Arriving at Cebu's Mactan Aiport off a domestic flight, I headed for the transfer desk to be informed that the P100 transfer I had been promised when telephoning the hotel was unavailable but that I could take a P470 'personal car.'

I went across the driveway and soon found an unofficial 'rent a car' taxi driver who for P250 conveyed me to the hotel. At the hotel I asked for the assistant manager and my taxi travel was reimbursed.

The room (a 'corner' one though not quite on a corner and with only one window) was excellent and quiet. Breakfast at Manuel's restaurant had a wide variety each morning and the smallish pool was well maintained and pleasant.

Carpet tiles in the corridor already have stains after only 18 months or so of use and some have tatty edges. These are the typical small signs of poor maintenance in the Phils.

However overall this hotel is recommended and I did not experience any further hassles apart from the initial airport transfer. Be assertive and insist on them honouring a verbal agreement and you will be fine!

Stayed a night at the Park Lane Hotel Cebu which I don't think is in anyway related to its namesake in Hong Kong. It is located in Cebu's Ayala Center just a couple of streets off the Ayala Mall and the Marriott hotel. Completed in 2006, the facilities and its rooms are still relatively new and rates were reasonable ($ 55 - $ 85 per night).

As a hotel positioned in the business district , in room internet was a plus factor and the excellent breakfast buffet sets one up for the day.

The major downside of the property is that their windows are not soundproofed. Billeted on the 12th floor, I could hear cars accelerating and or blowing their horns, a band playing in an adjacent street, a construction crane still at late into the night. Rest was something hard to come by with all these noise.