Where to Stay in Puerto Princesa: Cleon Villas Pension

Accommodation is probably one of the things that you need to spend on when travelling, especially if you have children or senior citizens with you. You need to find a place that's comfortable, accessible and affordable - a balance of these. It may not be the most luxurious or the most expensive, but can't also be the basic backpacker's paradise.

Our assigned villa

Good thing there's Google Maps and Agoda, searching for the right place was made easy. I utilized Google Maps to find the places that are close to our venue, the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum. The closest one was Palawan Uno Hotel, located just in front of the coliseum. It's a good choice with good reviews online. It has an outdoor pool, which I'm sure my daughter would enjoy. Their buffet breakfast also has good feedback. The downside, we couldn't afford it, with a nightly rate of around Php 2,500.00 for 2 persons (there's 5 of us in the group).

The 5 villas of Cleon Villas Pension

Our second option, just beside Palawan Uno Hotel was Jilian Tourist Inn. It's a 3-star accommodation, famous among travelers. I was ready to book with them, but they ran out of available rooms quickly.

One of their breakfast options, bacon, toasted bread w/butter and jam, 

scrambled egg, some veggies and hot coffee

And came Cleon Villas Pension. It has 5 cute villas located in a gated lot, around 600 meters from the City Coliseum. The villas are built on top of a pond with kois and turtles, which I'm sure my daughter would love. It also has great reviews of its services online about how personalized and clean the place is. Naturally, I didn't waste time and immediately contacted the owner of the place, Sir Rainier Cruz, who was very nice in accommodating us. These were the rates given, with a one-way airport transfer:

• Php 1,500.00/night for 2 persons without breakfast, Php 1,800.00/night with breakfast
• Php 2,000.00/night for 4 persons without breakfast, Php 2,500.00/night with breakfast
• Php 2,500.00/night for 5 persons without breakfast, Php 2,850.00/night with breakfast

Another one for breakfast, a Filipino-style tapsilog

Sir Rainier asked for a down payment to cover one night (Php 1,800.00) to be deposited to his BDO account, which I complied. He then sent me via email an electronic receipt for the confirmation of the reservation.

Us, having breakfast at the open area

The driver was already waiting for us upon our arrival at the airport. We were fetched by a Mitsubishi Montero, comfortably accommodating all 5 adults. Although my mother's flight from Cebu was delayed for an hour, the driver patiently waited for us. (A big thank you!)

Laura, checking out the fishes

The travel from the airport to Cleon Villas Pension took around 15 minutes. When we arrived, we were greeted by Sir Rainier, who assisted us in settling our payment, signing the contract and showing us the room. He was kind enough to transfer us to a quadruple room, instead of the triple room we originally reserved. He also offered us welcome drinks, which we refused because at that point, we just wanted to have dinner and fill our tummies. We instead requested for cold water later that night.

And here's what's inside that cute villa

When we got to our room, I would say it was small. But who am I to complain? We still got a comfortable place to stay in for 5 nights, that's also close to our venue (a walking distance, actually). It has a well-functioning air-condition system, a clean restroom, some free soaps. And their breakfast wasn't also bad. We just wished there are more options. The 2 helpers were also accommodating and efficient to our requests.

All in all, we had a great stay at Cleon Villas Pension. I would recommend it to anyone. Points for improvement? A bottle of mineral water every day would be nice. :)