Monday, April 20, 2015

Golden Prince Hotel and Its Hospitable Staff - Accommodations in Cebu City


It's easy to interchange the names. Golden Prince Hotel and Golden Peak Hotel. They're both located in the vicinity of the Ayala area. The former is along Archbishop Reyes corner Acacia Street, the latter is along Gorordo corner Escario. There's another "golden" - Golden Valley Hotel along Pelaez Street, but we haven't been there yet.

This photo only courtesy of www.hotels-in-cebu.com.
We've finally managed to cut down our backlog on Cebu hotels. I think I have only 4 or 5 hotels to feature here, but for now, this shall be our last post for the series this season. Why feature hotels? They're part of our travels and we pay good money for them. In fact, a good chunk of our travel budget goes to accommodations. It's not a cheap essential. Like it or not, it's a considerable slice of our wayfarings and peregrinations.

Golden Prince Hotel has always beckoned to us. The facade has an attractive golden sheen of glass panels that tend to blind the spectator in the daytime. It looks fancy. Inside, it's a more modest affair. Though clean and efficiently run, the interiors are on the "dated" side. In fact, we're not too fond of the plyboard-based beds. You can't fault the cushion though; it's comfortable, clean and has fresh-smelling sheets.

The room itself is spacious, with box-type AC's and similarly-thick TV sets with cable channels. There's a coffee pot and 2 bottles of complimentary mineral water. There was on-going maintenance work noticeable during my stay (2013) a few days after the catastrophic earthquake. In fact, I saw cracks on the wall of my high-rise room.

I saw photos (below) of its suite which looks impressive, but then many photos look a lot better than they do on site. My room, however, was a standard room. The hotel was built in 2009, with 57 rooms on 7 floors. Wifi is good. My booking is inclusive of breakfast. Restaurant is at the ground floor and is almost always full capacity if you come too late for your breakfast.

One of the hotel's best features is the warm and accommodating, albeit hard-working staff. No extant nor blood-curdling accents from the front desk ladies, thank heavens. I was of course pretty impatient during check-in because it took awhile. There must have been something Pickwickian about the front desk lady, or it was I. But there are days you don't feel cheerful or chirpy. They were understandably servicing a couple more guests who were there before me. I was cranky because I was tired, but they were very patient with me. Bottom line is, it was a pleasant stay.

There restaurant is a busy hub in the mornings. There's a pantry facing the elevator filled with souvenir items like shirts, Cebuano delicacies, mugs and water bottles. There's a 7-11 a couple of blocks away at the Tune Hotel, and Ayala Mall is further down the area. I was given a VIP discount card (or something) upon check-out for when I'd want to book direct instead of via Agoda. It's easy to hail cabs in this area, or the doorman will do that for you.

Golden Prince Hotel is located along Archbishop Reyes Street, corner Acacia street, Cebu City. For more information, you may call them at (63-32) 233-8650 or visit their website at http://goldenprincehotel.com/.

This is the Eye in the Sky!





Cracks on the wall.

Front desk.  Small waiting area to its left and restaurant to its right.

Souvenir pantry

Suite. This photo only courtesy of www.mycebuguide.com.

2 comments:

Sherry Ellis said...

That would definitely be a recognizable landmark! It seems to be in need of updating, though.

eye in the sky said...

I think the management is trying its best to update but it needs a little more than a mere paint job. Regardless, they do well with guest relations more than facility refurbishment thus the seeming return occupancy of guests.