such as free wifi, AC, towels and toiletries are included. Might be a better place to stay if staying for more than two nights since there'll be extra square footage in the rooms. Again, we'd have to reserve pretty quick to get a room.

Standard room

Deluxe room

PROS:
- Still pretty gosh darn CHEAP!
- brand new hotel
- larger rooms than Tune Hotel
- restaurant in hotel
- plenty of restaurants in walking distance
- free wifi
- walking distance to Robinson's mall, 10 minute taxi to Ayala Center Mall
- near Mango Square (where clubs are?)
- fresh sheets and towels daily
- water dispenser in every floor

CONS
- the free breakfast that comes with the Deluxe rooms isn't that great
- since it's so new, taxi drivers have a hard time finding the place (it's still located in downtown Cebu though) Note: mention the restaurant Baseline to the taxi driver
- no pool
- apparently loud A/C (again, earplugs!)
- does not take credit cards

CONCLUSION: The extra space is a factor. And it's a good maybe for longer stays. However, the location and price of Tune Hotel still seems hard to beat.

Quest Hotel- $66 Deluxe Room (one double bed or two single beds)

This is the "splurgy" hotel - where I'd stay if I wanted a prettily furnished room, a pool etc etc.  It's more expensive than both the previous hotels but still relatively cheap! Like Tune Hotel, Quest is also located across from Ayala mall.

PROS:
- across from Ayala mall
- swimming pool! (ahhhh, it would be nice to take a dip in the morning before heading out, or after a long day of walking around)
- larger, prettier rooms - more comfortable to stay in
- still relatively cheap
- has a restaurant with good food
- free wifi and amenities

CONS:
- more expensive than Tune hotel and Premiere Citi Suites
- no crosswalk from the hotel to the mall so you have to wait for cars before running to the other side (kinda like NY!)

CONCLUSION: If I can somehow budget it in, I would prefer to stay here over Premiere Citi Suites. Tune Hotel would still be my #1 choice for short stays though.