Waterfront Hotel Lahug Cebu City, Cebu

4 months ago, the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu City underwent a massive renovation.  So it looked something like this...

A few months after, the promise of a Grander lobby has been realized.  

The Waterfront Hotel and Casinos in Cebu City is one of the most popular hotels in the whole island.  Location is fantastic, less than 10minutes away from Ayala, 15 minutes away from SM, less than 20 minutes away from Downtown, and a literal 1-street cross away from IT Park.

Now with a grander lobby, can the Waterfront Hotel at Lahug challenge the more affluent hotels in the city? Let's break it down.

Facade, Lobby, Interior:   In 2008, I referred to the Waterfront Hotel as the Disneyland of all hotels in Cebu.  At night, the green and purple lights outline the palatial architecture of the building - imagine the palace in the animated movie Aladdin.  With the 2012 renovation, the Waterfront Hotel can challenge the Shangri-la Mactan and Imperial palace in terms of "regalness" of their Lobby.  I love when a promise of grandness from a hotel is realized.  So kudos to Waterfront for this.

Things to do:  Lots! There is a duty free store here, a decent gym, a nice pool, Uno - the buffet restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and a nice bar.  Plus not to mention the biggest casino in the whole of Cebu.   And the location of the hotel provides easy access to the major tourist, shopping and dining places.  Of course the hotel is in the city, so do not expect a beach here.  But everything else is here.  And I also fancy the bands that play at nights at the lobby.  Incredible voices from "upstairs"

Service: Hotel Service in Cebu is "above average" on the average.  And Waterfront is no exception.  I lived at the hotel for 34 days straight back in September.   And I really liked how polite the concierge was in reminding me that my company has not paid for my room yet =).  They do this very discretely.  But avoid the check-in rush hour.  And in Waterfront this is not 2pm, this is more of 5-7pm.  I think because many businessmen and office people fly to Cebu in the morning, go to work first and check-in after office hours.  The check-in queue could be incredibly long.

Rooms:  Ugh!  The downfall of Waterfront.  All irony start and end here.  For the grandness of their lobby, the shabbiness of their rooms.  I particularly despise their room carpets.  It is the same as the Days Inn Hotel carpet in Tagaytay.  To put it mildly - gross!   I just hope they also have plans of renovating their rooms.   Next to the carpet, they can start with the beddings and the curtains.  They probably inspired the invention of different off-white colors like ecrue, mother-of-pearl...you know those that are supposed to be white but are not.  Next would be 100% renovation of their bathrooms.  This I can compare to airport restroom marble counters.  The money that they may have saved years ago will cost them a fortune to renovate.  Sorry, replace.  There is simply no hope to renovate the black and mildewed counters.

Price:  Very reasonable, probably the best 'value for money' hotel in the City of Cebu, especially with corporate rates.   They charge almost 50% less than Marriott and even Radisson.  So if you like spending more time outside your room, then definitely consider staying at Waterfront Hotel.

In Summary for Waterfront Hotel Lahug Cebu City:
Location:  9/10 stars
Things to do: 10/10 stars
Room: 2/10 stars
Service: 8/10 stars (I wish they had flat iron and ironing board in every room like Marriott)
Price: 9/10 stars