Summit Circle Cebu Hotel Review

Last weekend, I was in Cebu with fellow travel bloggers from Manila to experience one of the best rated business hotel in the City Center – The Summit Circle Cebu Hotel. That was my first Cebu trip for this year and If I can remember it right, I visited Cebu four times last year:)

Junior Suite at Summit Circle Hotel in Cebu

For a traveler like me, It doesn’t matter anymore how many times I’ve been in a destination but what matters is the new people I meet on the road, the new realizations that I can share to my readers and the new unique experiences I cant find on travel guide books.

Cebu Bloggers Fam Tour 2012

Our first day in Cebu was just just free and easy, we were just introduced to Mirro Reperuga – the resident manager of the hotel then we had a short hotel tour and a gastronomic feast in C2 Classic Cuisine – the hotels in-house restaurant.

Shrimp Kebab at C2 Cuisine

Our second day was a busy day for us, we started our tour by visiting Robinsons Cybergate located right on the other side of Fuente Osmena. The building was opened to public 3 years ago with the first two floors dedicated for food and gadgets and other novelty shops while the other floors are for services like health clinics, Salons and BPO centers.

Cocktails at C2 Summit Circle

We had refreshments at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf followed by a heavy lunch at Shakeys… To cut it short, our first half of the day was all about eating:( It was past 1pm when we left Robinsons Cybergate for our Cebu Heritage Tour. Its a humid afternoon but how can I complaint when I’m with equally travel hungry people wanting to capture an experience that we will soon share to our beloved readers:)

Deluxe Twin Room

Our first stop was the Heritage of Cebu Monument in the old location of Plaza Parian. The monument shows the different historical events in Cebu in the form of sculptural tableau. A fascinating work of art of Edgardo Castrillo – a National Artists.

Candles at Basilica of Santo Niño

Right across the Heritage of Cebu Monument is the famous Yap – Sandiego Ancestral House still in Parian. With authentic coral stone walls, wood posts and beams, red clay tiles roofing – this house is known as one of the oldest houses in the Philippines and possibly the oldest Chinese house outside of China.

Inside Basilica of Santo Niño in Cebu

Located on the next block is another famous historical house in Cebu called Museo de Parian or Jesuit House of 1730. Some historian says the house was built in 1880 and not 1730 but whichever date was correct, the place remains a significant part of Cebu’s colorful history. During my visit last week, I was surprised to see that the lower part of the house was turned into a Museum that houses old photos of Cebu and some old Chinese artifacts which was found also in the area. The new owners are planning to expand the Museum in the next couple of years.

Heritage of Cebu Monument in Parian

When the Jesuits left the Philippines in 1768, the house was turned over to new owners and was used for different purposes. According to Cecilia Manguerra Brainard – A Filipino American Book Author, The house became one of the headquarters of the Japanese military during World War II. It also became some sort of a nightclub during the 50′s and during the American occupancy, the house was turned into a small hospital. Sometime during 1950 to 1960, the old Jesuit house became the residence of the Alvarez family who eventually sold the property to Nicanor Sy in the mid-1960s.

Museo Parian – Jesuits House 1730

The house became a stock room of Ho Tong Hardware but when Jimmy Sy one of the owners of the property realized the historical significance of the house, they eventually turned it into a Museum and opened it to the public in June 2009.

Mojos and Fried Chicken from Shakeys

After visiting the two famous old houses in Cebu, we headed to Cebu’s most visited landmark, the Magellans Cross. According to the sign provided by The National Historical Institute, the original cross is encased in the tindalo wood cross displayed in the center of the chapel. On the ceiling of the kiosk, where the cross has been displayed, the tourists can see painting that depicts landing of Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu.

Old Siopao Steamer at Museo Parian

Few meters away from the Magellans Cross is Basilica of Santo Niño. The church is probably the Cebu’s counterpart of Manila’s Quiapo Church if we talk about the number of people visiting the Church on a daily basis. The church of Santo Niño de Cebu was was built out of earth, hard wood and nipa in 1566 and was reconstructed in 1735 using hard stone. The construction was completed in 1739 and was considered as one of the oldest and most beautiful churches in the Philippines.

Yap Sandiego Ancestral House

Quick Tip : If you want to experience a complete heritage tour of Cebu, you may contact Ka Bino Guererro (binoguidecebu@gmail.com +639166673402) – Cebu’s counterpart of Carlos Celdran and Ivan Mandy.

Our final stop is dedicated for pasalubong shopping at the Tabuan Market. If you require some serious retail therapy then this place is not for you. Tabuan Market is a famous place if you want to buy dried fish, branded and unbranded dried mangoes, Cebu Chorizo and other food products at a lower price.

Summit Circle Cebu Hotel Lobby

Cebu City is not only famous for its best handmade guitars, great historical landmarks, serene beaches and a lot of other tourist spots, also houses a number of great hotels, resorts and restaurants. Many hotels in Cebu city are renowned for the hospitality and a few of them even offer their guests, access to the busy commercial centers and most visited tourist spots in the city. The Summit Circle Hotel in Cebu is one such hotel which is in such an attractive location, that guests will be able to visit most of the tourist spots in the city with ease.

Pizza Lunch at Shakeys Robinsons Cybergate

Although I prefer a hotel room in the highest floor, the room I got in the 8th floor is equally amazing. I love the beautifully designed interior and the mountain view from my hotel window.

I’m so much impressed with their fast and free wifi, its a big bonus for a Social Media person like me. Compare to other hotels of the same class in Cebu, their rooms were actually nice and spacious with a receiving area that has a couch in front of a wide screen TV. I love their bed and their Chiropractic pillows. Bathroom is not that big but it was clean and complete with toiletries and a hair drier…. Btw I love their Rainfall Shower:)

Pinoy Breakfast at C2 Cuisine in Cebu

During our last night in the Hotel, I enjoyed their complimentary one hour relaxing massage from one of their well trained massage therapist. The hotel does not have an in-house Spa but they offer Room Service Massage.

Previously known as the Cebu Midtown Hotel, the Summit Circle Hotel is quite popular in the city. The hotel is located in the heart of the city close to some of Cebu’s most visited places like Fuente Osmena Circle, Robinsons Place Cebu, Robinsons Cybergate and Magellan’s Cross and other heritage sites are also quite close to the Summit Circle hotel.

Facilities in Summit Circle Hotel

Summit Circle offers a lot of convenient facilities for their guests, which includes:

• Wireless and wired Internet access in public
• Restaurant
• Round Trip airport shuttle (on a surcharge and on requests)
• Laundry Facilities
• Guest Parking
• Complimentary Breakfast
• Gifts shop
• Massage services
• Poolside Bar
• Health Club
• Convenience stores / Newsstands
• Business Center
• Conference rooms
• Car Rental

Catering to all the needs and necessities of a business traveler and regular tourists, Summit Circle Cebu offers great service with recently upgraded best in class facilities. The Guests will also be allowed to host functions and parties by the poolside, if requested early and also offer a wide but limited parking area for guests of the hotel’s guests as well.

If you are a huge Sinulog Festival Fan, this hotel is the best for you since the street fronting the hotel has been included for two years in a row now as part of the Sinulog Festival Street Dancing route.

Guests with business purposes can make use of the business center in the Hotel as well as conference rooms. C2 Classic Cuisine, the restaurant in the Hotel is worth mentioning – a restaurant owned and operated by Manila based Cravings Group is full of mouth-watering Filipino food. Gymnasium, Massage parlor, Outdoor pool are other facilities that the guests can make use of.

Melo Villareal at Museo Parian

I love the hotels breakfast, the selection is not that huge but the choices are good. How can I say no to C2′s Beef Tapa, Lumpiang Shanghai and Cebu Chorizo? It was a great experience to start your day!

Travel Bloggers with friends from Summit Circle Cebu Hotel

The Summit Hotel, about 14 storeys high, offers Deluxe Twin, Deluxe Double, Deluxe King and Junior Suite for the guests, with complimentary daily breakfast for two. There are 210 rooms for the guests. Even the standard rooms are impressive with basic amenities with a choice of City view or Mountain View depending on where your room faces. Up To 2 guests are permitted in Deluxe rooms, which will have a double bed. Safety Deposit boxes, Telephone service, Fast Internet access, Hot and Cold shower and a big TV with all the channels that you would like in one, are other facilities in all the rooms.

Melo Villareal in Island Souvenir Cebu

The Junior Suite are costlier obviously, but is more impressive compared to Deluxe rooms. The spacious room and the complete amenities at a lower price can make you decide to pick this hotel as your home in Cebu. With 1 King and 1 Double bed or two single beds, the deluxe room can accommodate up to 3 guests. There will be a personal refrigerator in the room in addition to facilities like wireless Internet access, centralized air conditioning, Hot and Cold showers, Safety deposit boxes, a wide screen TV, and telephone facilities.

With great views of the city from the windows of the rooms and the friendly ready-to-help staff, an accommodation in Summit Hotel is worth each penny you spent in the Hotel. The rooms can be booked online and if you book early, you can get a Deluxe room for as low as PHP 1,800/- and Junior Suite for as low as PHP 4,000.

Summit Circle Hotel Cebu
Fuente Osmeña Street
Cebu City, Cebu 6000
+63 32 239 3000

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