Spread Some Awesome

 

Among all the places I have toured in and out of the country, I can proudly say that Palawan, specifically Puerto Princesa for this blog post, is something worth going to if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city to have a chill time with nature. Being the city housing one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, i.e. Puerto Princesa Underground River (or PPUR), Puerto Princesa is tagged as the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines. With its super strict Anti-Littering Law, people living in Palawan and visiting it as tourists certainly comply with no exceptions. This is why you can rarely see a plastic candy wrapping or a cigarette butt even on the sewers of this thriving city in a forest.

 

Just visited Puerto Princesa recently but has planned and booked this for a long time now to witness this worldwide buzz on PPUR. As a Filipino, I think it is our responsibility to see the beauty of our country first before going out to wander abroad. I promise you, PPUR is something you should include on your “places to see before you die” list.

 

 

When we went to Puerto Princesa, we booked a room at Hibiscus Garden Inn. This pension was awarded by TripAdvisor with a Certificate of Excellence for 2012. I considered it as a strong proof that this inn will give me the best deal for every buck that I will spend on them. Initially, we booked for 5 people. But since one of us became unavailable for the duration of our trip, we cancelled her reservation a couple of weeks before. Gladly, Hibiscus Garden Inn reimbursed us the entire amount for her reservation despite cancellation. Rare but it was great of them to do that. Hats off!

 

 

Since there will only be 4 of us flying in, we just got one big room. It costs PhP 6,250 per person but it includes accommodation, tours (PPUR, Honda Bay, City Tour), daily Filipino breakfast, and airport transfers. I’d say it’s a sweet deal twinned with the utmost convenience that we didn’t need to search here and there for the tours.

 

My mom and brother flew in earlier, and they went straight to the Hibiscus. We were arriving a few hours later and this is what was waiting for us at the airport, a sweet smile from kuya who will be transporting us to the inn. Hibiscus Garden Inn is very near the airport, only about 5-10 minutes drive.

 

 

 

When we arrived at Hibiscus, we didn’t need to check in anymore because mom and bro did that. We went straight to our room to freshen up. It was already about half an hour shy before dusk when we arrived so we just decided to rest a little and get dinner after.

 

 

From the outside, Hibiscus Garden Inn is surrounded by nature. Outside the room, the area has a garden filled with plants and flowers. There are also a lot of artsy decors distributed in the whole inn.

 

 

 

 

The inn’s lobby is also well-decorated. It has lots of arts and crafts that are also for sale. So if you are into these trinkets, you may want to buy from them.

 

 

 

 

 

We got a corner room and ours has another door which leads to a private area outdoors with hanging plants and hammocks.

 

 

Our room was simple and cozy. We had to get an extra bed because it was originally for 3 occupants only. Our room was quite big and even the bathroom is huge. I think if you push it, it can house up to 10 guests. Lol. What I just don’t like is the strong smell of fabric conditioner on the sheets. Since I have asthma, I can easily get irritated with strong scents. I had to wear a mask so I would not get an attack.

 

 

 

Chairs and hammocks line up outside the rooms. This is a perfect area to have a bottle or two of ice cold before going to sleep. Me and my bro had lots of bonding time, and I was able to really catch up with him.

 

 

If you plan to stay out of your room at night, I highly recommend that you apply lots of mosquito repellant. The mosquitoes in Palawan are quite big and you will really feel it when they bite you.

 

Hibiscus Garden Inn has its own in-house restaurant near the lobby. You can dine there Al Fresco and they have a wide selection of food if you want to have lunch or dinenr too. Lunch starts at 12 noon though so they offer breakfast until lunch is served. This is were we had breakfast on the first day but on the succeeding days, we requested for our food to be delivered in our room. Our tours start early in the morning so we had to have our breakfast quick as we take turns taking a bath.

 

 

There are 4 main breakfast options at Hibiscus. We tried them all just for kicks. Since our package is only for Filipino Breakfast, they just add or subtract ours from the total cost.

 

The Continental Breakfast (PhP 120) has French bread, butter, and jam. It is the simplest breakfast choice. It is served with your choice of tea or brewed coffee.

 

 

The Filipino Breakfast (PhP 140) is served with garlic rice and a choice of tapa, longganisa, or lamayo. I highly recommend you try lamayo, it is fried fish almost similar to daing na bangus. For me, it’s the best breakfast choice. It also comes with tea or coffee.

 

 

The European Breakfast (PhP 180) offers French bread with two eggs, jam, cheese, and fruit. Comes with tea or coffee as well.

 

 

The American Breakfast (PhP 200) is the fullest meal of all. It has hash brown, ham, bacon, two eggs, and French bread. You can get tea or coffee with it.

 

 

Overall, Hibiscus Garden Inn is an awesome place to stay. It provides convenient service via its very friendly staff. It is near the airport if you have an early or late flight. It offers good meals and its outdoor area is really relaxing. Though it does not have a swimming pool, the beaches in Puerto Princesa are what you really need to explore. It is a great place to stay if you simply want a close to nature getaway in the Palawan.

 

—

Hibiscus Garden Inn

Manolo Extension, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines
Contact No. : (048) 434 1273
Email : hibiscusgardeninn@gmail.com
Website: http://www.puertoprincesahotel.com/

—

 

Spread some awesome..ness..

Tags: hibiscus garden, inn, Palawan, PPUR, Puerto Princesa, underground river