Budget Hotel | Overnight Stay at The President Hotel (A Review)

The President Hotel - Lingayen, Pangasinan

The President Hotel is a no-frills hotel in Lingayen, Pangasinan. It offers affordable accommodation without stripping off basic conveniences like air-conditioning, hot and cold shower and basic toiletries. It is conveniently located along Maramba Boulevard; very near the provincial capitol and walking distance to some other Lingayen's tourist attractions like the Agbayani Park, Cultural Memorial Park and the Lingayen beach.

Trivia: The President Hotel is named as such because in its location once stood the ancestral home of the twelfth president of the Republic of the Philippines, then President Fidel V. Ramos, the most prominent political figure from Pangasinan.

From the marker found at the entrance of the hotel: On this site has stood for years the house of the couple Narciso Ramos - lawyer, journalist, statesman and diplomat and Angela Valdez, one time English supervisor of the Pangasinan Vocational High School. In this house were born and raised their children: Leticia Ramos Shahani, ambassador and senator; Fidel, AFP Chief of Staff, Secretary of the Department of National Defense and eight(???) president of the Republic of the Philippines; and Gloria Ramos-Rodda.

I've read a lot of positive reviews of this hotel so for our Pangasinan side trip (we went to La Union first), this is where me and my friend stayed overnight.

standard room - 950 Php/night

We didn't place a reservation at this hotel beforehand but since it was not peak season then, we were still able to get a room the night we arrived. The room is on the second floor of the main building, facing Maramba boulevard. The room is quite spacious for a standard room, and as I said above, it is air-conditioned and is equipped with a TV with cable programming and telephone/intercom. (I read from their FB page that they also have free Wi-Fi, I didn't try it though so I've no idea about the connection speed.) The room is clean; bed is comfy; bed sheet smells fresh and clean. It has it's own bathroom/CR with hot and cold shower and comes with complimentary toiletries. For an overnight stay, the room is priced at 950 Php; good enough, considering the spacious room and the extras.

complimentary toiletries: shampoo/conditioner, bath soap, toothbrush, toothpaste

What I didn't like in this hotel though, is that I felt a bit unsafe there. Although I would say, based on the open-door policy of the capitol, that this city (Lingayen) is fairly safe, I still can't help but feel otherwise. The room doesn't have a secured double lock. It only has a basic/ordinary door knob that can easily be picked and opened from outside. Nothing untoward happened to us there, but still, I think it is better if the room has a double lock system. The room will be more secured that way and guests will feel safer; at least, that's how I'm going to feel being one of the guests. Despite this little inconvenience though, we still had a good and restful sleep. :)

The next morning, we ordered for a simple breakfast; tocilog (tocino, fried rice, fried egg) for my friend, bangsilog (fried bangus, fried rice, fried egg) for me, instant hot chocolate to wash down the meal. The meals are the usual Pinoy breakfast, nothing out of the ordinary so I won't go into details that much. And since it was almost a year after our stay, I now can't remember the price. But for those planning to go there and working on their budget, I think it's around 100-150 Php, per meal.

tocilog

bangsilog

Overall, I would say we still had a nice stay at The President Hotel. It isn't the type of hotel one would want to have a staycation at but it's good enough to spend the night and rest, after a day's journey. And best of all, it's easy on the budget. It's very affordable; affordability that doesn't mean sacrificing some basic conveniences.

~ oo00oo ~

Before we left Lingayen, we headed to the the capitol and the city's nearby attractions. Although we've explored the capitol and the park the previous night, we still checked it out the following morning, for the daylight feel of the city. I'll post about the city tour and Lingayen's tourist attractions next time. 'Til then...

~ oo00oo ~

The President's Hotel

Maramba Boulevard

Lingayen, Pangasinan

Date of Visit: November 29, 2014

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Tagaytay | Overnight Stay at The Over Look Inn (A Review)

terrace view from The Over Look Inn

After our Mt. Batulao adventure, we went to Tagaytay to look for a place to stay overnight. It's actually our plan to stay in Tagaytay after the hike so we could explore the city's attraction that day and the next. But due to the unfortunate incident in Batulao, it took us a while hiking down 'twas already late when we reached Tagaytay. We don't have a specific place to go and just relied on google again for a nice but budget hotel to stay to overnight. One of the budget hotels we found: The Over Look Inn. It is located very near Tagaytay rotonda and is along the highway so we went there.

We inquired for a standard room for two, were told the cheapest room is 2,600 Php (complimentary breakfast for 2 included). We were tired, sweaty, grimy, soiled and all we want that time was to clean up and rest so we get the room.

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Ilocos Norte | A Day in Laoag (Accommodation, City Day/Night Walking Tour, Etc.)

Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

As I mentioned in several of my previous posts, I was able to visit Ilocos Norte (and Laoag) for the first time last year. The visit is a short one - less than two days and a night. The night was spent in the province's capital, Laoag City (also called the City of Lights) - a first class city, the province's center of politics and economy.

Where to stay in Laoag?

After spending the whole day touring the southern part of Ilocos Norte (Burgos Lighthouse, Bangui Windmills and Kapurpurawan Rock Formations) via tricyle and after more or less an hour of walking tour in the city, a clean room with a comfy bed is a welcome reprieve; that we have in Hotel Tiffany.

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Budget Hotel | Alba Uno Hotel (Review): My First Solo Hotel Stay Experience

Alba Uno Hotel

“Many people suffer from the fear of finding oneself alone, 

and so they don't find themselves at all.” ~Rollo May

I'd like to say I'm not one of those people who fear being alone. Most of my life, I've lived alone and enjoyed the freedom of being alone. No one to answer to or explain myself to if I went home late or if I worked late at night. And yes, I'm living alone here in the Metro. But I've never tried solo travel (except some day-tour trips) yet, not the kind where I would have to stay in a hotel at least for a night. Thanks to my current job, I'm forced to stay in a hotel solo so now I am ready to do solo trips...I think, haha! But first thing first, let me share to you my first ever solo hotel stay experience at Alba Uno Hotel as well as my take on the hotel's room and services.

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