The excellent b&b - Casa Escano - was full so i had to look around for another Hotel in the heat....after leaving two hotel, one dingy the other where the rooms lights cut out one minute after I entered the bathroom, I found the rather smart looking Holiday Plaza - was this part of a group?

But for 3,500 pesos I was hoping for something good. Front desk and porter helpful, and I had a good night, in a somewhat tired room. The aircon stopped rattleing after I gave it a bang, and I slept well. Lovely bath, no bath plug,

The inclusive breakfast was another story! When i got down to the drab breakfast room it was quite busy, about 20 people there. Staff polite but sleepy. However many of the self service buffet dishes were empty...making the food offering very limited. i asked to speak to the manager 2 times and on the 3rd time was told that the chef was in charge.......2 minutes later I saw a smart elderly chef show his face at kitchen entrance only to disappear again. I was wondering why so many guests were prepared to put up with such substandard service, and staff that were not being supervised.

Asked to speak to the hotel manager, and after again several requests, was told that the old lady walking around was the owner, Mrs Lim. Then I noticed a distinct change in the attutude of the staff, suddenly they were more friendly and more active. The juices were filled, the bacon was replenished, the vegetables were refilled.

I approached Mrs Lim who was probably a septuagenarian, (70-80 years old) and who was pleasant enough. Asked for a comment card, they had none, she told me that they have never had a complaint before, asked how many stars she has,she said none, Asked her why the Chef did not approach to sort out a complaint - she said she does not encourage contact with the customers, I even mentioned trip advisor and asked her if she know about it, She said she would ask her grandchildren to show her the website!

It just surprises me that such a large hotel, and investment can be run like this! Perhaps it needs a new owner as the hotel location is excellent, and it still has life in it yet, if it has dynamic management!

Disappointed, tired, and there are better in Cebu City

After my flight from Hong Kong to Cebu City this hotel is always my first stop in the Philippines. The location of this Hotel is perfect for your first 1 or 2 nights in Cebu City. All shopping Malls and attractions are nearby and for it's price the quality is reasonable for Philippino standards. Good bed and hot shower.. but who needs hot showers in the Philippines anyway? Breakfast is a buffet where you can drink and eat as much as you like. Restaurant on top give you a good view over cebu city. It is not the Hilton but for me it has all i want for the 1 or 2 nights i stay.

This hotel was recommended by a reputable travel agent in Singapore as 4-star rating. It takes about 45 minutes to get there (mostly due to bad traffic on most days) from the airport. The hotel is pretty run-down from the outside, but it gets worse when you get into the room.

FIrstly, driveway is very small, only can fit 1 mini van and there won't be much space to walk around it. Upon stepping into the hotel lobby, it's quite gloomy looking and has a stale smell (like a combination of old wood furniture mixed with stale aroma from the cafe).

There is no tour desk at this hotel and the front desk do not have any brochures or information for tourists. We were given some "quotes" from the staff when we asked about some day tours that we could do.

In the room, the furniture looked really old, carpet was badly stained, bedsheets torn, curtains stained and torn, bathroom tiles cracked and worst of all, the shower head was all rusty and had some weird thing sticking out of the holes !! Towels did not look clean, but rather old and yellowish. The only basic toiletry provided is a bar of soap for washing hands and toilet paper.

The supposedly popular chef's recommendation in the menu was the clubhouse sandwich, that tasted really bad. The "ham" in the sandwich was very dark red with white patches on it. The freshest looking thing on the plate was the fries and chili sauce.

I was charged PHP250 to send an overseas fax and i was not given any receipt for that. They apparently don't issue receipts on such things.

The concierge (actually just a guy standing by the door, no booth at all) seem to only open doors and help when he feels like it.

On a slightly brighter note, the location is not that bad, but expect to travel far to see a beach. It's 2 minutes walk to a very busy street with lots of fastfood outlets and a shopping center for getting basic things.

If you intend to go Cebu for a worry free holiday resort style, don't choose this hotel. It's nowhere near the beach or sea and the amounts you pay to get to the beaches is not worth it at the end.