Grace and I departed Manila for Cebu City on an early morning Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight.  This would be my first return visit to Cebu City, the place where I was born.  At Mactan International Airport, we were shuttled to Cebu Plaza Hotel where we were to stay 3 days and 2 nights.  This 22-storey hotel, situated atop a hill 600 ft. above sea level, within a 6-hectare hotel complex, has a panoramic view of Cebu City, the mountains and the island of Mactan.  

Cebu Plaza Hotel

Upon arrival at the hotel’s spacious and grand lobby, we checked in at Room 1200, one of the hotel’s 420 luxuriously-appointed airconditioned guest rooms that includes 22 de luxe suites, 3 royal suites and 1 presidential suite.  Our suite had a view of the mountains and the pyramid-shaped Cebu Casino across the street from the hotel.

Cafe Tartanilla

This hotel, Cebu City’s landmark business resort hotel, also has a restaurant (Lantaw Restaurant), a coffee shop (Cafe Tartanilla), a bar (Alindahaw Bar), disco (Boom), 11 function rooms, business center, 2 swimming pools and a shell tennis court.  Within the complex is a picnic area and the Sugbo Village and Museum.  

Cebu Casino Filipino

AUTHOR’S NOTES

Today, the hotel’s management has changed hands and the hotel has been renamed the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel.  Still the top 5-star hotel in the city, it now has 329 rooms, 4 restaurants, a grand ballroom and 12 function rooms.

Marco Polo Plaza Hotel: Cebu Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Lahug District, Cebu City, Cebu. Tel: (032) 253-1111.  Fax: (032) 234-8170.