Hotel and Inn Review: BP International Hotel (Hong Kong)

Date of Stay: April 26 - 29, 1997

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: *******

Rooms: *******

Condition and Cleanliness: ********

Staff Performance: *******

Room Comfort: *******

Food and Beverage: *******

Other Amenities: *******

Value for Money: *******

B P International Hotel

The BP International Hotel has 529 guest rooms.  Its twin City Vista room has, aside from an ensuite bathroom, the usual modern amenities such as satellite TV, fridge and IDD phone. Its well-lit rooms also has great views, aside from the city’s spectacular skyline, of the lush greenery of Kowloon Park. Other rooms have views of Hong Kong’s iconic and beautiful Victoria Harbor.

Twin Room

Twin Room

Cafe By The Park, the hotel coffee shop offers, aside from an international buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner, an all-day a la carte menu of Asian and Western specialties.  The hotel’s Flamingo Lounge serves drinks, snacks, business lunches and nightly live entertainment while the Gordon Wu Hall, a Chinese restaurant at the basement,serves authentic Cantonese cuisine and regional specialties.

View of Kowloon Park from our room

The hotel, a 3-min. walk from the Jordan MTR Station, is also near the Jade Market and Temple Street.  It also offers tours, baby sitting, currency exchange, car rental, airport transfers, safety deposit boxes, laundry, dry cleaning and 24-hr. room service.

B P International Hotel: No. 8 Austin Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.  Tel: (852) 2376 1111. Fax: (852) 2376 1333. E-mail: enquiry@bpih.com.hk. Website: www@bpih.com.hk.

Resort Review: EGI Resort and Hotel (Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu)

Date of Stay: December 26-27, 1996

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: *******

Rooms: *******

Condition and Cleanliness: ********

Staff Performance: ********

Room Comfort: *******

Food and Beverage: ******

Other Amenities: ******

Value for Money: *********

EGI Resort and Hotel

Our suite

The 8-storey, beachfront, E. Ganzon, Inc.-owned EGI Resort and Hotel is located amidst a strand of world-class resorts and hotels in Mactan Island. 

The resort has airconditioned suites with cable TV, a fridge with minibar, NDD/IDD phone, bath (with bathtub and shower with hot and cold water) and a private balcony with a beautiful view of the sea and the nearby Club Kon-Tiki Resort (with its man-made white sandbar) and Cebu Mactan Island Member’s Club.  

This resort, the only condominium resort hotel on Mactan Island, also has a restaurant at the Zodiac Pavilion, function rooms, a free-form swimming pool and a small stretch of white sand beach.

The resort's swimming pool

EGI Resort and Hotel: Pajac-Maribago Rd., Brgy. Looc, Maribago District, Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan Island, Cebu.  Tel: (032) 232-3111 to 15. Fax: (032) 232-3117.  E-mail: egiresort2003@yahoo.com. Website: www.egiresortandhotel.com. 

Manila sales office: 29/F, EGI Taft Tower, 2339 Taft Ave., Manila.  Tel: (632) 302-6418.  Fax: (632) 302-6420.

Resort Review: Club Panoly Resort (Boracay, Malay, Aklan)

Date of Stay: May 28 - June 1, 1996

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: ********

Rooms: **********

Condition and Cleanliness: *********

Staff Performance: *********

Room Comfort: *********

Food and Beverage: *******

Other Amenities: ********

Value for Money: *******

Club Panoly Resort

The resort entrance

The 4-hectare, Singaporean-owned (CTW Group) and operated Club Panoly Resort, the first triple AAA resort in Boracay, was opened November 1989. A year later, the resort was the site of the 1991 RPN-9 mini-series Boracay which starred Dina Bonnevie, Fe Delos Reyes (singer/comedienne), Joel Torre, Rollie Quizon and Noel Trinidad (the fictional resort owner). 

Sprawled throughout this luxurious resort are 8 native-style octagonal clusters with 5 cottages, all fully air conditioned, with hot and cold shower, cable TV, minibar, complimentary coffee and tea and 24-hour IDD telephone facilities, all standard features in all rooms. The custom-designed furniture were made with indigenous creativity and materials. 

Cafe Punta Bunga

Aside from Cafe Punta Punta, the resort also has a restaurant, a bar (El Capitan) and a beach bar. There's also has a swimming pool (with poolside bar), a plexi-paved tennis court, two jacuzzis, spa, sauna, multi-purpose conference room, billiards, children's playground, souvenir shop, seaport and offers waterskiing, windsurfing, jetskiing, diving, paddle boating and speed boats.

Trying out the jacuzzi

 NOTE:

In 2012, Zest-O founder/owner  Ambassador Alfredo Yao bought the former Club Panoly and operated it as Sol Marina Resort. He increased its capacity to 333 rooms, including family rooms, and added a kids club, games area, Italian, Japanese, and Korean restaurants, and beach club, among others.  In December 2015,  it was rebranded as part of the Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts group.

Resort Review: Club Paradise (Coron, Palawan)

Date of Stay: February 23 - 27, 1995

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: *******

Rooms: *******

Condition and Cleanliness: ********

Staff Performance: ********

Room Comfort: *******

Food and Beverage: *********

Other Amenities: ********

Value for Money: *******

Club Paradise Resort

Our cottage

The DOT-accredited Club Paradise Resort, on the idyllic Dimakya Island, is a beautiful 19-hectare rock island paradise on the northwest coast of Busuanga Island in Palawan. 

The exclusive, Class “AAA” Club Paradise Resort, opened in 1986, was expanded in 1990 and now has 26 non-airconditioned  cottages with bath (9 de luxe, 17 standard), 14 airconditioned family cottages and 20 airconditioned apartment-type rooms.  

It has a shimmering 700-m. long, powdery white sand beach, a magnificent and colorful coral reef (including large colorful giant clams) and crystal-clear, turquoise water.  It also has a saltwater swimming pool and a spacious clubhouse with a 120-pax, al fresco restaurant (Kanog), 2 bars (Dugong and Jungle Bar), lounge with indoor sport area (pingpong, billiards, darts and board games), video/videoke room, cable TV room, boutique shop, beauty parlor, 24-hour clinic and mini-library.  

Tellie relaxing at our hammock

There is also a jacuzzi, children's playground, tennis court and a well-equipped dive center.  

The resort also offers dive and dive courses,  waterskis, sit-in kayaks, wakeboards, ringo tubes, windsurfing, Hobie Cat sailing, banana boats and snorkeling as well as island hopping, bottom and troll fishing trips, Coron town and island trips and Calauit Island Wildlife Sanctuary “Safari” tours.  It can accommodate about 150 guests at one time. 

The resort’s rustic non-airconditioned, beachfront cottages, made of rattan, bamboo and nipa, had double beds (plus an extra one for me), a marble bath and a veranda with a bamboo sala set and an enticing  hammock for relaxing. 

Lounging along the island's white sand beach

Club Paradise: Dimakya Island, Coron, Palawan. Mobile number: (0917) 827-9852. 

Metro Manila booking office: 41/F Discovery Suites, 25 ADB Ave. Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1600. Tel: (+632) 719-6971, (+632) 719-6972, (+632) 719-6973 and (+632) 719-6988. Mobile number: (0917) 568-4863. Email: reservations@cp.discovery.com.ph. Website: www.clubparadisepalawan.com.

Hotel and Inn Review: Regent Marina Hotel (Pattaya, Thailand)

Date of Stay: April 9 -10, 1992

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: *******

Rooms: ******

Condition and Cleanliness: *******

Staff Performance: ******

Room Comfort: ******

Food and Beverage: *******

Other Amenities: *****

Value for Money: ******

Regent Marina Hotel

The 5-storey Regent Marina Hotel. located right along the quieter end of North Pattaya Beach, has 220 beautifully appointed airconditioned rooms and suites with bath, cable TV, ref and minibar (207 double and twin; 6 de luxe; 4 honey suites, 2 princess suites and 1 presidential suite).

Regent Marina Hotel - Room

Regent Marina Hotel - Coffee Shop

The hotel also has a 24-hour coffee shop, swimming pool, disco, conference and banquet facilities, game room, barber shop, beauty salon, snooker club and shopping arcade.

Regent Marina Hotel - Swimming Pool

The hotel also offers laundry, dry cleaning, valet, currency exchange, babysitting, tours, massage and 24-hr. room service.

Regent Marina Hotel - Lobby

Regent Marina Hotel: 463/61 Pattaya Beach Rd., Pattaya, 20260 Thailand.  Tel: (038) 428-015. Bangkok booking office tel: (02) 390-2511 to 12.

Hotel and Inn Review: Rajah Hotel (Bangkok, Thailand)

Date of Stay: April 8 - 9 and 11 -12, 1992

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: *******

Rooms: ******

Condition and Cleanliness: *****

Staff Performance: ******

Room Comfort: *****

Food and Beverage: *****

Other Amenities: *****

Value for Money: ******

Rajah Hotel (photo: www.TripAdvisor.com)

The 13-storey Rajah hotel was built in 1966 along Sukhumvit Soi 4.  The hotel's original 5 story wing, with 140 rooms,  was joined by a larger 13-storey tower a few years later.

Rajah Hotel - Twin Room

The hotel has 347 airconditioned rooms with private bath and telephone.  The single, twin and double rooms are about 26 to 28 sq. m. while the suites has rooms with queen size beds and a living room. We stayed in 2 twin rooms.

By the late 1990s, the Rajah Hotel had become somewhat neglected but, in recent years, the original wing has been revived as the Rajah Mansion, operating as a hotel/serviced apartment offering daily, weekly and monthly rates. In 2009, the tower has also been revived with renovations to the lobby and coffee shop.

View outside room

The hotel also has a 24-hr. coffee shop, a convention hall, bar and a swimming pool at the garden.  This popular budget hotel is located within the red light entertainment district. The short, 400 m. long Soi Cowboy, with its 40 bars, is within walking distance.  The go-go bars here, a favorite for expatriates, serve alcoholic drinks while  women dance on a stage, mostly in bikinis, sometimes topless or even in the nude (technically, this remains illegal).

Another View Outside Room

Rajah Hotel: 18 Soi Sukhumvit 2 and Sukhumvit Soi 4 (Soi Nana), Sukhumvit Rd., Khwaeng Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. Tel: 02-2550040 to 55. Fax: 02-2557160.

Hotel Review: Cockpit Hotel (Singapore)

Date of Stay: April 5 - 8, 1992

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: ********

Rooms: *******

Condition and Cleanliness: *******

Staff Performance: *******

Room Comfort: ********

Food and Beverage: *******

Other Amenities: *******

Value for Money: ******

The 12-storey, 3-star Cockpit Hotel, our home during our 3 night stay in Singapore, stands on the grounds of a colonial mansion that used to function as a hotel called Hotel De L'Europe (it used to be owned by a Dutchman).

Cockpit Hotel

Designed by Architect Yang Tai Tye, it was built in 1972 by Indonesian businessman Hoo Liong Thing as an extension to the old one, which had been around since 1947. The Cockpit name became official in 1960. The old mansion was pulled down a decade later.

Our Penthouse Suite

This classic-looking hotel, overlooking the Le Meridien (now Concorde) shopping center, has 230 guest rooms, a nightclub, offices and restaurants.  Luxton Hall was demolished in 1982 to make way for a new extension at the rear, adding another 168 guestrooms, swimming pool, restaurant, recreational facilities, function rooms and car parking.

Front Office

It has a white exterior, distinctive fan-shaped windows, arches and protruding wrought-iron balconies.In 1980, Hongkong jeweller Kevin Hsu bought the hotel for $45 million.

The Hotel Lobby

In 1983, he, in turn, sold it to hotelier Teo Lay Swee for $62 million. When the Raffles Hotel was closed for renovations in 1989, about 60 long-serving staff moved over to the Cockpit, as did the recipe for the Singapore Sling.  The hotel is close to many attraction and landmarks such as Church of St Peter & St Paul, Armenian Church and Cathedral of the Good Shepherd..

In 1997, the  Cockpit Hotel was bought by a Wing Tai-led group and was demolished sometime in 2000 to make way for a residential and commercial project. The Hotel Grand Central is still around, the only 3-star hotel remaining along Orchard Rd.

Cockpit Hotel: 115 Penang Road cor. Oxley Rise, 238460 Singapore.

Hotel and Inn Review: Omni Prince Hotel (Hong Kong)

Date of Stay: May 27 - 29, 1989

RATING (Scale of 1 to 10)

Location: *******

Rooms: ********

Condition and Cleanliness: ********

Staff Performance: ******

Room Comfort: ********

Food and Beverage: *******

Other Amenities: *******

Value for Money: *******

Omni Prince Hotel, located at Hong Kong’s Harbor City area and overlooking Kowloon Park, is just a 20-min. drive from the airport.  Its 401 contemporary rooms and suites all have a minibar, refrigerator, large executive desk and international direct dial telephone.

The author at Omni Prince Hotel

Suite 506

The hotel also has three function rooms and a number of food and beverage outlets.  Continental dining is offered at the Rib Room and drinks at the Lobby Lounge.

The hotel lobby

The Coffee Shop, where we had our daily leisurely breakfasts, is decorated with exposed, unvarnished beams; tiled floors and shuttered windows that lends a cool, Mediterranean veneer.  They also offer wonderful buffets every evening, and at noon of Friday and Saturday.  Its a la carte menu offers a choice of European and Oriental dishes.

Breakfast at the Coffee Shop

The Coffee Shop

Omni Prince Hotel: Harbor City, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: 3-7361888.