Accommodation is something that I don't normally worry when I travel with my high school friends. You see, we have a 'travel specialist' who's always in charge of finding a budget-friendly but nice hotel (No, we didn't force him to take that role :-). He's the one responsible for getting as a discount at Sampaguita Inn in Cebu and he also booked us a suite at La Charica Inn for our Palawan getaway.

The inn's facade

For Php1,700 per person for a two-night stay with free breakfast and pick-up, we thought La Charica was a real steal. But Dan 'the travel specialist' reminded us that we shouldn't expect a buffet breakfast. Fine, free breakfast is a free breakfast regardless of what we're served with.

Breakfast on the first day: egg omelette, tortang talong (with egg!)  and a slice of cucumber

My plan that afternoon was to take a quick nap at the hotel. I only had two hours of sleep that day and my body was longing for the soft bed that's waiting for us inside our room. But sleep didn't happen because 1) we had to wait for an hour for the 'free pick-up' at the airport, 2) we got a temporary room as there was no available dorm type room yet, 3) we went to Iwahig shortly after check-in.

Welcome drink

We didn't mind getting separated from the trio who had an earlier flight, but later on we realized that it's not a good idea to have two rooms. The 6 of us, high school friends, traveled to Palawan to bond, and having two separate rooms was definitely not part of the plan. Dan went berserk but we were promised by the hotel's manager that by the time we have arrived from Iwahig, our dorm room would be ready. When we got back, however, the room that's supposedly assigned for us was not yet prepared. We're too tired to argue so we let it pass.

For our friend Macri, climbing the steep stairs was a cinch.

That's the major gripe we had with La Charica. They're not the best at making their guests happy. The manager explained to us that there was just some misunderstanding and she was sorry. We did get our dorm room on the second day though. It's not a fancy room (very basic) but it's good enough for the 6 of us. There's one extra bunk bed on the floor, there's TV, a cabinet, a couch and complete set of towel for all of us. It's located at the ground floor so we didn't have to hike up the steep stairs.

Our room ceiling

We were checking out the photos we took that day on a friend's laptop when someone emerged from the shower complaining about the water flooding the comfort room. We didn't mind it too much thinking that it'll be fixed in the morning. Well, they never fixed the damn thing. We tried checking the common CRs at the hallway but they smelt terrible.

Quiet Abad Santos Street

This 3-storey hotel is tucked along the quiet Abad Santos Street, a few blocks away from Rizal Avenue. It's fairly accessible as there are tricycles that pass by in front. There's also a small sari-sari store nearby in case you forgot to bring your toiletries. It's just a walking distance to the old pasalubong center. The receptionist, manager and crews were helpful (they helped us getting a van to Iwahig at a discounted price) - and perhaps that's the best thing about this hotel. They also have free wifi, but the signal's pretty bad when you're at the third level.

Lobby

With the hassle they caused (room assignment, clogged shower), we kind of expected a discount (asa!) or perhaps a short extension. Our flight was scheduled at 5pm so we asked if we could stay at least 2 hours after check-out (12pm) but no, probably because it's too much to ask for. At least they let us deposit our stuff at the counter.

Nice table decor

We are planning to go to Palawan again next year for our El Nido trip, and if in case we need to spend a night in Puerto Princesa, we don't plan on checking in at La Charica Inn, that's for sure.

La Charica Inn & Suites

126 Abad Santos, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines
Website: www.lacharica.com 
Tel. No. (048) 434-2088 ¦ Fax No. (048) 433-3066 ¦ Mobile No. 09178592088(Globe)   09199910813(Smart) ¦ 
email: lacharica@yahoo.com