Actually, I went to Davao in Mindanao Philippines because I was invited by MinDa to come over and attend the BIMP EAGA IMT 2014 for 4 days of succeeding events. With that, I find it hard to tour around Davao, and I really want to grab the opportunity to tour and get to know the place, and of course blog about it. And then, I found ALU Hotel.
The ALU Hotel
ALU (Associated Labor Unions) Hotel is located at the downtown area of Davao, about 4-5 blocks across away from Ateneo de Davao University, with 24 rooms and a function room that can accommodate as many as 80 people.
Some locals are not familiar with the area and the hotel. So I took the initiative to take the photo of other landmark you may possibly see first before the hotel, and that is the Chico de Cafe (where the white pick up car is parked.
The Hotel Lobby
When we arrived, the guard himself took the initiative to help us with our bags (which was nice because usually they don't). We were also greeted by their front desk staff with a smile, asked us for or IDs and have us sign a paper, and gave us the key to our room.
What I appreciate about this hotel is that it's simple and clean, and I just love it when they add some plants.
You can take the stairs, but most likely you'll prefer to use the elevator right? Their elevator is not big, I think 4-5 persons can fit in to the elevator but ideally the maximum of 4 is ideal to give some space to breathe.
The Rooms
They gave us a room with twin beds, their bed is quiet similar with what I have at home (bouncy!) but the foam may move when you move too much. But then, it's comfortable and doesn't hurt my back and I actually got a good night sleep when I slept on it.
We've stayed at Park Inn by Radisson in Davao City (which is just right at the back of SM Lanang Premier), and their rooms, bed, and pillows are huge so when we slept here one (1) pillow was not enough (since we have 4 big pillows at Park Inn). So we decided to request an additional pillow - and I actually sleep with 3 pillows.
Their comforter and pillow is soft, clean and smells good too. I actually fall asleep while watching the TV.
All their rooms have a cabinet, a table, chair, cable TV, air-condition, and landline phone. It's not that big but the space is enough for 2 people to move around and have luggage placed on the floor - we have about 8-10 bags on the floor.
The Comfort Room
Again, their comfort room is not that huge but it's good and comfortable enough to do the deed. It's clean, smells okay, and what I appreciate about it the most is that it has a fan that absorbs any smell out of the room, to avoid spreading it to the bedroom. Please note, Park Inn don't have that feature in their comfort rooms.
Their comfort rooms comes with a small bottle of shampoo (with their logo on it), a bath soap, a bucket and a tabo (dipper, scoop) - which I prefer to have in a bathroom.
No worries, if you prefer to use a shower, they do have a hot and cold shower - which is similar to what I have at home.
The Hotel View
The hotel only have 24 rooms, and what I like about it is that they've placed all their rooms on the 4th and 5th floor (12 rooms per floor) so that you'll have a good view of the downtown area - and since just right in front of it is a house that may block your view if the rooms will start on the 2nd to 3rd floor.
We were at the 5th floor, so imagine if the rooms are at the 2nd or 3rd floor, your view will be that yellow house below. So most likely (if they'll have their rooms at the 2nd and 3rd floor) you'll request to be transferred to a higher room with a better view like this.
So bravo to the staff for thinking about the guests view from their rooms.
The Hotel Breakfast
The hotel do offer breakfast, we didn't see a restaurant at the lobby but I did saw a banner (at the opposite side of the front desk) that they're having a construction. I asked their staff if that's their restaurant in the future, and she said yes.
So as for the moment, their breakfasts are served in your rooms. Choose what type of of breakfast you wish to have, choose which viand you would like to have (select only one) and they'll deliver it right in your room, wrapped neatly to avoid any contact with dust - which was nice, they served it clean.
It's an average meal, it's not that many but it's enough to fill your tummy in the morning. And oh, it took more or less 20 minutes for them to deliver our breakfast, so make sure you order the meal before you're hungry.
The Hotel Staff
I like it that the guard took the initiative to help me with my bags, he didn't wait for someone (who's job is to help me with the bags) or wait for me to ask him to help me.
Their staff are welcoming, smiling, neat and clean. I just love people who provide a service with a smile - so that's a total plus for me.
But during our first day, I went out to the room to ask their staff if what are the other landmarks of the hotel since the travel agency in Davao that will tour us around is not familiar about the hotel. One of their staff (an older lady, probably around 30-40) somewhat raised her eye brows on me but I was asking the male staff since she seems not to be in a good mood.
Alu Hotel Room Rates
ALU hotel is one of the affordable hotels in Davao City which already includes a complementary breakfast from them. The hotel check-in time 2:00PM and check-out time is 12NN, but that time, we checked in around 1:00PM.Anyway, here are their hotel rates:
| Room Type | |
| Standard | P 1,500 |
| Deluxe | P 1,750 |
| Junior Suite | P 2,350 |
| Family Suite (3pax) | P 2,600 |
Book ALU Hotel
Hotel Review
If you're going to stay more than 3 days in Davao City, this hotel can offer you a good deal since they do have promos for guests staying for more than 3 days and even months.
When we're sleeping, I didn't hear any car noise, but in the morning I can hear people talking in the hallway but it's not that loud - but if they do talk loud it can be heard in your room.
They do advertise that they have a WiFi in the hotel, but I tried connecting to it but I didn't get anything. Good thing we have an LTE with us.
But all in all, I was happy about our stay and satisfied with the service and room that they've provided us. Will I recommend the hotel? For budget travelers and for those who are not picky, yes I can totally recommend the hotel.
Disclaimer: ALU Hotel provided us a free overnight stay but still I have provided my honest review about the hotel.
Do you appreciate what this blog do? Want to send help for this blog? Your every cents goes a long way
DONATE TO EXOTIC PHILIPPINES!