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Marriott has the best breakfast, but small rooms and worst pool, Midtown has larger rooms more space, also good mall down stairs. Also don't have to register girl. But there is no one to stop unwanted guests in both places. Marriott has much better gym. Have not tried Waterfront.
[QUOTE=Titi Tigas]I go fairly often to Makati for business, and sometimes take a side trip for fun. Last time I tried El Nido Lagen in Palawan, but of course I had to bring a girl with me since there is no action there.
This time I am thinking of going to Cebu, but hooking up with different Cebuana girls while there. I have already contacted a bunch on dating sites that want to meet me, so I don't need to be close to bars. So, I want the most upscale place that is also relatively easily accessible to a girl that lives in Cebu City. I would go for the Shangrila Mactan, but I am worried that Lapu-Lapu Island is hard for Cebu City girls to get to. From perusing here and elsewhere, the Waterfront Hotel seems to be one of the best choices right in the city. Do folks here agree? Is it girl-friendly (no questions asked)? What about the Alegre Beach Resort: is that close enough for local girls to get to? Any other suggestions? Price is not an issue -- I want the nicest place possible that is also convenient for local girls to meet me.
On a related note, what are the best resources for day trips for snorkeling, diving, island hopping, etc?
Thanks!
PS Attached are two pics of the girl that I brought to El Nido Lagen (on an island hopping trip).[/QUOTE]
My two cents rates Cebu waterfront as the best for a few reasons, first it is centrally located, close to everything, second there is a lot to do there, impress the hell out of your lady, take her into casino Filipino and give her P500 pesos to play slots with, big deal, she'll love it! Also they have some very good food there buffets etc, bread. I've been to Shangri la on Mactuan and it is nice. great buffet nice ammenities but this was my honeymoon, I consider it a bit out of the way IMHO for any type of mongering. Security is tight at Waterfront, however, there are VERY girl friendly. You can always take her to the Casino,(2 nd floor) then sneak her over to the elevators if anybody gives you a problem.
If you are looking for something to do why not check out either Bohol which is two hours by jet boat (GREAT diving snokeling whale watching etc). Or if your feeling a bit adventurous try getting on the bus to Bantayan island or Malapasqua. Was at Malapasqua not long ago, reminds me of Boracay 6 years ago. Once again great snorkel, scuba and you can go feed sharks (seriously) Not much in the way of mongering best to bring your own, im sure some Cebu lady would be eager to show you the way out there. I know you aren't concerned with price but the hotels there are cheap (everything is) find out wher ethe diver are staying, lots of interesting types in the evening at the watering holes.
REBOUND, as a former Bangkok monger now reformed I must say the the Phils, particularly cebu has Nothing to equal the insanity of the live shows ala patpong. Best you can get here is some strip acts, dancing etc. But no pussy firing darts or that sort of thing. They advertise some KTV's on the Cebu cable channel which feature "shows" (read strip acts) or maybe some gal who strips and rubs lotion on herself but thats about it.
Good luck.
Spam hog
[quote=spam hog]wander, your post was quite good, thailand is "the place" for finding your own goddess, however, these girls are more mercinary imho than the average filipina.
[/quote]
i don't really know enough about thai girls althogh i've been there quite a bit. i think my experience was just a matter of the fact that you can only compare "this ethnic/cultural group to that" to a certain degree. some women in the countries men hate most, are opposite to their peers.
i will just never forget this girl in thailand.
[quote=spam hog]
you also mention ladyboys in cebu, you are correct about the venue aroudn starbucks ayala, i have also seen a troupe of "lady boys" who were working out of an alley across from the sunflower. they were showing up around closing time hoping to lure a drunk into their web. this said, i personally think there is a world of difference in determining the "thai" ladyboys vs. the filipino version. the thai version can be very hard to tell at times, many have plastic surgery, breast enhancements, contacts, nose jobs etc. the filipino version imho look like men dressed up like women, a clue for the half drunk and unsuspecting is some "girl" dressed to fashion, more so than your average street walker or "freelancer" looking "good" from a distance, but up close the clues become obvious as you mentioned.[/quote]
i don't get out to the clubs much these days. i think others should listen to what you say. there was a lot of info on here about where to pick up freelancers, even "new" freelancers trying for a few times to make some dough, but it is indeed dated. it is still a mystery about these girls that hang out in the shadows near starbucks ayala. you are spot on that in the cebu it is much more obvious. so they are the real thing. there are some filipinos that look more of a chiseled look which from a distance can look more masculine. that's even more true of thai's. some are very attractive. the only venue i was referring to is the small bar tries to look uber hip and is directly on your left when walking into ayala entertainment. girls sit at the little tables there and are freelancers.
[quote=spam hog]
now for the verification. i beleive the club you are talking about in ayala entertainment section is ratskys. the girls usually hang around out front near the coffee shop or the bar near the entrance so they dont have to pay the entrance fee while up potentials. there are several reasons why ratskys may be "it" lately.
sunflower has increased its entrance fee from p100 to p150 on the weekends and "ladies night" (thursday) is no longer free. the ladies pay and get a free beer. so a lot of them are going to ratskys which has no cover on weekdays and (i beleive) p100 friday/sat.
freelancers can also been seen at starbucks outside and at some of the "outside" bars just down the stairs to the right as you go out the front entrance. one place down there (cant rememeber the name) has a gutarist playing, the girls like this uy as he plays all their fav requests while they eye up potentials strolling about. [/quote]
[quote=spam hog]
cebu has always had a reputation as being ultra conservative catholic, this is the center of filipino catholicism... where it started ala sto nino, many filipinos have a goal in lif eto mnake a pilgrimage to this city to visit the catherdral and pray to image for a favor. also imho women in the phils are more into conservatism and respectibility more so than catholicism, the girls dont want a "reputation" being seen consorting with foreigners, and they want a husband who will support them and help them take care of their families, even the freelancers. they also beleive foreigners looking for spouse material want a lady who is not "used" so much.
regards
spamhog[/quote]
very well put. it's true a lot of the girls will "put out" easily, but wow it is so catholic here. it's amazing when you read the profiles on filipina heart. so many of them are into "fear god", an idea i hate.
i actually just went out with super winner today from online. she knows i'm married but here most of the year. she hasn't let on if she's open to more than friends...i don't think she knows. i would dis-allow the bars for her if it comes to it. i have so little time for the courting proccess. i'm going to make the time though because i'm tired of spending so much money on bar girls. i have to say if money was of no concern, it's a pretty incredible thing to skrew 4 different 8s (sometimes a 9) per week. i've been at 2-3 nights a week with different bar girls lately.
hotels......don't stay on mactan if you want to meet girls there. waterfront cebu is best if you can afford or can get a good deal. there's not a heck of a lot to do in cebu if you're on vaca. however, if you find your honey (from bar, internet, etc.) there are plenty of fun places to hang out. not a lot to do if you're just with friends from home or on your own. it's having that super hottie with you that makes the difference if you're hanging out in the city during the day.
i would say find that girl in cebu, then once you've spent some time (even just a couple days) and you like her enough, invite her to go with you to one of the places mentioned below...a beach destination. you might even mention as you meet that you are hoping to go to xyz island next week when if you think they have potencial as your guest.
oh, and about "guest" policies in cebu? forget it. i've stayed at maybe 10 hotels here for 1 of the past 2 years. i have never had a problem of any sort nor has the girl that was with me.
A nice little bit of Filipiniana occurred last night. The girl that I've been seeing here suggested we have dinner with her parents. I thought that sounded fine. So we waited at Ayala Mall to take them to Majestic Chinese restaurant. Of course they were an hour late, which is expected. But the main thing that happened, which didn't really surprise me either but amused me nonetheless, is that the parents showed up with pretty much the entire household in tow. 3 siblings of my girl were there, all of whom are unemployed and seem to have no talents other than making babies that they can't support. 3 of said children were also along for the ride. So that made a total of 8 adults and 3 kids, all on the tab of yours truly. Did anyone ever ask me if this was ok, clear it in advance or anything like that. Of course not. There was only the slightest bit of sheepishness when the bill was presented, but that soon passed. I can laugh about it because it was only 1600 pesos, about $30. But it was a real refresher course on the mentality here. I've been out with girls in many countries and this ONLY happens here.
I think part of the reason for this was that the father knows that I'm mounting his daughter daily and nightly, so he decided to get some financial mileage out of it.
In other news:
About the hotels mentioned, I've stayed several times at most of them.
Midtown: Has an expat 'bargain' of $50 including breakfast. Breakfast is just adequate. Rooms are rundown and need renovation. In fact the whole place could stand to be blown up and redone, if they could manage to do it without falling down on the mall down below. The pool is laughably small. Last I checked the gym had old equipment but was slowly improving. I forgot to look at it a couple of days ago.
Marriott: This is my first choice usually. Lately it's been about 75-85 breakfast included. Breakfast is very good. Rooms are pretty good with nice views. The pool is mediocre as someone mentioned. The gym here is pretty good. Great location next to Ayala Mall and it's nighttime entertainment center including Ratsky's. Also there's a Cafe Havana here. It's a short taxi ride to most other things a monger wants.
Waterfront Lahug: Usually it costs a few dollars more than Marriott. I last stayed here in August last year and it was showing signs of neglect in the room. Stuff was missing. Cigarette burns in towels and bedding, stuff like that. Breakfast is very good. The gym is good also but they charge for its use even for guests, something like 200-300. The best thing here is the pool, lots of volume and lots of deck space. The majestic lobby and casino are there also but these never interested me much. It's walking distance to Sunflower disco. Across from the entrance is a complex of mostly open air restaurants and bars that's a good place to look for freelancers. Freelancers also hang out at Waterfront but they move around a lot, probably harrassed occasionally by security. Last time I was there they were hissing at me from the balcony just above the elevators. I wasn't tempted.
Never at any of these three places have I ever had guest issues or even once had a girl asked for an ID or questioned in any way whatsoever.
Finally, there's a new luxury hotel apartment kind of place going up near Midtown. The entrance is practically next door to the Silver Dollar club, whose owner must be positively rubbing his hands in gleeful anticipation. The building is called Club Ultima. The actual hotel there is a Crown Regency. It seems to have soft opened but I haven't found out about rates or anything yet. I could see the gym from my room at Midtown on Friday night and it looks pretty flash. This could become a new favored monger base
Makhu: Your description of dinner reminds me of my wedding reception; my ex-wife had "relatives" show up that she did not even know she had. When folks hear that a foreigner is paying, EVERYBODY wants to join the party. We had several hundred! The good news it still only ran a couple grand total.
Spamhog: met several nice ones on Cherryblossoms who do not seem like baklas. I had not heard that baklas posing as babae was common. Reminder to self: INSIST on seeing webcam BEFORE going agreeing to a meeting LOL!
Re the "god fearing" thing, I swear 50% of them have "god fearing" or "god centered' in their profiles. This usually results in them being striken from my list of possibles (as does residence anywhere near Manila or Angeles-the clever ones write Dau or Mabalacat or San Fernando or something and I have yet to find one that actually fesses up to living in Balibago!).
Gentlemen,
One invited, all invited is Philippine style. They do it among themselves as well. They are not hitting you up. It is part of their informal ways. Lighten up. It is really quite charming when you loosen up and accept it. If your wallet is limited, or you have a limited amount of tickets to the show, let your girfriend know beforehand. No one else will show up unless she has a chaperone. Knowing you guys, she needs one.
[QUOTE=Joking]Invitee bringing along long chain of inlaws to the Restaurant also happens in Thailand. Be forwarned.[/QUOTE]
This time I visited the moocher family at their house and got a homecooked meal out of it. But lest I thought that there was any amends to be made I then was honored to pay for all the beer that we subsequently drank during the inevitable singalong. Oh well, at least I'm seeing the local culture.
Other findings:
Checked out some of the other places over a couple of nights around Mango Avenue...
Exotica: Pretty much cleaned out at 1:30 am.
Dimples: Very tempted here. Barfine was 2000 plus the mamasan said I should give 750 to the gal....I passed.
Black Hole: Still down after it's long slide from being the place to be a few years ago. Not attracted to anything whatsoever here. The time was about 1 am so there may have been some barfines out.
The downstairs bar...Viking or BC or something like that? Found a real hottie here but it was past 3 am and I knew in my condition I wouldn't get value out of it. I may head back another night. The barfine here is 1700.
Exactly right Snake 12. They are not taking advantage because you are a foreigner. It is acccepted in Phil that if you invite someone that they will bring anyone else who fancies coming along!
I know it takes some getting used to.
After having dinner with Cebu Local, I decided to check around Lapu Lapu. It's been quite a few years since I've looked around here. I've could have called CL for advice, but I decided to fly by the seat of my pants, with predictable results. After about an hour of fruitless wandering I headed back to town and Silver Dollar.
I shot a few games of pool with JM, always good for a laugh. Then as I was lining up for a shot I had one of those 'hold everything' moments. I saw this girl, about 4 ft. 10 (148cm) and easily 36 up front with not much fat anywhere. This girl would probably be about the same height horizontal or vertical. Face is average but who cares?
Bianca would eventually bring to and end my long streak of not barfining at Silver Dollar. She was sitting with another guy at first but inexplicably this guy chose to go out with another girl. I finally got next to Bianca and she turned out to be an intelligent conversationalist as well.
The bar fine was 700. We headed back to the Marriott, the security guys all stopped in their tracks and almost forgetting to do their jobs. Bianca was just about top of the scale in everything. Attitude, technique, looks. I gave her 1500 afterwards but she probably deserved more. If anyone sees her there definitely take her out. The thing is she is understandably often booked by mongers for extended trips to Boracay, Bohol, etc. So you'll probably have to time it just right if you want to see her.
Hi Gents,
Planning my next trip to Cebu in and around December.
Since Metropolis has changed name (to Crown Regency) and raised their price, I am in search of a new hotel to stay for about a week during that time.
I am leaning towards either Golden Peak or Crowne Garden.
Does any one know if these hotels are guest friendly?
Which would you choose out of the two?
What's a good rate for these hotels (I'm hoping Cebu Local would have some insight into this)
Thanks folks.
Hope to meet up with some of you in December.
Mahku,
When I visited Club Ultima a month ago (see my trip report if interested in my experiences), it was the building behind Crown Regency. The Club Ultima building was completed with some interior work to be done and a Chinese restaurant already opened and operating on about the 20th floor. The club building contained its own hotel, which was supposed to be separate from Crown Regency. The latter was the building fronting the street and was still under construction. If a hotel is opened, then it would be the club's. But, all three buildings (the third is to be started and will be the mall-offices-condo building) are supposedly owned by the same Cebu family.
I was trying to figure out the financial setup of club plus hotel plus condo and one reason might be that the Philippines law restricts property ownership by non-citizens to 60 percent. Yet the condo saleslady told me that about 65 percent of the condo units had already been sold to foreigners, although many were Filipinos living and working in US.
I would recommend you check out the Marco Polo Cebu. It's just opened after a total rennovation. I haven't stayed, but would guess that it would surpass the Waterfront now in terms of quality.
So where is the marcopolo. is it the building beside the sm mall. there is also a parklane hoyel being built somewhere.
Just had a fantastic week in Cebu. The first four nights were spent at Arenas with the son of a guy I'm doing business with in Cebu. He and I are both in our early thirties and Jordan (the midget) and Joe (the singer) partied along side together at the club. On the fourth night, I met a stunning part-timer to Arenas. She only works 2 nights a month to pay tuition. She was hands down the best looking girl there (a 9.5 by my filipino business associate's son standards.)
Since it was Saturday night, she agree to come along for our scuba dive the next day. My business associate has a lovely house on an island and a boat to get us there. She brought three nonbargirl uni-girlfriends along. The next day and a hlaf were fantastic. Scuba diving and partying at the beach house with 4 girls and 2 guys.
I will post some pics in the future if anyone is interested.
i was told the midget was a bukla.