Plantation Bay /Shangri-la/Hilton Opinions Required Please

Hi all,

Me and my fiance will be getting married next April in Iloilo and are thinking of going to Cebu for a few days for Honeymoon. At the moment i%26#39;ve narrowed hotel choices to the above 3 in the title of this and just having a hard time deciding.

The one i%26#39;m leaning towards the most is Plantation Bay because i%26#39;d prefer something local and unique rather than an international hotel chain.

Now i%26#39;ve read reviews on PB and I have seen there%26#39;s almost 50/50 between good and bad reviews... although the way i imagine it for every bad review there is likely several good reviews that weren%26#39;t written as in general people who had a bad experience are more likely to write reviews than people who had a good time.

Anyway back on topic, the majority of issues in the bad reviews don%26#39;t bother me too much but one aspect is worrying me a fair bit. The cost of food at PB keeps coming up, even in good reviews (but never an indication of what that cost is). And I only just realised that their rates on their website don%26#39;t include breakfast.

Does anyone know what the cost of their meals are? We would be looking to do some tours into Cebu City, maybe some island hopping and stuff too, and I%26#39;d hate to have to skip an activity cause i%26#39;m saving it for food.

So yeah just some advise, is the food in PB really high cost, how would it compare with the cost (and quality) of food in Shangri-la or Hilton. Or are there any restuarants nearby outside the resorts that are nicely priced.

Or overall could anyone recommend one of the 3 over the others... or maybe you know of other hotels I might want to look into (preferably on Mactan... or if there are any beach hotels in Cebu City), not any of those island resorts, i came across a few all seemed really far from the airport and cost crazy money for me.

Thanks for your time and any replies

Plantation Bay /Shangri-la/Hilton Opinions Required Please

There are no beach hotels in Cebu City as the whole of the Cebu City coastline is taken up with shipping and industry.

Something else you need to be aware of. It will be nice inside your Mactan island resort but Mactan Island itself is not a tourist island. Mactan island is a place of factories, slums, industry and the airport. It just happens to have a few isolated rssorts on the best bits, mostly with imported sand for their beach.

If the food inside the resort is too expensive, don%26#39;t eat there. You will have a huge number of dining choices outside the resort ranging from a P40 feed at a roadside carenderia to thousands of pisos for lobster dinners.

For me, all the best entertainment is in Cebu City and I personally would just stay in a nice hotel in Cebu City and pay to visit the beaches and use the facilities of Plantation bay or Shangri la

If you want to stay in a nice beach resort where there is plenty of other touristy things to do on the island, my suggestion is that you stay on the islands of Bohol or Camiguin .

I hope this helps!

Regards; Jim Sibbick

Plantation Bay /Shangri-la/Hilton Opinions Required Please

Hi. You might want to try alegre beach. its located in Sogod, Cebu (north of cebu) and is ideal for honeymooners. Their rates already include breakfast buffet, sunset cruise and some welcome drinks. There%26#39;s a nice german resto nearby called Borussia which serves good food (and cheap too).

When it comes to service, I%26#39;d say Shangrila. The breakfast buffet there is good too.

As for plantation bay, its ideal for honeymooners in the sense that there are less people (although at times, there are a lot of korean and japanese guests there) and the place gives you more of a resort feel. food price isn%26#39;t that bad.

if you want to island hop, don%26#39;t book through the hotel as it will cost you a lot more. try searching the local directory for local tour providers like ';Boyla'; and others. you may want to go bird watching at Olanggo island or visit Nalusuan Island (a fishing sanctuary).

you might want to check out sumilon island too. its quite far from the airport though but the place is really nice

Cebu City has no beach resorts. The nearest is in Mactan Island where the Plantation Bay, Hilton Hotel, Shangrila located. But for sure, its expensive there. If you really like to be in Mactan, try the White Sand Beach Resort or the Tambuli Beach Resort, or The Maribago Bluewater Resort.

Some have good suggestions on ideal places for honeymooners. Like the Alegre Beach Resort (Sogod, Cebu/North) - about 65kms from the city)and the Sumilon Island (Oslob, Cebu/SouthEast - about 120kms).

Just to add, consider the Badian Island Resort in Badian, Cebu. It is located southwest of Cebu. The place is really nice. You can check their website.

Regards,

Borloloy

www.daijobu1.com

Thanks for the replies guys. I thought about Bohol but since I%26#39;ll be coming from Iloilo it%26#39;s not easiliy accessable and we%26#39;re gonna be stuck for time. Wedding on the 16th, cousins wedding also in Iloilo on the 18th and we have to be in Manila on the 22nd at the latest... so leave 3 nights from the 19th so I%26#39;m trying to avoid too much travelling as we%26#39;re gonna have to bring our suitcases with us and everything to fly straight to Manila afterwards.

I looked at Badian Island Resort and honestlty the rates there gave me a heart attack, haha.

Alegre seems pricey too... though they do include a few extras in the price, like transfers, 1 dinner and a cruise thingy which sounds cool, so I%26#39;m gonna consider that one too... just need to work out a budget for saving up.

Idealily we would like to get out of Iloilo for the hoenymoon, but maybe if we went somewhere on iloilo it would save the hassle of travel... I would ask this in the Iloilo forum but that seems like nobody uses it, haha.

Anyone here know any decent resorts in or outside Iloilo... I came across this place - The Centennial Resort Hotel and Convention Center - http://www.thecentennialresort-iloilo.com/

Anyone know about it, not alot of info on the website and I can%26#39;t find any reviews about it?

The ';near IloIlo'; that most people would travel to is Boracay. It is where I spent my honeymoon.

Regards: Jim

Hi Mekong,

We stayed at Shangrila 2 years ago and I highly recommend it for your honeymoon. It%26#39;s a chain resort, however, the surroundings are lush, well-kept and tropical. It has its own private beach so you won%26#39;t get any of the peddlers by the minute. The beach is excellent for snorkeling, there%26#39;s abundance of fish few meters away. Out time at the CHI Spa is no doubt one of the highlights. We had the ';Ying and Yang'; package for couple. It comes with private villa with own shower, steam room and outdoor tub. Try one if you can, we%26#39;re still raving it to our friend.

Cost is on the expensive side, but hey, how often do you go for honeymoon?

Have fun,

Hi guys,

@ Jim: Yeah I was in Boracay this year, last April, loved it, would love to go back but thinking best try somewhere new next year. cheers

I think we%26#39;re leaning towards Shangri-la now looking at it more. And like San69 said, how often do we get to have a honeymoon.

I%26#39;m looking at the different room (and price) choices on Shangri-la%26#39;s website so just a few questions.

Main Wing or Ocean Wing? Is there much difference between the two? Is one newer than the other and/or more recomended to stay in?

Also they have two different types of rates for each room type. ';Best Available Rate'; which is just room plus B%26amp;B and ';Value Vactions'; which included a few other things like Buffet Dinner, 15 minute foot reflexology in CHI for two, Free use of water sports facilities (non-motorised), Unlimited laundry, for just an additional 3000 peso per night, which seems pretty resonable, only thing I%26#39;m wondering about this is the Buffet Dinner? Would anyone know if this would be restricted to just the one restaurant in the resort (if so which) or would all the restuarants have a buffet and we could just go to which ever?

Or if I went for just the B%26amp;B option can anyone give me an average cost for meals at the hotels restaurants?

Big cheers again for any info anyone can pass on

Hi Mokong!

I cannot comment on Hilton, but trust me when I tell you to PLEASE do yourself a favor and stay at the Shangri-La and NOT the Plantation Bay.

I have stayed at both places, and will NEVER EVER go back to PB again. The place was recommended by my cousin (who lives in Bohol), so we tried it once. Again, NEVER again. Yes, besides the food being OVERLY expensive (for the Philippines), the joke of a man-made ';pool/lake'; whatever they call it is NASTY. Yuck!

Let%26#39;s not forget the fact that the taxi service is also a rip-off. As I said in my comment of the place, it is rumored that the taxi service is related to the owners. Go figure. That said, IF you must stay there (and I hope you don%26#39;t), go outside of the property and get your own taxi. You will save TONS of pesos.

I am not a snob by any means. I have stayed at 2 to 5 star hotels, but I will tell you that PB is NOT a 5-star hotel. Some people might not consider the Shang as a 5-star, but let me tell you that it is MUCH better than the PB. You might save a few hundred pesos staying at PB, but do yourself a favor and go to the Shang. Afterall, it is your honeymoon and you deserve it.

I learned my lesson the hard way. I shouldn%26#39;t have tried a new place when we were perfectly happy with the Shang (been there 3 times before trying out PB).

BTW, we were so disgusted with their food quality at PB that we went to the Shang 2 nights for dinner out of the 3 nights that we were at PB. This should give you an idea.

I am crossing your fingers that you will listen to me. Trust me, it%26#39;s for your own good. You love birds deserve the best!

Hi Lani721

Thanks very much for that post, I%26#39;d say we%26#39;re gonna end up going with the Shangri-la, I was just recently in a Shangri-la in Abu Dhabi and Muscat on a trip for work, enjoyed it both tons.

Anyway, perhaps you could help me with this question.

In the Shangri-la in Mactan, Cebu, what is the difference between the Main Wing and Ocean Wing, would you recommend one over the other. And would you say it would be worth upgrading to the Sea view room over the Garden view?

Thanks