Surprisingly, the author has not had any chance to stay in a proper hotel in the Philippines before this weekend (the first few days stay in Manila in a converted condo does not count as there were not properly hotel amenities involved) So weirdly enough, the author was more or less really looking forward to staying in a rather posh (-looking, at least) place for his first overnight trip in the Philippines, coincidentally in Baguio, one of the long-time tourist capitals of the country. As much as it is one hotel for one night, perhaps some observations about Filipino hotels can be made.
The choice this time was Hotel Veniz, a six-story monster smack right next to the downtown areas of Baguio City. The popular Baguio City Market for buying souvenirs is right next door, while the gigantic Burnham Park, with its tranquil lake and lighted walkways, is right across the streets. Five minutes more of walk can get the guest to the main shopping drag of Session Road, and the view across the city in front of the hill that stands the Baguio City Hall. The location cannot be any better, and the Hotel itself, with red neon lighting on top, cannot stand out anymore on the night skyline of Baguio.
The hotel itself, while showing a bit of wear and tear with age, still has a certain dignified air so common with tourist- (rather than business traveler-) facing establishments. There is no starring, and for the price of a European hostel's one night (20 Euros or so), the author was able to get himself a solo occupancy room instantly. Seasonal prices did apply, but even then, the hotel seemed pretty empty, and the receptionist had no qualms about accepting the author as a guest even though no proper identification (aside from a non-notarized photocopy of passport profile page) was submitted.
The services included in the stay is not too bad or not too good. Beside the usual expected free plastic toothbrushes, sachets of shampoos, toothpastes, and soap, not much else was expected or was given. Air conditioning is available in the room, but for Baguio's chilly temperatures, it was pretty much unnecessary, and with the price paid, the author did not expect a view over the city, nor was he given on in the windowless mid-corridor room. Nice that there was coupon for free breakfast, but aside from that, no fancy gym or pool or conference center.
So...not much for the author to do aside from switching on the TV in his room. At least the channel line-up was pretty damn good. Of the hundred channels available, all except about ten are foreign channels, covering everything from NHK to CNN to BBC to Al-Jazeera. What I found fascinating was how more than one-third of these foreign channels were of Chinese language, including nearly all recognizable stations from Taiwan, pro-Beijing Pheonix TV from Hong Kong, and all the good-old government mouthpieces streaming live from Beijing.
This is in comparison with two Korean channels (YTN and Arirang) and one Japanese one (NHK). Looks like, despite the prevalence of Korean tourists seen on the streets here (just as in Tagaytay) it seems the Chinese-speaking tourists may be the bigger draw of the hotel in question. Makes sense since it seems many hotels catering specially to Koreans are popping up everywhere, making "general" hotels like Veniz forced to focus on the other tourist brackets. The author felt a bit nostalgic and happy being able to fall asleep watching Chinese TV after a hot shower (first time in years..)
In the morning, English newspaper Philippine Star was distributed by the hotel staff around 6:30am or so if front of each hotel room, a quite considerate gesture for early risers like the author himself (at least when he is being a backpacker). The complimentary breakfast was a nice buffet, Filipino/Western style. On offer were local favorites like tocino and bistek, as well as the standard Western fare like cereal, toast, and scrambled eggs. The all-you-can-eat bit is definitely the most pleasant surprise of the visit, and the author wasted no time downing as much meat as possible.
All in all, the author cannot complain about a hotel stay that did not at all go out of ordinary in good or bad ways. The services is definitely not bad for the price, and the author would certainly recommend for others. But the blandness of everything falling into expectation is not fitting with the author's adventurous backpacker character. In a country where hostels themselves become sort of foreign institutions not any cheaper than local hotels despite their (expected) complete lack of privacy, the local hotel, of rather high class, is still a much safer and better bet.
The choice this time was Hotel Veniz, a six-story monster smack right next to the downtown areas of Baguio City. The popular Baguio City Market for buying souvenirs is right next door, while the gigantic Burnham Park, with its tranquil lake and lighted walkways, is right across the streets. Five minutes more of walk can get the guest to the main shopping drag of Session Road, and the view across the city in front of the hill that stands the Baguio City Hall. The location cannot be any better, and the Hotel itself, with red neon lighting on top, cannot stand out anymore on the night skyline of Baguio.
The hotel itself, while showing a bit of wear and tear with age, still has a certain dignified air so common with tourist- (rather than business traveler-) facing establishments. There is no starring, and for the price of a European hostel's one night (20 Euros or so), the author was able to get himself a solo occupancy room instantly. Seasonal prices did apply, but even then, the hotel seemed pretty empty, and the receptionist had no qualms about accepting the author as a guest even though no proper identification (aside from a non-notarized photocopy of passport profile page) was submitted.
The services included in the stay is not too bad or not too good. Beside the usual expected free plastic toothbrushes, sachets of shampoos, toothpastes, and soap, not much else was expected or was given. Air conditioning is available in the room, but for Baguio's chilly temperatures, it was pretty much unnecessary, and with the price paid, the author did not expect a view over the city, nor was he given on in the windowless mid-corridor room. Nice that there was coupon for free breakfast, but aside from that, no fancy gym or pool or conference center.
So...not much for the author to do aside from switching on the TV in his room. At least the channel line-up was pretty damn good. Of the hundred channels available, all except about ten are foreign channels, covering everything from NHK to CNN to BBC to Al-Jazeera. What I found fascinating was how more than one-third of these foreign channels were of Chinese language, including nearly all recognizable stations from Taiwan, pro-Beijing Pheonix TV from Hong Kong, and all the good-old government mouthpieces streaming live from Beijing.
This is in comparison with two Korean channels (YTN and Arirang) and one Japanese one (NHK). Looks like, despite the prevalence of Korean tourists seen on the streets here (just as in Tagaytay) it seems the Chinese-speaking tourists may be the bigger draw of the hotel in question. Makes sense since it seems many hotels catering specially to Koreans are popping up everywhere, making "general" hotels like Veniz forced to focus on the other tourist brackets. The author felt a bit nostalgic and happy being able to fall asleep watching Chinese TV after a hot shower (first time in years..)
In the morning, English newspaper Philippine Star was distributed by the hotel staff around 6:30am or so if front of each hotel room, a quite considerate gesture for early risers like the author himself (at least when he is being a backpacker). The complimentary breakfast was a nice buffet, Filipino/Western style. On offer were local favorites like tocino and bistek, as well as the standard Western fare like cereal, toast, and scrambled eggs. The all-you-can-eat bit is definitely the most pleasant surprise of the visit, and the author wasted no time downing as much meat as possible.
All in all, the author cannot complain about a hotel stay that did not at all go out of ordinary in good or bad ways. The services is definitely not bad for the price, and the author would certainly recommend for others. But the blandness of everything falling into expectation is not fitting with the author's adventurous backpacker character. In a country where hostels themselves become sort of foreign institutions not any cheaper than local hotels despite their (expected) complete lack of privacy, the local hotel, of rather high class, is still a much safer and better bet.
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