Where To Stay In Cebu City

Travelling to Cebu City on shoestring budget entails familiarity to the downtown where accommodations are very affordable. The areas near Colon St - Osmena Blvd junction are the locations of many popular hotels. Public transportation is abundant and meals of all types are available from popular food chains to small food stalls and sidewalk vendors. If the place where you sleep is right where jeepneys of all destinations pass through and inexpensive foods are everywhere, you wouldn't get worried of running out of money. The result is a stress-free vacation whether you're travelling solo or in group.

Cheap accommodations should not sacrifice comfort and security. A good night sleep is a key element in making your travel a memorable one.

Even 3-star hotel in downtown Cebu  like GV Tower Hotel is affordable

This entry is the fourth post of information-rich series about travelling to Cebu. To read the first post, go to Good Eats And Good Rides From Manila To Cebu. The second post is entitled Cebu: Taking Taxi From Mactan Airport To Colon and the third which tackles commute guides and walk directions to Cebu's places of interest can be read by going to How To Commute To Cebu's Tourist Spots. I highly recommend to budget travelers flying for the first time to Cebu to first read How To Commute To Cebu's Tourist Spots so that you can have a sense of how to get around the city. Things like how to commute, where to ride, locations and guides to important attractions complete with map app are discussed there. Furthermore, tips and a warning that you must be aware of are also tackled in that article. So, if you haven't read it yet, click here.

For those who've already read How To Commute To Cebu's Tourist Spots, here's the detailed guide on affordable hotels in Cebu City.

List of affordable hotels around the area of Colon and Osmena Blvd.

Cebu Business Hotel Cebu Hallmark Hotel Cebu View Tourist Inn Elicon House Golden Valley Hotel

GV Tower Hotel Hotel Sogo TMS Lodge Tuxedo Business Suites

Cebu Business Hotel Cebu Hallmark Hotel Cebu View Tourist Inn Elicon House Golden Valley Hotel

GV Tower Hotel Hotel Sogo TMS Lodge Tuxedo Business Suites

Rates of these hotels range from Php 450 to 1,200 with the fan room being the lowest. Most of them has free wifi although they differ when it comes to the availability. There are hotels with wifi which is available only at the lobby and there are hotels with wifi that is available right inside the room. I suggest you ask about wifi availability before you check-in. And if it's important for you to have a free wifi in your hotel room, a tip from me which you would get toward the end of this post will surely be invaluable for you when a time comes that you're in the middle of browsing and the wifi suddenly stops.

Lodges like TMS are very economical for shoestring travelers

Now, let me share to you how I got along in deciding what hotel should I stay at during my 5-day travel in Cebu. Cebu Business Hotel has complete amenities including free wifi but the rate of Php 1200 is not for me. Hallmark Hotel is okay so I had included it as among my choices.

GV Tower Hotel is an imposing landmark building at the corner of Sanciangko St and Osmena Blvd. But when the reception staff of the 3-star hotel told me that the wifi is only available at their lobby, I crossed it off my list, notwithstanding their rate of Php 900 which is reasonable considering the GV Tower Hotel star status.

Dorm rate of Elicon House is Php 450 while its single is Php 790. Room rate of Golden Valley Hotel is Php 1,000. After checking out hotels in the area except for Sogo, I've found out that no hotels on my list would allow me to check-in earlier than 12 noon. It was past 8 am. I decided to check out Sogo and see what they have to offer. The lady at the reception desk was very nice and accomodating. She was smiling the whole time. The rate is Php 850 with free wifi, a/c and hot&cold shower. Even though the check-in time is at 12 noon, she said I could check-in right at that moment. That's where Sogo won the competition and they got me.

I've chosen Sogo Cebu because of their location and being considerate

Hotels' Locations

Cebu Hallmark Hotel is located opposite Jollibee along Osmena Blvd before Colon. Cebu Business Hotel is situated at the corner of Colon and Junquera St. Get there by walking along Colon eastward from Osmena. To get to Elicon House from Colon corner Osmena Blvd, walk along Osmena Blvd northward past Sanciangko St then turn right on the next street which is P. Del Rosario. Walk past Pelaez St until you get to the next intersection which is Junquera St where Elicon House is situated right at the corner. Golden Valley Hotel is located along Pelaez near corner Sanciangko St. From Osmena cor Colon, walk northward, turn right onto Sanciangko St and turn left on the next street that intersects Sanciangko which is Pelaez. Golden Valley Hotel is the second building to the right of Pelaez.

To the left opposite Golden Valley is Tuxedo Business Suites. Sanciangko is the road paralleled to Colon and it serves as the westbound lane for jeepneys and other motorists that take the eastbound Colon. You can easily Sogo, located along Sanciangko near corner Osmena, just turn right from Osmena. Next to Sogo is Cebu View Touist Inn. TMS Lodge is located just opposite newly opened Mall called Elizabeth Mall aka E-Mall. From GV Tower, walk along Sanciangko St westward past Leon Kilat St. From afar the sign of the new economy inn is visible. The map below shows the locations of these hotels in the vicinity of Colon St and Osmena Blvd intersection. Click each red pin to reveal hotel name.

Important: You must zoom out the map to see all hotels. Just pinch the map until all pins are visible. Adjust by pinching out and pinching again. Tap each red pin to reveal the name of each place or hotel. Move the map to any direction by tapping your two fingers on it and move.

Now, here's my eight tip. This is regarding wifi connection that suddenly breaks down while you're in the middle of web browsing. Do not ever rely on reception attendants when they say they will fix it.

Believe me, on my experience in Cebu and yes it's in Sogo, they had me waiting for so long I could feel it would take them forever to do something about it. But when I demanded the manager to go up into my room and when he showed up I talked to him constructively but with conviction that I am their client that needed the service I deserved. I asserted the need to have the wifi fix. The manager was very professional and apologetic in the way he attended to me and it only took 15 minutes after we talked for me to be online again. After a while, a reception attendant called me up and asked if I was already connected. See the thing is the staff don't know nothing about certain issues that occur from time to time. Only the manager has the skills to fix technical matters. So my eight tip: Once your wifi connection breaks down, talk to manager directly and be assertive in your demand to have it connected, because he knows that you know your right as a customer and the service you're demanding is included in their service that you fully paid. I'm sharing to you this because it happens all the time - wife connection breaking down and those stuff. For all we know, all they need to do is to reset the router. Okay so much about this tip. The other seven tips from me on this topic can be read on the posts that precede this with their links I've already mentioned above. If you don't want to miss out important articles from me subscribe now. Click here.