Waterfront Cebu City Hotel Cebu

Very Nice HotelGuest Rating: 4.8

I've heard a lot about this hotel and have seen it in past visits to Cebu, so I thought it'd be nice to spend a couple of days here the next time I came to Cebu. I was very impressed with the architecture of the hotel. The exterior is very impressive both during the day and night. Walking into the hotel was just as impressive with a massive lobby. This hotel definitely caters to the international crowd. There were several restaurants to choose from serving from local to European foods. There is also a casino located on the second floor for those who have an itch for gambling. Not quite like Las Vegas, but still enough to entice the gambler to try at the tables or slot machines. The front desk seemed a little small for the hotel considering how many rooms it has. Fortunately, I had no problems checking in or out. But then, I was there during the off season, so I can only imagine what it would be like during the peak season. I stayed in a superior room on the seventh floor and found it very nicely decorated and furnished. It appeared larger than standard size hotel rooms. The TV selection was very good and appeared to be on cable since I was able to get foreign channels as well as HBO and Cinemax. Almost made me feel right at home! The bar was very well stocked with snacks and drinks, but I preferred to bring my own stuff. They had a mini-refrigerator that accommodated the things I bought, as well as a mini-safe to hold my valuables. The bathroom was also nicely decorated. The only complaint I would have is that they didn't provide a wash cloth. Also the tub seemed a little narrower than normal. Overall, I enjoyed my stay and would come back again and stay a little longer to take advantage of all the amenities this hotel has to offer.

Beautiful architecture. Terrific view of Cebu (provided your on the upper floors looking toward the bay). Huge lobby. Casino located in the hotel. Nice choices of restaurants.

Rooms need self closing doors for safety reasons. Didn't provide wash clothes (maybe it's just a western thing). The tub was a little narrower than I'd like.

• Hotel Feature Tip : Request to have a room as high as possible and facing the harbor for a spectacular night view of Cebu.

Old 4 Star HotelGuest Rating: 3.7

The hotel looks better from the outside than inside. It is centrally located so we enjoyed the short taxi ride (US$1) to the Ayala Mall even though there is a free shuttle bus, the schedule was not as frequent. There are also many reasonably priced small restaurants within walking distance outside the hotel. We tried the Filipino and the Korean restaurants which were both good. The front desk service needed more training as it took us more than half an hour to check in. There were more than enough people (5 or 6) at the check in counter but it was disorganized and most of them were not very experienced. The cleaning service was good. Overall the stay was reasonably pleasant.

Great location

Room facilities a bit old especially the bathrooms. Hotel lobby smelt moldy as soon as went in. The smell lingered along the corridors toward the swimming pool

• Restaurant Tip : Plenty of restaurants around this hotel. Try out the very popular Filipino restaurants 6 minutes walk on the left side when you walk out of the hotel's long entrance.

Decent 4 Star HotelGuest Rating: 3.8

We were surprised that there was a small water slide by the pool. It was not advertised but any water slide would be a highlight to children! Loved the location. It's a pity that we didn't get a chance to try our luck at the Casino because were too occupied by children but am sure it would have been great fun! The hotel lobby looked grubby and we got that moldy smell as soon as we entered the lobby. It lingered in the corridor outside the gym when we went to the pool. I think keeping the air flowing and putting some nice smelling flowers will help.

The location definitely scores the highest points. Many nice and reasonably priced restaurants around the hotel which we enjoyed. There are free shuttle buses going to the Ayala Mall but we took a taxi and it cost only USD1. It's a five minutes drive.

The room looks tired especially the bathroom. If they want to keep the 4 stars they'd better consider some renovation. The check in/ out counter was slow. They couldn't find my Agoda booking not sure if it's Agoda's mistake or the hotel's but they should not have kept us waited for over half an hour when checking in. They could have sorted this out afterwards. It was especially intolerable when we got up 4:30am for the flight to Cebu.

• Travel tip : Great restaurants nearby the hotel including Filipino, Korean and BBQ. There is an Internet place 5 minutes walk to the right which charged 15 peso per hour as it's opposite to a university. The hotel charges 180 peso per hour!