Remari Pension, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

Inquiries:

Visit remaripension.com or check out Hotels.com for the best deals on other accommodations in the Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines area.

Location:

The Remari Pension is located at the corner of Rizal Avenue and the National Highway (Junction 1) in Puerto Princesa, a 5-minute tricycle ride from the airport. Although the area is noisy with traffic, we liked the location because it was good for exploring Puerto Princesa as it is located on the main road near the shops and restaurants, it's close to the airport, there is a good convenience store below the hotel and so on.

Room Comfort:

The pension opened at the beginning of the year 2010 and at the time of our stay, the 3rd floor of the motel-style hotel was still under construction. Once completed, the hotel will have 34 rooms, some facing the main street while others will face the back where there really isn't anything to look at other than some local houses. The rooms facing the road are noisier and hotter than the ones at the back because they receive direct sunshine for most of the day, from mid-morning to sunset. Although all rooms have A/C, you can chose to disable it (and get a fan instead) to receive a lower room-rate.

We chose to stay in one of the rooms facing the road and decided to have the A/C disabled to cut costs, so we got the fan instead. The room was very spacious and had a wooden table and chairs and an additional table and chairs on the shared veranda. It also had hot water and cable TV with many channels. At the time of our stay, the television sets were already being upgraded to flat screen TVs, which is a welcome addition. The room was spacious and comfortable but hot. Although the fan was good and strong, it wasn't successful in cooling the room as all it could do it blow hot air around. The rooms at the back, or paying for A/C, would have been sufficient to make this stay more than comfortable.

The pension is suppose to have free wireless internet service, which wasn't set-up at the time of our stay. The cafe in the strip mall below the hotel offers free wireless service to their customers so we used their wireless connection instead.

Cleanliness:

The pension and rooms were clean. The towels and linens were also fresh and clean.

Service:

The service at this pension was good. The staff was friendly and helpful.

We booked the Honda Bay tour through this hotel and didn't like the tour operator that they used, (see other notes below). Although the prices for the Honda Bay tours are the same everywhere, we would stay away from the tour operator they use.

Food:

The hotel does not offer meals, but there is a small cafe in the strip-mall below that offers decent breakfasts at good prices. There are many good restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.

Overall Value:

This pension is a great value for Puerto Princesa. We looked at many hotels in the area but were unable to find something better for less. The pension is clean, comfortable and has everything that you need for a great price. We would stay here again if we went to Puerto Princesa, but would probably get a room at the back or at the front with A/C. 

Other Notes:

• We booked the Honda Bay tour through the hotel's affiliate, Island Paradise Tours and Convention but were very disappointed with the company for many reasons. First, the tour was suppose to be from 9AM to 4PM but because some people were late for their pick-up time, we started behind schedule. This is out of the hands of the tour company so we don't really have a problem with it. However, the standard tour takes you to four islands but our guide told us that one of the islands is not accessible because "the island is under renovation" so we would only go to three islands. Although this didn't seem strange to the other seven people on the tour, we found it odd. When we questioned the guide (in private) about this, he explained that there is a hotel on the island that is being renovated and won't allow anyone to dock so it wasn't accessible. It still seemed a bit strange to us, but at least it was more believable. At 3PM the guide got everyone together and started heading back. Not only did our tour start late, it also ended early. When we got to shore, we asked the park guides whether one of the islands is closed and they confirmed that it was not. They told us that our the tour guide lied to us. When we told them who our tour guide was, they didn't seem surprised as they were already familiar with his tactics. We filed a complaint against the company so hopefully they will lose their license as tourists should not be lied to or taken advantage of. This area is beautiful and it deserves good guides to show you around. The guide did apologize after we filed the complaint but is was little consolation to what he did.
• The Honda Bay tour costs 1100PHP per person. If there is more than 1 person, it is more economical and perhaps more enjoyable to do the tour on your own.  The process for doing this tour on your own is very easy. Get yourself to the Honda Bay port (all taxi drivers will know where the boats leave from) and hire a boat. You can hire a small or large boat with a driver, depending on how many people there are, from the park office. They actually arrange the boat for you. Just pay the fee for the boat and the park entrance and you are off. Most tour operators show up at the terminal and hire the boat/driver in this fashion as well, just take all the profits.
• The town of Puerto Princesa has a nice boardwalk where you can enjoy a peaceful stroll and watch the sunset. A lot of local citizens spend their evenings in this nice area.

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