Duchess Pension: A Good Budget Hotel in Puerto Princesa
Puerto Princesa is the largest town on Palawan island, but that itself is so small that I ended up walking the entire town in search of a place to stay and that is how I ended up at Duchess Pension, a newly renovated hotel in a quiet part of the city. I stayed here for a couple of nights and the below review is based on my recent experience of staying here.
1) The place offers great variety in its towns, from fully loaded air conditioned rooms to very basic and small fan cooled rooms with shared bathrooms.
2) This hotel should be the cheapest in town with a single room for 250 PHP and a double room for 350 PHP. These are basic fan cooled rooms with shared bathrooms. The beds are thin, but work well for the tropical weather.
3) The place comes with wi-fi (good speeds), but one needs to pay a one time charge of 50 PHP to use the internet. The wi-fi is accessible only in their restaurant area.
4) They have an in-house restaurant, but service can be a bit slow and the menu options are limited.
5) The front desk was very helpful in guiding me to the immigration office, the underground river booking office and many other directions that I needed.
6) The hotel is a bit inside from the main Rizal Avenue road and is quieter during the night, but one needs to walk at least 10 minutes to reach all the restaurants, ATMs and supermarts.
7) They offer laundry services, but the prices are a bit high. There is a laundry store about a couple of minutes down the road that offers their services at reasonable prices.
8) A short walk from the hotel is the jeepney and tri cycle stand and hence one can easily commute to far away places.
The place is ideal for solo travelers and travelers on a budget. The place is clean, even though basic and very helpful.
1) The place offers great variety in its towns, from fully loaded air conditioned rooms to very basic and small fan cooled rooms with shared bathrooms.
2) This hotel should be the cheapest in town with a single room for 250 PHP and a double room for 350 PHP. These are basic fan cooled rooms with shared bathrooms. The beds are thin, but work well for the tropical weather.
3) The place comes with wi-fi (good speeds), but one needs to pay a one time charge of 50 PHP to use the internet. The wi-fi is accessible only in their restaurant area.
4) They have an in-house restaurant, but service can be a bit slow and the menu options are limited.
5) The front desk was very helpful in guiding me to the immigration office, the underground river booking office and many other directions that I needed.
6) The hotel is a bit inside from the main Rizal Avenue road and is quieter during the night, but one needs to walk at least 10 minutes to reach all the restaurants, ATMs and supermarts.
7) They offer laundry services, but the prices are a bit high. There is a laundry store about a couple of minutes down the road that offers their services at reasonable prices.
8) A short walk from the hotel is the jeepney and tri cycle stand and hence one can easily commute to far away places.
The place is ideal for solo travelers and travelers on a budget. The place is clean, even though basic and very helpful.
