On my second visit to the Queen City of the South, I decided to "splurge" a little bit, well at least for a night. It was just on time for my birthday and I really thought it would be a great way to celebrate it. Every time I travel I usually stay at hostels and having been used to it, this experience was extraordinary for me.
I visited Cebu with a friend and a cousin and it was their first time in the city so I was the one in-charge for this leisure trip. We were able to get cheap tickets (less than P1,000 for round trip flight) from Puerto Princesa going to Cebu on a weekend and also did a day tour in Bohol to see the Chocolate Hills and the tarsiers.
I've stayed in few small-scale hotels in Cebu such as Sampaguita Suites (both in Mango Avenue and in Magellan's Cross area) and in Verbena Suites and I admit, these hotels will make you feel you didn't waste your money. I highly recommend Sampaguita Suites in Mango Avenue and Verbena Suites because of their affordable rates and yet, comfort will not be compromised. So just to be different, I decided we stay at Crown Regency Hotel for a night.
Crown Regency Hotel is the tallest hotel tower in Cebu and is one of the tallest in the country. It boasts a 38-storey of room accommodation with several attractions like the must-try Sky Adventure which offers Sky Walk, Edge Coaster and recently-built zip line. The hotel is strategically situated at one of the main streets of Cebu and is near to some of the must-visit places in town. Best thing about it? It's near Larsian!
My beloved Couch Surfing community, as usual, has made a huge difference to our trip. I communicated with Charity Palanca of CS Cebu and she exceeded my expectation. Ate Charity already had a concrete plan with Ate Maeanne and they were already at the parking lot of the hotel only few minutes after we have checked-in coming straight from the airport. They were our company for the whole day and our first stop was Casa Verde where we had a sumptuous lunch. After filling our hungry stomach, we headed around the reclamation area where the future Mall of Asia in Cebu is going to be built.
When it was quite dark already, we then proceeded to Tops view deck. If you plan to stay here for quite some time, you might want to bring a jacket as it gets pretty cold because it is on a high altitude. Food and beverages are also available on the area. Also, they ask for an entrance fee and this deck can be reached through cab (expensive) or a habal-habal ride (for adventurous ones, way cheaper).
After spending a good 30 minutes at the Tops, the much awaited Larsian was our next stop. Larsian is one of my favorite food places in Cebu along with CNT and Casa Verde and we did have a good dinner, as usual.
At Larisan, we met couple of CSers. This Taiwanese girl ended up joining our Bohol day trip and we also met Ate Maeanne's kids who are well-traveled as well. Have you been to Mongolia? How about Laos? Well, these kids have been there. Beat that! :-p
So we invited them to come over and spend some time at the hotel while my cousin, my friend and the Taiwanese girl were doing the Sky Adventure (it was bundled with our accommodation + breakfast and dinner buffet for 2 + access to amenities)
I had a dip at the bath tub and prepared for some night out. Since our hotel is near Mango Avenue, we didn't need to take a cab to bring us to some of the loudest party spots in town.
*the following day was spent in Bohol
*arrived back in Cebu around 8PM the same day and we stayed at Verbena Suites
*flew the following day back to Puerto Princesa
P.S. We really didn't pay much for the Crown Regency package, you can find cheap packages on the internet
- renwock
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