Any recommendations for places to stay (that are not anonymous members of international chains) in Davao or on Cebu. In Manila, I'm leaning to the Manila Hotel for its history and location (near Intramuros and Chinatown) -- Makati, to me, is much less appealing, but I'd welcome input.

Thanks, Michael

In Makati we have stayed at the New World- a 4 star property with great service and easy access to shopping and restaurants.

Hi Michael,
havent been to Davao so far.
On Cebu I stayed at Maribago beach hotel (lousy beach) and at Montebello hotel in Cebu City, which I can recommend.

Thanks, I know that I wrote Cebu, but I am using that city's airport as a gateway to Bohol, and I hopefully won't overnight in Cebu, but will instead catch a late afternoon ferry to Tagbilaran. So, any hotel recommendations on Bohol? I'll look into the recommendation in Cebu City since there's a chance that I will be forced to overnight (depending on air and ferry schedules).

Thanks

A friend recommended my sister to stay at the Grand Regal Hotel in Davao. For Bohol I would recommend The Ananyana Resort. I have stayed there and its a Boutique resort.

I'm not sure if the Grand Regal is part of a big chain, but i'm sure Ananyana is privately owned.

Manila Hotel, unless they have refurbished recently, should have tired furnishings. I wouldn't recommend it. But it is the nearest to Intramuros and Chinatown.

Everyone I spoke to in Manila mentioned that the Manila Hotel looks very very tired. We had considered staying at the Pan Pacific Manila

<http://www.panpacific.com/Manila/Overview.html>

in the same area. Friends who frequent the hotels prefer this over all the other hotels in the area.

I LOVE FODORS!!!!
i got a lot of great, useful tips-- thank you!!
now it's my turn to reciprocate!


my family and i just returned from manila and had a great vacation.
i found a 3BR, 2.5 Bath penthouse in Eastwood City.. 30 minutes driving from Manila Intl Airport (WITHOUT traffic... about 45 minutes to an hour with traffic!!
our flights arrived in manila at midnight.. so we had no traffic)

very high end penthouse, beautiful, for $1600 for 2 weeks.
there were 7 adults and 2 babies in my group.
it was a great place to stay, where ALL of us could be together-- 1 master br had a king sized bed... the other 2 brs had 2 twin beds each (total 4 twin beds)

it has a separate maid's quarters room, with its own shower & bath (so total, the penthouse really has 3.5 Bathrooms)... our driver that we hired and some family members used this bathroom. the driver stayed with us in the penthouse, slept on a fold-out bed that the penthouse also provides.
the great thing about this penthouse is that it also had a WASHER/DRYER!!! awesome.

the owner is a local filipino.. and any questions or concerns we had.. he was very responsive.. when he wasnt available, his parents came over! very nice family.

the location was walking distance to restaurants/fast food, and 2 malls.. about 15 driving minutes away from the grocery store...

about 10 minutes driving to one of the BEST SPA places i've been to!!-- i got a package for $60 INCLUDING TIPS and was at the spa 4 hours!!!!

OUR DRIVER was GREAT as well... very accomodating..
people say that the best way to hire a driver is through the airport.
we learned that ALL the drivers are sub-contracted by the agencies at the airport, therefore, charge higher prices to cover their costs!


email me directly if you want the details/contact info for the penthouse and/or the driver.. i can answer more specific questions then!

[email protected]

Hi Michael,

Manila Hotel is historic but not really grand... well it WAS grand but appeals to me as a scary hotel, being very old and a bit dark inside... Well, it is up to you if you prefer Old Hispanic themes..

Would recommend Pan Pacific or Sofitel Philippine Plaza (kinda isolated though in location) or Manila Pavilion by Waterfront. I think the price range is the same for all hotels mentioned.

In Bohol, you can try The Ananyana or the Amorita... Amorita is much newer... Amorita during peak is USD 200 plus in 2007. I dont know this year... The Ananyana might have the same price too...

In Davao, Grand Regal is a bit far from the city center. Try Marco Polo Davao (USD100-120) or The Apo View Hotel Davao (USD80 around)

Thanks for all the info.

There are plenty of hotels in Manila, so I'm going to monitor some sites and just look for a good deal as my dates approach.

For Bohol, I am going to book the Ananyana.

And for Davao, I am leaning to Casa Leticia or Apo View.

Thanks for the suggestions.

masafami,

Thanks for your report. Glad you had a great time in manila. I presume you discovered the great pleasure of THE SPA for your 4 hour trip to bliss land. I normally go to the one at the Podium since we stay at the CP in Galleria. We will be back there again this coming April to May.

Thanks for the info on the driver. It may come in handy one of these days.

Apo View hotel in Davao is one of the nicer ones in town. But if you have a bit more time and want to stay right on the beach, you should check out Paradise Island, which is only about 10 minutes by boat from Davao. There are nice air conditioned rooms right on the beach. More info: http://www.paradiseislanddavao.com/index.html