One of the newest hotel chains in the Philippines today is Tune Hotels, and unlike other hotels, you only pay for what you need so you can really keep your cost to a minimum.  Here are my thoughts.

Tune Hotels had been present in Malaysia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Thailand, and recently in the Philippines with branches in Manila, Cebu City, and Angeles City.  Their concept is simple: get rid of the things you don’t need.

Reasons to choose Tune Hotels, as per their website:

Sometimes, all you really need from a hotel is a hot shower and a good night’s rest. That’s why, our limited service hotels offer beds at very affordable prices by getting rid of costly full service extras (pools, spas, saunas, room service or the like) that you just don’t need and shouldn’t have to pay for.

• 5-star beds
• Power showers
• Central and convenient location
• Clean environment
• 24-hour security

While I do agree with all of their “reasons,” here are my personal summaries for Cebu City branch in particular:

Pros:

• Excellent and big rooms comparable with five-star ones
  • LCD TV
  • Hot and cold water in the faucet and shower
  • Nice toilet and shower
  • Hair dryer
• Excellent location (across Ayala Center Cebu)
• Security guard on the entrance
• Clean
• Very accommodating staff

Cons:

• At the minimum, you only have a room and toilet with shower: toiletries, cable, air conditioning, etc. not included
• Pretty hard to tell when your air conditioning or Wi-Fi will run out
• Free Wi-Fi is only at the lobby terminals
• “Collapsing” pillow

Despite sounding bad with the part where you need to pay even for toiletries, it actually is not because the base cost is low, even if you avail of all their extras (air conditioning, cable TV, Wi-Fi, towels and toiletries) your total cost is still way below that of five star hotels.  Of course it would still be higher than budget hotels but at a minimal difference you get a room that’s practically 5-stars!

Honestly, I was so delighted when I first saw my room!  It was spacious!  I had tables to place my things (aside from the floor), I had a window, and I had a good toilet and shower.  Of course I did not deprive myself of some of the niceties and got myself the towel and toiletries, cable TV, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi.  Unfortunately I didn’t remember that I only had 12 hours’ worth of air conditioning so it ran out on me in the middle of the night.  My Wi-Fi however was supposed to be good for 24 hours but by the time I woke up the following morning my browser is stating that my account had already expired!  Thank goodness I had unlimited internet with my plan and 3G services were up so I didn’t bother with the hotel Wi-Fi.  Also, it was a bit disappointing that despite having a very good room they had bad pillows.  Their pillows “collapse” so your head is hardly elevated and you need to stack two of them just to give you that usual support.  Good thing they provide two pillows in the room!

So what’s my verdict?  Tune Hotels Cebu is definitely one of my favorite hotels in Cebu and would be on the top of my list if I need to stay near Ayala Center Cebu area.  Highly recommended for those travelling on a budget but don’t want to settle for cramped or “cheap” rooms.  It’s a hotel with rooms that look 5-star without the 5-star price.

Note: This review is not sponsored and is based solely on my own experience.