ALBAY | Looking for Mayon at Legazpi’s Venezia Hotel

Friday, September 06, 2013

The View from Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

My seatmate from our PHILTOA media van excitedly told me how magnificent the view was from their room window as we tarried back down to Venezia Hotel’s swanky lobby. Dang, I was booked on the wrong side of the hotel and all I can see from our floor to ceiling sliding doors were treetops and the colorful residential roofs of Legazpi City.

At the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

Venezia Hotel’s facade is quite different from an ordinary fancy hotel’s architecture. In fact, it doesn’t look like a hotel at all. At first glance, I thought we’d be staying in a complex of townhouses inside a subdivision. And yes, the hotel is built inside a subdivision in Legazpi City.

Posh Lobby at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

The impression of a townhouse disappears once you step inside Venezia’s lobby. It’s clean and modern lines breaks the illusion of its facade and finally presents visitors with a space typical with posh hotels.

Modern Rooms at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

With our keycards ready, we headed to our room and were greeted by two soft beds fitted with a pair of soft fluffy pillows. Not bad, considering we just came from Legazpi City’s grandest hotel, The Oriental, the night before and comparisons are of course inevitable.

Furnished and Snazzed Up at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

We got the Junior Suite and it’s fitted with a 32” screen cable TV, a safe, mini-bar, fridge and most importantly; free Wi-Fi Internet connection. Running around the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon on a van without Internet access makes us really giddy whenever our phones get a whiff of a Wi-Fi connection.

Clean and Comfy Restrooms at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

Venezia Hotel’s toilet and bath is also a winner. It’s clean, has a hair dryer (for the gals) and a rain-type shower head. I love rain-type shower heads! That alone makes a bathroom a winner for me, lol.

Morning View of Mayon at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

Sunrise came the next day and Mayon was at the other side of our hotel room. Not wanting to waste a chance to photograph Bicol’s iconic volcano, I woke up very early and shivered at the crisp weather outside the hotel. I needed a vantage for a Mayon sunrise.

Morning View of Mayon at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

Almost desperate for a good location to shoot, I walked further inside the village and found a water tower, which is apparently still part of Venezia Hotel. I looked around for someone to get permissions with but no one seemed in sight. Its open gate all but invited me inside and after some leg-pumping action across some flights of stairs; I got my Mayon Sunrise.

Morning View of Mayon at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

The sun was already up above the horizon and the colors of dawn was all gone. But it was still a mesmerizing sight to see the great Mayon; puffing white mists from its huge crater, towering above and beyond Legazpi City, and made more beautiful by the light of the early morning sunshine.

Pool Area at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

On the way back to the hotel, I passed by Venezia Hotel’s pool area which is a few meters away from the actual hotel. I wouldn’t have known about it at all if I haven’t gone for a morning walk.

Restaurant at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

With my landscape cravings satiated, it was time to satiate my other hunger; a literal rumbling in my tummy that is. It was time for breakfast and Venezia Hotel has a free buffet fare for their guests.

As if to prove how crazy early I woke to shoot Mayon, I was the first guest at the hotel restaurant for breakfast.

Breakfast Buffet at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

Fares include crispy dangits, corned beef, sausages and sautéed bean sprouts with tofu. I loved everything but I’m kinda looking for a serving of Bicol Express. But I guess it’s really too early for that, so I made do with their spicy omelette mix.

Desserts at the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

For desserts, they have fruits and sweet stuff that I have no idea about. I don’t really dig sweet things that much so please excuse my ignorance. To be fair, I love their pineapples. :)

At the Venezia Hotel in Legazpi City

Venezia Hotel may not compete as the grandest hotel in Legazpi City but it sure has its own boutique charms. Like its location inside a subdivision and its residence-like facade, I guess it tries to incorporate a homey vibe with hotel conveniences into one compact package. And let’s not forget the view too; just don’t forget to book on Mayon’s side, and you’re all set.


Legazpi City Location MapHotel Venezia
Address: Renaissance Gardens, Washington Drive Legazpi City, Albay
Contact Number: (052) 481-0888
E-mail: reservations@hotelvenezia.com.ph
Room Rates: Click Here
 
GPS Coordinates: +13° 9' 6.07", +123° 44' 11.46"
View Location on Google Maps: Click Here


Lakad Pilipinas 2013 Bicol Series 

You Might Also Like

4 comments