I love being surrounded by fascinating (and old) architecture. I have been eying Vigan for the longest time but the long drive to the "blast from the past" scenic cobblestone road isn’t too appealing, especially to R. We then considered going to Bataan instead to check out some old infrastructures in the area. Luckily, The Plaza Hotel had a promo in Deal Grocer and we quickly nabbed it before it gets sold out. Soon, we found ourselves on our way to the historic place that marked the perseverance and bravery of Filipinos.
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Hello, The Plaza Hotel.
We were a bit iffy turning to the small road leading to the hotel. We thought that the well-established hotel is located in a sinister looking place. But to our delight, it is a pretty good location. It is sandwiched in between Balanga Public Library and Galeria Victoria Mall. It is also across the historical Balanga Cathedral which was once used as an artillery emplacement during the Japanese invasion.
Parking could be hellish as The Plaza Hotel does not have its own parking area. You have no choice but to park in front which is shared with the other establishments nearby. We were fortunate to get one though in front of the hotel.
The doorman assisted us with our luggages as soon as he spotted us and guided us to the elevator heading to the main reception on the third floor.
Checking in went smoothly as all I had to do were to present my voucher and ID, sign a form and pay a security deposit of PHP1,000 (which will be returned during check out). After a couple of minutes, we were given our key card and we headed to our room on the fourth floor.
R noticed that the key card had the room number which is a big mistake. If the guest loses the key card and ends up with an evil (forgive me for the lack of better word) person, the lucky finder could easily head to the room and grab items worth getting or selling. Anyway...
We got a deluxe room for PHP2,000 and we felt like winners when we opened our room door. The room was spacious and well equipped with toiletries and even coffee!
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The bed was comfortable and the air-conditioning was working well. The cable TV also had a lot of channels to choose from if you prefer a staycation in Bataan. It would have been better though if we had a nice view of the plaza. Our view was… the fire exit.
Don’t expect too much from this hotel as it has simple amenities. It doesn’t have a pool or a gym. But it offers a comfortable stay and prime location. (Plus, there are a lot of Poke Stops nearby!)
I’d definitely consider staying here again when I visit Bataan.
The Plaza Hotel is located at Bonifacio Street, City of Balanga, Bataan.