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.

Nightime @ Fuente Osmena Circle (Cebu City)

Valentines Day in Manila moves in a frenzy you'd want to just stay home and hibernate until all the revelry has ebbed down. Thank heavens I was in Cebu City last February 14th and the experience was more pleasant.

For this special occasion, I saw Fuente Osmena Circle (Fuente Osmena Park) all dolled up with its squirting fountain waters. In all my travels in Cebu, I have never seen the fountain with water. It was always dry and, well, seemingly forgotten. But the fountain, built in 1912, has always been there since the installation of the city's water system so it's baffling why the fountain's water spout isn't operational most of the time considering how many tourists come to visit the Queen City of the South.

On a pleasant night, people visit the park to unwind or pay homage to the city's "Grand Old Man". The fountain looks like some South American accoutrement in the middle of a plaza, laying claim to a historical site. Mostly though, it seems like it has been left to its own devices, but for a not-so-recent white paint job to mask the passage of time. .  

Since it's the heart of Cebu City, this fountain located at the roundabout park midway spanning Jones (Osmena Boulevard) might as well be Kilometer Zero.

Named after a Cebuano President, Sergio Osmena, Sr. who served as the second president of the Philippine Commonwealth, many tourists ignore it, oblivious of the fact that other than Magellan's Cross in the old quarters, this is the other iconic symbol of Cebu. And just FYI, "Fuente de Osmena" stands for "Osmena Fountain". There should be an eñe (ñ) but my keyboard doesn't have it and I'm too lazy to individually seek it out every time there's a need for one. Pardon this laziness.

Go visit Crown Regency's Extreme Adventure rides to get a breathtaking view of this roundabout. We shall feature this extreme ride in the succeeding posts.

Meanwhile, posted herewith are images I've taken from Ayala Mall on different occasions.

This is the Eye in the Sky!