Angeles Hotels


This is a continuation of a series of reports from a trip to Angeles City late last year.
This reporter was visiting Angeles from the latter part of November thru the first week of December. This report will not cover all the hotel options available in town…that would be far too long, but only the ones that were new since a previous visit or that were of special interest. As any longtime visitor to Angeles knows, and the newbie traveler soon finds out, the lodging situation in town has always been somewhat of a challenge. There are a couple of places on the high-end (for Angeles that is) and plenty on the low-end but not a whole lot in the middle. The Holiday Inn (on the base) and the Oasis are more or less the “high-end” choices.

The Oasis has always been a class act and has been around since “the base” days. By any standard, it is clean, well-managed, secure, and friendly. The standard and deluxe rooms are very nice with the deluxe basically small suites. One could be very comfortable there for an extended stay. The “house boys” are very friendly and efficient when it comes to all the room service and housekeeping chores. The pool is one of the biggest and cleanest in Angeles and the Maraneiro Grill one of the better places to eat in town. The hotel grounds are also very nice. The hotel is spread-out over a large area and consists of single story rows of rooms with tropical trees, flowers, and vegetation all around. A very nice ambience for sure. The hotel is in a secure compound set back from the road so is very private and quiet also. There are bank-style safety deposit boxes for guests at the front-desk area. This reporter has stayed here 3- 4 times over the years and has never had a problem…with the room, visitors, or security. The knocks on the Oasis are that this pampering doesn’t come cheap and the location is a bit far from the strip. However, these qualms are really relative. The room rates quoted at the time of this visit were P1950 ($35) for a standard room and P2700 ($49) for a deluxe. There are usually discounts for stays longer than a week. The distance issue is also pretty much a non-issue. It is about a 1 minute trike and maybe 5 minute jeepney ride straight down Perimeter/Fields Avenue to Margarita Station from the Oasis. The cost being P40-50 and P4 respectively. If one was a first time visitor or wanted maximum privacy and security, the Oasis would be a very good hotel choice.

One much welcome development since previous visits has been the development of a tier of middle-brow hotels in town. Since the advent of the Orchid Inn, this segment of the market has continued to expand. Other than contact information (for the Orchid and all hotels mentioned in this report), I will not say more about the Orchid as much has already been written about this establishment. I will limit my comments to saying it certainly is located in the heart of the action (for better or worse) and that this reporter has never stayed there.

Another new venture in this category would be the Apartelle Royal. This hotel is new and operated by the Champagne Group. The rooms here are large and clean. This reporter did not stay in this hotel but inspected the rooms. It is located above the Camelot A-go-go, with its own separate entrance at the front of the building. Being above a gogo that’s open till 4-5 a.m. may pose some issues regarding sound penetration into the rooms. Maybe someone who has stayed here can answer this question. One room category of interest here is the Jacuzzi suite. Basically, this is a large suite with king-size bed and kitchenette. Off to the side of the room and somewhat elevated is a full-size Jacuzzi. It appeared one could easily entertain 3-4 visitors at the same time in the spa. So if one really wanted to “have it all” during one’s stay, booking this suite might just be the ticket. Rates quoted were P2300 for standard rooms and $60 for the Jacuzzi suite. In this reporters opinion, the standard rooms here are overpriced. The standard room and ambiance at the Oasis would be much better value. However, the Jacuzzi suite is the only one know to this reporter in Angeles and so if one wanted something unique, this might be fair value. One other service available here is a nice airport pick-up van service. They have a spanking new deluxe mini-van that will you up from the airport for P1500.

The Clarkton has been around for like forever. This reporter had the occasion to stay there for 2 nights this past trip and then checked-out for the remaining week of the stay. The ambience of the hotel just seems a little too run-down and the rooms certainly have seen better days. It is certainly no bargain at rates of P1200-P1500 per night. Combine all this with the rather none-too friendly staff and well, I would just give this place a pass. The one feature that may be of some use is their half-hourly free shuttle van service to the entertainment district. The hotel is not far from here, being located maybe half a kilometer up Fields from the Station. This service runs from the morning till 3 a.m. It would be useful if one were to overindulge a bit and not want to trust one’s safety taking a trike back home at a late hour.

Down a couple rungs on the latter, you get to the budget accommodations. One of this reporter’s favorite in this category is the Sunset Garden. This hotel too, has been around forever and seems to remain ageless. The layout is nice with the rooms (located on a first and second stories) all facing in and around a central courtyard. The courtyard contains the garden, pool, and restaurant areas. There is only one entry door/gate to the hotel/courtyard, and this facilitates good security. The rooms are nothing fancy and might be called Spartan and the CRs are basic to say the least. However, the rooms are clean and of good size. There is also usually good natural lighting so the rooms don’t seem dark and dank. The pool is large and this hotel has one of the best morning pool scenes in town, if that is of interest to you. Many of the guests and their guests will come out poolside in the morning for a dip and some breakfast. This facilitates conversations about comparing notes on bars and girls, provides oggoling opportunities galore, and if one is lucky, when your fellow punter is back in the room/CR or otherwise occupied, a phone number or bar name may be obtained faciliting a later meet-up or EWR!!! The staff here are nice and the restaurant food is good and cheap. All rooms are basically the same and are “standard” in category and a good value at P700-800.

Moving down the hotel food chain, we come to a couple this reporter had seen in the past but never investigated. This time, a stop-in and room view were in order. These hotels being the Premiere Hotel and the Hotel Marquis. The Premiere has always been of some interest to this reporter as it is believed to be managed by the same group that runs the Sunset Garden. They are like sister hotels and located almost next to each other. Well, as they say, something in the gene pool went amiss between these two sisters because the Premiere is nothing like the Sunset Garden. The layouts is somewhat akin in that they both are on large grounds with pools in the middle. The design of the Premiere makes the interior rather dark and unwelcoming. The rooms similar to the Sunset but just don’t seem as nice. Maybe the natural lighting at the Sunset just makes the rooms seem brighter and bigger. Anyway, unless one had no choice, this reporter would suggest a pass on Premiere…as it certainly doesn’t live up to its name. It is no bargain at rates of P920 (P870 weekly) either.

Ditto for the Hotel Marquis…only more depressing. The Marquis is located on the street behind the Premiere (running parallel to Fields) at the Petron Petrol station. I have seen many a short-time hotel in Thailand that would put the rooms at the Marquis to shame. Use only as a last resort. Much better deals can be found for the rates quoted here: P800 standard, P900 deluxe, and P1200 suite.

Well, that sorta wraps-up this hotel report. It is certainly not exhaustive but a short read on some of the options around town. At the time of this visit, the Executive Hotel was just being completed but about 2 weeks from opening. A return visit will be made in a few days and a review of this hotel is on the agenda. Also, the Swiss Chalet Hotel was seen to be under construction and it looked like it would be a very nice place. It still looked like maybe several months away from completion so it may or may not be open by now. If it is, it too will be reviewed in a future report.

HOTEL CONTACT INFO:
(If you are calling from outside the Philippines, omit the zero in the city-code when calling.)

Oasis Hotel
Clarkville Compound
Ph: 045-322-3301-03, 045-625-8301-03
Fax: 045-322-3164
Email: oasishtl@comclark.com, oasishotel@comclark.com
www.oasishotel.com.ph


Orchid Hotel
Raymond Street
Angeles City
Tel: 045-322-0370, 045-892-2403
Fax: 045-322-2790
orchid@datelnet.net
www.orchid-inn.com


Apartelle Royal
Fields Avenue
Angeles City
045-892-2461, 045-625-6032
Fax: 045-892-2460
www.apartelleroyal.com


Clarkton Hotel
Don Juico Ave. (Fields Ave.)
Angeles City
Tel: 045-322-3424, 045-322-2267
Fax: 045-625-6887
info@clarkton.com
www.clarkton.com

Sunset Garden
Malabanias Rd.
Angeles City
Tel: 045-888-2312
Fax: 045-888-2310
sunsetg@mozcom.com
www.sunsetgarden.com

Premiere Hotel
Malabanias Rd.
Angeles City
Tel: 045-888-2755
Fax: 045-322-2664
premierh@mozcom.com
www.premiere-hotel.com


Hotel Marquis
Malabanias Rd.
Angeles City
Tel: 045-322-4714
Fax: 045-892-2989
reservations@hotelmarquis.net
www.hotelmarquis.net

Great write-up, Jonnieb. Not sure where you got your pricing info for the Apartelle Royal, though, as the prices you listed are waaaay higher than those I saw quoted a few months ago when I was planning my most recent trip. The standard rooms there were $23 and the deluxe (non-Jacuzzi) rooms were $32. The Jacuzzi room was $40, I believe. All of the rooms there are excellent values for the money.

My two cents:

Every traveler to AC has to make their own decisions on two important things before picking a hotel.

1) Location:

Do you need to be close to the bars and the 'action'? Staying anywhere off of the Fields beaten track means relative isolation. If your plan is to not spend much time in the bar area but rather honeymoon with your new honey ko, staying at the places that are a trike ride away won't be a big deal. Personally, I gotta be where the action is, while others want to get away from it all. Different strokes...

2) Price/Budget/Value

I'd say there are three tiers of pricing for the hotels in Angeles:

Less than 20 bucks: You'll get a U.S. mom and pop style fleabag hotel quality room, probably nowhere near the action. May even get a nice pool with it, and can still have a great time on a tight budget.

23-32 bucks: Your room will be decent for almost any standards, you can have the pick of the litter location-wise.

40 bucks and up: You will get a nice room, but IMO, probably not get tremendous value for your money, especially comparing the AC hotel options to Thailand. I think the $40+ dollar rooms at the Orchid are probably perfect for someone on their first trip wanting the whole AC experience and a wee bit of luxury, but otherwise, the rooms are overpriced compared to the competition, and the hotel is resting on previous laurels in this regard. Their rooms don't justify the extra 10-15 bucks a night in price.

After deciding on location and budget, it's all about the different amenities offered by the different hotels: Pools, restaurants, technology, staff, furniture, quiet, quality of water pressure and air-con etc. Everybody has their favorites, and if there is something specifically important to you, post a question on the board and can be steered to the right place for you.