ZAMBOANGA CITY | Affordable Budget Hotel ~ Two Seasons Executive Suites Blog Review
Monday, July 31, 2023
“How much?” I asked my wife in disbelief for the second time, unable to believe just how affordable the hotel she booked in Zamboanga City is for our trip. “820 pesos a night at Two Seasons Executive Suites.” She replied for the second time. Unbelievable. Less than a thousand pesos for a room for us three, complete with an en suite toilet and bath. And the hotel name sounds expensive, is it really one of Zamboanga City’s budget hotels? Two Seasons! Suites! I kept wondering what the catch was.
| AFFORDABLE BUDGET HOTEL IN ZAMBOANGA CITY TWO SEASONS EXECUTIVE SUITES BLOG REVIEW TABLE OF CONTENTS ~ WHAT’S INSIDE?
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GOING TO ZAMBOANGA
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| SAW THIS STRANGE SIGHT ON THE SEA EN ROUTE TO ZAMBOANGA CITY |
It was an early flight to Zamboanga City for us. We packed the night before, ate a hearty breakfast at home, ate at the airport Jollibee again for good measure, and were soon above Manila en route to Zamboanga City. Our flight was from a redeemed CEB Super Pass we bought some months back, so it totals to just about a thousand pesos per way. Not bad, right? We’re not attending the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival or anything, we just wanted to go—and well, see the Zamboanga Pink Beach and revisit Once Islas too.
ZAMBOANGA AIRPORT TO TWO SEASONS EXECUTIVE SUITES
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| ZAMBOANGA CITY’S VERY DISTINCT AIRPORT FACADE |
We arrived just before noon, and were soon haggling with a tricycle just outside Zamboanga International Airport for a ride to Two Seasons Executive Suite. He’s not familiar with the hotel, he said. We showed him where it was on the map along Tumaga Road, and he agreed on ₱100.00 for the fare—that’s the three of us, plus our baggage. It’s just about 2.5 kilometers away.
The minimum fare for a tricycle at Zamboanga City is pegged at ₱20.00. But this is hardly the case on the ground, tricycle drivers usually insist on a rate of ₱150.00 for a special trip—that means you rent the whole tricycle and he won’t pick any other passengers.
TWO SEASONS EXECUTIVE SUITES
It turns out that Two Seasons Executive Suites used to be the DILG and NCC office in Zamboanga. It has since been converted to a hotel a couple of years back. And it’s totally not associated with the luxurious Two Seasons Coron Island and Two Seasons Boracay.
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| TWO SEASONS EXECUTIVE SUITES’ LOBBY |
Their rooms are spread on the second and third floor of the hotel and are divided into three room types—Deluxe Twin Rooms, Twin Rooms, and Family Suites. These are all air-conditioned, have free Internet Wi-Fi, 32” flatscreen TV, and en suite toilet and bath with hot water. They have no elevators, by the way.
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| BEAUTIFUL WOODEN STAIRWAYS AT TWO SEASONS EXECUTIVE SUITES ZAMBOANGA |
The Deluxe Twin Rooms has a full double bed, The Twin Rooms has two single beds, and the Family Suites has two full double beds. The Family Suites isn’t really a suite per se—it doesn’t have a living or dining room, or even separate rooms, it’s just one big room with two beds.
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| KITSCHY CORRIDOR LIGHTS |
My initial thought was that the hotel was some sort of love hotel, come on, you know what I mean. I did hear a few pleasurable noises once as I was walking along the corridor during our stay—a note that they should upgrade their soundproofing, lol.
But upon further observation, I did see a family that checked in, and a lot of regular guests, well, along with a couple that checked in with no bags very early in the morning—wink. So, I guess it’s a mix. Two Seasons Executive Suites is a regular hotel, and not a full out love hotel or a motel.
OUR ROOM
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| THE DELUXE TWIN ROOM IS VERY BASIC |
The room we booked was, of course, the most affordable of the three–the Deluxe Twin Room. And indeed, it has one full double bed fixed on one corner, a TV with cable stations in front of it, below the TV is small shelf for cellphones and remote control, and an en suite toilet and bath on the right side of the bed. And that’s it.
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| OUR KID GETTING COMFY AFTER OUR FLIGHT FROM MANILA |
There are no windows, no chairs, no table, there’s not even a closet or a cabinet where we can put our four days’ worth of clothes—well, there’s a hook with a single hanger right beside the bed.
Seeing as there was absolutely nowhere to put our clothes and our stuff in, I quickly asked for chairs and tables. They sent us a couple of Orocan chairs, but they ran out of tables. So chairs for our clothes and stuff it was.
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| A, GETTING READY FOR AN AFTERNOON WALK |
The room is pretty small if you have a toddler with you, but if you’re traveling as a couple, the space is sufficient enough. And our kid liked the room enough. To be fair, it is decent, I actually like the interior’s simple wood paneling. There were also enough electrical outlets to charge our gadgets—one on the TV area, and another beside the bed.
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| TOILET & BATH, VERY WET AFTER A SHOWER, I WISH THEY DIDN’T REMOVE THE SHOWER ENCLOSURE |
The toilet and bath is amply spaced. There are traces of a glass shower enclosure that was removed, making it a toilet with a wet floor. Kinda messy, especially since our room was pretty small. The water in toilet tank was also leaking to the bowl, which stressed me out since it was such a waste of clean water. Other than that, the hot water works and there’s even a lavatory to wash hands on and brush our teeth.
HOTEL AMENITIES
Upon checking in, our son asked where the swimming pool was. Silly kid. For hotels with rooms under a thousand pesos, don’t expect a swimming pool. Or a gym. Or any of the usual hotel amenities reserved for three star hotels and up.
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| CAFE MARGHERITA AT THE GROUND FLOOR |
What they do have is a water station on the second floor, where you can refill your water bottle. It has hot water for coffee, and warm water, for well, drinking—as my mom said, it’s healthier than cold water lol. There’s car parking—for those checking in with a car, which is not us. And there’s a restaurant, Café Margherita, at the ground floor serving pasta and pizza. We didn’t get to try it though.
LOCATION
Two Seasons Executive Suites’ strong suit is its location—well, besides its ultra-affordable price. While it isn’t located at downtown Zamboanga, it’s just a ₱12.00 jeepney-ride away.
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| HAK-AB JAPANESE RESTAURANT A FEW METERS AWAY FROM THE HOTEL |
It’s also walking distance from KCC Mall, a Jollibee, a food complex, two local markets, and Zamboanga City’s Rainbow Mosque. It’s also close to numerous Zamboanga street food places, sari-sari stores, local groceries, bakeries, restaurants, and more importantly, a satti breakfast place.
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| THE RAINBOW MOSQUE IS ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AWAY BY FOOT |
So, why is it better to stay in this area versus in downtown Zamboanga? If you’ve been to Zamboanga before, you’ll know that everything closes at around 7:30 to 8:00 in the evening. By eight, it feels like it’s already 1:00AM, everything, like even the McDonald’s and the Jollibee near the City Hall are already closed.
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| SATTI HOUSE ABOUT TEN MINUTES WALK AWAY FROM THE HOTEL |
Not so at Veterans Extension Tumaga area where the hotel is located. Being situated close to a hospital, everything is open until the wee hours of the night. I didn’t go out after midnight though, so I’m not sure how long they stay open. But it is pretty late.
FINAL THOUGHTS
And so, the catch was our room is small, with nowhere to put our stuff and clothes on. But if we were on a different circumstance, say, we weren’t traveling with our kid, it would be totally okay with us, considering the price—backpackers we are, indeed. Its excellent location is also a plus, close to both the airport and the city center.
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| WE FOUND THE BEST MEE GORENG IN ZAMBOANGA FROM ONE OF THE HOTEL RECEPTIONISTS |
Their staff were also quite friendly, especially the guys that brought us chairs to use in our room, and one of the receptionists who pointed us to the best mee goreng in Zamboanga.
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| WAITING AT THE LOBBY OF TWO SEASONS EXECUTIVE SUITES |
If you’re a traveler without much qualms and reservations, Two Seasons Executive Suites is a good, no-frills, and affordable hotel to stay in Zamboanga City. Approved.
Two Seasons Executive Suites ►ROOM RATES
Address: Veterans Ext, Tumaga Road, Brgy. Tumaga, Zamboanga City
Contact Number: (0997) 706-9776 | Facebook
Email: twoseasonszamboanga@gmail.com
Check In/Check Out Time: 2:00PM, 11:00AM
GPS Coordinates Map: 6.9104263,122.0715213
2 comments
Thanks for sharing this, Christian! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy to help. Enjoy your Zamboanga trip! :)
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