Coming home to a ‘friend’

I have said it many times before wherever my work or vacations take me, Cebu will always be home for me. It’s true what they say about “taking the boy out of the country but never taking the country out of the boy.”

I enjoyed my growing-up years in our house in Cebu, so every time I set foot in Cebu again, those beautiful memories come back to me and make me feel like I never left the city.

It’s been many years since we sold our ancestral house in Cebu. Although my younger sister still lives in the city with her family and has a large house up in the hills of Guadalupe, I don’t want to burden her with my visits because she’s “differently able,” having suffered a stroke many years ago. I always make it a point to visit her, though, every time I am in the city, just to chat with her because we draw strength from each other, as we recall our younger years when we were still with our parents and our other siblings.

I have had many enjoyable stays at different hotels in Cebu City but, somehow, I get everything I look for at Bai Hotel.  “Bai” is the Cebuano term for a male friend, just like “Pare” in Tagalog.  With the personalized service I always receive at this hotel, it’s just like staying in the house of a very good friend.

Located at the boundary of the cities of Cebu and Mandaue, it is, thankfully, far away from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle.  I like hotels that give me a calming view every time I look out from my bedroom window.  When I want a thoroughly relaxing view, I just go up to this hotel’s roof deck and enjoy the breathtaking 360-degree view of Cebu City, with beautiful lights of different colors sparkling like attractive jewels in the evening.

The hotel has 668 beautifully and functionally designed guestrooms, 8 restaurants, an infinity pool, a spa, and a gym.  I also like the VIP Lounge on the 21st floor, offering snacks and cocktails at selected hours during the day.   

The Philippine Retirement Authority, which I head, held our 39th Anniversary celebration at the hotel’s ballroom, enough reason for me to stay at this hotel, for convenience.  We had close to 300 persons in the hall, yet service was impeccable and everybody raved about the sumptuous buffet curated by the hotel’s Filipino chefs.  I appreciated the fact that the hotel’s wait staff was always alert.  Although many things were happening on stage and the dance floor, the waiters were always on the lookout for guests who needed service.

My 54 square-meter room gave me enough space to entertain some members of my PRA Team who wanted an after-party party, so the five of us enjoyed browsing through the many channels of the humongous LED flat-screen TV in my living room  We brought up to the bar in my room the unopened wine bottles from the party and enjoyed them while chatting about the fun moments of the party at the ballroom earlier.  Some of my friends later opted for coffee which was easily available as my room had an espresso machine.

But what I find impressive about Bai Hotel is its breakfast buffet.  First of all, the entire buffet feels like it’s a mile long.  In fact, I remember the first time I partook of their breakfast, I made a mental remark that going over the whole place served as my morning exercise.  There is so much to choose from in the expansive spread of culinary delights.  But I preferred to limit myself to the traditional Cebuano breakfast, what I used to have during my growing up years in the city – eggs, danggit, chorizo, pan de sal, and lots of fresh mangoes.

I can go on and on and rave some more about this hotel but it actually all boils down to one thing.  It feels great to come back to my hometown…and come home to a “friend.”

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com