My first night in Iloilo City was spent in Highway 21. Classified as a pension house, I actually thought that this nice place located right in the heart of Iloilo City was more of a hotel. The perfect choice for budget conscious tourists, Highway 21 Iloilo City is located along the busy General Luna Street.
Highway 21 is actually right beside the Sarrabia Manor, a well-known hotel in Iloilo. Compared to Sarrabia, though, Highway 21’s rates are way cheaper.
I stayed at the new wing of Highway 21. The rooms found at the new wing are slightly higher than those found on the annex area but I thought the added expense was worth it. The new wing had an elevator while the annex didn’t have one. Plus all the rooms at the new wing had free, fast wireless Internet connection. That was important.
The room that I got was fully air-conditioned, equipped with cable TV, hot and cold shower, private bath and telephone. I actually didn’t expect a good looking room since I only paid P850.00 for my stay (single occupancy) but I got a pretty neat one. My room also had a good view of the bustling city.
Yes, I had wireless web connection so I was able to work for a bit before I hit the sack that night.
The staff members were friendly and helpful. The lobby, albeit small, was nicely decorated. The small cafe in the lobby area (where guests can also have heavy meals) was okay. The restaurant staff members were courteous and even helped me decide what to eat for dinner. They recommended these – calamares and grilled porkchop. Yum!
Now for photos of my room, check them out after the jump.
LikeFebruary 8, 2010
Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Features, Food, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Personal, Reviews, Society, Style, Tourism, northern mindanao
Mexican themed restaurant Mooon Cafe is one of my favorite eating places in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao. Apart from the yummy food, the prices are reasonable and the ambience is pretty laid back. Whenever there’s a chance, I also see to it that I bring my mom and brothers to the said restaurant in CDO and we all share fun, family bonding over hearty meals at Mooon Cafe CDO.
Mooon Cafe (yes, it has three “O’s”!) Cagayan de Oro branch, located at the first floor of Robinsons CDO, is the establishment’s first franchised branch outside of Cebu City where they have outlets in I.T. Park and Ayala Terraces, among others.
What I usually order (and what I can therefore recommend to all of you) are: for starters – quesadilla uno, campesinos (see the photo in this entry – these are good!), campesino jalapeno (for those who love the chilli version) and chicken flautas.
You may also want to try their signature beef taco and burrito pescado.
For barkadas or families, you can share the nacho de salsa or nacho spinners.
For the main course, I like the house specialty Mooon steak and the fish mozarella melt. When my brothers and I are really hungry though and are therefore in the mood to eat, we order the super delish Mexican baby back ribs or tenderloin steak. Really, really good!
And all of these meals are relatively cheap! The baby back ribs meal, for instance, is priced below P200.00 Not bad, right?
Mooon Cafe also has fish meals — blue marlin tangigue steak (my mom’s fave), tuna belly and breaded fish fillet.
Here’s a photo I took of the blue marlin tangigue steak:
June 5, 2009
Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Features, Hotels, Mindanaoan Update, Photos, Reviews, Tourism, Travel
Here’s another Mindanao Hotels review. Goodnews Traveller’s Inn is located along Capt. Vicente Roa Street, Cagayan de Oro City, Northern Mindanao, Philippines. It’s near the busy Cogon Market and is accessible by public utility vehicles (taxi, jeepney, trisikad and motorela) This lodging house in Cagayan de Oro City is also just a few steps away from the Cagayan de Oro City fire station.
Truth be told, Goodnews Travellers Inn was my last…okay, ONLY choice at the time I was in CDO because all of the other hotels in Cagayan de Oro were fully booked. So with my hopes up, I checked in and got a double room. I paid P950.00 for the double airconditioned room.
My room was at the third floor, which was a major bummer. Apart from the fact that I’m not a fan of using the stairs (Goodnews Travelers Inn does not have an elevator), I also learned that the inn’s wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) facility no longer extends up to the third floor. Wi-Fi internet is NOT FREE at this budget hotel in CDO, take note. You need to buy an internet access card (P100.00 for 3 hours, I think) before you can fully enjoy the Wi-Fi connection.
As you can see from the photos I took, the double room looks pretty decent. There’s a telephone, the room is airconditioned, there’s a TV set (there’s cable connection, by the way) and a small table with two chairs. There’s also a big cabinet by the bed where you can find a few hangers.
Now…the comfort room. Well, as you can see, it has seen better days (just check out the broken mirror by the sink) but at least it’s clean. There’s hot and cold shower and the towels are okay. I highly suggest you bring your own toiletries, though.
Since my room was by the busy street, it was pretty noisy especially during lunch time. In the evenings, empty taxis or motorelas are also difficult to come by so be prepared to walk towards the Cogon Market area and hail a cab from there.
My room didn’t come with free breakfast but there’s a Persimmon bakeshop-restaurant at the first floor so at least I was able to order coffee in the morning (you also have the option to order room service). Persimmon serves reasonably priced food. I suggest you order their pancit guisado or any of their viands.
My overnight stay at Goodnews Travellers’ Inn Cagayan de Oro City was pretty much all right. No fuss, no hassles. Just basic and safe accommodation in the City of Golden Friendship.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you should already have an idea by now as to where you can bring your loved one for that special, romantic dinner. However, with just so many choices especially in Davao City, Mindanao, deciding where to go can be quite a challenge. Good thing there’s Pepper and Peppers Restaurant which promises nothing but exquisite food, exclusive dining and elegant ambiance.
Located at The Site, Central Convenience Store Compound, Jacinto Extension corner Mapa Street, Davao City, Pepper and Peppers Restaurant is best known for their killer (and I mean absolutely delish!) Iberian chicken, Chilean shrimp pasta and (my favorite) Sizzling Blackened Chicken.
And come Valentine’s Day, they’ve prepared two Valentine Set menus for you to choose from. The “Hopelessly Devoted” menu boasts of potato leek soup, one quarter Iberian chicken, pasta bolognese, breaded dory fish (this is another favorite of mine – I always try to order this whenever I’m back home in Davao), fruit salad and a glass of Sangria. Meanwhile, the “Love Me Tender” menu boasts of pumpkin soup (if you haven’t tried pumpkin soup yet, this Feb. 14 is the best time to try it!), twin set (fall of the bone) baby back ribs (another fave!), pasta bolognese, grilled dory fish topped with tomatoes and cucumber, fruit salad and a glass of Sangri.
As you can see, each set is complete – from starters to desserts – and you and your loved one can cap off that indulgent meal with a glass of Sangria.
Still, if you prefer to stick with Pepper and Peppers Restaurant’s bestsellers, try to order the Chilean shrimp pasta and the sizzling blackened chicken. You won’t be disappointed.
Pepper and Peppers Restaurant Davao City is definitely every foodie’s haven! Don’t leave Davao without paying them a visit!
Call (082) 2211396 for reservations. They’re open from 11am-10pm (Mon-Thu), 11am-12am (Fri-Sat) and 11am-10pm (Sun)
All photos courtesy of Pepper and Peppers Restaurant Davao City
Did you like this post? Subscribe to Mindanaoan by Email and be updated with the goings-on in Mindanao!
Southwinds Hotel is located along Capt. Vicente Roa Street Extension in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao, Philippines. It is a hotel known for its very strategic location – it’s just a few meters away from Gaisano Mall Cagayan de Oro (walking distance) and a few blocks away from Robinson’s Mall Cagayan de Oro and Lim Ket Kai Mall CDO (you can just ride one of the local trisikads or padyaks for 5 pesos per person) It’s also in front of the main branch of Graphic All-In-One (a large chain of stores that sells cellular phones, cellphone accessories and the like).
Just this week, my mom, brother and I stayed in Southwinds Hotel. It was my second time to stay there, the first one was during a media tour sponsored by the Department of Agriculture a few years ago (several Mindanaoan media practitioners visited corn farms and milling areas in Baungon, Bukidnon and were briefed on hybrid corn production). My first visit was a pretty good one so I suggested that we spend our three days in Cagayan de Oro (dubbed the City of Golden Friendship) there. Plus we’ve already tried a couple of hotels in CDO and I wanted to blog about my experience this time around 
Apart from its location, another thing that I like about staying in Southwinds Hotel Cagayan de Oro is the fact that its room rates are affordable. For a de luxe room, you only need to pay P1,060.00 (roughly US $25.00). Each deluxe room is good for double occupancy and get this – you also have free breakfast (good for two persons). You can choose whether you want Continental Breakfast, American Style Breakfast or Filipino Breakfast. During our stay, I opted for the Filipino Bangsilog (fried bangus fish seasoned with lots of garlic and pepper, sinangag or fried rice and itlog or egg) meal. Delish. Every breakfast meal comes with brewed or instant coffee.
Now for the room – our deluxe room had two single beds, a dresser, cable TV, cabinets and a small nook where there’s a small table and two cushioned chairs (very convenient especially if you’re on a business trip and you brought a laptop along). There’s hot and cold shower and there’s bedside control for the lights. You will only be provided with a small bar of soap and a sachet of shampoo though so it would be advisable if you could bring toiletries with you. I was also pleased to see that the room had several power outlets (sockets) – that meant that the management didn’t let their guests feel as if they were restricted or something.
One of the “distinct” features of Southwinds Hotel, by the way, is its very ample parking space for clients and guests. In fact, I think Southwinds Hotel is one of the very few remaining hotels in Cagayan de Oro that has that much parking space for guests. Hence, if you’re traveling with family and you brought your vehicle along, you won’t need to worry about safekeeping it.
The one thing that I could probably say I didn’t like during my entire 3-day stay in Southwinds Hotel is the hotel staff members’ lack of courtesy. During our check-in, for instance, one of the female receptionists that I spoke to immediately shifted her attention to another guest, leaving me unattended. That didn’t sit well with me. The other female receptionist, on the other hand, looked gloomy and indifferent and merely recited the “benefits” that come with our room – i.e. free breakfast will be served from 6 to 10 am blah blah. Not once did she and the other receptionist smile or at least looked glad that they had new guests. Also, during breakfast (on our second day there), the waitress, waiters and cooks were all busy watching HBO (”Spiderman 3″ was on and they had this huge TV at Cafe Bea, where the complimentary breakfast was served to hotel guests). So I found it uncomfortable to “interrupt” their HBO-watching session and ask for condiments because they really looked too engrossed watching the movie. The staff members were also busy, loudly chatting about the film which I found uncomfortable as well. I felt that the hotel guests should be given their “privacy” – at least a few minutes of silence during breakfast. I guess they shouldn’t have turned the TV on that day. Instead, soft music will do. Or better yet, they should’ve just switched to a news channel – I’d prefer that over Spiderman 3.
Still, I could probably still see myself staying at Southwinds Hotel Cagayan de Oro sometime soon. The room rates are reasonable, the breakfast meals are hearty and the location’s great. Let’s just hope that their staff members do better next time.
Southwinds Hotel is located along Capt. Vicente Roa Street Extension, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao, Philippines.
Are you an owner of a hotel or inn? Do you own a restaurant or any type of business? Do you provide a certain kind of service? Whether your establishment is in Mindanao or in Visayas or Luzon, Mindanaoan can write an honest review about your place or service. Let the people here in Mindanao, Philippines read all about it! Mindanaoan can even write a review about your establishment for FREE! Check this page out or contact me. Should the contact form fail, you may send an email to mindanaoan (at) gmail (dot) com
Follow Mindanaoan - Subscribe today
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?
Recent entries
- Hot Hunks including gorgeous Brazilian-Jap Akihiro Sato sizzle in Mindanao!
- Havaianas Happy Soles – time for happy souls to travel to Brazil!
- Nacionalista Party’s Grand Cebu City “Wowowillie” rally
- Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte endorses fellow Mindanaoan senatorial bet Atty. Adel Tamano
- Review: Paragon Suites in Cebu City, Visayas | Budget hotel in Cebu
- From the campaign trail – Mindanaoan will post exclusive photos, kuwentos etc
- Mindanaoan’s new Swatch Vancouver 2010 watch
- Compostela Valley Mindanao celebrates 12th Bulawan Festival
- Review: Highway 21 Hotel in Iloilo City, Visayas
- Mindanaoan goes to Iloilo City
Posts by Category
Archives
Follow Mindanaoan in Twitter!
