Hotel Room Introduction
0:03 Hey YouTube, Alex humming, and I am going to show you guys my deep pocket hotel before I check out here in about an hour. I'll be checking out to head to the Cebu Airport. I'm flying up to Manila at about 10:00 a.m., so I'd like to arrive there about 8:00 a.m. to the domestic departure terminal. That way, I'll have a couple hours to check my bag and get through security and kind of work on some writing.
0:39 So immediately to my left, we've got a towel rack here. I got a few hangers, of course, a spot for my backpack and my jacket. We'll show you the back of the door. So this is a non-smoking room. They show you here for emergency contacts and then a few charges that they have.
Sink and Storage Area
1:06 In this room, the sink is in the room; it's not in the bathroom down here. So just a little storage spot underneath the sink here, a mirror, then I got another little table here. I'll use it for my key, for my deposit slip, and for my little bag here.
1:33 For those who don't know, that deposit slip is basically to ensure that the rooms are well taken care of. Some hotels in the Philippines, you'll give them a 500 peso deposit, and they'll hold onto that. When you go to checkout, they'll send somebody up here that will check on the room. Once they've confirmed that it's in good shape and everything, then they give you that 500 pesos back.
Television and Window
2:02 Moving on, we've got a Panasonic TV and there is signal, I guess. Television, Kate HD, HD signal, HD Plus box, and they've got, I assume, different channels and programs that you can watch on there. So, before, I'll say it again, I'm not big on TV, but if that's something that you enjoyed, certainly this is going to provide some entertainment value for you. I'm more just into watching YouTube.
2:35 Yeah, I can't really figure out. It's kind of translucent; you can't really see outside of this window. I'm not gonna bother trying to open it because I don't want to try to figure out how to close it. But you're not, but in this hotel, at least you're not gonna be, let's see, outside we've got our aircon unit here, American Home brand, and this aircon works really well. It cools off this room really quick.
Air Conditioning and Bedding
3:10 It is a strong air conditioning unit. A lot of pillows came with this bed, four pillows, and also two towels. I like that they include this little throw here because I like to have the AC going to cool me off, but then I also like some weight on my body when I'm sleeping. So I like that they have this; it's not just simply a sheet. A lot of the hotels I've stayed at in the Philippines, I've had just a sort of fitted sheet on top along with a folded sheet, and it just feels really thin.
3:45 I don't know, I feel a little bit unprotected just from having the sheet on there. So this is sort of a comforter. Like I said, I like it. The artwork's cool too in this room. Each of the room, the room that I was assigned before had this. Now, I do have to admit, mentioning the room that I was in before, they previously assigned me to the room next door, but actually it had a really strong air freshener odor.
4:20 I thought it would go away after a little bit, but the odors seemed to get worse. I pulled the comforter off the bed and put it away. That didn't make the odor get worse. My lungs were starting to hurt and feel just irritated, and my nose was running. So I went downstairs and asked them to change it, and they were willing to do so at no additional charge.
4:43 But it is worthwhile if you do come stay here at the Pocket Hotel to kind of just check the room out before you bring all your things in and unpack and stuff. Just make sure that they're not using that air freshener.
Bathroom Amenities and Toilet Paper Disposal
5:06 Anyway, moving on, so we get the bathroom here. This is the bathroom in this hotel. Cool. So they included toilet paper. Some of the hotels I've stayed at in the Philippines, I just didn't include toilet paper. They also have these nice little toiletry setups. They've got soap and shampoo and conditioner.
5:37 They've got a toothbrush, toothpaste set. That's not good, that's my toiletry bag. They've got the day. For those who don't know, you'll want to look it up online. My things when that is right now, and it looks like a pretty modern shower fixtures. So this looks like it will actually get pretty hot.
6:06 It's the Appmore branded heater, and it looks like they've got three different settings. That's nice because some of the hotels I've stayed at in the Philippines do not have heated showers, so you end up getting pretty cold water, and that can be disorienting. Some people really don't like that.
6:29 This is one of those rooms where when you turn the light fixture on in the bathroom, it also takes the fan on. So for people who don't like listening to the fan, understand you may have to turn the light off to stop the fan. The bathroom, just something to think about.
6:52 Oh, and I've got a trashcan here. So when you're in the Philippines, the plumbing is not designed, typically speaking, to handle toilet paper. So if you use that, you'll want to toss it in this bin, and that way it doesn't damage the plumbing. Plumbing can be very expensive to repair.
Hotel Location and Value Proposition
7:06 So we want to do our best when we're in other countries that are not our own to follow these types of things. I've had the same similar experience in Mexico, and I've had the similar experience in Thailand, I think, or where else in Cambodia as well. So those three countries that I've been to so far, you're not to flush down the toilet. You do your business and you toss it in this waste bin, and they'll throw it out periodically.
7:36 Some hotels do it every day, some every other day. If the trash builds up, just contact the front desk. I'm sure they'll be understanding and help you swap it out. What else? What else?
7:51 This is definitely a smaller room, but it is also pretty budget-friendly. I want to say I'm paying around 1,400 points for last night, and that's roughly 17 or 18 dollars. And it's the reason why I booked this hotel is because I'm flying out of Mactan Airport today at around 10 a.m.
8:21 And I figured, well, when I originally flew into Cebu, it took me about two hours to get from Mactan Airport to downtown Cebu. And I thought, well, I don't want to wake up, I don't want to be rushing out the door at like, you know, 5:00 a.m., 5:30 a.m. to make sure I have enough time to get to Mactan Airport. I'd rather just go the day before, the afternoon before, check into a hotel, you know, in Lapu-Lapu City.
8:49 Lobby walk, the city is kind of one of the really close by surrounding areas of Mactan Airport. Check into a hotel there, have a chance to get a good night's sleep, shower, get refreshed, have some breakfast, and get to the airport with a 10-minute ride instead of a two-hour ride. And I really like that idea, probably here in the Philippines with some of the traffic, urban Philippines, some of the traffic challenges.
9:17 So I recommend it pretty highly if you're coming here for a while to kind of build in a day on the back end. Like if you're flying out of say, Manila or Cebu, build in a day to get close to the airport. And that way you're not as worried about, am I gonna make my flight or not? And I don't have to pay some kind of big fee.
9:39 Depending on the route that you're flying, it's you might not be sure when you're gonna be able to get to your destination. You may have to be stuck for a whole another day. So something to consider when you're coming to the urban Philippines where there are traffic challenges. Think about getting a hotel close to the airport.
Hotel Suitability and Final Recommendation
9:55 So that's why I booked the Pocket Hotel is I wanted to be close to Mactan Airport and to be able to just get over there in 10 minutes and check in and have everything roll along smoothly and have minimal stress and all that. And for that purpose, this hotel has been good.
10:12 Now, I don't know if I'd consider it long-term. It's just a lot of, it's kind of far from, you know, Cebu. I have certain areas where I'm looking to go to, so this location-wise would not be the most convenient for me. That being said, not a bad hotel. They were responsive about my concern about the odor, and yeah.
10:39 So like I said, you got a relatively early flight. Definitely look into the Pocket Hotel in Lapu-Lapu City. I want to thank you guys for watching this video, and until next time.