There really wasn’t any particular reason why we booked an immediate flight to Cebu City. There was no long weekend. There weren’t any festivals happening. No one was celebrating any birthday that we have to attend in. There wasn’t anything. Together with a few friends visiting from Singapore and Australia, we just felt like going there. No plans. No itineraries. No nothing. Just us, and a couple of days’ worth of clothes.

Everything happened fast. Too fast. After a drunken debauchery of a weekend in Boracay with the same gang. We felt we needed to bring our mess to the Queen City of the South. After hurried flight bookings and rebookings, and a quick scan for the cheapest, but still decent, hotel in Cebu. We’re all set.

Three of us touched down at the Mactan International Airport just before the clock struck twelve midnight, while another went earlier. Our last two companions came the morning after; the hastily drawn circle, completed.

THE PREMIERE CITI SUITES IN CEBU ~ PHOTO FROM THEIR WEBSITE

Our lodging of choice was at the Premiere Citi Suites Cebu. We haven’t heard of this lodging before, but we wanted a place near the center of the city—my friends said this is the perfect place to stay during Sinulog Festival, but yes, the celebrated festival was still months off. We could’ve gone for a resort in Mactan, like say, at the Maribago Bluewater where we stayed a couple of years before, but we just came from one of the best beaches in the Philippines, so we scrapped that off our list.

INTERESTING FURNITURE AT THE LOBBY ~ PHOTO FROM THEIR WEBSITE

Premiere Citi Suites was decent enough. The structure itself isn’t that striking but the lobby was cozy. Soon, we were taking the lift to the fifth floor and into our Twin Deluxe Room [CHECK DISCOUNDTED RATES & AVAILABILITY]. Like the hotel’s facade, its interiors isn’t something you’d be showing off on your meticulously curated Instagram feed.

TWIN DELUXE ROOM DECORATED WITH MONDRIAN-INSPIRED ARTWORKS

TOILET WITH ENCLOSED BATH

It has two beds—a double and a single—a worktable, a sofa that converts into another bed, the usual flatscreen television, closet space, en suite toilet and bath, and a stray column rising out on one corner of the room. They don’t have a mini bar nor do they have free coffee and tea. But again, it’s decent enough. I like the fact that they have a water station near the stairs and elevators with hot and cold water for guests though, so plus points on that.

YO.U RESTOBAR ALONG GEN. MAXILOM AVENUE

Right after dropping our bag, we quickly went back down the lobby to regroup, then we immediately marched towards Gen. Maxilom Avenue where we saw quite a lot of bars while en route to the Citi Suites from the airport. J, who’s quite familiar with the city led us to what he says was one of the cooler hangouts in Cebu several years back. Why we didn’t go to the happening place now? He wants to reminisce, he said.

CEBU LONGANISA FOR BREAKFAST?

And reminiscing took us into the wee hours of the morning, making us almost late for the complimentary breakfast the next day. I was praying for a buffet spread with crispy bacons and unlimited calories of scrambled eggs, but with the price of our room, I should’ve prayed harder. What we got was a set meal, mostly consisting of silog fares at the hotel’s seventh floor restaurant.

DINING CUM FUNCTION HALL AT THE ROOFDECK

THE VIEW FROM THE ROOFDECK

I chose Cebu longanisa (which surprisingly, isn’t rounded) with my fried egg and sinangag on the first day, and corned tuna on the second. The latter, I consumed with a view at the Premiere Citi Suites rooftop restaurant. It was okay, but really, I should’ve just ordered their crispy fried dangit. Dang it.

LECHON MADNESS AT CEBU’S HOUSE OF LECHON

AFTERNOON AT THE TEMPLE OF LEAH

Citi Suites became our base of operations during our two-night stay in Cebu. From there, we raided two famous lechon restaurants in the city, House of Lechon and Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly. From there, we visited a total of one tourist spot in Cebu—surprising, even ourselves that we were even able to visit one—the still unfinished but already open to the public Temple of Leah. If you count Tops Cebu, where we did nothing but drink, totally ignoring the grand view before us, then, we visited two.

PICKING OUR POISON AT TOPS CEBU

And to the Cebu Citi Suites, we always came back, inebriated after guzzling bottles after bottles of beer, and glasses after glasses of wine. Well, except on our last night, Mactan Airport’s lounge seats took care of our buzzing heads that time while waiting for our superlatively delayed flight back to Manila.

 

 

Premiere Citi Suites Cebu
Address: 62 Ma. Cristina St., Capitol Site, Cebu City, Cebu
Contact Number: +63 (933) 852-8098
Email: sales.premierecitisuites@gmail.com
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GPS Coordinates Map: 10.313887, 123.894127

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