Cebu Hotels

[Brymor]

Just checked in at the Waterfront Lahug today. Got an amazing deal through Asia Travel for $100 per night or about 4000 pesos. That is an amazing deal when you consider the cheapest price I could get the Marriott for was about 7000 pesos. In my humble opinion the Waterfront is my preferred choice out of the two, but the Marriot is slightly better located. Just arrived from Cagayan De Oro today. My hand baggage was security checked and hand searched at CDO Airport but they failed to do anything about my aftershave, shower gel, bottled water, creams and lotions. My lap top bag was hand searched but they did not open the central zipper containing plud, adapter and leads for the charger. I set off the metal detector alarm because I had my cell phone in my pocket and a digital camera in a pouch on my belt, but the guard nonchalently waved me through. I didn't feel very reassured.

When I arrived at the waterfront, security was good and they even had an explosives dog sniff my suitcase. I think he enjoyed the smell of my unwashed boxer shorts! 6 members off staff on reception and it took nearly 30 minutes before I was attended to

[X Man]

I did exactly that one evening, but not at 2am. It a short walk. I remember passing a guard at a gate. It is possible that this gate gets locked at night, but I doubt it. You might go to the Waterfront Mactan web site and ask them directly. X.

I am staying at the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino in Cebu. My flight gets in at 2:00 a. M, and I'm just wondering if it is safe / possible to walk from the international arrivals area over to the hotel at that time of morning?

[Gaijin Gigolo]

I stayed there. Great place. Never asked me or any one a question. Great buffet breakfest. Safe location. They also have a LAN internet conection. Allways worked great. Did not play the wifi game. Staff is great. Walking in late at night you can go thru the garage to get to the elevators. There is a gaurd. But never said anything. So there are multple entrances. One gals uncle or something worked there. So the garage took care of that.

It was reccomended to me. And I recommend it. If you like Electronic Dance disco music. Pumps One is a three block walk. Hope this is helpfull.

Very helpful indeed. Thanks a lot mate. GG

[Suwon]

I am staying at the Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino in Cebu. My flight gets in at 2:00 a. M, and I'm just wondering if it is safe / possible to walk from the international arrivals area over to the hotel at that time of morning?

[Redman69]

I stayed there. Great place. Never asked me or any one a question. Great buffet breakfest. Safe location. They also have a LAN internet conection. Allways worked great. Did not play the wifi game. Staff is great. Walking in late at night you can go thru the garage to get to the elevators. There is a gaurd. But never said anything. So there are multple entrances. One gals uncle or something worked there. So the garage took care of that.

It was reccomended to me. And I recommend it. If you like Electronic Dance disco music. Pumps One is a three block walk. Hope this is helpfull.

[Gaijin Gigolo]

Spent 12 days at the Mactan Crown Regency last month. Walkable to giasano but not the nicest walk. Taxis were not readily abundant. If you are leaving SM I suggest walking over to the Radisson and having them get you a taxi so you may relax in their lobby and it beats standing in cue@SM for extended periods. Crown Mactan was passable but underwhelming. Giasano could be a nice meeting point but personally I have not had success picking up girls at any mall in Cebu for what its worth. FYI, I will be at the Marriott last 10 days of this month & Parklane 1st 10 days of Feb.

Thanks a lot for the input mate. See messages.

[Gaijin Gigolo]

I believe another poster addressed this issue recently, but you will find it almost impossible to find anywhere that does not have a security guard and this is especially true of condos that would have foreigners renting.

Even if you were to splash out big money on a private house, they will still come with security guards that will stop your car or taxi to verfify the occupants as it enters the estate.

Quite frankly the kind of Condos that do not have security guards are the kid of Condos that you would probably not want to go within a million miles of.

Everyone knows your business here and I had the same view as you when I first started coming to Cebu several years ago. I spent ages looking at Condos and even contemplated buying here at one stage. I have yet to find a decent Condo that doesen't come with its own completey bored security guard, who's only highlight during his working day is to watch what new woman his foreigner is bringing back that particular day.

If you do find anywhere that is also very safe and secure, let me know as I also love my privacy. I have had to learn to sacrifice that during my stays here

Thanks for the advice mate. I will be doing a lot of recon this trip. As mentioned in my response to Red Kilt, I am seriously considering investing in a Condo at someplace like The Persimmon. Will post a report once I'm done. Looks like I'll be staying in The Parklane as it seems to offer the least amount of interference to guys and their dates.

[Gaijin Gigolo]

if you have been in the pi 4 times already i am surprised that you are not freaked out by the idea of living alone in a house or flat out in lapu lapu. i am puzzled why you want to bypass security all the time. in most hotels they won't even notice you.

as i said earlier in post #82, you really need security.

if you take a house or condo, everyone within a 500 meter radius will know about the foreigner moving in and you will be an object of curiosity.

if you were a longer-term resident you would build up a relationship with your neighbors and they would come to like you and protect you, but as a short-term "fly-by-night" renter you won't have time to do that.

so you will be a potential target for robbery when you are not home. foreigner's imported gear (sports shoes, tee shirts, suitcase etc) are all valuable commodities, and you will certainly need to keep your laptop with you at all times. it is rare for houses to have lock up garages for cars too so if you get a car it will need to sit out on the street all night.

if you start arriving back at all hours of the day and night with different girls you will get the neighborhood moral majority pissed off at being an evil foreigner defiling the local girls, not to mention the local guys who will be jealous of you, especially when they get into their drinking sprees and want to fight anyone. remember that there are millions of filipinos who do not like mongers coming here on sexual rampages with their women.

finally, the girls you bring back know where you live and may well assume they can return next day to continue the "relationship" unless you have already told them that you prefer to "fuck and forget". there is a chance that this may [CodeWord140] them off greatly. this may anger them to such an extent that they inform their local bf or flatmate or even friendly trike driver and you may become a target of violence. being alone in a house also allows you to be a target of trumped up charges of [CodeWord123] or molestation. no witnesses and no protection.

the likelihood of this happening is greatly reduced when you have the relative anonymity of a hotel, and you have security protecting the elevator.

with bar girls they understand the rules and accept that you will fuck and forget them, but the girls you intend to target may not understand what you are doing and you could find yourself in trouble. i have a mate who moved hotels during one visit to cebu last year because a dia girl made it difficult for him to stay in the one hotel after he told her he was seeing another girl the next day (see false charges above).

you will not have that luxury of being able to move and hide if you pay for a house for a week or two, and you will certainly have to make an advance payment plus some sort of "bond / deposit".

excellent points and all duly noted. cheers mate.

i am living in singapore and plan to be in the region until whatever point i decide to 'retire'. so i am now seriously considering buying a condo unit as i see myself making frequent visits to the land of milk and honey over the next several years. while i am not occupying said unit myself on long weekends and vacations, i would very likely look to rent the thing out on a weekly or monthly basis, employing a local to serve as caretaker / agent. then once i decide to quit working full time in a few years, i would likely move into it semi-permanently. i see this an investment that would potentially pay for itself in just a few years. i have a friend who did this with a condo in bali and did very well, having paid the thing off in just two years with what he charged people to stay there. anyway....will see how it goes...i plan to do a lot of recon this time around.

[Red Kilt]

i just want to be able to pull up, get out, and go into my place with my girl without having to deal with signing her in and out and having to chit chat with security. this is why i'm looking hard at condos and even houses that rent by the week.

if you have been in the pi 4 times already i am surprised that you are not freaked out by the idea of living alone in a house or flat out in lapu lapu. i am puzzled why you want to bypass security all the time. in most hotels they won't even notice you.

as i said earlier in post #82, you really need security.

if you take a house or condo, everyone within a 500 meter radius will know about the foreigner moving in and you will be an object of curiosity.

if you were a longer-term resident you would build up a relationship with your neighbors and they would come to like you and protect you, but as a short-term "fly-by-night" renter you won't have time to do that.

so you will be a potential target for robbery when you are not home. foreigner's imported gear (sports shoes, tee shirts, suitcase etc) are all valuable commodities, and you will certainly need to keep your laptop with you at all times. it is rare for houses to have lock up garages for cars too so if you get a car it will need to sit out on the street all night.

if you start arriving back at all hours of the day and night with different girls you will get the neighborhood moral majority pissed off at being an evil foreigner defiling the local girls, not to mention the local guys who will be jealous of you, especially when they get into their drinking sprees and want to fight anyone. remember that there are millions of filipinos who do not like mongers coming here on sexual rampages with their women.

finally, the girls you bring back know where you live and may well assume they can return next day to continue the "relationship" unless you have already told them that you prefer to "fuck and forget". there is a chance that this may [CodeWord140] them off greatly. this may anger them to such an extent that they inform their local bf or flatmate or even friendly trike driver and you may become a target of violence. being alone in a house also allows you to be a target of trumped up charges of [CodeWord123] or molestation - no witnesses and no protection.

the likelihood of this happening is greatly reduced when you have the relative anonymity of a hotel, and you have security protecting the elevator.

with bar girls they understand the rules and accept that you will fuck and forget them, but the girls you intend to target may not understand what you are doing and you could find yourself in trouble. i have a mate who moved hotels during one visit to cebu last year because a dia girl made it difficult for him to stay in the one hotel after he told her he was seeing another girl the next day (see false charges above).

you will not have that luxury of being able to move and hide if you pay for a house for a week or two, and you will certainly have to make an advance payment plus some sort of "bond / deposit".

[Brymor]

I just want to be able to pull up, get out, and go into my place with my girl without having to deal with signing her in and out and having to chit chat with security. This is why I'm looking hard at condos and even houses that rent by the week.

I believe another poster addressed this issue recently, but you will find it almost impossible to find anywhere that does not have a security guard and this is especially true of condos that would have foreigners renting.

Even if you were to splash out big money on a private house, they will still come with security guards that will stop your car or taxi to verfify the occupants as it enters the estate.

Quite frankly the kind of Condos that do not have security guards are the kid of Condos that you would probably not want to go within a million miles of.

Everyone knows your business here and I had the same view as you when I first started coming to Cebu several years ago. I spent ages looking at Condos and even contemplated buying here at one stage. I have yet to find a decent Condo that doesen't come with its own completey bored security guard, who's only highlight during his working day is to watch what new woman his foreigner is bringing back that particular day.

If you do find anywhere that is also very safe and secure, let me know as I also love my privacy. I have had to learn to sacrifice that during my stays here

[Gaijin Gigolo]

Spent 12 days at the Mactan Crown Regency last month. Walkable to giasano but not the nicest walk. Taxis were not readily abundant. If you are leaving SM I suggest walking over to the Radisson and having them get you a taxi so you may relax in their lobby and it beats standing in cue@SM for extended periods. Crown Mactan was passable but underwhelming. Giasano could be a nice meeting point but personally I have not had success picking up girls at any mall in Cebu for what its worth. FYI, I will be at the Marriott last 10 days of this month & Parklane 1st 10 days of Feb.

Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

[Member #4147]

Spent 12 days at the Mactan Crown Regency last month. Walkable to giasano but not the nicest walk. Taxis were not readily abundant. If you are leaving SM I suggest walking over to the Radisson and having them get you a taxi so you may relax in their lobby and it beats standing in cue@SM for extended periods. Crown Mactan was passable but underwhelming. Giasano could be a nice meeting point but personally I have not had success picking up girls at any mall in Cebu for what its worth. FYI, I will be at the Marriott last 10 days of this month & Parklane 1st 10 days of Feb.

After surveying all the hotels that have been recommended (thanks much for that) I've realized there are also a fair number of houses and condos for rent on a weekly basis in Cebu City and especially on Mactan, and quite often are surprisingly cheaper (or at least much better value) than hotels such as Parklane, Cebu Midtown and places like that. Any thoughts on the 'commute' I guess you could call it, between Cebu City and Lapu Lapu? I imagine most of my girls will be those I've met online (DIA and places such as that) so I doubt I'll be doing a whole lot of club hopping and I'm not into the bikini bars at all really. I'm thinking I could arrange to meet my prospects in the malls (Ayala, SM) or elsewhere in Cebu City and bring them to whatever house or condo I could end up renting in Lapu Lapu. Has anybody ever stayed in Lapu Lapu and if so, how much of a time waster is it to go back and forth? Also, any action at all on Lapu Lapu? How about the mall there? Also, does anybody have a recommendation for car rentals in Cebu? Again, thanks much for the input.

[Gaijin Gigolo]

Save and guarded?

I just want to be able to pull up, get out, and go into my place with my girl without having to deal with signing her in and out and having to chit chat with security. This is why I'm looking hard at condos and even houses that rent by the week.

[Gaijin Gigolo]

If this is your first trip to Cebu, I caution you against renting a car. The traffic is sick-bad, and driving is like a rally derby. There are a million taxis around, they are inexpensive and they dominate. They know what they are doing. If you drive, when you get where you are going, you will be so stressed out you will want to crawl into a corner and drink. I took a couple of rides from Cebu City to Mactan and it was a nightmare. And a time killer BTW.

Also, note some posts say the DIA girls can kill time too, showing up way late or not at all. The locals who don't dance are at the outdoor bar complex on Mango Ave, about couple of hundred meters up from the gogo bars.

Just my $0. 02

Actually this will be my fourth trip. Thanks for the input though, much appreciated.

[Jackzonian]

If this is your first trip to Cebu, I caution you against renting a car. The traffic is sick-bad, and driving is like a rally derby. There are a million taxis around, they are inexpensive and they dominate. They know what they are doing. If you drive, when you get where you are going, you will be so stressed out you will want to crawl into a corner and drink. I took a couple of rides from Cebu City to Mactan and it was a nightmare. And a time killer BTW.

Also, note some posts say the DIA girls can kill time too, showing up way late or not at all. The locals who don't dance are at the outdoor bar complex on Mango Ave, about couple of hundred meters up from the gogo bars.

Just my $0. 02