Top 7 Friendliest hotels in Cebu

Hospitality has always been a great trait of a Filipino, and Cebuanos are no different. You will see this shine through when you go to stay at a hotel or resort in Cebu, but which are the most friendliest? Which ones go that extra mile? These are the hotels that  the staff get to know you by first name basis and not your surname! You will not find any big name resorts in this list, where staff have been trained and manufactured to be courteous. We are talking about sincere friendliness from the heart, mostly found in the smaller family run hotels. Staff can at times really affect your holiday, so they can play and important part of your vacation. We composed a list of our favourite Cebu Hotels and resorts with the staff that really shone out. These are based on our experiences when we stayed at these places, like with everything, things change, staff change so keep that in mind! The list in no particular order.

Lighthouse By The Sea (Liloan)

A little virtually unknown place in Liloan Just north of Cebu City, this is a little compound with a few rooms and a pool set on the beach. It's family run and the rooms are just part of their property and are more aimed at a longer term stayer with small kitchen. Don’t expect luxury here the rooms are very basic and simple and more aimed at the budget traveller. The owner Clarissa goes out of her way to make your stay enjoyable and offers her local knowledge of Cebu, or if you just want a chit chat. She even calls and checks up to see if you’re ok. Cebuano hospitably at its best! They now have a new resort/compound in Compostela which we haven’t checked out yet.

PMG Pension House

This Pension house in Cebu (actually Mandaue) is run by Cebuanos whom are super friendly and welcoming. They are happy to give you the ins and outs of surrounding areas and if you want some take away food, they may offer to call on your behalf. It’s a really great feeling to stay at a place where you feel welcomed so much, especially for the solo traveller.

The Bamboo Oriental Beach Villas and Suites (Bantayan Island)

It’s true to say the further you get away from the city the friendlier the people get. This luxury resort in Bantayan Island, while beautiful to stay at has some of the most friendly and courteous staff around. Run by the ever outgoing Robert Merbach, you will find all the staff always going out of their way to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. Expect the same when you eat, at the D’Jungle restaurant (owned by the same people).

Seaview Apartelle (Bantayan Island)

Another hotel in Bantayan Island where the staff will go out of their way is Seaview Apartelle . True to their Cebuano hospitably, they go the extra mile to make things easier for you. Ellen is especially helpful and knowledgeable on the area. The hotel itself is only a couple of minutes walk from the beach and as the name suggests you can see the ocean from it.

Club Serena (White Sand beach)

This resort in Moalboal ticks all the right boxes when it comes to staff, not only are they efficient and competent in what they do, it's first name basis here, don’t be surprised if staff  approach you to see how you’re going and enjoy a conversation with you in a way that’s never annoying. Now that’s how your stay should be!

Beach Placid Beach Resort (Bantayan Island)

Another family run resort in Bantayan Island, friendly smiles and always accommodating to your needs. The staff here were just fantastic and helpful making sure our holiday at the resort was a memorable one. We like it when people think outside the box, giving us different alternatives not just a “No sorry “answer. Beach Placid is a well-run, friendly resort with a nice beach and we will be coming back here again for sure.

Others worth mentioning

Hippocampus Beach Resort (Malapascua Island)

Marcosas Cottages Resort (Moalbaol)

Tipolo Beach Resort (Moalboal)

Barefoot White Beach Resort (White beach)

Malapascua Legend Resort (Malaspacua Island)

Click for the full list of hotels and resorts in Cebu.

When booking resorts and hotels we find we get the best rates at Hotels.com and Agoda (most of the time). These sites are safe and secure to book through and they are going to save you money in most cases. We recommend you do your homework, checking rates through Agoda, just bare in mind they add fees right at the end when your about to pay, so they may look the cheapest in the initial search but the final cost usually ends up as the same price as the other hotel booking websites. They both have frequency booking deals in which every time you book a hotel you get points to put towards future bookings (a bit like reward points or frequent flyer points). All the details and conditions are on their websites. We have been able to get free or discounted nights at hotels from using these points, so they are well worth it. We put a link below to make it easier.

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