Hotel Review ｜ Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino ★★★★★
The Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, located right in the heart of the city, is an all around disappointing place to stay. Back when it opened in the 1990s it might have been the place to be, but it’s glory day are more than 20 years in its past. Over priced and under valued, it exemplifies all that is wrong with big hotel chains around the world.
What It Gets Right
The rooms are really nice. The first that struck me when I entered was how soft the rugs are. Even in sneakers I could feel how amazing they are. Rooms are also surprising spacious and the furniture is very tasteful. The beds were incredibly soft and comfortable as well. I was impressed, and surprised, just how well put together the rooms are done.
There is no such thing as a good location in Cebu city, but I suppose the Waterfront’s location is as good as any.
The security is very tight, which some many like. I don’t fall into this group, as it’s quite a hassle having to go through metal detectors every time you enter the hotel. There’s little doubt that the security is there because of the casino.
There’s a casino at the hotel, which is a bit of a draw for people that like to gamble. It’s a million miles off from the glamour of Las Vegas, but I’ve seen worse.
What’s Not To Love
There are two things that really pissed me off about this place; the quality of the guests and attitude of the staff.
I hate saying this, but guests attracted to this kind of place are mostly low class, loud mouthed, buffoons. The kind of people that hoot and holler in the halls during the small hours. The ones that have loud parties in their rooms and don’t have the common sense or courtesy to close their door so they won’t disturb other guests. These are the people that slam their door shut at 4 in the morning because if they’re awake than surly everyone must be. Even if you’re not a lighter sleeper, you might find it hard to sleep here.
The staff are just there following orders, but it really rubs me the wrong way when staff give inaccurate information. I’ll give you a good example; we asked the staff about the casino entry policies and were told no sneakers or shorts. So, we didn’t visit the casino until the last day when I happened to be passing by in flip-flops and workout shorts and the security said I should pop into the casino. I asked about their dress-code and they said they didn’t have one. Why would the check-in staff go out of their way to give false information?
We wanted to change some money and we discovered that the hotel is charging a 20% commission for this service. I laughed out loud the charge was so ridicules.
Dining at the Waterfront
There is a breakfast buffet that the hotel charges nearly $30 a head for, so it must be good. Wrong. While there are 30 or so dishes to choose from, the variety is not that good. For this price we expected to see a lot of fresh fruit, but were only served watermelon and pineapple. How could they not serve mango in Cebu?
There was an omelet station, but no other made to order stations. Pancakes and waffles where made in mass and left on a plate to get cold. Everything else was just a lot of garbage pre-made in the back.
No juices expect for some very watered down mix drink. No quality tea to speak of, just some Lipton bags. The coffee was beyond drinkable.
You almost have to admire their balls for charging such a crazy price for this crap. The breakfast was included for free by the website we booked on, we still felt ripped off and extremely disappointed.
Would We Stay Again
No!
The Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino seems to attract the worst part of Filipino society, the bottom feeders and uncultured. You don’t need to pay a premium price to consort with this element of society.
Casinos are not that glitzy or fun in the Philippines, do unless you’re a degenerate gambler, you don’t really need visit it.
Their breakfast buffet is nothing short of a scam that’s pawning off low quality food.
For these reasons, and many more, best to find a better place to stay if you have to spend time in Cebu city.
Need more information about the Philippines?
Look at our full write up on Vigan HERE.
View our full write up on Laoag HERE.
Check out our full write up on Manila HERE.
Check out our full write up on Angeles City HERE.
Read our full write up on Cebu HERE. (Coming soon)
Contact & General Information
Price: Above Average ($70-$150)
Website: Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino (official website)
Location: Google
