On our way to El Nido we decided to stay one night in Puerto Princesa coming from Manila. I booked us at Hotel Centro. I chose this place as it is close to the San Jose bus terminal where we will catch the bus in the morning to go to El Nido. The hotel is fairly new. I think it opened in 2011. The reception area is clean and welcoming.

The lobby has a few lounges to sit on while guests are waiting to check in. We were given iced tea as a welcome drink. Airport transfer is also included in the rate. When we got to our room at the end of the hallway, we were surprise at how small it is (Php4000/night or US$93).

Our room is nice and clean but barely fits a queen bed. The bathroom and shower was surprisingly big enough.

The pool looked enticing, but it rained that night so we did not try it out. Buffet breakfast was included in the hotel rate.
On our return trip
Coming back from El Nido and Sabang (on our way to Manila) we again decided to stay overnight in Puerto Princesa, this time we stayed in Floral Villarosa. It is a bed and breakfast place near the airport which only has 6 rooms. I like this place. It has a homey charm about it.

When I rang to book the place, they said they didn’t have any more rooms available for the date I wanted. However, I searched Agoda and managed to book to stay at Floral Villarosa through them for Php3000/night or US$70. Plated breakfast is included in the rate.

This is our room at Floral Villarosa, big enough for this bed, and a big bathroom. We did however have to ask the staff to show us how to use the shower. A knob is there which we assumed is for the shower but when we gave it a twist expecting water to come out from the showerhead above, instead the knob came off! When the staff came she pointed out the newer contraption hinged against the wall in the shower which is the electric water heater that also had an inconspicuous tap for the water. After that was sorted out, we had a refreshing hot shower.

By the way, we stayed overnight in Puerto Princesa from El Nido as we want to avoid nail-biting moments when there is only an hour or two to spare to catch our flight.
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Text & Photos by Alicia Davis