Legazpi: Hotel St. Ellis

Hotel St. Ellis

Rizal St. Legazpi City, Albay 4500, Philippines

Having planned to stay at Gota Village but failing to do so - because of Survivor for our 3 days 2 nights Caramoan trip - gave us a lot to spare for our accommodation in Legazpi. (We flew from Manila to Naga, road tripped from Naga to Legazpi, then flew from Legazpi back to Manila)


We were able to book this hotel room via Asia Travel.The room comes with an airport/Embarcadero shuttle service and breakfast (Also 2 bottled water and a small fruit basket).

After traveling 3 hours from Caramoan, being pounded wakeboarding at CWC and exhausting myself from posing (you can hand your camera to these kids and they would display their camera trick shot skills) and taking pictures at the Cagsawa Ruins (Mayon Volcano), I was more than excited to take a warm shower and stretch out on Hotel Ellis’ comfortable bed – the pictures of the beds/rooms on their website did look so.)

Upon arriving at the hotel, I noticed that the exterior was not that impressive, especially with the power lines crisscrossing in front of the building. But that would definitely change once you enter the well lit lobby.

The decorations were elegant and the warm light immediately makes you feel relaxed.

Checking in...

Heading to our room.

Their rooms did not disappoint as well. We booked their standard room for 3200Php, and the room did give justice to its price. It was spacious, pristine and relaxing. Everything looks new (given as the hotel itself is fairly new) and nothing was out of place-before I threw myself in the bed, which is as soon as we enter the room. :)

The private toilet and bath has a modern feel. The usual shower curtain was replaced by glass walls enclosing the shower area. The rain shower head was the best! Hot water is centralized so no inconsistent water temperature that comes with a water heater.

Their beds-as it looked on the pictures-are extremely comfortable that I was willing to just sleep and pass on experiencing Legazpi’s nightlife at Embarcadero (I didn’t though).

The Morning After
We availed our free breakfast at the Crossroads Café & Lounge the following morning. As the hotel would like to maintain an elegant façade, you would be reminded to dress up a bit when you go down to the café.

I just woke up, and all I did was put on my slippers, change to my walking shorts and put on a denim jacket over my oversized shirt. But I should have heeded the reminder on our room, as though it was still early in the morning, the café was full of people in business attire and I looked a bit out of place. I’m not sure if it’s as packed with business people as it is on a daily basis though as we only stayed overnight.

Heading to breakfast...

The hotel offers a buffet style breakfast with a variety of choices. Their scrambled egg cooked in front of you with your choice of ingredients was sumptuous. It’s a plus that their restaurant staff was extremely nice.

We roamed around the hotel to check their facilities after breakfast.

Below are the hotel's facilities as listed on their website.

Crossroads Café & Lounge Function/ banquet rooms – Meeting Point, The Theatre, The Top of St. Ellis Business center Kiddie Activity Room Essences Spa, Salon Mye

Swimming pool and fitness center Round-trip airport transfers for staying guests Car rental Room service Dry cleaning/ laundry

The gym was reasonably equipped for a 3 star hotel.

The pool looked like the owner just insisted that the hotel had to have a pool despite the limited space in the small area that it was in, but the design looked tasteful nonetheless.

We only had a glimpse of their Spa and Salon.

Their shuttle service to and from Embarcadero.

Overall, the stay was worth what we paid for. And if you have a budget to spare, then Hotel Ellis is worth the stay.

Coron: Coron Wonders|Day 3

Interchanging our itinerary for days 2 and 3 was a good call. The weather was not as friendly on our 3rd day and according to Kuya Dennis and Oliver, it would have been a bumpy boat ride had we gone to Malcapuya.

Coron Loop

Our first stop was Siete Pecados

We then head to Calachuchi beach but we decided not to dock. There was no fee to visit the beach and there was no maintenance, hence, the clutter.

The waves in this area were too strong to keep the camera steady.

So we just stopped and ate our morning custard cake snack.

Our next stop was said to be the cleanest lake in Asia, Kayangan Lake.

Kayangan Lake/Cave

Heading to the Lake...

Some took their lunch at Kayangan. It was also the only stop where there's an actual comfort room.

You would be trekking up to the Cave then down to the lagoon.

The stone steps were a bit slippery, especially with the mix of rain and red mud.

View from Kayangan Cave

Entrance to the Cave.

Going down to the lagoon.

Almost there...

Judging from the crystal clear waters, it'a easy to see why it tagged as one of the cleanest lakes in Asia.

Not only fishes are bountiful in the area, but small snails as well.

The trek back up.

Vivian Beach
Vivian beach where we took our lunch was our next stop.

Lunch Time

My favorite. Fresh sea weeds salad.

 More of Vivian Beach...

One of the Island residents :)

Barracuda Lake

It was Barracuda Lake after lunch.

Instead of climbing and trekking up the limestone formations for 15 to 20 minutes like how i've seen it on television features before, there is now a walkway to make it easier for visitors to go to the lake.

The Lake...

Barracuda Lake is actually good for diving...and water jump shots.

Jump shot with kuya Dennis!

Going back up to head to our next destination.

The Twin Lagoon

The twin lagoon was the first stop where I took a dip in the cold water. It was low tide and the only way to go to the other side was to swim through the rock crevice. 

 The other side of the lagoon.

 Way to the other side on a high tide.

The Skeleton Wreck
One of the Wreck Diving sites in Coron, the Skeleton Wreck was our final stop.

I was excited to see the wreckage, hence I was more than willing to take a dip to see the skeleton wreck on our next stop. 

It was raining really hard on our way back, but the hop was definitely worth it that we were already planning our next trip before we're even back to our hotel.

We experienced the beauty or Coron in the rain, we're looking forward to go back and see it basking in sunshine.

For our tour, we'll have Coron Wonders arrange our next, hopefully, sunny Coron trip. They definitely made our trip fun (with Kuya Dennis and Oliver) and easy (with Tatay Sergio). Thanks Coron Wonders! See you soon!